A. J. Allmendinger

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A. J. Allmendinger
TSM AJ Allmendinger - 2015 - Stierch 3.jpg
Allmendinger in 2015
Born (1981-12-16) December 16, 1981 (age 43)
Los Gatos, California, USA
Achievements 2-time IKF Champion
2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion
2003 Champ Car Atlantic Champion
2012 Rolex 24 at Daytona winner
Awards 2004 Champ Car World Series Rookie of the Year
NASCAR Cup Series career
264 races run over 9 years
Car no., team No. 47 (JTG Daugherty Racing)
2015 position 22nd
Best finish 13th (2014)
First race 2007 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Last race 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead)
First win 2014 Cheez-It 355 at The Glen (Watkins Glen)
Wins Top tens Poles
1 38 4
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
10 races run over 3 years
2013 position 93rd
Best finish 59th (2007)
First race 2007 Camping World 300 (California)
Last race 2013 Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 (Mid-Ohio)
First win 2013 Johnsonville Sausage 200 (Road America)
Last win 2013 Nationwide Children's Hospital 200 (Mid-Ohio)
Wins Top tens Poles
2 2 1
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series career
13 races run over 3 years
Best finish 34th (2007)
First race 2006 New Hampshire 200 (New Hampshire)
Last race 2008 San Bernardino County 200 (California)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 3 0
IndyCar Series career
6 races run over 1 year
2013 position 27th
Best finish 27th (2013)
First race 2013 Indy Grand Prix of Alabama (Birmingham)
Last race 2013 MAVTV 500 (Fontana)
Wins Podiums Poles
0 0 0
Champ Car career
40 races run over 3 years
Best finish 3rd (2006)
First race 2004 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (Long Beach)
Last race 2006 Lexmark Indy 300 (Surfers Paradise)
First win 2006 Grand Prix of Portland (Portland Raceway)
Last win 2006 Grand Prix of Road America (Road America)
Wins Podiums Poles
5 14 2
Statistics current as of November 22, 2015.

Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981, in Los Gatos, California) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet Camaro for Kaulig Racing, as well as part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series. He earned five wins and a third championship place in the 2006 Champ Car season. Afterwards, he began competing in NASCAR, becoming one of numerous drivers to change from open wheel racing to stock cars. Moreover, he has competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona since the 2006 edition for Michael Shank's team, finishing first in 2012, second in 2006 and third in 2013.

Personal life

Allmendinger was married to Canadian model and 2003 Miss Molson Indy Canada Lynne Kushnirenko in January 2007,[1] but the couple began divorce proceedings in 2012.[2]

Racing career

Beginnings

Allmendinger started his career in karts, winning two International Kart Federation Grand National championships.[3]

He also raced in New Zealand in 2002 in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship.[4]

Allmendinger won the Barber Dodge Pro Series championship in 2002, and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2003 with Carl Russo's RuSport team.

2004–06: Champ Car

Allmendinger competing at Long Beach in 2005

In 2004, Allmendinger and RuSport entered the Champ Car World Series, with Michel Jourdain Jr. joining Allmendinger. He scored a run of 6 top-6 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.

On June 9, 2006, RuSport announced that Allmendinger would be replaced by 2002 CART champion and former Formula One driver Cristiano da Matta. Five days later, Forsythe Championship Racing announced Allmendinger as their new driver, replacing Mario Domínguez. In the interim, he became engaged to Lynne Kushnirenko, a Canadian model and chiropractor. In his first race with Forsythe, Allmendinger won the Grand Prix of Portland. Allmendinger became the first American to win a Champ Car World Series event since Ryan Hunter-Reay won at The Milwaukee Mile in 2004. This began a three-race winning streak that included wins at the Grand Prix of Cleveland and the Grand Prix of Toronto. This victory moved Allmendinger into second place in the CCWS championship standings, behind leader Sébastien Bourdais.

He chalked up his fourth and fifth wins of the season at Denver and Road America. He left Champ Car with one race left in the season to accept a lucrative offer from the NASCAR operation Team Red Bull.[5]

2006–present: NASCAR

Allmendinger (left) and Tony Raines

Red Bull officially announced Allmendinger as part of its driver lineup October 25, 2006.[6] He made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series driving for Bill Davis Racing at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 16, 2006 in the No. 24 Toyota Tundra.[7][8] He crashed his primary truck in qualifying but started the race 32nd in a backup truck from teammate Bill Lester and finished on the lead lap in 13th. He also competed at Talladega Superspeedway in October with a finish of 5th. In his 3rd career truck series start, he qualified in 2nd place at Atlanta and led five laps before he wrecked and finished 34th.

Allmendinger attempted his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event at Atlanta in October 2006 driving the No. 84 Red Bull Dodge Charger;[6] 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,[6] failing to qualify again. Allmendinger and Brian Vickers were named Red Bull's drivers for 2007, with Allmendinger piloting the team's No. 84 Toyota Camry with Vickers in the team's No. 83.[6]

Allmendinger failed to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 after a crash in the first Gatorade Duel race. He also failed to qualify for the next four races before making his first Nextel Cup start at the Food City 500 at Bristol.[9] As the season progressed, Allmendinger made a handful of races, predominantly in the "Car of Tomorrow". To assist him in the transition to stock cars, he participated in selected Craftsman Truck Series races in a Toyota for the Darrell Waltrip Motorsports organization, and in the No. 42 Memorex/Chip Ganassi Dodge in the Busch Series.

Allmendinger in 2008

Allmendinger again failed to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in 2 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 on a temporary basis. Allmendinger returned to the Cup series at Talladega. On May 17, he won the Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway during NASCAR's annual All-Star weekend. The win qualified Allmendinger for the Sprint All-Star Race 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 coming in 9th, but was released from the team two days later. He was replaced for the rest of the season by Scott Speed and Skinner.

After signing a one-race contract with Michael Waltrip Racing, Allmendinger replaced fellow former open-wheel star Patrick Carpentier at Gillett Evernham Motorsports, scoring an average finish of 15.4 over 5 races in the team's #10 Valvoline Dodge. During the offseason, as part of the merger between GEM and Petty Enterprises, Allmendinger was to move to the No. 19 Best Buy Dodge replacing Elliott Sadler.[10] 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.[11]

2008 Sprint Cup Series car

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 4th best Daytona 500 debut behind Lee Petty in the 1959 Daytona 500, Scott Wimmer in the 2004 Daytona 500 and Trevor Bayne in the 2011 Daytona 500. 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 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.[12] 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 in the team's famous #43 car. The driver collected 2 top 5, 8 top 10 and a pole position in 2010, resulting 19th in the final standings.

After finishing 11th in the 2011 Daytona 500, A.J. 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 prior to 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. A.J. and Greg recorded 6 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's IndyCar team MSR Indy.

2012

Allmendinger signing autographs prior to the 2012 FedEx 400

At the end of the 2011 season, Allmendinger left Richard Petty Motorsports when the driving spot for Penske Racing's #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge became open after the parting ways of Kurt Busch and Penske. Prior to his suspension, his best finish was a 2nd at Martinsville Speedway.

Rolex 24

On January 28 and 29, 2012, Allmendinger entered the Rolex 24 and drove for Michael Shank Racing and drove the final segment of the 24-hour race to the victory for the team in the Daytona Prototype division. His teammates were Justin Wilson, John Pew, and Oswaldo Negri. To do so, he had to fend off sports car racing veteran Allan McNish among others.

Suspension

After failing a random drug test on July 7, 2012, Allmendinger was suspended from participation in the Coke Zero 400. 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.[13][14] The next day, Roger Penske said before the Honda Indy Toronto race that Allmendinger's 'B' sample would be tested on Monday or Tuesday.[15] Allmendinger requested a 'B' sample test on July 9.[16] 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.[17]

On July 24, it was announced by NASCAR that Allmendinger was suspended indefinitely after the "B" sample tested positive for a banned stimulant,[18] which was revealed to be amphetamines. He chose to participate in the Road to Recovery program. On August 1, he was released from his contract by Penske Racing.[19] Allmendinger was replaced in the No. 22 by Sam Hornish, Jr.; he later stated that the cause of the positive test was Adderall that he had unknowingly taken, being told it was an "energy pill".[20] Allmendinger was reinstated by NASCAR on September 18 after completing the Road to Recovery program.[21][22]

In October 2012, Allmendinger returned to NASCAR at Charlotte Motor Speedway, driving for Phoenix Racing,[23] substituting for Phoenix's intended driver Regan Smith, who had been hired by Hendrick Motorsports to drive the #88 for Charlotte and Kansas while Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was sidelined with a concussion.

2013

It was reported in late 2012 that Allmendinger could move to the IndyCar Series with Michael Shank Racing, which he co-owned, for the 2013 season.[24] This failed to materialize; instead, Allmendinger signed with Phoenix Racing to run a limited schedule in the Sprint Cup Series in the No. 51 Chevrolet; in addition, he participated in IndyCar's winter testing 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 and at the 2013 Indianapolis 500.[25] This was extended to include the Long Beach Grand Prix and the Chevy Indy Dual in Detroit.

Nationwide Series
Allmendinger in 2013 prior to his Road America win
Allmendinger celebrating his win at Road America

On June 1, 2013, Roger Penske announced that Allmendinger would drive for his team at Road America and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.[26] In his first race of the season, the Johnsonville Sausage 200 on June 22, he won after winning the pole position and leading 29 laps, which was the most of any driver.[27] 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.[28]

Sprint Cup Series

Allmendinger drove part-time for Phoenix Racing in the #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. Afterwards, Allmendinger moved to the #47 Toyota at JTG Daugherty Racing in place of Bobby Labonte for two races, with a 19th place finish at Michigan and 22nd place finish at Kentucky. At Daytona, Allmendinger returned to the #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, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and David Reutimann, reducing Allmendinger to a 35th place finish.

Returning to the #47 at Watkins Glen, Allmendinger had another breakout run, qualifying fourth, and running in the top-fifteen for the most of the day, finishing in 10th place.

On August 29, 2013, Sporting News reported that Allmendinger will be the full-time driver for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2014.[29] This was confirmed a month later with Allmendinger signing a multi-year deal with the team.

2014

Sprint Cup Series

Allmendinger had a rocky few opening races, but did well at Fontana, recovering from a late speeding penalty to finish 8th. Allmendinger had several top tens at Richmond and Talladega.

At Sonoma, Allmendinger qualified on the front row with Jamie McMurray. Allmendinger led the most laps and was in position to possibly earn his first Sprint Cup victory when he got wrecked by Dale Earnhardt Jr. with 35 laps to go.[30] Allmendinger was visibly upset with Earnhardt Jr. in post-race ceremonies.[31]

At Watkins Glen, Allmendinger took the lead with less than 20 laps to go after a side-by-side battle with former teammate Marcos Ambrose 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.[32] "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."[32] 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."[33] 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.[34]

Rolex 24

On January 4, 2014, it was announced that Allmendinger would return to Michael Shank Racing for the 24 Hours of Daytona.[35] Co-driving with John Pew, Oswaldo Negri, Jr. and Justin Wilson, the team finished 47th overall, 12th in the Prototype class.[36]

2015

Sprint Cup Series
Allmendinger at the 2015 Food City 500

Though NASCAR expanded the grid of the Sprint Unlimited 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. Instead, he joined the Motor Racing Network's radio broadcast of the race, working in the booth alongside Joe Moore and Jeff Striegle.[37]

Allmendinger got his season off to a good start, leading a few laps during the Daytona 500. The next week at Atlanta, he finished 7th and moved up to 6th one week later at Las Vegas.[38] 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.[39]

Motorsports career results

American open-wheel racing

(key)

Barber Dodge Pro Series

Atlantic Championship

Champ Car World Series

IndyCar Series

Indianapolis 500

Year Chassis Engine Start Finish Team
2013 Dallara Chevrolet 5 7 Team Penske

NASCAR

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time. Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

Sprint Cup Series

Daytona 500
Year Team Manufacturer Start Finish
2007 Red Bull Racing Team Toyota DNQ
2008 DNQ
2009 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge 20 3
2010 Ford 15 32
2011 15 11
2012 Penske Racing Dodge 15 34
2014 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 15 26
2015 40 20

Nationwide Series

Craftsman Truck Series

* Season still in progress.
1 Ineligible for series championship points.

24 Hours of Daytona

(key)

References

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External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by Toyota Atlantic Champion
2003		 Succeeded by
Jon Fogarty
Preceded by Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion
2002		 Succeeded by
Leo Maia
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Champ Car Rookie of the Year
2004		 Succeeded by
Timo Glock
Preceded by Autosport Rookie of the Year
2004		 Succeeded by
Tiago Monteiro
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  8. ↑ NASCAR results at Racing-reference.info
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  11. ↑ Richard Petty Motorsports Signs AJ Allmendinger
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