- Due to technical restrictions, this article uses the sharp symbol (♯) to represent #.
The 2011 AJ Allmendinger #43 Best Buy FORD FUSION is a 2011 NASCAR race car produced by Ford. It appears in Gran Turismo 5 (as part of the Spec 2.0 update) and Gran Turismo 6.
In the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, A.J. Allmendinger drove this car to a 15th place points finish with no victories. Allmendinger left Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of season (with Aric Almirola as his replacement) to join Team Penske #22's team for next season, but his season for the team was cut short due to a substance test violation, although he was reinstated in time to complete some races of the rest of that season with Phoenix Racing.
In-game description[]
"The number 43 car of A.J. Allmendinger, who follows in the path of the legendary Richard Petty."
Now driving the legendary number "43" car, the number belonging to NASCAR legend Richard Petty, A.J. Allmendinger is poised to become a shining star in America's most popular racing series.
A.J. made his professional debut in major league auto racing in 2004 driving for the RuSport team in Champ Cars, America's open-wheel racing series. He performed well with the underfunded team, finishing in the top six on six different occasions and being named Roshfrans Rookie of the Year. In 2006 he moved to the better funded Forsythe Championship Racing team, won five races and finished 3rd in the championship. He then accepted a lucrative offer to move to NASCAR and drive for Team Red Bull.
While the driver and team showed glimpses of promise in the beginning, the overall results were inconsistent, and Red Bull released A.J. in 2008. Driving in one-off appearances for several NASCAR teams for the rest of the year, he caught the eye of legendary driver and owner Richard Petty and was signed to drive for his racing team in 2009. A.J. made the most of this big break and finished an excellent 3rd in his first race with his new team at the Daytona 500.
Things are now looking up for this hard-charging racer from California: A.J. scored his first pole position in 2010 and in 2011 has displayed speed equal to that of the top teams in both qualifying and in the series. It shouldn't be long before he wins his first race in NASCAR.
Acquisition[]
| Game | Purchase location | Credits | Other methods |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gran Turismo 5 (  v2.00+) |
Ford Dealership (Lv. 21+) | 500,000 | --- |
| Gran Turismo 6 | Recommended Cars | 500,000 | --- |
Trivia[]
- Allmendinger's 2011 car is the only 2011 car that appears to be a short track specification model, evident by exposed side front vents. The car also carries a Best Buy store tag on the car's hood (unlike his 2010 car); store #1085 at the time corresponded to a store at the Kingsport Pavilion Shopping Center in Bristol, Tennessee (the store has since moved to The Pinnacle in 2020),[1] indicating the car was scanned from that year's Bristol spring race.