A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 24 Toyota at Loudon. (High Sierra Photo)

After making contact with the wall on the back straight-away on his second lap of qualifying in the morning, the Bill Davis Racing crew scrambled to ready a back-up truck for A.J. Allmendinger to start Saturday's Sylvania 200. With a lot of teamwork, the 24 year-old Allmendinger took the green and made a solid NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series debut in the No. 24.

Allmendinger battled a lot of push off center in the opening laps of the race, but nonetheless managed to start picking up positions quickly. The No. 24 settled into a strong pace, turning consistent laps in the 30.80's, but the handling issues led to A.J. falling off the lead lap. A.J. and the BDR team made their first pit stop on Lap 45 while under a caution and made a tire air pressure adjustment, one turn up on the track bar, and added four new tires and fuel. After the field made their stops, Allmendinger was reclaimed the 26th spot.

Allmendinger continued to battle too much push in the No. 24 and when a yellow flag came out on Lap 72, A.J. came in for a quick top-off and an adjustment of one turn in the right rear on Lap 75. The continued improving on the Toyota Tundra proved worthwhile as Allmendinger drove back up to the lead lap by Lap 78.

By Lap 95, A.J. had worked his way into the top 15 and would remain there for most of the remainder of the race. On Lap 119, the No. 24 made what should have been its last stop, under caution, for tires, fuel, and an adjustment to the track bar and left rear. A.J. re-entered the field in 15th.

With 130 laps in the books, the No. 24 was tightening back up pushing through the corners. On Lap 131, the team made the call to come in under yellow to adjust the track bar up one, losing just one spot on the track.

A.J. Allmendinger drove on to finish 13th in his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, exceeding his expectations for his rookie outing. Allmendinger will again drive the No. 24 for Bill Davis Racing at the Talladega Superspeedway on October 7.