Anthony James "A. J." Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981) is an American professional
stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...
driver. He competes full-time in the
NASCAR Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. In 1971, ...
, driving the No. 16
Chevrolet Camaro ZL1
The Chevrolet Camaro is a mid-size American automobile manufactured by Chevrolet, classified as a pony car. It first went on sale on September 29, 1966, for the 1967 model year and was designed to compete with the Ford Mustang. The Camaro share ...
for
Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet ...
.
Allmendinger's professional racing career began on the American open-wheel circuit. He earned five wins and third place overall in the
2006 Champ Car season
The 2006 Bridgestone Presents the Champ Car World Series Powered by Ford season was the 28th overall and the third and penultimate season of the Champ Car World Series era of American open wheel racing. It began on April 9, 2006 in Long Beach, Cal ...
.
Allmendinger then began competing in NASCAR for
Team Red Bull
Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was managed by Jay Frye. The te ...
. He later drove for
Richard Petty Motorsports
Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) was an American professional stock car racing team that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded as a result of the merger between Gillett Evernham Motorsports (GEM) and Petty Enterprises, with ...
,
Penske Racing
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...
,
Phoenix Racing, and
JTG Daugherty Racing
JTG Daugherty Racing (formerly ST Motorsports and JTG Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by former advertising executive Tad Geschickter and his wife Jodi ...
in the
Cup Series
The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, and from 1950 to 1970 it was known as the Grand National Division. ...
. When he lost his full-time Cup Series ride with JTGD in 2019 to
Ryan Preece
Ryan Jeffrey Preece (born October 25, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 41 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing.
Preece previously competed in what is now th ...
, he became a part-time driver for Kaulig in the Xfinity Series and part-time television broadcaster for
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
, working as a color commentator for
IMSA races and an analyst on ''
NASCAR America
''NASCAR America'' is Peacock's biweekly NASCAR news program, broadcast Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. ET. The show made its debut on February 24, 2014, the day after the 2014 Daytona 500.
History
Starting in 2015, the show was host ...
'' until 2021 when he returned to driving full-time.
Moreover, he has competed in the
24 Hours of Daytona
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layou ...
for
Michael Shank
Michael Shank (born September 22, 1966) is an American race car team owner and former race car driver born in Columbus, Ohio. Before leaving driving to concentrate on car ownership, he ran one race in the 1996–97 Indy Racing League season, the ...
's team in 15 of the last 17 years, winning the event in 2012.
He is nicknamed "The Dinger".
Early career
Allmendinger started his racing career at the age of five, racing BMX bikes.
He advanced to quarter-midgets on ovals on the West Coast by the time he was eight, and within a few years, he began racing
karts
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
, winning two
International Kart Federation
The International Kart Federation was the first kart racing organization in the United States, founded and still based in California in 1957. In 1971 it was joined by the World Karting Association, which originally focused more on the Eastern and ...
Grand National championships.
Allmendinger participated in the Formula Dodge National Championship in 2001, which earned him a spot in the
Barber Dodge Pro Series
The Barber Dodge Pro Series was a professional open-wheel auto racing series from 1986 to 2003. It was one of the first professional spec series for open-wheel racecars in North America. The races were primarily on road and street courses in Nor ...
championship in 2002, a championship he won.
He also raced in New Zealand in 2002 in the
New Zealand Formula Ford Championship
The MTA New Zealand Formula Ford Championship has been held annually in New Zealand racing circuits.
History
Formula Ford emerged as a racing class in New Zealand. In 1972, the inaugural New Zealand Formula Ford championship won by David Oxto ...
. In 2003, he was signed to
Carl Russo's
RuSPORT
RuSPORT was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car, Champ Car World Series. It was founded in September 2002 by Carl Russo.
Team history
Russo drove for the team then known as Performance Development and Racing (PDR) based in Fort Co ...
team and won the
Champ Car Atlantic Championship
The Atlantic Championship is a formula race car series with races throughout North America. It has been called Champ Car Atlantics (after its former name), Toyota Atlantics (due to the series' previous history of using Toyota-powered engines) ...
, winning nine
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
s and seven races.
American open-wheel racing
2004–06: RuSPORT
On February 29, 2004, Allmendinger and RuSPORT entered the
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...
, with
Michel Jourdain Jr.
Michel Jourdain Lascurain, better known as Michel Jourdain Jr. (born September 2, 1976), is a Mexican racecar driver, best known for winning two Champ Car races in 2003. He is the 2020 Super Copa GTM Champion.
Formula racing
Jourdain started rac ...
joining Allmendinger.
Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
also signed Allmendinger as a member of their family of athletes. He scored a run of six top-six finishes towards the end of the season and won the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year Award ahead of
Justin Wilson. Wilson joined the team for 2005, with both drivers having been in regular contention for podium finishes.
2006: Multiple wins with Forsythe
On June 9, 2006, RuSPORT announced that Allmendinger would be replaced by 2002
CART
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
champion
Cristiano da Matta
Cristiano Monteiro da Matta (born 19 September 1973) is a Brazilian former professional racing driver. He won the CART Championship in 2002, and drove in Formula One with the Toyota team from 2003 to 2004.
Career biography
Origins and early car ...
. Team owner Russo stated: "A.J. has been with us since we created RuSPORT late in 2002...However, as RuSPORT and A.J. have progressed, we believe a different environment will help A.J. to grow even faster, and so we have made this very difficult decision." Russo also believed a former champion in da Matta would present a greater opponent for defending champion
Sébastien Bourdais
Sébastien Olivier Bourdais (born 28 February 1979) is a French professional racing driver. He is one of the most successful drivers in the history of American open-wheel car racing, having won 37 races. He won four successive championships ...
, who had swept the season's first four races.
Five days later,
Forsythe Championship Racing
Forsythe/Pettit Racing was an American racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series owned by Gerald Forsythe and Dan Pettit. The Champ Car effort ceased operations after the 2008 unification of North American open wheel racing.
Histor ...
announced Allmendinger as their new driver, replacing
Mario Domínguez
Mario Domínguez (born December 1, 1975, in Mexico City) is a Mexican racing driver. He has competed in the CART and CCWS Champ Car series and later the IndyCar Series.
Early career
Domínguez first began racing in 1987 driving go-karts. He w ...
. In his first race with Forsythe, Allmendinger won the
Grand Prix of Portland
The Grand Prix of Portland is an Indy Car Series race held at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon. The race was held every year from 1984 through 2007 first as a CART series race, then as part of Champ Car World Series. After a ten ...
. Allmendinger became the first American to win a
Champ Car World Series
Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...
event since
Ryan Hunter-Reay
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay (born December 17, 1980) is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became th ...
won at
the Milwaukee Mile
The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectator ...
in 2004. He then won the next two races at the
Grand Prix of Cleveland
The Grand Prix of Cleveland was an Indy car event in the CART series, held annually at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. The race celebrated its milestone 25th anniversary in 2006. The race was most recently held in 2007. After the 2008 ...
and the
Grand Prix of Toronto
The Grand Prix of Toronto (known for sponsorship reasons as the Honda Indy Toronto) is an annual Indy Car race, held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally known as the Molson Indy Toronto, it was part of the Champ Car World Series from 1986 ...
, giving him three consecutive victories in the first three races since his departure from RuSPORT.
This victory moved Allmendinger into second place in the CCWS championship standings behind Bourdais.
He earned his fourth and fifth wins of the season at Denver and
Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
. He left Champ Car with one race left in the season to accept a lucrative offer from
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and hi ...
's
Red Bull Racing Team
Red Bull Racing Team, also known as Team Red Bull, was a NASCAR team owned by Red Bull founders Dietrich Mateschitz and Chaleo Yoovidhya. The team was based in Mooresville, North Carolina, Mooresville, North Carolina in the United States and was ...
. In 2007, Allmendinger commented that a lack of marketing and sponsorship due to the
CART-IRL split played a role in him and several other open-wheel drivers moving to NASCAR, adding "it needs to be one series. To have all the best open-wheel drivers on this continent racing against each other, you'd hopefully get some sponsors back and get a decent TV package."
2013: Return to IndyCar with Team Penske
It was reported in late 2012 that Allmendinger could move to the now-unified IndyCar Series with Michael Shank Racing, which he co-owned, for the 2013 season. This failed to materialize; instead, he participated in IndyCar's winter testing at Sebring with Team Penske, and in March it was announced that Allmendinger would compete in the IndyCar series for the team in at least two races, at
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabam ...
and at the
2013 Indianapolis 500
The 97th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday May 26, 2013. It was the premier event of the 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series season. Tony Kanaan, a native of Brazil, was victorious on a record-settin ...
, with the goal of adding more races later in the season. This was extended to include the
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Long Beach (known as Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach since 2019 for naming rights reasons) is an IndyCar Series race held on a street circuit in downtown Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder of the event. It wa ...
, the Chevy Indy Dual in Detroit, and the season finale at Fontana.
NASCAR
2006: Stock car debut
Allmendinger made his NASCAR debut in the
Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
driving for
Bill Davis Racing
Bill Davis Racing was a racing team that participated in all three of NASCAR's top divisions until 2009.
The team had run Toyota-branded stock cars and trucks in the Camping World Truck Series ( Toyota Tundra) since 2004 and Sprint Cup Series (T ...
at
New Hampshire International Speedway
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...
on September 16, 2006, in the No. 24
Toyota Tundra
The Toyota Tundra is a pickup truck manufactured in the United States by the Japanese manufacturer Toyota since May 1999. The Tundra was the second full-size pickup to be built by a Japanese manufacturer (the first was the Toyota T100), but the ...
.
[NASCAR results at Racing-reference.info](_blank)
/ref> He crashed his primary truck in qualifying but started the race 32nd in a backup truck from teammate Bill Lester
William Alexander Lester III (born February 6, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, driving the No. 17 Ford F-150 for David Gilliland Racing. Lester p ...
and finished on the lead lap in 13th. He also competed at the Talladega Superspeedway
Talladega Superspeedway, nicknamed “'Dega”, and formerly named Alabama International Motor Speedway (AIMS) from 1969 to 1989, is a motorsports complex located north of Talladega, Alabama. It is located on the former Anniston Air Force Base ...
in October with a finish of fifth. In his third career truck series start, he qualified in second place at Atlanta and led five laps before he wrecked and finished 34th.
Red Bull officially announced Allmendinger as part of its 2007 Nextel Cup Series driver lineup on October 25, 2006. He attempted his first Cup Series event at Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
in October 2006 driving the No. 84 Red Bull
Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
Dodge Charger
The Dodge Charger is a model of automobile marketed by Dodge in various forms over seven generations since 1966.
The first Charger was a show car in 1964. A 1965 Charger II concept car resembled the 1966 production version.
The Charger has ...
; however, due to qualifying being rained out, a lack of owner's points prevented Allmendinger from making the race. He also attempted to make the race at Texas Motor Speedway
Texas Motor Speedway is a speedway located in the northernmost portion of the U.S. city of Fort Worth, Texas – the portion located in Denton County, Texas. The reconfigured track measures with banked 20° in turns 1 and 2 and banked 24° ...
, failing to qualify again.
2007–2008: Red Bull
Allmendinger and Brian Vickers
Brian Lee Vickers (born October 24, 1983) is an American professional stock car and sports car racing driver. He last drove the No. 14 Chevrolet SS for Stewart-Haas Racing as an interim driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for the injured Tony ...
were named Red Bull's drivers for 2007, with Allmendinger piloting the team's No. 84 Toyota Camry
The Toyota Camry (; Japanese: トヨタ・カムリ ''Toyota Kamuri'') is an automobile sold internationally by the Japanese auto manufacturer Toyota since 1982, spanning multiple generations. Originally compact in size (narrow-body), the Camry ...
with Vickers in the team's No. 83. Allmendinger failed to qualify for the 2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
Daytona 500 after a crash in the first Gatorade Duel
The Bluegreen Vacations Duel, formerly known as the Twin 125s, is a NASCAR Cup Series preliminary event to the Daytona 500 held annually in February at Daytona International Speedway. It consists of two races, which both serve as a qualifying rac ...
race. He also failed to qualify for the next three races before making his first Cup start at the fifth race of the season, the Food City 500
The Food City Dirt Race is an annual 250-lap, NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. It was th ...
at Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
. As the season progressed, Allmendinger made a handful of races, predominantly in the "Car of Tomorrow
The Car of Tomorrow (abbreviated as CoT) was the common name used for the chassis of the NASCAR Cup Series (2007 –2012) and Xfinity Series (since 2011 full-time) race cars. The car was part of a five-year project to create a safer vehicle ...
". Allmendinger failed to qualify in 19 races that season. To assist him in the transition to stock cars, he participated in selected Craftsman Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
races in a Toyota for the Darrell Waltrip Motorsports
Darrell Waltrip Motorsports was a NASCAR team owned by three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip. It was formed in 1991 when Waltrip resigned from Hendrick Motorsports to start his own team, and was originally named DarWal, Inc.. During t ...
organization, and in the No. 42 Memorex
Memorex Corp. began as a magnetic tape, computer tape producer and expanded to become both a consumer media supplier and a major IBM plug compatible peripheral supplier. It was broken up and ceased to exist after 1996 other than as a consumer ele ...
/Chip Ganassi
Floyd Ganassi Jr. (born May 24, 1958) better known as Chip Ganassi, is a US businessman, former racing driver, current team owner and member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. He has been involved with the North American auto racing scen ...
Dodge in the Busch Series
The NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) is a stock car racing series organized by NASCAR. It is promoted as NASCAR's second-tier circuit to the organization's top level Cup Series. NXS events are frequently held as a support race on the day prior to a ...
.
Allmendinger again failed to qualify for the 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in two attempts (qualifying for the second race of the season, Fontana, was rained out and set by 2007 owner's points), he was replaced by veteran driver Mike Skinner temporarily. Allmendinger returned to the Cup Series at Talladega. On May 17, he won the Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
during NASCAR's annual All-Star weekend. The win qualified Allmendinger for the Sprint All-Star Race
The NASCAR All-Star Race, formerly known as The Winston from 1985 to 2003, the Nextel All-Star Challenge from 2004 to 2007, the Sprint All-Star Race from 2008 to 2016, and the Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race from 2017 to 2019, is an annual NAS ...
later that evening, where he finished 17th. Due to Allmendinger's 11th-place finish at Watkins Glen, for the first time in his career, he had a guaranteed starting spot for the next race. He had his best career finish at the time at Kansas Speedway
Kansas Speedway is a tri-oval race track in the Village West area near Kansas City, Kansas, United States. It was built in 2001 and it currently hosts two annual NASCAR race weekends. The IndyCar Series also held races at the venue until 2011 ...
coming in ninth, but was released from the team two days later. He was replaced for the rest of the season by Scott Speed
Scott Andrew Speed (born January 24, 1983) is an American race car driver who has competed in numerous disciplines, including open-wheel, stock car, and rallycross racing.
In , Speed became the first American driver to race in Formula One since ...
and Skinner. Allmendinger raced with for Michael Waltrip Racing
Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...
for 1 race in the no. 00 and Evernham Motorsports
Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a two-c ...
for the last 5 races in the no. 10. Allmendinger posted 2 top 10's and improved in making races by only failing to qualify for just the first 3 races.
2008–2011: Richard Petty Motorsports
After signing a one-race contract with Michael Waltrip Racing
Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings LLC, doing business as Michael Waltrip Racing ("MWR"), was an American professional stock car racing team that last competed full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The company was as a 50–50 partnership betwe ...
, Allmendinger replaced fellow former open-wheel star Patrick Carpentier
Patrick Carpentier (born August 13, 1971) is a retired Canadian professional auto racing driver. In the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series, he achieved five wins and 24 podiums, as well as two third place championship finishes in 2002 ...
at Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Evernham Motorsports was an American professional stock car racing organization that competed in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 2000 by former Hendrick Motorsports crew chief Ray Evernham, entering full-time competition as a t ...
, scoring an average finish of 15.4th over five races in the team's No. 10 Valvoline
Valvoline Inc. is an American manufacturer and distributor of Valvoline-brand automotive oil, additives, and lubricants. It also owns the Valvoline Instant Oil Change and Valvoline Express Care chains of car repair centers. , it is the second la ...
Dodge. During the offseason, as part of the merger between GEM and Petty Enterprises
Petty Enterprises (formerly Lee Petty Engineering) was a NASCAR racing team based in Level Cross, North Carolina, USA. It was founded by Lee Petty with his two sons Richard Petty and Maurice Petty. The team was later owned by Richard Petty, hi ...
, Allmendinger was to move to the No. 19 Best Buy
Best Buy Co. Inc. is an American multinational consumer electronics retailer headquartered in Richfield, Minnesota. Originally founded by Richard M. Schulze and James Wheeler in 1966 as an audio specialty store called Sound of Music, it was rebra ...
Dodge replacing Elliott Sadler
Elliott William Barnes Sadler (born April 30, 1975) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing. Sadler is one of 36 dr ...
. However, Sadler was still under contract for the 2010 season and announced he would file suit against Allmendinger and the organization. In early January 2009, Richard Petty Motorsports announced a settlement where Sadler would remain in the No. 19 and Allmendinger would return to his 2008 team, which was renumbered 44. However, Valvoline did not commit to sponsoring the team full-time and they were forced to race without full-time sponsorship.
Allmendinger's team ended the 2008 season 36th in owner's points, meaning it did not have exemptions for the first five races of 2009. The retro-styled Valvoline 44 raced its way into the Daytona 500, and third in his Daytona 500 debut, also his personal best, and is the fourth-best Daytona 500 debut behind Lee Petty
Lee Arnold Petty (March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000) was an American stock car racing driver who competed during the 1950s and 1960s. He was one of the pioneers of NASCAR and one of its first superstars. He was NASCAR's first three-time Cup ch ...
in the 1959 Daytona 500
The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona (now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectator ...
, Scott Wimmer
Scott Allan Wimmer (born January 26, 1976) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He has a total of six wins in the Xfinity Series. His brother Chris Wimmer competed in the Busch Series. Wimmer co-owns State Park Speedway in Wausau, ...
in the 2004 Daytona 500
The 2004 Daytona 500, the 46th running of the event was the first race of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season. It was a race held on February 15, 2004, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was televised by NBC, wit ...
and Trevor Bayne
Trevor Mitchell Bayne (born February 19, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver, dirt racing driver, team owner, and businessman. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe ...
in the 2011 Daytona 500
The 2011 Daytona 500, the 53rd running of the event, was held on February 20, 2011 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Bro ...
. Allmendinger was one of two go-or-go-home drivers (the other being Tony Stewart, but Stewart had the past champion's provisional available) to successfully attempt the first five races of the 2009 season.
At 1:27 am on October 29, 2009, Allmendinger was arrested for drunk driving by Mooresville, North Carolina
Mooresville is a large town located in the southwestern section of Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and is a part of the fast-growing Charlotte metropolitan area. The population was 50,193 at the 2020 United States Census making it ...
police. He registered a .08 blood alcohol level according to a police report. NASCAR placed him on probation for the rest of the 2009 season.
Allmendinger drove a Ford Fusion in the final three races of the season as part of RPM's transition from Dodge to Ford.
During the offseason, Allmendinger replaced Reed Sorenson
Bradley Reed Sorenson (born February 5, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver and spotter. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 27 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE for Premium Motorsports, the Nos. 74/ ...
in the team's famous No. 43 car. He collected two top-fives, eight top-10s, and a pole position in 2010, and finished 19th in the final standings.
After finishing 11th in the 2011 Daytona 500
The 2011 Daytona 500, the 53rd running of the event, was held on February 20, 2011 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida as the first race of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Trevor Bayne, driving for Wood Bro ...
, Allmendinger started the season 10th in points driving the No. 43 Ford sponsored by Best Buy. Allmendinger continued to have a career-best year in 2011 with 10 top-10 finishes and an average finish of 16th. He finished the 2011 regular season contending for a wild card spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup but came up just short. Three races before setting the field for the Chase, RPM put former Roush Fenway Racing crew chief Greg Erwin on the pit box starting at the 2011 Brickyard 400
The 2011 Brickyard 400 presented by BigMachineRecords.com, the 18th running of the event, was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on July 31, 2011 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana. Contested over 160 laps on th ...
. Allmendinger and Erwin recorded six top-10 finishes after their pairing. Allmendinger finished the 2011 season a career-best 15th in the points. Allmendinger also announced that he would have a partnership stake in Mike Shank
Michael Shank (born September 22, 1966) is an American race car team owner and former race car driver born in Columbus, Ohio. Before leaving driving to concentrate on car ownership, he ran one race in the 1996–97 Indy Racing League season, the ...
's IndyCar team MSR Indy.
2012: Team Penske, suspension
At the end of the 2011 season, Allmendinger left Richard Petty Motorsports when the driving spot for Penske Racing
Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and the FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Daytona, the organiza ...
's No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge became open after the parting ways of Kurt Busch
Kurt Thomas Busch (born August 4, 1978) is an American professional auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the ...
and Penske. Before his suspension, his best finish was a second at Martinsville Speedway
Martinsville Speedway is a NASCAR-owned stock car racing short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, just south of Martinsville. At in length, it is the shortest track in the NASCAR Cup Series. The track was also one of the first paved oval tracks in s ...
.
After failing a random drug test on July 7, 2012, Allmendinger was suspended from participation in the Coke Zero 400
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, , and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series cir ...
. Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing operations, said that Allmendinger had up to 72 hours to request a ''B'' test sample. The next day, Penske said before the Honda Indy Toronto race that Allmendinger's ''B'' sample would be tested on Monday or Tuesday. Allmendinger requested a ''B'' sample test on July 9. On July 11, 2012, Allmendinger's camp said a stimulant caused the positive drug test. The ''B'' sample test had not yet been scheduled at that time.
On July 24, it was announced by NASCAR that Allmendinger was suspended indefinitely after the ''B'' sample tested positive for a banned stimulant, which was revealed to be amphetamine. He chose to participate in the Road to Recovery program. On August 1, he was released from his contract by Penske Racing. Allmendinger was replaced in the No. 22 by Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
; he later stated that the cause of the positive test was Adderall
Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug called mixed amphetamine salts containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio bet ...
that he had unknowingly taken, being told it was an "energy pill". Allmendinger was reinstated by NASCAR on September 18 after completing the Road to Recovery program.
In October 2012, Allmendinger returned to NASCAR at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
, driving for Phoenix Racing, substituting for Phoenix's intended driver Regan Smith, who had been hired by Hendrick Motorsports
Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) is an American professional auto racing organization that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team was founded in 1984 as All Star Racing by Rick Hendrick. Hendrick Motorsports has won a NASCAR-record 291 Cup Seri ...
to drive the No. 88 for Charlotte and Kansas while Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for ''NASCAR on NBC''. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving t ...
was sidelined with a concussion.
2013: Nationwide success, part-time in Cup
On June 1, 2013, Roger Penske announced that Allmendinger would drive for his team at Road America
Road America is a motorsport road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, United States on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, WeatherTech SportsCar Champ ...
and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. Mid-Ohio has also colloquially become a term for the entire north-central regio ...
. In his first race of the season, the Johnsonville Sausage 200
The Henry 180 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race that has taken place at Road America since 2010. Henry Repeating Arms holds the naming rights to the race, and the pole and race winners are awarded matching, custom Henry 180 Edition Big Boy Lever-A ...
on June 22, he won after winning the pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
and leading 29 laps, which was the most of any driver. At Mid-Ohio in August, Allmendinger dominated the race, saving fuel through a green-white-checkered finish to win and sweep the year's Nationwide Series road-course races for Penske Racing.
Sprint Cup Series
Allmendinger drove part-time for Phoenix Racing in the No. 51 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series. He had several strong finishes in the first part of the season: 11th at Phoenix, 13th at Bristol, 16th at Fontana, and 14th at Richmond. His first finish worse than 20th was at Pocono, where he finished 33rd. Afterward, Allmendinger moved to the No. 47 Toyota at JTG Daugherty Racing
JTG Daugherty Racing (formerly ST Motorsports and JTG Racing) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series. The team is owned by former advertising executive Tad Geschickter and his wife Jodi ...
in place of Bobby Labonte
Robert Allen Labonte (born May 8, 1964) is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for ''NASCAR on Fox''. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. ...
for two races, with a 19th-place finish at Michigan and 22nd-place finish at Kentucky. At Daytona, Allmendinger returned to the No. 51 and was running near the top-ten for almost the entire night until lap 148, when he was part of a wreck in the tri-oval with Denny Hamlin
James Dennis Alan Hamlin (born November 18, 1980) is an American professional stock car racing driver and NASCAR team owner. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 11 Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He co-owns and oper ...
, Jeff Gordon
Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
, Matt Kenseth
Matthew Roy Kenseth (born March 10, 1972) is an American former professional stock car racing driver. He drives the No. 8 car in the Superstar Racing Experience. (SRX)
Kenseth started racing on several short tracks in Wisconsin and won track cha ...
, and David Reutimann
Emil David Reutimann (born March 2, 1970) is an American professional stock car racing crew chief and former driver. A native of Zephyrhills, Florida, he has competed in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and Camping World T ...
, reducing Allmendinger to a 35th-place finish.
Returning to the No. 47 at Watkins Glen, Allmendinger had another breakout run, qualifying fourth, and running in the top fifteen for most of the day, finishing in 10th place.
On August 29, 2013, the ''Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' reported that Allmendinger would be the full-time driver for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2014. This was confirmed a month later with Allmendinger signing a multi-year deal with the team.
2014: Breakthrough Cup victory
Allmendinger had a few poor opening races, but did well at Fontana, recovering from a late speeding penalty to finish eighth, as well as having top-tens at Richmond and Talladega.
At Sonoma, Allmendinger qualified on the front row with Jamie McMurray
James Christopher McMurray (born June 3, 1976), nicknamed Jamie Mac, is an American former professional stock car racing driver and currently an analyst for ''Fox NASCAR''. He raced in the NASCAR Cup Series on a full-time basis from 2003 to 2018 b ...
. Allmendinger led the most laps and was in position to possibly earn his first Sprint Cup victory when he was wrecked by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 25 laps to go. Allmendinger was visibly upset with Earnhardt Jr. in post-race ceremonies.
At Watkins Glen, Allmendinger took the lead with less than 30 laps to go after a side-by-side battle with former teammate Marcos Ambrose
Marcos Ambrose (born 1 September 1976) is an Australian former racing driver and current Garry Rogers Motorsport competition director. He won the Australian V8 Supercar series' championship in 2003 and 2004.
In 2006, Ambrose relocated to the Un ...
and kept the lead until the checkered flag, earning his first Sprint Cup Series win after 213 Sprint Cup starts, leading 30 laps in the process. "My gosh, I can't believe we won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race. This whole 47 team... all the sponsors, my first Cup victory. I love these guys. I just wanted it so bad for them. For this team. They worked so hard. I wasn't going to let Marcos take that from me. I hope the fans loved that race and at home. Because it was fun in the race car." Ambrose commented on Allmendinger's win: "First of all, congratulations to A. J. and the 47 team. They deserved that win. I left nothing on the table. I tried to rattle his cage and couldn't shake him. We raced fair and square to the end there. It was a tough couple laps but it was fair. We were both giving it to each other pretty hard. No harm, no foul. We just came up a little short." Before the race, Allmendinger had announced that Kimberly-Clark Corporation (consisting of Scott, Viva, Kleenex, Cottonelle, and Huggies brands) extended its sponsorship agreement with the team through 2017.
2015
Though NASCAR expanded the grid of the Sprint Unlimited
The Busch Light Clash is an annual pre-season NASCAR Cup Series exhibition event held in February before the season-opening Daytona 500. The event was held each year at Daytona International Speedway since the race's inception in 1979 until 2022, ...
to include all the Chase drivers, Allmendinger declined the invitation, saying he wanted to save his equipment for the points races such as the Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
. Instead, he joined the Motor Racing Network
Motor Racing Network (MRN) is a U.S. radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of N ...
's radio broadcast of the race, working in the booth alongside Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle
Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson (given name), Jefferson or Jeffrey (given name), Jeffrey, which comes from a Middle Ages, medieval variant of Geoffrey (given name), Geoffrey.
Music
...
.
Allmendinger got his season off to a good start, leading a few laps during the Daytona 500. The next week at Atlanta, he finished seventh and sixth one week later at Las Vegas. On May 9, 2015, Allmendinger announced plans to sign a five-year contract extension with JTG Daugherty, allowing him to remain with the team through the 2020 season.
2016
Allmendinger nearly pulled off an upset at the 2016 STP 500 at Martinsville. He charged hard from 13th place with less than 20 laps to go, to finish second to Kyle Busch
Kyle Thomas Busch (born May 2, 1985) is an American professional stock car racing driver and team owner. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing and part-t ...
by 1.547 seconds. It tied 2012 as his career-best finish at Martinsville. Allmendinger ended the season on a high note, earning four top tens on the final 6 races and finishing 19th in the standings.
On June 8, 2016, Richard Childress Racing
Richard Childress Racing (RCR) is an American professional stock car racing team that currently competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is based in Welcome, North Carolina, and is owned and operated by Richard ...
announced plans to add Allmendinger to their Xfinity Series driver lineup, hiring him to drive the No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro at Mid-Ohio; however, Allmendinger had a schedule conflict and Sam Hornish Jr.
Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017.
He began his top-tier raci ...
drove the race instead.
2017
Allmendinger started the 2017 season at Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
by finishing in third place, equalling his best career finish in the event. At Talladega, Allmendinger was caught in a multi-car accident while running third with 19 laps to go. Allmendinger got loose drafting Chase Elliott
William Clyde "Chase" Elliott II (born November 28, 1995) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Hendrick Motorsports. He won the 2014 NAS ...
, causing Allmendinger's car to spin out and eventually flip over. At Watkins Glen, Allmendinger ran well enough to be the highest-finishing Chevrolet in the race, placing ninth.
2018
Allmendinger opened the 2018 season with a top-ten finish in the Daytona 500
The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of three ...
and later had an eighth-place finish at the STP 500
The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 400 is an annual 400-lap NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It had no name from 1950 to 1955, before taking the name Virginia 500 in 1956. It is the first ...
. In May, Allmendinger won the Monster Energy Open, the second time he had taken victory in the race.
On September 25, 2018, it was announced that Allmendinger, despite having two years left on his contract from 2015, would part ways with JTG at the end of the 2018 season, ending a long-time relationship with the team.
2019–2020: Part-time with Kaulig Racing
On March 21, 2019, Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing is an American professional stock car racing team that competes in the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series. The team is owned by Matt Kaulig, an owner of team sponsor LeafFilter. Kaulig Racing fields two Cup Series Chevrolet ...
announced Allmendinger would join the team's No. 10 car for a part-time Xfinity Series schedule. His schedule was originally a four-race slate beginning in July at Daytona, followed by the road course events at Mid-Ohio, Road America, and the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. In the 2019 Circle K Firecracker 250
The 2019 Circle K Firecracker 250 was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on July 5, 2019, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. Contested over 100 laps on the superspeedway, it was the 16th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity ...
at Daytona, Allmendinger finished third, but was disqualified and relegated to last place after his car failed an engine vacuum test during post-race inspection.
On July 17, Kaulig announced that Allmendinger would add a fifth race to his schedule: the 2019 Zippo 200 at The Glen
The 2019 Zippo 200 at The Glen is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on August 3, 2019, at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. Contested over 82 laps on the road course, it was the 20th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series seas ...
at Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
on August 3, 2019. He was once again disqualified when his second-place finishing car was discovered to be too low on both rear corners during post-race inspection.
At his final start of the year at the Charlotte Roval
Charlotte Motor Speedway (previously known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009) is a motorsport complex located in Concord, North Carolina, outside Charlotte. The complex features a quad oval track that hosts NASCAR racing including th ...
, he picked up his first win of the season and third of his Xfinity Series career, beating out RCR driver Tyler Reddick
Tyler George Reddick (born January 11, 1996) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry for 23XI Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving ...
.
A few weeks after his Roval win, Kaulig president Chris Rice stated in an interview that Allmendinger would tentatively return to the team to drive for them in all of the Xfinity Series road course races again. In addition to those four races, he added he could likely run the new race for the series at Martinsville, a track that Allmendinger has historically performed well at throughout his NASCAR career. Allmendinger formally moved to the No. 16, Kaulig's part-time third car, for 2020 because the No. 10 was taken over full-time by Ross Chastain
Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He is the older brother of NASCAR Camp ...
. On January 30, 2020, Kaulig Racing announced Allmendinger would appear in eight races for the team, predominantly at the road courses and superspeedways. Further races at Bristol and Atlanta were later added to his schedule, the latter in which he scored his first career victory on an oval.
The Atlanta victory made Allmendinger eligible for the series' $100,000 Dash 4 Cash
The Dash 4 Cash is a series of races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Since its inception in 2009, the program has undergone many changes, most notably the addition of heat races in 2016.
2009–10: Inception
In order to drum up interest in its se ...
bonus available the following week at Homestead-Miami. Kaulig added the race to Allmendinger's schedule, where he finished fourth, enough to claim the bonus.
At the Cup Series race at Martinsville in June, Allmendinger was on standby for RCR's Austin Dillon
Austin Reed Dillon (born April 27, 1990) is an American professional stock car racing driver and reality TV show actor. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 3 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Richard Childress Racing. ...
, who was expecting his first child with his wife, Whitney. Allmendinger continued acting on standby until Homestead-Miami but was not needed as Dillon's son was born Sunday morning before the Homestead race.
In August, Allmendinger finished second at Road America to Team Penske's Austin Cindric
Austin Louis Cindric (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske.
Prior to competing in stock cars, Cindric raced with a v ...
. At the Daytona road course race, Allmendinger finished fourth but was involved in controversy as he spun Justin Allgaier
Justin M. Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports.
He is the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series champion a ...
in the closing laps, leading to a confrontation between the two drivers. Allmendinger was leading going into the final corner of the August Daytona oval race but wrecked after contact with his Kaulig teammate Ross Chastain
Ross Lee Chastain (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series driving the No. 1 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Trackhouse Racing Team. He is the older brother of NASCAR Camp ...
.
In October, Allmendinger defended his win on the Charlotte Roval, taking victory at the track for the second year in a row in a race affected by rain and darkness.
2021–22: Full-time at Kaulig and return to the NASCAR Cup Series
On December 1, 2020, Kaulig announced that Allmendinger would run the full 2021 Xfinity Series schedule for the team. He also joined the team's Cup Series program for the Daytona road course, marking his first Cup series race since 2018. In March, Allmendinger earned his sixth career win by passing Daniel Hemric
Daniel Hemric (born January 27, 1991) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 11 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving t ...
on a late-race restart at Las Vegas. He scored a second win at Mid-Ohio in June.
On August 5, 2021, GMS Racing
Petty GMS Motorsports, also known as GMS Racing in the Craftsman Truck Series, is an American professional stock car racing team formed by Richard Petty and Maurice J. Gallagher Jr. and operated by GMS Racing. In the NASCAR Cup Series they field t ...
announced that Allmendinger would run his first Camping World Truck Series
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, and is the only series in NASCAR to race production pickup truck based stock cars. The series is one of th ...
race since 2008 at the regular-season finale at Watkins Glen International
Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track located in the town of Dix just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, at the southern tip of Seneca Lake. It was long known around the world as the hom ...
, replacing its normal driver Chase Purdy
Chase R. Purdy (born November 11, 1999) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet Silverado for Kyle Busch Motorsports.
He has competed for MDM Mot ...
after he tested positive for COVID-19.
On August 15, Allmendinger scored his second career Cup series win at the Indianapolis road course, giving Kaulig Racing its first victory in the Cup series.
At Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, battling with Austin Cindric
Austin Louis Cindric (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske.
Prior to competing in stock cars, Cindric raced with a v ...
for the regular-season championship, Allmendinger won the race as well as the regular-season title, despite crashing at the finish similar to Terry Labonte
Terrance Lee Labonte (born November 16, 1956), nicknamed Texas Terry or The Iceman, is an American former stock car driver who raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series). A two ...
at the 1995 Goody's 500 at Bristol when Labonte was spun by Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...
and still won.
After his win at the 2021 Drive for the Cure 250, Allmendinger broke the record for most wins (6) at a road course in NASCAR Xfinity series history. This record was previously held by Austin Cindric
Austin Louis Cindric (born September 2, 1998) is an American professional auto racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 2 Ford Mustang for Team Penske.
Prior to competing in stock cars, Cindric raced with a v ...
.
In November 2021, it was announced that Allmendinger would be scheduled to run 14 races for Kaulig Racing during the 2022 NASCAR Cup series season. However, due to Alex Bowman's concussion-like symptoms and Noah Gragson replacing him, Allmendinger would make the last four races instead of Gragson.
Allmendinger started the 2022 season with a second-place finish at Daytona Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it.
Daytona may also refer to:
Locations
* Daytona Beach Shores, Florida
* South Daytona, Florida
* The Daytona Beach metropolitan area
* Halifax area, also known as Da ...
. He racked up wins at Circuit of the Americas
Circuit of the Americas (COTA) is a Grade 1 FIA-specification motor racing track and facilities located within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Austin, Texas, in the United States. The facility is home to the Formula One United States Grand ...
, Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, and Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
. Following the 2022 Food City 300
The 2022 Food City 300 was the 26th stock car race of the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series, the final race of the regular season, and the 41st iteration of the event. The race was held on Friday, September 16, 2022, in Bristol, Tennessee at Bristol Mo ...
at Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
, Allmendinger clinched the regular season championship. He would win back-to-back races at Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. Allmendinger was unable to advance to the Championship 4, ultimately finishing 5th in the point standings.
2023: Redemption in Cup
On October 5, Kaulig Racing announced that Allmendinger would drive the No. 16 full-time in 2023, marking his first full-time Cup season since 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
.
Sports car racing
Except for 2017, Allmendinger has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona every year since 2006.
On January 28 and 29, 2012, Allmendinger entered the Rolex 24
The 24 Hours of Daytona, also known as the Rolex 24 At Daytona for sponsorship reasons, is a 24-hour sports car endurance race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is run on the Sports Car Course layout ...
driving for Michael Shank Racing
Meyer Shank Racing (formerly Michael Shank Racing) is an American auto racing organization that competes in the IndyCar Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship.
History Atlantic Championship
Michael Shank as an owner of Michael Shank Racing, he ...
and drove the final segment of the 24-hour race to the victory for the team in the Daytona Prototype
A Daytona Prototype is a type of sports prototype racing car developed specifically for the Grand American Road Racing Association's Rolex Sports Car Series as their top class of car, which replaced their main prototype racing class, specifically ...
Division. His teammates were Justin Wilson, John Pew
John Pew (born April 1, 1956 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is an Americans, American racing driver, who competes in the Grand-Am Road Racing, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for Michael Shank Racing. He won the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona overall in th ...
, and Oswaldo Negri
Oswaldo "Ozz" Negri Jr. (born May 29, 1964) is a Brazilian racing driver from São Paulo.
Racing career
Formula Three and Indy Lights
He raced part-time in the British Formula Three Championship from 1987 to 1989 with few good results. He return ...
. To do so, he had to fend off sports car racing veteran Allan McNish
Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a British former racing driver, commentator, and journalist from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2013, as well as a three-time winner of the American Le Ma ...
among others.
On January 4, 2014, it was announced that Allmendinger would return to Michael Shank Racing for the 24 Hours of Daytona. Co-driving with John Pew
John Pew (born April 1, 1956 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is an Americans, American racing driver, who competes in the Grand-Am Road Racing, Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series for Michael Shank Racing. He won the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona overall in th ...
, Oswaldo Negri Jr.
Oswaldo "Ozz" Negri Jr. (born May 29, 1964) is a Brazilian racing driver from São Paulo.
Racing career
Formula Three and Indy Lights
He raced part-time in the British Formula Three Championship from 1987 to 1989 with few good results. He return ...
and Justin Wilson, the team finished 47th overall, 12th in the Prototype class.
Television career
Allmendinger first ventured into television with Fox Sports' ''NASCAR Race Hub
''NASCAR Race Hub'' is a daily NASCAR news program broadcast on Fox Sports 1 Monday through Thursday. Originally broadcast on Speed, the show replaced ''NASCAR Nation'' and ''This Week in NASCAR''. ''NASCAR Race Hub'' premiered on October 12, 200 ...
'', serving as a recurring driver analyst while still racing full-time for JTG Daugherty Racing. On December 19, 2018, NBC Sports announced plans to hire Allmendinger as an analyst for their IMSA Sports Car coverage. He would also be a contributor to NBCSN's ''NASCAR America
''NASCAR America'' is Peacock's biweekly NASCAR news program, broadcast Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:00 p.m. ET. The show made its debut on February 24, 2014, the day after the 2014 Daytona 500.
History
Starting in 2015, the show was host ...
''.
Additionally, Allmendinger joined NBCSN's coverage of American Flat Track
American Flat Track is an American motorcycle racing series. The racing series, founded and sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) in 1954, originally encompassed five distinct forms of competitions including mile dirt track ...
as an analyst for the 2019 season. In July 2019, Allmendinger joined the ''IndyCar Series on NBC
''IndyCar Series on NBC'' is the blanket title used for telecasts of IndyCar Series racing produced by NBC Sports.
NBC Sports' current involvement with the IndyCar Series dates back to the 2009 season, when Comcast-owned sports network Versus ac ...
'' booth for the Iowa Speedway
Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretch ...
event, working alongside Leigh Diffey
Leigh Diffey (born 3 March 1971) is an Australian American auto racing commentator. His career began calling motorcycle races in his home country before moving to the United Kingdom to cover other forms of motorsport. Diffey then moved to the ...
and Paul Tracy
Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian-American former professional auto racing driver who competed in CART, the Champ Car World Series and the IndyCar Series. He is known by the nicknames "PT" and "the Thrill from West Hill" ...
.
Personal life
Allmendinger was born in Santa Clara but raised in Los Gatos
Los Gatos (, ; ) is an List of municipalities in California, incorporated town in Santa Clara County, California, United States. The population is 33,529 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is located in the San Franci ...
, both suburbs of the San Francisco Bay area.
Allmendinger was married to Canadian model and 2003 Miss Molson Indy Canada Lynne Kushnirenko in January 2007 after meeting her at a Champ Car race in Toronto in 2005. The two filed for divorce in 2012.
In 2019, Allmendinger married longtime girlfriend Tara Meador. The two own a pet cat named Mr. Tickles.
Allmendinger was very close friends with his former RuSPORT and Rolex 24 teammate Justin Wilson. After Wilson's death in 2015, former RuSPORT president Jeremy Dale recalled their positive relationship as teammates as something that helped Allmendinger's growth as a driver. Allmendinger honored Wilson throughout the final races of the 2015 Cup Series season by placing Wilson's name above the window of his car. He also stated after Wilson's death that he would only return to IndyCar racing if the series implemented cockpit protection.
Motorsports career results
American open-wheel racing
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
)
Barber Dodge Pro Series
Atlantic Championship
Champ Car World Series
IndyCar Series
Indianapolis 500
NASCAR
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. ''Italics'' – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)
Cup Series
=Daytona 500
=
Xfinity Series
Camping World Truck Series
Season still in progress
Ineligible for series championship points
Complete sports car racing results
Rolex Sports Car Series results
(key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship
24 Hours of Daytona
References
External links
*
Official profile at Kaulig Racing
*
A.J. Allmendinger
at Driver Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Allmendinger, A. J.
Living people
1981 births
Sportspeople from Santa Clara County, California
Racing drivers from California
Racing drivers from San Jose, California
24 Hours of Daytona drivers
NASCAR drivers
Champ Car drivers
Indianapolis 500 drivers
IndyCar Series drivers
IndyCar Series team owners
Atlantic Championship drivers
Rolex Sports Car Series drivers
International Kart Federation drivers
Doping cases in auto racing
American sportspeople in doping cases
Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area
Barber Pro Series drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Chip Ganassi Racing drivers
Team Penske drivers
NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season champions
World Karting Association drivers
Meyer Shank Racing drivers
Forsythe Racing drivers
RuSPORT drivers
Evernham Motorsports drivers
Michael Waltrip Racing drivers