Notes: Allmendinger, Petty exchange words at DIS

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A.J. Allmendinger and car owner Richard Petty had a heated exchange in the garage area at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night.

Allmendinger pulled away from the seven-time NASCAR champion, turned his back on his boss and then stormed away from the King. Allmendinger declined to talk to reporters, but the executive vice president of Richard Petty Motorsports said his driver was merely frustrated by having a strong car and a poor finish.

"I always say the car owner shouldn't talk to the driver anytime after the race, especially after an accident," Robbie Loomis said. "I think Richard's been here so many times, he's been through this stuff and he was just trying to get him to loosen up and let the boys do their stuff on fixing the car and getting back out there. Anytime you talk to somebody at the wrong time, it always causes discussion that needs to be worked out. That's all that happened."

Allmendinger was still hot when Loomis got to the garage a few minutes after the incident, which happened 66 laps into the 400-mile race.

"He's a hard-charging competitor and he's as passionate as anybody out there," Loomis said. "Unfortunately, two Daytona races with great cars and we haven't been able to bring the finish home."

Allmendinger led seven laps at Daytona in February, but finished 32nd after brushing fenders with four-time series champion Jeff Gordon.

This time, Allmendinger swerved to avoid hitting Kyle Busch and spun into the infield.

"We'll be back," Loomis said. "It's unfortunate for A.J. He's such a fierce competitor. I can't describe how bad that guy wants to win and he will win. It's just a matter of when."

Rain, rain go away

The start of the race was delayed 1 hour, 32 minutes by rain. The real delay? Drying the track.

The early evening showers didn't last long, but it took considerable time for jet blowers to dry the 2 1/2 -mile, high-banked speedway. Delays like that happen all the time in auto racing, but if NASCAR chairman Brian France has his way, they could be things of the past soon.

"People are coming to us with certain ways to dry asphalt faster and better," France said Friday. "That would be a welcomed technology advancement. So we'll always try to do that. ... If inclement weather happens, it's out of our control. But to get the track as dry as fast as we can ... if we can speed that up down the road with technology or anything else, gosh, we'll be the first ones to do it."

Goodyear honors the troops

For the first time in its history, Goodyear has changed its sidewall design on tires used in NASCAR.

The company brought tires to Daytona with a patriotic color scheme that read "Support Our Troops" on the sidewall. The design was unveiled to say thanks to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces and launch Goodyear's "Support Our Troops" program. The company also jump-started its fundraising effort by donating $20,000 to a leading military support program.

The tires made their debut this weekend in the Nationwide and Cup series.

"For well over 100 years, Goodyear has been supplying and supporting the U.S. military, and has been a part of NASCAR's great history for more than 56 years. Now, we're making this historic change to honor them both," said Kris Kienzl, Goodyear's NASCAR marketing manager. "We are showing our support for the uniformed men and women who protect us and our families with a special message on the premier spot on our race tires."