NASCAR: How A. J. Allmendinger is revitalizing his career

A. J. Allmendinger’s NASCAR career seemed to be in jeopardy not too long ago. Now it is not only back, but it has been revitalized.

The length of A. J. Allmendinger’s NASCAR career seemed to be winding down when he was released from his full-time Cup series ride with JTG Daugherty Racing after the 2018 season.

Now the 39-year-old Los Gatos, California native has found himself not just competing all over the NASCAR map but in a position to compete for wins in multiple series.

The former open-wheel driver joined NASCAR when Team Red Bull tried their hand in the business of stock car racing. While Team Red Bull didn’t pan out in the sport, Allmendinger did enough with them to land a ride with Richard Petty Motorsports. From there, his performance at Richard Petty Motorsports was enough for Team Penske to hire him to drive the #22 Ford.

It was then when Allmendinger’s career started to take a turn for the worst.

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A driver who, at the time, had 29 top 10 finishes and five top five finishes and was a proven threat on road courses found his career at a crossroads when he was suspended for testing positive for Adderall without a prescription.

Allmendinger was suspended from NASCAR and later stated that there were times during the suspension when he “didn’t even want to live”. He then had to claw his way back into NASCAR, competing part-time for the now defunct Phoenix Racing.

He even returned to open-wheel racing for a part-time IndyCar ride in 2013 with Team Penske and would have been a threat to win the Indy 500 if not for a seatbelt malfunction. But it was his Cup Series return that resulted in a full-time ride with JTG Daugherty Racing in 2014, when he earned his first career victory at Watkins Glen International.

But Allmendinger’s lone win wasn’t enough for JTG Daugherty Racing, and he was released following the 2018 season in favor of Ryan Preece. Allmendinger seemed done as a full-time driver and ready to embark on a career in television, joining NBC Sports as a motorsports analyst. 

But one team still wanted Allmendinger’s services, and that team revitalized his career.

Though Allmendinger signed with NBC Sports, he was still able to race part-time in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing. He picked up his first victory in the series in over six years when he won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval in 2019.

Since then, Allmendinger has not only scored his first oval win in NASCAR by winning the Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in 2020, but he has returned full-time in the sport with Kaulig Racing as the driver of the #16 Chevrolet in the series. He also drives the #16 Chevrolet for the team part-time in the Cup Series.

Recently, Allmendinger earned his second career Cup Series win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, giving Kaulig Racing their first win — just as he did for JTG Daugherty Racing.

Allmendinger even made a one-off appearance in the Truck Series at Watkins Glen International, meaning that he has raced in all three NASCAR national series this year for the first time since 2008.

From suspensions to releases to an eventual return, Allmendinger now finds himself as a threat to de-throne reigning Xfinity Series champion Austin Cindric and a threat to compete for wins in the Cup Series as well. Now with plans for this season and beyond, he has revitalized his NASCAR career.