AJ Allmendinger and the No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang team qualified on pole for Saturday afternoon’s Johnsonville Sausage 200 at Road America.
Allmendinger finessed his Penske Ford around the 4.04-mile 14 Turn road course in 133.410 seconds at 109.233 miles per hour during the Saturday morning qualifying session. Sam Hornish Jr. will start from the eighth position in the No. 12 Snap-on Ford Mustang.
“I have to thank Roger Penske and all the people at Penske Racing,” said Allmendinger. “They have stuck with me and given me everything I need to go out there and do what I love to do. Our Discount Tire Ford was fast in practice yesterday, and I knew if I could put together a steady lap we would have a great shot at the pole and it worked out. We know what we need to do to finish up front, and that is what we plan on doing.”
Credit - Penske Racing
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Road America Race Preview
Driver: AJ Allmendinger
No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Primary Chassis: PRS-235 Last Raced: Bristol (finished 5th)
Backup Chassis: PRS-223 Last Raced: Bristol backup
• Welcome Back: AJ Allmendinger is returning to the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) this weekend after a five-year hiatus. His last start and his best finish (a 12th-place) came in Phoenix of 2008 while driving for Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. Between 2007 and 2008, Allmendinger made a total of eight NNS starts.
• Familiar with Victory Lane: Having two previous starts under his belt at Road America, Allmendinger made a trip to Victory Lane in 2006 in the CART Series. He also made a visit to the facility in the same series in 2004 where he finished 13th. His victory in 2006 marked his last win in an open-wheel series.
• Road Course Connoisseur: Over the last seven years, Allmendinger has competed in nine road course events on the NASCAR circuit. Out of those nine starts, he has completed over 900 miles as well as recorded eight top-15 finishes.
• Back behind the wheel: Allmendinger rejoins Penske Racing for two of the three Road Course events on the NNS schedule for the 2013 season. Competing in five IZOD IndyCar Series events for Team Penske earlier in the in the year, Allmendinger was credited with a fifth-place finish in his first Indianapolis 500.
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD
IT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS SINCE YOU LAST RACED IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RETURNING?
"I am very excited to be back behind the wheel of a NNS car and for none other than Roger Penske. It's been a few years since I've been in the series and I'm eager to return as the field of competition is the best it's ever been. Jeremy Bullins (crew chief) and the guys back in the shop have built an awesome Discount Tire Ford. I was fortunate enough to join the team in VIR (Virginia International Raceway) a few weeks ago for a test and log some laps in a Nationwide car, which was great experience as they handle differently than a Sprint Cup car."
YOUR LAST OPEN-WHEEL VICTORY CAME AT ROAD AMERICAN IN 2006; WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON COMING BACK?
"Road America has always been a good track for me. It is the most challenging of the natural road courses that I've ever experienced, yet still so much fun to drive. Getting my last victory in an open wheel car here means a lot to me and I'm ready to come back. I am hoping we can create the same magic that I had here then and bring home a win for Penske Racing and Discount Tire."
Credit - Penske Racing
No. 22 Discount Tire Ford Mustang
Primary Chassis: PRS-235 Last Raced: Bristol (finished 5th)
Backup Chassis: PRS-223 Last Raced: Bristol backup
• Welcome Back: AJ Allmendinger is returning to the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) this weekend after a five-year hiatus. His last start and his best finish (a 12th-place) came in Phoenix of 2008 while driving for Gillett-Evernham Motorsports. Between 2007 and 2008, Allmendinger made a total of eight NNS starts.
• Familiar with Victory Lane: Having two previous starts under his belt at Road America, Allmendinger made a trip to Victory Lane in 2006 in the CART Series. He also made a visit to the facility in the same series in 2004 where he finished 13th. His victory in 2006 marked his last win in an open-wheel series.
• Road Course Connoisseur: Over the last seven years, Allmendinger has competed in nine road course events on the NASCAR circuit. Out of those nine starts, he has completed over 900 miles as well as recorded eight top-15 finishes.
• Back behind the wheel: Allmendinger rejoins Penske Racing for two of the three Road Course events on the NNS schedule for the 2013 season. Competing in five IZOD IndyCar Series events for Team Penske earlier in the in the year, Allmendinger was credited with a fifth-place finish in his first Indianapolis 500.
AJ ALLMENDINGER, NO. 22 DISCOUNT TIRE FORD
IT'S BEEN FIVE YEARS SINCE YOU LAST RACED IN THE NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT RETURNING?
"I am very excited to be back behind the wheel of a NNS car and for none other than Roger Penske. It's been a few years since I've been in the series and I'm eager to return as the field of competition is the best it's ever been. Jeremy Bullins (crew chief) and the guys back in the shop have built an awesome Discount Tire Ford. I was fortunate enough to join the team in VIR (Virginia International Raceway) a few weeks ago for a test and log some laps in a Nationwide car, which was great experience as they handle differently than a Sprint Cup car."
YOUR LAST OPEN-WHEEL VICTORY CAME AT ROAD AMERICAN IN 2006; WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON COMING BACK?
"Road America has always been a good track for me. It is the most challenging of the natural road courses that I've ever experienced, yet still so much fun to drive. Getting my last victory in an open wheel car here means a lot to me and I'm ready to come back. I am hoping we can create the same magic that I had here then and bring home a win for Penske Racing and Discount Tire."
Credit - Penske Racing
Monday, May 13, 2013
Allmendinger to drive for Penske in Detroit
Team Penske today announced AJ Allmendinger will continue to enhance his IZOD IndyCar Series experience as he competes for the team at the upcoming Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans, May 31-June 2.
Allmendinger will drive the No. 2 Quicken Loans Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet at the newly-configured 2.3-mile Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit. As Allmendinger continues to get reacquainted to open-wheel racing this season after establishing his NASCAR career the last seven years, the Belle Isle race weekend will provide plenty of opportunity for experience. The event will host the first-ever INDYCAR doubleheader weekend as Allmendinger and the rest of the series drivers will compete in races on both Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m excited to race in Detroit. It’s a huge event for Chevrolet and it will be an honor to drive the Quicken Loans Chevy in the hometown of both of those organizations,” said Allmendinger. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge to compete in two races in one weekend but it’s a great opportunity for me to continue to improve and hopefully come away with two strong results at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans.”
Allmendinger joined the Team Penske IZOD IndyCar Series program this season as he returned to his open-wheel racing roots. The 31-year-old native of Los Gatos, California, raced at Barber Motorsports Park and at Long Beach in April and will drive the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske machine in the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.
“We are excited to see AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel of the Quicken Loans IndyCar here in Detroit,” said Jay Farner, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quicken Loans. “The entire Quicken Loans team is thrilled about the Grand Prix coming to our hometown, and now we have even more reason to cheer.”
After rising through the open-wheel ranks, Allmendinger emerged as a young star in the Champ Car World Series posting five wins and 14 podium finishes from 2004-06. He transitioned to stock car racing full-time in 2007 and he has enjoyed a solid career in NASCAR the past six seasons. Allmendinger parted ways with the Penske Racing NASCAR team last season.
The opportunity to reconnect with Team Penske emerged during the off-season as the team was looking for a third driver to work with Helio Castroneves and Will Power during select events in 2013. Originally scheduled to only compete at Barber and Indianapolis, Allmendinger has been solid in his return to IndyCar racing and Team Penske continues to look for opportunities to give the personable racer more experience adding races at Long Beach and now Detroit.
“We would like to thank Quicken Loans for their partnership and for providing this opportunity to race AJ in the Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle,” said Roger Penske. “With Penske Corporation, Chevrolet and Quicken Loans all calling Detroit home, this truly is a special event and we are excited to see AJ in action in the Quicken Loans Chevy.”
Allmendinger continues to show his diversity by also competing in NASCAR while he reconnects with his open-wheel heritage. He has raced in four Cup Series events this season for Phoenix Racing in addition to his IndyCar Series starts.
Credit - Penske Racing
Allmendinger will drive the No. 2 Quicken Loans Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet at the newly-configured 2.3-mile Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit. As Allmendinger continues to get reacquainted to open-wheel racing this season after establishing his NASCAR career the last seven years, the Belle Isle race weekend will provide plenty of opportunity for experience. The event will host the first-ever INDYCAR doubleheader weekend as Allmendinger and the rest of the series drivers will compete in races on both Saturday and Sunday.
“I’m excited to race in Detroit. It’s a huge event for Chevrolet and it will be an honor to drive the Quicken Loans Chevy in the hometown of both of those organizations,” said Allmendinger. “It’s definitely going to be a challenge to compete in two races in one weekend but it’s a great opportunity for me to continue to improve and hopefully come away with two strong results at the Chevrolet Indy Dual in Detroit presented by Quicken Loans.”
Allmendinger joined the Team Penske IZOD IndyCar Series program this season as he returned to his open-wheel racing roots. The 31-year-old native of Los Gatos, California, raced at Barber Motorsports Park and at Long Beach in April and will drive the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske machine in the Indianapolis 500 on May 26.
“We are excited to see AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel of the Quicken Loans IndyCar here in Detroit,” said Jay Farner, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quicken Loans. “The entire Quicken Loans team is thrilled about the Grand Prix coming to our hometown, and now we have even more reason to cheer.”
After rising through the open-wheel ranks, Allmendinger emerged as a young star in the Champ Car World Series posting five wins and 14 podium finishes from 2004-06. He transitioned to stock car racing full-time in 2007 and he has enjoyed a solid career in NASCAR the past six seasons. Allmendinger parted ways with the Penske Racing NASCAR team last season.
The opportunity to reconnect with Team Penske emerged during the off-season as the team was looking for a third driver to work with Helio Castroneves and Will Power during select events in 2013. Originally scheduled to only compete at Barber and Indianapolis, Allmendinger has been solid in his return to IndyCar racing and Team Penske continues to look for opportunities to give the personable racer more experience adding races at Long Beach and now Detroit.
“We would like to thank Quicken Loans for their partnership and for providing this opportunity to race AJ in the Dual in Detroit at Belle Isle,” said Roger Penske. “With Penske Corporation, Chevrolet and Quicken Loans all calling Detroit home, this truly is a special event and we are excited to see AJ in action in the Quicken Loans Chevy.”
Allmendinger continues to show his diversity by also competing in NASCAR while he reconnects with his open-wheel heritage. He has raced in four Cup Series events this season for Phoenix Racing in addition to his IndyCar Series starts.
Credit - Penske Racing
Indy 500 - Second Practice Notes & Quotes
AJ Allmendinger of Team Penske made the most of his second day of practice Sunday for the Indianapolis 500.
Allmendinger, the only Team Penske driver to practice in the chilly conditions with temperatures in the 50s at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the six-hour session, had the fifth-fastest lap of the day. His No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet was clocked at 221.279 mph, the best of his 40 laps.
“Another day in the learning process today and we got a couple different things tested in the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet that should be helpful as we move on,” said Allmendinger, who noted after the session that 221.279 mph was the fastest he had ever been in a car.
“We did a couple of short runs and a full-tank run so I could see how the car would feel and I am getting more comfortable with it. To a certain degree I also got to see how the car is going to react in traffic and I thought that was really good.”
Allmendinger, who did not participate in the first session of the day, waited until late in the afternoon to begin his practice after the second rookie orientation program ended.
“Obviously the cold conditions are a little different than what we will probably have for the race,” noted Allmendinger. “But to do a race run the car felt pretty good and I’m happy with the progress we made.”
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and teammate Will Power took the day off after participating in Saturday’s first practice session. Sunday’s cold temperatures led to less-than-ideal conditions to prepare for the 500-mile race on May 26th.
Credit - Penske Racing
“Another day in the learning process today and we got a couple different things tested in the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet that should be helpful as we move on,” said Allmendinger, who noted after the session that 221.279 mph was the fastest he had ever been in a car.
“We did a couple of short runs and a full-tank run so I could see how the car would feel and I am getting more comfortable with it. To a certain degree I also got to see how the car is going to react in traffic and I thought that was really good.”
Allmendinger, who did not participate in the first session of the day, waited until late in the afternoon to begin his practice after the second rookie orientation program ended.
“Obviously the cold conditions are a little different than what we will probably have for the race,” noted Allmendinger. “But to do a race run the car felt pretty good and I’m happy with the progress we made.”
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves and teammate Will Power took the day off after participating in Saturday’s first practice session. Sunday’s cold temperatures led to less-than-ideal conditions to prepare for the 500-mile race on May 26th.
Credit - Penske Racing
Indy 500 - First Practice Notes & Quotes
AJ completed his Rookie Orientation Program in just under an hour to get certified for the big race at the end of the month. After a shakedown of the car by teammate Helio Castroneves, AJ took the required laps and then spent the rest of the day practicing something relatively new to him - driving an oval in an open-wheel car.
While AJ has raced several times in a Sprint Cup car at the famed Brickyard, this was his first time making laps in the style of car that he cut his teeth on coming up through the racing ranks. So how did he do? He topped both of his teammates times and ended up 8th overall in practice times during his first day on track. Here are some quotes from the day:
While AJ has raced several times in a Sprint Cup car at the famed Brickyard, this was his first time making laps in the style of car that he cut his teeth on coming up through the racing ranks. So how did he do? He topped both of his teammates times and ended up 8th overall in practice times during his first day on track. Here are some quotes from the day:
AJ ALLMENDINGER (No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet): (Does
previous experience here help?): "No. No. It just tells me that there are
four corners around this racetrack and I have an understanding of what they
feel like. Obviously, it's two different race cars. Completely different race
cars. The line and just the way the track feels, that I kind of knew, but from
there it's a completely different technique of how to get in the corners. You
can't hit the brake pedal, and you don't want to lift. Trying to get used to
that. The first few laps when I was trying to go wide-open, the right foot was
quivering. I had to get the left foot to hold it down and say, 'OK, it's time
to get used to this.' It was enjoyable."
AJ ALLMENDINGER (No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet):
"Oh, I'm a rookie. I feel like it out there. I have to admit, the first
lap on the racetrack was pretty special going down the back straightaway and
thinking about that I was at Indy preparing for the Indy 500, especially being
in a Roger Penske race car. For me, it was pretty cool. I was kind of just
thinking about that as I was going down the straightaway. Then I realized that
corner comes up really quick, so I should start focusing again. All around for
me, I thought it was better than expected. I didn't really know what to expect.
I was pretty much making myself nervous and stressing myself out thinking about
what was going to happen. You know, I really have to thank Helio (Castroneves)
a lot, because for him to shake the car down was one thing. But to be there on
the headset talking to me before, during and after; that guy's obviously got a
wealth of knowledge and experience at this place. For him to take the time out
of the day when he could have been working on his own program or just back at
the trailer relaxing, it meant a lot to me. I have to thank him a lot for
getting me up to speed pretty quick."
Allmendinger leads team Penske through first practice day on Indianapolis 500
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Team Penske began preparation to chase its record 16th
victory in the Indianapolis 500 with strong laps Saturday during the opening
day of practice for the 97th of the running of the 500-mile race at the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The story of the day for Team Penske was AJ Allmendinger easily passing his rookie orientation program, clearing the way for the driver of the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet to begin practicing for his first open-wheel competition at the legendary Brickyard.
In his first official practice day, Allmendinger paced the three Team Penske entries with a fast lap of 218.967 mph, which placed him eighth overall on the IZOD IndyCar Series timing chart.
“I went down the back straightaway the first lap thinking to myself this is pretty sweet; I’m driving the IZOD Team Penske car on the backstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Allmendinger, who completed 52 laps within an hour to pass his rookie test.
“I have to thank (Team Penske teammate) Helio (Castroneves) just a ton because his going out there and shaking the car down and just talking to me just made me a lot more calm than I would have been without him.”
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves recorded a fast lap of 217.923 mph in the No. 3 Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra Dallara/Chevrolet, the 12th-fastest lap of opening day.
The Brazilian driver will attempt to tie the record of four career Indy victories when the famed race gets underway May 26 and he is one of seven drivers to have won Indy three times. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Team Penske advisor Rick Mears share the record of four victories.
"It felt really good to be back in the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet here at Indy. It's always a special feeling when you take the track for the first time,” said Castroneves, who spent the first practice session shaking down the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevy to prepare for Allmendinger’s rookie orientation.
“We were able to shakedown the No. 2 IZOD car for AJ and do the same for our car which is what we wanted to accomplish. AJ did a great job today, it was really fun being a part of the Rookie Orientation process with him, and I look forward to having him as a teammate here."
Will Power was clocked at 217.595 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet, good for 14th-fastest of the six-hour session. Power, who finished 28th in 2012 after Mike Conway’s car made contact with him, is looking for his first victory at the historic 2.5-mile speedway.
"It was a good opening day for the Verizon team, we were able to shakedown the car and everything feels good,” said Power, who enters the race looking for his first win of 2013. “It's obviously a long couple weeks and we are taking this step by step to be where we need to be for the race."
As has become a Team Penske tradition, Castroneves was first on track Saturday, leaving the pits in Allmendinger’s car at 12:08 p.m. It marked the fourth consecutive year that a Team Penske car was first on track for opening day.
Allmendinger appreciated what the veteran Team Penske driver provided him as he began his first practice session. “It’s meant a lot for him to help me. You know, he could have easily just went and drove the car and said it was fine and walked away and focused on his program," said Allmendinger of Castroneves.
"But he’s here, talking to me. When we are back in the pits and he is showing me, teaching me and just talking to me. My teammates here, Will and Helio, they’ve been amazing since I showed up, and I feel very fortunate to have them.”
Teams will continue practicing each day through Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pole qualifying is scheduled to begin Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. It will be televised live by NBC Sports Network, which also will air a special preview Friday at 3:30 p.m.
ABC’s race broadcast is set to begin at noon on Sunday, May 26.
Credit - Penske Racing
The story of the day for Team Penske was AJ Allmendinger easily passing his rookie orientation program, clearing the way for the driver of the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet to begin practicing for his first open-wheel competition at the legendary Brickyard.
In his first official practice day, Allmendinger paced the three Team Penske entries with a fast lap of 218.967 mph, which placed him eighth overall on the IZOD IndyCar Series timing chart.
“I went down the back straightaway the first lap thinking to myself this is pretty sweet; I’m driving the IZOD Team Penske car on the backstretch of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Allmendinger, who completed 52 laps within an hour to pass his rookie test.
“I have to thank (Team Penske teammate) Helio (Castroneves) just a ton because his going out there and shaking the car down and just talking to me just made me a lot more calm than I would have been without him.”
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves recorded a fast lap of 217.923 mph in the No. 3 Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra Dallara/Chevrolet, the 12th-fastest lap of opening day.
The Brazilian driver will attempt to tie the record of four career Indy victories when the famed race gets underway May 26 and he is one of seven drivers to have won Indy three times. A.J. Foyt, Al Unser and Team Penske advisor Rick Mears share the record of four victories.
"It felt really good to be back in the Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet here at Indy. It's always a special feeling when you take the track for the first time,” said Castroneves, who spent the first practice session shaking down the No. 2 IZOD Team Penske Chevy to prepare for Allmendinger’s rookie orientation.
“We were able to shakedown the No. 2 IZOD car for AJ and do the same for our car which is what we wanted to accomplish. AJ did a great job today, it was really fun being a part of the Rookie Orientation process with him, and I look forward to having him as a teammate here."
Will Power was clocked at 217.595 mph in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet, good for 14th-fastest of the six-hour session. Power, who finished 28th in 2012 after Mike Conway’s car made contact with him, is looking for his first victory at the historic 2.5-mile speedway.
"It was a good opening day for the Verizon team, we were able to shakedown the car and everything feels good,” said Power, who enters the race looking for his first win of 2013. “It's obviously a long couple weeks and we are taking this step by step to be where we need to be for the race."
As has become a Team Penske tradition, Castroneves was first on track Saturday, leaving the pits in Allmendinger’s car at 12:08 p.m. It marked the fourth consecutive year that a Team Penske car was first on track for opening day.
Allmendinger appreciated what the veteran Team Penske driver provided him as he began his first practice session. “It’s meant a lot for him to help me. You know, he could have easily just went and drove the car and said it was fine and walked away and focused on his program," said Allmendinger of Castroneves.
"But he’s here, talking to me. When we are back in the pits and he is showing me, teaching me and just talking to me. My teammates here, Will and Helio, they’ve been amazing since I showed up, and I feel very fortunate to have them.”
Teams will continue practicing each day through Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Pole qualifying is scheduled to begin Saturday at 11 a.m. ET. It will be televised live by NBC Sports Network, which also will air a special preview Friday at 3:30 p.m.
ABC’s race broadcast is set to begin at noon on Sunday, May 26.
Credit - Penske Racing
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
IndyCar Media Conference Transcript
MODERATOR: Welcome, everyone, to today's INDYCAR conference call. We're pleased to be joined by one of the drivers from Team Penske today, AJ Allmendinger. Welcome to today's call. AJ drives the No. 2 Team Penske Chevrolet and made his IZOD IndyCar Series debut over the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. He'll drive the Penske Automotive Chevrolet at Long Beach and the IZOD Team Penske Chevrolet in the Indianapolis 500 in May. Let's talk a little bit about the race weekend in Barber. You qualified 10th, didn't get the result that you had hoped for, but you still have to consider it a good weekend.
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, overall I thought it was pretty good. I felt like I had pretty good pace comparative to everybody there at least. At least I was in the mix of it and felt good just to ‑‑ from testing there and going over everything and preparing for the weekend, just to be closer to Will (Power) and Helio (Castroneves) time‑wise, and felt like I was at least able to bring a little something to the team to try to help everybody in the whole organization. As you said, the result kind of wasn't what I wanted, but I felt pretty good in the race to have the pace where I did and run inside the Top 10 early on. Just kind of part of the learning curve about going through the race strategy and working with Roger (Penske) for the first time and having him call my race and just kind of everything that goes with that. I'm just trying to take the result out of it completely and not look at that. I felt really good about the weekend. I was nervous about how my fitness would be in the race and I felt really good after the race and during the race. All in all, except for the finish itself, I was pretty happy with the weekend.
Q. Over the weekend it came out that Team Penske would field you at Long Beach. That's a place that you're very familiar with from your time in Champ Car. What do you remember about racing at Long Beach, and now that you've driven in INDYCAR, what do you expect?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'm really excited to go to Long Beach. That was always one of my favorite races on the Champ Car schedule, and it's a good atmosphere. It's just a place where just the energy level of the crowd, you get a ton of people out to the race, and the crowd level is always ‑‑ the energy just around the whole event, you feel like you're at an event, not that you're just at a race. It's a whole weekend, and I've always enjoyed that. I think the layout of the racetrack itself is actually the same as when I used to run it. I won the Toyota Atlantic race there back in 2003, and felt always pretty quick there in Champ Car. I'm looking forward to it, and to be able to go back and kind of get another race under our belts before Indy is going to be important, and just try to keep getting better. I think obviously the Penske organization, they have a great car on the road course and street course tracks especially. So I'm looking forward to that, and it's just kind of the same thing, going through the process of the weekend, and hopefully I can get up to speed pretty quick, not having a lot of track time there, and I'll be studying a lot of data, a lot of video before that, so I am really excited to go there.
Q. Finally, you were supposed to get your first look at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week with the rookie orientation, but unfortunately the weather forecast doesn't look too good so it's been postponed. Depending on its reschedule, does that affect the schedule you have going between Indy cars and stock cars?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: No. The IndyCar thing, especially with everything that comes to (the) Indy 500 in general, that's the most important thing. The good thing is that Phoenix Racing has worked with me, and Roger and James Finch, especially, to make sure that everything kind of lined up, and James knows that the Indy car, just everything that comes along with it whatever race, not just Indy but anything that comes up on the schedule, that takes priority. It doesn't mess me up. I think it's going to be good because I can kind of go into Indy week and get focused and be able to go through rookie orientation on Friday now, and to be able to kind of have that just lead into the start of the two weeks of Indy is really good, instead of maybe just doing one day like I was going to do and maybe do a couple Cup races in between, and obviously Long Beach would have been in between. So I think just to be able to do that day and kind of kick that off for the two weeks is going to be good.
Q. You're trying to do everything that you can to improve yourself in a hurry. I hear that you're going to even possibly run a race following the Long Beach race. Is this written in stone yet or is that something that's just potential?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'll be racing on the Cup schedule at Richmond after Long Beach, nothing Indy car wise. I think the only race that they have after that is Brazil. Just kind of before Indy ‑‑ for me it's just trying to race as much as possible, whether it's in IndyCar or a stock car or anything that goes with that, just as much as I can being inside a race car. I feel like it just keeps helping me get better and better no matter what car I'm in.
Q. And how much of an adjustment was it to the newest Indy car?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: It's huge. I'm still learning it. I'm nowhere where I want to be when it comes to being competitive. I want to go out there and contend to win races. It's been tough, and this series, especially in the IZOD IndyCar Series, there's no hacks out there. The men and women that drive in this series, it is so competitive now, it's by far ‑‑ at that point when I used to race Champ Car, obviously the two series were split, so you had some of the best drivers split amongst two series, and now that it's one series and everybody in the series is so fast, it's competitive. Just trying to learn the car and then go out there and compete at a high level, it's been a tough adjustment, but I enjoy the challenge. I'm having fun with it. As I said, I went to Barber and felt pretty good. I was kind of inside the top 10 all weekend in speed, through practices and in the race. I'm getting closer but still have a ways to go.
Q. Just trying to figure out your Cup schedule. Is Richmond really your only race between now and I guess the end of May?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah. Right now it is, and kind of looking at the schedule, obviously running Long Beach next week, and that's Kansas weekend, the weekend after that is Richmond, and then Talladega, and really Talladega would be the only race I could run, and Regan (Smith) has done such a good job for Phoenix Racing on the superspeedway races, I think he'll probably be in for that race. At that point the weekend after that is really kind of the start of Indy. Now rookie Orientation has moved to that Friday, which would be Darlington weekend, and then I think the track opens on Sunday anyway. At that point my focus needs to be on INDYCAR and the month of May. Richmond is kind of the only thing ‑‑ obviously I was going to try to run Texas this weekend, and then Phoenix Racing, they're doing everything they can to find sponsorships, so Austin Dillon brought sponsorship to them, and I understand kind of the position, and I'm OK with that. Richmond will probably be it.
Q. When you were racing NASCAR full‑time, how much attention were you paying to Indy and what was going on there, and what do you think it's going to be like to race there in an IndyCar?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Oh, man, I always loved watching INDYCAR. It's not like I left Champ Car and just forgot about open-wheel racing. I've always loved open-wheel racing. I've always had friends that have been in the IndyCar Series, so I've always kept up with it, and then especially the Indy 500. It's always fun to kind of ‑‑ it's been fun to watch and kind of see how the process of the weeks go and practice and everything like that. So I was always up to date with it, and obviously when we're at Charlotte at that point, kind of be able to watch most of the Indy 500 before any kind of sponsor thing started and drivers' meetings, et cetera, for the 600. So I'm really looking forward to going there and kind of going through the process and learning. I'll be definitely nervous going to the track for the first time and rolling out of Gasoline Alley and going down the front straightaway for the first time in the IndyCar. It's going to be nerve‑racking but exciting at the same time. From there, it's just about a process. You get a lot of track time and you don't have to rush anything, don't have to go out there and set the world on fire on the first day. Just going through the process of it and getting to the actual race.
Q. You say that you're still learning the process, the process is still ongoing. What are your realistic expectations for the next couple of races in IndyCar? What are you expecting to learn or hoping to learn?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I guess expectations, that's a tough thing to try to set for myself because in my heart and in my head I want to go out there and win races. As I stated many times now, I don't want to waste Roger's time. I don't want to waste IZOD's time, I don't want to waste anybody's time at this organization to go out there and just go run around laps and try to learn. I want to go out there and compete right away. But everybody in the series is so quick, and it's so competitive. You know, I think the on‑track racing of this series is some of the best that I've ever seen, and I've watched open wheel racing really ever since I was born and growing up, and I think it's some of the most competitive racing that it's ever been. To try to just get people to understand that and get the outside world that doesn't know IndyCar racing to understand that and see how competitive and how great this series is ‑‑ you know, going to Long Beach, I just want to keep improving. It's a track that I know kind of, but it's been seven years and haven't been in one of these cars around the place, but at least kind of know the layout of it. My expectations are to go there and just try to keep getting better from where I was at Barber. And then like I said at Indy, I want to go try to win the race. That's why I'm there. That's why Roger hired me is to have the expectations to win. Like I said, the good thing there is you get a lot of time to go out there and learn the racetrack and go through the days of practice and go into qualifying and then get the race setup. You know, expectations for me, it kind of changes always throughout a weekend, but I expect to go out there and compete at a high level and hopefully go try to win these races.
Q. And you were mentioning that any track time, whether it's in a stock car or in an IndyCar is helpful for that transition. Does that mean you feel like some of the things you're learning in NASCAR are helping you transition over to IndyCar, as well?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I don't know if it's about transitioning into an IndyCar, but I think just competing in general and racing and being in a race car for me is ‑‑ it just only helps. It's good to be at the Penske organization and working out and doing things like that and studying data and video and all that. But nothing beats track time, whether it's an IndyCar or stock car or sports car or go‑kart, whatever, it's been good for me to go jump back and forth. For me I think more than anything it really helps me focus, as well, because every weekend I jump back and forth or one weekend I'm in something, the next weekend I go to the next thing, and it really helps me focus to be at my best because I know I've got to go out there and adjust again to what kind of vehicle I'm in. I've really enjoyed the challenge so far, and hopefully I can continue doing it. We'll just kind of see how the next little span of these two months go and see where it goes to.
Q. You're not the usual rookie going into Indy. You have a lot of experience, you've driven in Champ Car, you've driven in NASCAR, you're not like a guy like Vautier coming in for the first time and never driven a car on these tracks. How much of a disadvantage are you really at going into the Indy 500 with guys that are 15‑year veterans who have been racing those cars for an entire year? How much ground do you have to make up?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, it's kind of interesting, I guess I'm not the typical rookie, but you've got a guy like Vautier, he ran around Indy in an open‑wheel car. It was an Indy Lights car, but he's been on some of these bigger racetracks, and when I raced Champ Car, I was never ‑‑ the biggest racetrack that I really raced on was Milwaukee. We did a couple of races in Vegas, but that was with big wings and the speed wasn't that high, so I don't even look at that race like it was something that I learned from. You know, it's part of being a rookie, going out there and learning, and the good thing that I have is I have teammates that have been so helpful to me with Helio and Will, and obviously Helio's record around there, it speaks for itself. To have guys like that, they've been so helpful in everything that I've gotten into, whether it was the test at Sebring or Barber or even Texas and obviously the race weekend at Barber, they've just been so supportive, and it's been a lot of fun. It's an amazing to be a part of, to feel so close to my teammates. It's made it really exciting. To have them at Indy is going to be a big help. Obviously Rick Mears has been a huge help and will be a huge help at Indy for me, and Roger himself. I feel like I've got a good supporting cast around me. The cars will be fast. And it's just like I said, it's the process of leading up to it. For me mentally I've got to make sure I don't go out there and try to just set the world on fire at day one, and that's a place you can't over‑push yourself. You've got to kind of let it lead into it. For me I think it's about going out there and having the mindset of taking it step by step and I don't have to be the fastest on the speed charts on day one. We've seen it plenty of times: Rookies can come in and win the race, so that's what I want to do.
Q. Is the biggest challenge trying to figure out before the race how the car is going to run in traffic? You and Will and Helio can maybe run together a little bit, but the other guys aren't going to help you to figure that out. Is that going to be a big adjustment during the race for you, just running the car in traffic and all the stuff going on around you?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, for the most part that'll be a big adjustment. As you said, Carb Day you can go run in traffic a little bit, but it's not the same as dropping the green flag with 33 cars. But just track conditions and how track conditions change throughout a race, whether it's hot or cold and how the tires go off at Indy, in an IndyCar. There's a lot of stuff that I'm going to have to learn from, but you really can't do anything about it until you get to the race. So I think just leading up to it is the best thing that I can do and we can do as a race team is just try to make everything as comfortable as possible, and hopefully I don't have to adjust in traffic. Hopefully we're fast up front leading the race. It's all part of the fun and part of the challenge of going out there and running this race for the first time.
Q. You've been there in NASCAR previously, but does the Indy 500 still kind of hold a special mystique? Is this going to be a huge thing for you when you're sitting on the grid and getting ready to go?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Oh, yeah. I mean, to me the Indy 500 is still the biggest race in the world, and it's just ‑‑ it's Indy. You really can't say anything more about it. It's the Indianapolis 500, and for me to get to run it first of all is just a dream come true. I always wanted to run the race and just never got a chance to, and secondly, to be able to do that with Roger Penske and walk out of Gasoline Alley and be introduced wearing an IZOD Penske Racing suit is something special, and no matter what happens during the race obviously I want to go out there and try to win the race, but no matter what happens just to be able to say that I was there as a Penske driver at the Indianapolis 500, it's pretty special and I'll always hold that with me. Hopefully it's the first of many, but to go out there for the first time and have my parents there, especially my dad that named me after AJ Foyt and always wanted me ‑‑ this is what he dreamed of is me running the Indianapolis 500. To have my parents there with me will be really special, as well.
Q. Several years ago we spoke before the Long Beach Grand Prix and back then you were one of the young stars of what was left of Champ Car at that time and one of the few Americans. Do you ever look back at the decision to go to NASCAR and wonder if you made the right decision? I know IndyCar has had a lot of problems between that time, but do you ever look back at the decision and wonder what if?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: No, not at all. For me it's always about looking forward. I don't think you ever regret anything that happens, you just learn from it and move forward, and that's what I try to do in everything that's happened in my life. You know, to look back and say what if, I mean, I may have never had a chance to run with Roger Penske. If I wasn't in Cup and got signed by him, maybe this opportunity never happened to run the Indy 500 with Roger Penske. You can't ever change the past, so for me I don't ever look back at it and wonder. I feel very fortunate in everything that's happened to me. I got to drive for Richard Petty. I've gotten to drive for Roger Penske now. I feel very fortunate. And yeah, there's certain things like maybe I'd like the results to be better or certain things to have happened, but I'm happy where I'm at, and I'm excited for this opportunity. You know, and I hope that the IndyCar Series can keep growing. There's so much great things about it, it just needs to be marketed better and it needs to be noticed more on a bigger platform. Maybe if I can bring just a little light to that from my background now and let the eyes of maybe the NASCAR side of it or just people in general to know that this is a great series, and there's so many things that ‑‑ about this series that make it one of the best things in the world to be a part of. Hopefully it can just keep growing. The potential is there, it just needs to keep growing.
Q. The split between Champ Car and IndyCar kind of cost you a lot of shots of spending the month of May in Indy. How heavy did that weigh on you during those days, like '04, '05 and '06 and did you think about being there and think, geez, I may never get there?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Of course back in the Champ Car days I always wanted to be there. You know, it was a race that ‑‑ especially in Champ Car, because we'd sit there and watch it on TV because we weren't racing. Yeah, I really wanted to be there. You know, I don't feel like it's cost me anything. It's just the way it's happened, and it's the way things kind of went about, and I think you ask anybody in open wheel racing right now, do they wish the split never happened, we all wish it never happened, but it did, and we're here now. More than anything I just wish the split never happened, it never got to that point to where it cost 15 years of all the best in the world racing against each other and things like that, but we can't go back and change that.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about your ability to adapt and adjust? You've gone from go‑karts to open wheel to NASCAR, back to IndyCar. That's a lot of upward and a lot of adapting and you have a lot of skills to be able to accomplish that.
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah. You know, I'm trying. I guess I'm kind of writing each chapter and seeing how it goes. But I have fun with it. Like I said, it's a challenge that I feel very fortunate this year to have the opportunity to go do, to go run sports cars and then jump into a Cup car and then jump into an IndyCar. It's something that I take pride in, in trying to be the best at to be able to do that and say I can go jump in one and go jump in the next and not just be out there but be really competitive. I'm trying as hard as I can do. Honestly, that's all I can do, and that's the way I look at it, that I'm just going out there and I'm enjoying it. I'm looking at it as a huge challenge that I love to try to tackle and go out there and enjoy, because there's not a lot of people that get to do that anymore like they used to in the old days. You know, we'll kind of see how it goes. I'm having a lot of fun, and as I said, I feel like the IndyCar side of it, I've still got a ways to go to go out there and compete with guys like Will and Helio and Ryan Hunter‑Reay and Hinchcliffe and the best in the series, Scott Dixon and those guys, to go out there and compete at a high level and know that I can go beat them. But in the short amount of time, it's been a lot of fun so far.
Q. Is there any way that your experience could give you an edge anywhere on the track?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'm not sure about that. Maybe like at Indy if they start running the top around, right against the wall, I might be able to do that like we do in the Cup car. But other than that, these guys are so good in both sides of it, in the NASCAR world and the IndyCar world, my experience in any of that is not going to beat the guys, because unfortunately in the IndyCar side of it, there's plenty of more guys that have a lot more experience out there than me right now, and the NASCAR side of it is the same way. All I can control is just me myself trying to get better, mentally, physically, emotionally, get everything I can out of myself, so that's all I can do and that's what I'm working on.
MODERATOR: We will thank AJ for his time today and wish him the best of luck in a couple weeks at Long Beach and in the month of May at the Indy 500.
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, overall I thought it was pretty good. I felt like I had pretty good pace comparative to everybody there at least. At least I was in the mix of it and felt good just to ‑‑ from testing there and going over everything and preparing for the weekend, just to be closer to Will (Power) and Helio (Castroneves) time‑wise, and felt like I was at least able to bring a little something to the team to try to help everybody in the whole organization. As you said, the result kind of wasn't what I wanted, but I felt pretty good in the race to have the pace where I did and run inside the Top 10 early on. Just kind of part of the learning curve about going through the race strategy and working with Roger (Penske) for the first time and having him call my race and just kind of everything that goes with that. I'm just trying to take the result out of it completely and not look at that. I felt really good about the weekend. I was nervous about how my fitness would be in the race and I felt really good after the race and during the race. All in all, except for the finish itself, I was pretty happy with the weekend.
Q. Over the weekend it came out that Team Penske would field you at Long Beach. That's a place that you're very familiar with from your time in Champ Car. What do you remember about racing at Long Beach, and now that you've driven in INDYCAR, what do you expect?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'm really excited to go to Long Beach. That was always one of my favorite races on the Champ Car schedule, and it's a good atmosphere. It's just a place where just the energy level of the crowd, you get a ton of people out to the race, and the crowd level is always ‑‑ the energy just around the whole event, you feel like you're at an event, not that you're just at a race. It's a whole weekend, and I've always enjoyed that. I think the layout of the racetrack itself is actually the same as when I used to run it. I won the Toyota Atlantic race there back in 2003, and felt always pretty quick there in Champ Car. I'm looking forward to it, and to be able to go back and kind of get another race under our belts before Indy is going to be important, and just try to keep getting better. I think obviously the Penske organization, they have a great car on the road course and street course tracks especially. So I'm looking forward to that, and it's just kind of the same thing, going through the process of the weekend, and hopefully I can get up to speed pretty quick, not having a lot of track time there, and I'll be studying a lot of data, a lot of video before that, so I am really excited to go there.
Q. Finally, you were supposed to get your first look at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week with the rookie orientation, but unfortunately the weather forecast doesn't look too good so it's been postponed. Depending on its reschedule, does that affect the schedule you have going between Indy cars and stock cars?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: No. The IndyCar thing, especially with everything that comes to (the) Indy 500 in general, that's the most important thing. The good thing is that Phoenix Racing has worked with me, and Roger and James Finch, especially, to make sure that everything kind of lined up, and James knows that the Indy car, just everything that comes along with it whatever race, not just Indy but anything that comes up on the schedule, that takes priority. It doesn't mess me up. I think it's going to be good because I can kind of go into Indy week and get focused and be able to go through rookie orientation on Friday now, and to be able to kind of have that just lead into the start of the two weeks of Indy is really good, instead of maybe just doing one day like I was going to do and maybe do a couple Cup races in between, and obviously Long Beach would have been in between. So I think just to be able to do that day and kind of kick that off for the two weeks is going to be good.
Q. You're trying to do everything that you can to improve yourself in a hurry. I hear that you're going to even possibly run a race following the Long Beach race. Is this written in stone yet or is that something that's just potential?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'll be racing on the Cup schedule at Richmond after Long Beach, nothing Indy car wise. I think the only race that they have after that is Brazil. Just kind of before Indy ‑‑ for me it's just trying to race as much as possible, whether it's in IndyCar or a stock car or anything that goes with that, just as much as I can being inside a race car. I feel like it just keeps helping me get better and better no matter what car I'm in.
Q. And how much of an adjustment was it to the newest Indy car?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: It's huge. I'm still learning it. I'm nowhere where I want to be when it comes to being competitive. I want to go out there and contend to win races. It's been tough, and this series, especially in the IZOD IndyCar Series, there's no hacks out there. The men and women that drive in this series, it is so competitive now, it's by far ‑‑ at that point when I used to race Champ Car, obviously the two series were split, so you had some of the best drivers split amongst two series, and now that it's one series and everybody in the series is so fast, it's competitive. Just trying to learn the car and then go out there and compete at a high level, it's been a tough adjustment, but I enjoy the challenge. I'm having fun with it. As I said, I went to Barber and felt pretty good. I was kind of inside the top 10 all weekend in speed, through practices and in the race. I'm getting closer but still have a ways to go.
Q. Just trying to figure out your Cup schedule. Is Richmond really your only race between now and I guess the end of May?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah. Right now it is, and kind of looking at the schedule, obviously running Long Beach next week, and that's Kansas weekend, the weekend after that is Richmond, and then Talladega, and really Talladega would be the only race I could run, and Regan (Smith) has done such a good job for Phoenix Racing on the superspeedway races, I think he'll probably be in for that race. At that point the weekend after that is really kind of the start of Indy. Now rookie Orientation has moved to that Friday, which would be Darlington weekend, and then I think the track opens on Sunday anyway. At that point my focus needs to be on INDYCAR and the month of May. Richmond is kind of the only thing ‑‑ obviously I was going to try to run Texas this weekend, and then Phoenix Racing, they're doing everything they can to find sponsorships, so Austin Dillon brought sponsorship to them, and I understand kind of the position, and I'm OK with that. Richmond will probably be it.
Q. When you were racing NASCAR full‑time, how much attention were you paying to Indy and what was going on there, and what do you think it's going to be like to race there in an IndyCar?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Oh, man, I always loved watching INDYCAR. It's not like I left Champ Car and just forgot about open-wheel racing. I've always loved open-wheel racing. I've always had friends that have been in the IndyCar Series, so I've always kept up with it, and then especially the Indy 500. It's always fun to kind of ‑‑ it's been fun to watch and kind of see how the process of the weeks go and practice and everything like that. So I was always up to date with it, and obviously when we're at Charlotte at that point, kind of be able to watch most of the Indy 500 before any kind of sponsor thing started and drivers' meetings, et cetera, for the 600. So I'm really looking forward to going there and kind of going through the process and learning. I'll be definitely nervous going to the track for the first time and rolling out of Gasoline Alley and going down the front straightaway for the first time in the IndyCar. It's going to be nerve‑racking but exciting at the same time. From there, it's just about a process. You get a lot of track time and you don't have to rush anything, don't have to go out there and set the world on fire on the first day. Just going through the process of it and getting to the actual race.
Q. You say that you're still learning the process, the process is still ongoing. What are your realistic expectations for the next couple of races in IndyCar? What are you expecting to learn or hoping to learn?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I guess expectations, that's a tough thing to try to set for myself because in my heart and in my head I want to go out there and win races. As I stated many times now, I don't want to waste Roger's time. I don't want to waste IZOD's time, I don't want to waste anybody's time at this organization to go out there and just go run around laps and try to learn. I want to go out there and compete right away. But everybody in the series is so quick, and it's so competitive. You know, I think the on‑track racing of this series is some of the best that I've ever seen, and I've watched open wheel racing really ever since I was born and growing up, and I think it's some of the most competitive racing that it's ever been. To try to just get people to understand that and get the outside world that doesn't know IndyCar racing to understand that and see how competitive and how great this series is ‑‑ you know, going to Long Beach, I just want to keep improving. It's a track that I know kind of, but it's been seven years and haven't been in one of these cars around the place, but at least kind of know the layout of it. My expectations are to go there and just try to keep getting better from where I was at Barber. And then like I said at Indy, I want to go try to win the race. That's why I'm there. That's why Roger hired me is to have the expectations to win. Like I said, the good thing there is you get a lot of time to go out there and learn the racetrack and go through the days of practice and go into qualifying and then get the race setup. You know, expectations for me, it kind of changes always throughout a weekend, but I expect to go out there and compete at a high level and hopefully go try to win these races.
Q. And you were mentioning that any track time, whether it's in a stock car or in an IndyCar is helpful for that transition. Does that mean you feel like some of the things you're learning in NASCAR are helping you transition over to IndyCar, as well?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I don't know if it's about transitioning into an IndyCar, but I think just competing in general and racing and being in a race car for me is ‑‑ it just only helps. It's good to be at the Penske organization and working out and doing things like that and studying data and video and all that. But nothing beats track time, whether it's an IndyCar or stock car or sports car or go‑kart, whatever, it's been good for me to go jump back and forth. For me I think more than anything it really helps me focus, as well, because every weekend I jump back and forth or one weekend I'm in something, the next weekend I go to the next thing, and it really helps me focus to be at my best because I know I've got to go out there and adjust again to what kind of vehicle I'm in. I've really enjoyed the challenge so far, and hopefully I can continue doing it. We'll just kind of see how the next little span of these two months go and see where it goes to.
Q. You're not the usual rookie going into Indy. You have a lot of experience, you've driven in Champ Car, you've driven in NASCAR, you're not like a guy like Vautier coming in for the first time and never driven a car on these tracks. How much of a disadvantage are you really at going into the Indy 500 with guys that are 15‑year veterans who have been racing those cars for an entire year? How much ground do you have to make up?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, it's kind of interesting, I guess I'm not the typical rookie, but you've got a guy like Vautier, he ran around Indy in an open‑wheel car. It was an Indy Lights car, but he's been on some of these bigger racetracks, and when I raced Champ Car, I was never ‑‑ the biggest racetrack that I really raced on was Milwaukee. We did a couple of races in Vegas, but that was with big wings and the speed wasn't that high, so I don't even look at that race like it was something that I learned from. You know, it's part of being a rookie, going out there and learning, and the good thing that I have is I have teammates that have been so helpful to me with Helio and Will, and obviously Helio's record around there, it speaks for itself. To have guys like that, they've been so helpful in everything that I've gotten into, whether it was the test at Sebring or Barber or even Texas and obviously the race weekend at Barber, they've just been so supportive, and it's been a lot of fun. It's an amazing to be a part of, to feel so close to my teammates. It's made it really exciting. To have them at Indy is going to be a big help. Obviously Rick Mears has been a huge help and will be a huge help at Indy for me, and Roger himself. I feel like I've got a good supporting cast around me. The cars will be fast. And it's just like I said, it's the process of leading up to it. For me mentally I've got to make sure I don't go out there and try to just set the world on fire at day one, and that's a place you can't over‑push yourself. You've got to kind of let it lead into it. For me I think it's about going out there and having the mindset of taking it step by step and I don't have to be the fastest on the speed charts on day one. We've seen it plenty of times: Rookies can come in and win the race, so that's what I want to do.
Q. Is the biggest challenge trying to figure out before the race how the car is going to run in traffic? You and Will and Helio can maybe run together a little bit, but the other guys aren't going to help you to figure that out. Is that going to be a big adjustment during the race for you, just running the car in traffic and all the stuff going on around you?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah, for the most part that'll be a big adjustment. As you said, Carb Day you can go run in traffic a little bit, but it's not the same as dropping the green flag with 33 cars. But just track conditions and how track conditions change throughout a race, whether it's hot or cold and how the tires go off at Indy, in an IndyCar. There's a lot of stuff that I'm going to have to learn from, but you really can't do anything about it until you get to the race. So I think just leading up to it is the best thing that I can do and we can do as a race team is just try to make everything as comfortable as possible, and hopefully I don't have to adjust in traffic. Hopefully we're fast up front leading the race. It's all part of the fun and part of the challenge of going out there and running this race for the first time.
Q. You've been there in NASCAR previously, but does the Indy 500 still kind of hold a special mystique? Is this going to be a huge thing for you when you're sitting on the grid and getting ready to go?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Oh, yeah. I mean, to me the Indy 500 is still the biggest race in the world, and it's just ‑‑ it's Indy. You really can't say anything more about it. It's the Indianapolis 500, and for me to get to run it first of all is just a dream come true. I always wanted to run the race and just never got a chance to, and secondly, to be able to do that with Roger Penske and walk out of Gasoline Alley and be introduced wearing an IZOD Penske Racing suit is something special, and no matter what happens during the race obviously I want to go out there and try to win the race, but no matter what happens just to be able to say that I was there as a Penske driver at the Indianapolis 500, it's pretty special and I'll always hold that with me. Hopefully it's the first of many, but to go out there for the first time and have my parents there, especially my dad that named me after AJ Foyt and always wanted me ‑‑ this is what he dreamed of is me running the Indianapolis 500. To have my parents there with me will be really special, as well.
Q. Several years ago we spoke before the Long Beach Grand Prix and back then you were one of the young stars of what was left of Champ Car at that time and one of the few Americans. Do you ever look back at the decision to go to NASCAR and wonder if you made the right decision? I know IndyCar has had a lot of problems between that time, but do you ever look back at the decision and wonder what if?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: No, not at all. For me it's always about looking forward. I don't think you ever regret anything that happens, you just learn from it and move forward, and that's what I try to do in everything that's happened in my life. You know, to look back and say what if, I mean, I may have never had a chance to run with Roger Penske. If I wasn't in Cup and got signed by him, maybe this opportunity never happened to run the Indy 500 with Roger Penske. You can't ever change the past, so for me I don't ever look back at it and wonder. I feel very fortunate in everything that's happened to me. I got to drive for Richard Petty. I've gotten to drive for Roger Penske now. I feel very fortunate. And yeah, there's certain things like maybe I'd like the results to be better or certain things to have happened, but I'm happy where I'm at, and I'm excited for this opportunity. You know, and I hope that the IndyCar Series can keep growing. There's so much great things about it, it just needs to be marketed better and it needs to be noticed more on a bigger platform. Maybe if I can bring just a little light to that from my background now and let the eyes of maybe the NASCAR side of it or just people in general to know that this is a great series, and there's so many things that ‑‑ about this series that make it one of the best things in the world to be a part of. Hopefully it can just keep growing. The potential is there, it just needs to keep growing.
Q. The split between Champ Car and IndyCar kind of cost you a lot of shots of spending the month of May in Indy. How heavy did that weigh on you during those days, like '04, '05 and '06 and did you think about being there and think, geez, I may never get there?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Of course back in the Champ Car days I always wanted to be there. You know, it was a race that ‑‑ especially in Champ Car, because we'd sit there and watch it on TV because we weren't racing. Yeah, I really wanted to be there. You know, I don't feel like it's cost me anything. It's just the way it's happened, and it's the way things kind of went about, and I think you ask anybody in open wheel racing right now, do they wish the split never happened, we all wish it never happened, but it did, and we're here now. More than anything I just wish the split never happened, it never got to that point to where it cost 15 years of all the best in the world racing against each other and things like that, but we can't go back and change that.
Q. Can you talk a little bit about your ability to adapt and adjust? You've gone from go‑karts to open wheel to NASCAR, back to IndyCar. That's a lot of upward and a lot of adapting and you have a lot of skills to be able to accomplish that.
AJ ALLMENDINGER: Yeah. You know, I'm trying. I guess I'm kind of writing each chapter and seeing how it goes. But I have fun with it. Like I said, it's a challenge that I feel very fortunate this year to have the opportunity to go do, to go run sports cars and then jump into a Cup car and then jump into an IndyCar. It's something that I take pride in, in trying to be the best at to be able to do that and say I can go jump in one and go jump in the next and not just be out there but be really competitive. I'm trying as hard as I can do. Honestly, that's all I can do, and that's the way I look at it, that I'm just going out there and I'm enjoying it. I'm looking at it as a huge challenge that I love to try to tackle and go out there and enjoy, because there's not a lot of people that get to do that anymore like they used to in the old days. You know, we'll kind of see how it goes. I'm having a lot of fun, and as I said, I feel like the IndyCar side of it, I've still got a ways to go to go out there and compete with guys like Will and Helio and Ryan Hunter‑Reay and Hinchcliffe and the best in the series, Scott Dixon and those guys, to go out there and compete at a high level and know that I can go beat them. But in the short amount of time, it's been a lot of fun so far.
Q. Is there any way that your experience could give you an edge anywhere on the track?
AJ ALLMENDINGER: I'm not sure about that. Maybe like at Indy if they start running the top around, right against the wall, I might be able to do that like we do in the Cup car. But other than that, these guys are so good in both sides of it, in the NASCAR world and the IndyCar world, my experience in any of that is not going to beat the guys, because unfortunately in the IndyCar side of it, there's plenty of more guys that have a lot more experience out there than me right now, and the NASCAR side of it is the same way. All I can control is just me myself trying to get better, mentally, physically, emotionally, get everything I can out of myself, so that's all I can do and that's what I'm working on.
MODERATOR: We will thank AJ for his time today and wish him the best of luck in a couple weeks at Long Beach and in the month of May at the Indy 500.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Bristol Race Recap
In a race filled with highs and lows, A.J. Allmendinger was a picture of consistency throughout the Food City 500. With crew chief Nick Harrison calling the shots, Allmendinger drove a smart, calculated race, and steered clear of the carnage associated with Bristol Motor Speedway. He took the checkered flag in 13th place, marking the third top-15 finish for Phoenix Racing this season.
Allmendinger caught a lucky break when the caution flag waved on Lap 54. One lap prior to the yellow flag, he reported that a vibration was coming from the right-rear tire and planned to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix the problem. The yellow flag allowed the team to change the tires without losing a lap. Following the pit stop, the team learned it was a loose wheel causing the car to shake. He went back on the track in 24th place.
Allmendinger drove into 21st place on the next run. The Guy Roofing Chevrolet was beginning to tighten up, so Allmendinger came into the pits during the next caution period, Lap 70, and the crew changed his right-side tires. They also added a spacer to the right-rear wheel to ensure that the lug nuts would remain secure on the studs for the rest of the race. He rejoined the field in 31st place.
On the next green flag run, Allmendinger worked his way into 23rd place. He reported that the Guy Roofing Chevy was still tight, so when the next caution flag waved, Lap 151, the crew changed his left-side tires and topped off the fuel cell. He lined up 15th for the restart.
Allmendinger held strong in the top-20 for the remainder of the race, running as high as 11th place. On Lap 455, the caution flag waved for the final time with Allmendinger in 17th place. Being one of the last cars on the lead lap, Harrison called Allmendinger into the pits for fresh rubber and fuel. He also made an air pressure adjustment to loosen up the car for the final green flag dash.
Harrison’s decision to pit on the previous yellow paid huge dividends. The tires had Allmendinger mowing down the field on the final run. He picked up four positions in 40 laps to finish the race in 13th place.
Allmendinger made 125 green flag passes during the event and ran 85 laps inside the top 15. Phoenix Racing is eighth in the owner point standings, only six points outside of the top five.
Allmendinger’s Thoughts after the Race: “I rarely say this after Bristol, but we had a pretty normal day. Lots of guys were crashing and having problems, but we did a really good job of keeping our nose clean and working our way through the field. We were kind of tight during the race, but the team did a great job of making the Guy Roofing Chevy better and better. Nick (Harrison) made some good calls that had it running really well by the end of the race. Our last pit stop was key. It gave us fresh tires when a lot of the guys in front of us were on old ones. It was a great call and it paid off. We scored another solid finish and beat a lot of really good cars today.
“It’s really tough to pass at Bristol. Track position is everything, but we rallied to come from 29th to get a top-15. That says a lot about this team’s determination and resilience.”
Phoenix Racing will hit the track next week at Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400.
Guy Roofing will return as an associate sponsor on the No. 51 Chevrolet. Phoenix Racing is still seeking a primary sponsor for the event. The race starts on Sunday, March 24 at 3:00 ET. FOX, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast the event.
Credit - Phoenix Racing Press Release
Allmendinger caught a lucky break when the caution flag waved on Lap 54. One lap prior to the yellow flag, he reported that a vibration was coming from the right-rear tire and planned to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix the problem. The yellow flag allowed the team to change the tires without losing a lap. Following the pit stop, the team learned it was a loose wheel causing the car to shake. He went back on the track in 24th place.
Allmendinger drove into 21st place on the next run. The Guy Roofing Chevrolet was beginning to tighten up, so Allmendinger came into the pits during the next caution period, Lap 70, and the crew changed his right-side tires. They also added a spacer to the right-rear wheel to ensure that the lug nuts would remain secure on the studs for the rest of the race. He rejoined the field in 31st place.
On the next green flag run, Allmendinger worked his way into 23rd place. He reported that the Guy Roofing Chevy was still tight, so when the next caution flag waved, Lap 151, the crew changed his left-side tires and topped off the fuel cell. He lined up 15th for the restart.
Allmendinger held strong in the top-20 for the remainder of the race, running as high as 11th place. On Lap 455, the caution flag waved for the final time with Allmendinger in 17th place. Being one of the last cars on the lead lap, Harrison called Allmendinger into the pits for fresh rubber and fuel. He also made an air pressure adjustment to loosen up the car for the final green flag dash.
Harrison’s decision to pit on the previous yellow paid huge dividends. The tires had Allmendinger mowing down the field on the final run. He picked up four positions in 40 laps to finish the race in 13th place.
Allmendinger made 125 green flag passes during the event and ran 85 laps inside the top 15. Phoenix Racing is eighth in the owner point standings, only six points outside of the top five.
Allmendinger’s Thoughts after the Race: “I rarely say this after Bristol, but we had a pretty normal day. Lots of guys were crashing and having problems, but we did a really good job of keeping our nose clean and working our way through the field. We were kind of tight during the race, but the team did a great job of making the Guy Roofing Chevy better and better. Nick (Harrison) made some good calls that had it running really well by the end of the race. Our last pit stop was key. It gave us fresh tires when a lot of the guys in front of us were on old ones. It was a great call and it paid off. We scored another solid finish and beat a lot of really good cars today.
“It’s really tough to pass at Bristol. Track position is everything, but we rallied to come from 29th to get a top-15. That says a lot about this team’s determination and resilience.”
Phoenix Racing will hit the track next week at Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400.
Guy Roofing will return as an associate sponsor on the No. 51 Chevrolet. Phoenix Racing is still seeking a primary sponsor for the event. The race starts on Sunday, March 24 at 3:00 ET. FOX, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio will broadcast the event.
Credit - Phoenix Racing Press Release
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Bristol Race Preview
After a successful outing with the No. 51 team at Phoenix International Raceway, A.J. Allmendinger will pair with Phoenix Racing again this week at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500. Allmendinger will pilot the Guy Roofing Chevrolet in his second Sprint Cup Series event of 2013.
Allmendinger and Phoenix Racing raced to an 11th-place finish in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 two weeks ago. He's anxious to rejoin the Spartanburg, S.C.-based team to tackle the high banks of the half-mile oval known as "Thunder Valley."
Allmendinger's first-ever Cup Series start came at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007. This weekend will mark his 11th Cup race at the track. He's garnered four top-20s and one top-15, and started on the front row in one event. His best finish is 12th place, which he scored in 2011. Phoenix Racing scored its best Cup Series finish at Bristol last season. The team took the checkers in 18th place with Kurt Busch behind the wheel.
A.J. Allmendinger comments on racing the No. 51 Guy Roofing Chevy at Bristol:
"I'm really excited to go racing with Phoenix Racing again. We had a great race at Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and I'm looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Guy Roofing Chevy. We're off to a good start and now it's about keeping the momentum rolling.
"Bristol is a crazy track. Before the most recent resurfacing, you would have two-wide and three-wide racing there. Now that they've ground up some of the top groove, it's a little closer to what Bristol used to be like. There's not quite as much room and you have to be a little more aggressive in making passes. You're seeing more bumping and banging now and it seems like everyone's patience is a little shorter than usual.
Allmendinger and Phoenix Racing raced to an 11th-place finish in the Subway Fresh Fit 500 two weeks ago. He's anxious to rejoin the Spartanburg, S.C.-based team to tackle the high banks of the half-mile oval known as "Thunder Valley."
Allmendinger's first-ever Cup Series start came at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2007. This weekend will mark his 11th Cup race at the track. He's garnered four top-20s and one top-15, and started on the front row in one event. His best finish is 12th place, which he scored in 2011. Phoenix Racing scored its best Cup Series finish at Bristol last season. The team took the checkers in 18th place with Kurt Busch behind the wheel.
A.J. Allmendinger comments on racing the No. 51 Guy Roofing Chevy at Bristol:
"I'm really excited to go racing with Phoenix Racing again. We had a great race at Phoenix a couple of weeks ago and I'm looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Guy Roofing Chevy. We're off to a good start and now it's about keeping the momentum rolling.
"Bristol is a crazy track. Before the most recent resurfacing, you would have two-wide and three-wide racing there. Now that they've ground up some of the top groove, it's a little closer to what Bristol used to be like. There's not quite as much room and you have to be a little more aggressive in making passes. You're seeing more bumping and banging now and it seems like everyone's patience is a little shorter than usual.
"There are a few keys to us having a good day. Of course you need to stay out of trouble. Needless to say, there have been countless drivers with good cars who've been caught up in wrecks and had to watch the checkered flag from the garage. We've got to keep our car in one piece. It's also important to have a car that can work the bottom groove. If you can make passes down low, you're going to have a good race. You've got to know when to be aggressive and when to back off. Sometimes aggression is your best friend at Bristol, and sometimes it's your worst enemy. Keep your emotions in check or you'll probably make some decisions you regret. I'm confident that the guys have prepared a good Guy Roofing Chevrolet for me and we have a good weekend ahead of us."
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