A.J. Allmendinger still has a chip on his shoulder (Image: Getty)
Since the moment A.J. Allmendinger hopped on the road to the NASCAR Cup Series, he’s always carried a chip on his shoulder
It’s a road he never expected to travel down. He jumped on the freeway after a career in open wheel racing, being tempted by a lucrative offer as Red Bull Racing entered the world of stock cars. Before he knew it he was barreling 190mph, full steam ahead in the ferocious Cup Series drafting pack.
The road is well-traveled now. Through the winding streets of Chicago and Mexico City, barreling round the Los Angeles Colosseum, roaring around Daytona, Talladega, Charlotte and every track in between. This week, the road leads to the winding hills of upstate New York and Watkins Glen.
At this point, it’s a familiar routine, familiar surroundings. Next year will mark ‘Dinger’s’ 20th year in stock car racing.
He’s currently 18th in the Cup Series standings. It is a far cry from the first few years, when he ‘Did Not Qualify’ 24 times in a time before charters guaranteed a spot in the field. Did he ever expect to be here?
“I’d have said there is no chance,” he admits. “If you’d have asked me after the first or second year…(shakes his head)”.
Allmendinger will race his No.16 Kaulig Racing car at Watkins Glen this weekend (Image: Getty)
During those days, he felt the need to prove himself each and every time he got on track.
“No matter whether it was a practice session, we were testing, or it was during the race…I did everything I could just to show that I had speed, just to try and make it to the next week”.
Now he’s proven he belongs here, and nobody can have any doubts. But the chip on his shoulder remains.
“I think that’s maybe still in my mentality, why I’m always pushing myself,” he says. “It’s still in my heart, ‘I’ve got to prove it’, whether it’s myself or…I don’t know.
“This is why I love this team, because they tell me, ‘you’ve got nothing to prove any more’, but I guess I’m still that rookie that has to prove it to myself.
“But I’d have never believed it. Those first few years were brutal. I used to hate when people would say, ‘this builds character’, because I was like, ‘I have enough character, I just want to stay in this sport!’.
“But it’s been a crazy ride to get here, and hopefully we keep adding to it.”
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Allmendinger arrived in NASCAR with Red Bull Racing and will enter his 20th season next year (Image: Getty)
Despite his proven performances in the Cup Series, Allmendinger is likely to never shake the perception he’s a ‘road course specialist’. It’s why he rightly enters this weekend at Watkins Glen with high hopes that he could potentially win his way into the playoffs.
“I’ve always joked around…it’s better than saying, ‘hey, you equally suck at everything’,” he laughs. “Like I say, it doesn’t bother me at all.
“I always feel, even on the road courses, I’ve got to be a lot better. I don’t mind it. I still get paid to drive race cars, and I know there’s certain ovals I show up to and it’d be, I wouldn’t say a miracle, but it’d be a shock to go and win that. But there are other ovals that I have a lot of confidence that in the right situation we can go and win.”
It’s also a perception that means Allmendinger often sneaks under the radar. It’s fair to say he’s probably the most underrated driver in the field.
“But I don’t mind flying under the radar,” he says. “For me, I’m not here for popularity or anything like that, I just want to keep giving us chances to run well.
“We make noise if we go and keep trying to be in front of the pack, winning races or contending for it, so that’s the ultimate goal.”
If Allmendinger was one of the original ‘road course ringers’, then Shane van Gisbergen has taken things to a new level. But his experience of learning the NASCAR ropes is vastly different.
“I can’t imagine showing up to these places with 25 minutes of practice and that’s all you get,” Allmendinger says. “So to be a rookie, and especially a guy like SVG in that he’s a true rookie in the sense of not having a lot of oval experience…
“And you could argue that it’s the most competitive that the Cup Series has been, maybe ever. So there’s nowhere to hide and it’s tough for these guys now coming into the sport.”
At this stage of his career, Allmendinger takes heart in the fact he’s still finding new ways to improve. While all the focus is on the likes of Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch extending their careers, Allmendinger also shows no signs of slowing down. He still has plenty of fuel left in the tank.
“Even as I’m getting older here, I still feel like I’m still getting better at it, right? There’s always stuff I can keep working on and try to be better for us.
“We’ve put a lot of effort into it this year, and I think that’s making a difference. To go and be contending each week for wins, we’ve still got a way to go, but the improvement has been there and, for me, I’m just always trying to get better.
“I feel like there’s always a lot I can work on to get better for all of us here. It definitely gives me the confidence that they keep believing in me and just push the program to be better.”
The 43-year-old insists he is still getting better (Image: Getty)
Allmendinger’s clear passion often comes through on the team radio, with the occasional hot-headed outburst or moment of outright frustration coming through the airwaves.
“The first thing for me, I always have all the passion for my race team,” he explains. “I think I’ve always been like that in any team I drive for, but it’s especially like that here.
“With Matt (Kaulig) and Chris (Rice) and the seven years that we’ve been together, the success that we’ve had, they make me feel like this is my team as well.
“First and foremost, that’s why I’m always the way I am. A lot of the frustration over the radio is more mad at myself, because I feel like I’m letting us down when we’re struggling.
“If you ask all the people that work with me on a race team, the one thing I truly care about is for them to say, ‘he cares’. He doesn’t give up, he drives every lap as hard as he can, and he cares for every one of us and what’s best for the race team.
“Sure, there’s times where maybe I go back and I’m like, ‘ooof, I wish I could take that back’, but I will never take back those emotions in that sense. It’s the way I am, and probably the way I always will be in my life.”
Given how his journey has played out, and the progress he’s made, there’s little need for Allmendinger to change. It’s served him well to this point, and the long road he’s cruising down still has plenty of tarmac left.