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[/media-credit]Every driver prepares differently for the upcoming NASCAR season. Some might pick up their workout routine, change their eating habits, seek psychological help or just spend as much time as possible relaxing at home.
But there are a few that spend their off-season racing and even with Speedweeks at Daytona just around the corner AJ Allmendinger was among a few Cup stars who decided to do just that. He could have been at home, thinking about the year ahead of him with his new team at Penske Racing, trying to prepare to turn his career around.
Instead he climbed behind the wheel of a Daytona Prototype in the 50th anniversary of the Rolex 24 hour race for Michael Shank Racing. Then he went out and won the race for Shank and co-drivers Justin Wilson, John Pew an Oswaldo Negri.
“It’s always cool to be me,” joked Allmendinger about how great the last month has been for him. “No I’m just kidding, the last five years it’s sucked to be me. It’s pretty amazing to go through the last month and a half. Obviously the Penske side of it is completely different from this side of it. Mike Shank – we’ve done this for seven years and I told him we’ve been waiting for the 50th anniversary.”
Allmendinger acknowledged that the last five years have been tumultuous for him in the NSCS, even for as hard as he worked. When it came to trying to win at Daytona with the No. 60 team for Shank it was much of the same, always coming up short. The team stayed committed though to building faster and faster cars and finished runner up in 2007 with the same group of drivers.
Now they’re all champions, beating the best in the business and in the Rolex 24 by dominating the superstar lineup of the Chip Ganassi teams. The Shank drivers completed 761 laps through the 24-hour race and were leading for 249 of those laps.
When it came down to the final few though, Shank full-filled his promise to Allmendinger of putting him in the car for the final stint to the finish. Even agreeing that should Allmendinger be the driver of the car when they win the race, he would shave his initials on his head, which he plans to do this week.
“The last seven years this whole team, Mike Shank Racing, went through a lot to get to this point, to not only win the race but have two cars on the podium,” Allmendinger said as Shank’s second car the No. 6 finished third.
“It’s a small group of guys that Mike’s put together and they work their butts off and it’s really cool this year to have them get a well deserved victory and a second car on the podium,” continued Allmendinger.
“I feel very fortunate; this is one of the reasons why I love this race, because it really kicks off Speedweeks. It’s such a prestigious race. It’s one of those races you want on your resume and you want to say that you were part of a victory. It’s amazing. I’m going to cherish this.”
Allmendinger will for as long as he can since the swagger he has now will most likely be knocked back down by Speedweeks, he’ll be reminded he hasn’t won in Cup yet. Or maybe not because when he comes back to Daytona to start the NASCAR season it’ll be with a confidence he’s may never had before. This year he’s with a team that he knows can win races and championships, a team that wanted him to be their driver.
Driving for Penske, the California native has high expectations ahead for him. He knows they’re there; he’s ready for them and even says himself that this might be the best chance he has to show what he’s capable of. On Sunday he talked about the 2012 NSCS season briefly but focused mainly on what he and his Michael Shank Racing team had accomplished.
“Yeah, none at all,” Allmendinger said on the pressure from those expecting him to win this year.
“For the last five years for what I went though and I think Michael McDowell said it best, Sprint Cup racing is the toughest in the world right now, it’s so hard to win. And yeah, I look at this year as my best opportunity to go win a Cup race but that’s easier said than done. So for right now I’m just going to take this for what it’s worth, not think about anything for a couple days and just enjoy it. Right now it’s the biggest win I’ve ever had because we’ve worked for seven years to get to this point with Mike Shank and we’ve been so close so many times.”
When he took the car over with three hours to go in the race Allmendinger thought about all the previous times the team had been in that position. Only to have something happen and the win snatched away.
But not on Sunday as Allmendinger held a pretty wheel for almost all three hours. Of course there were a few heart-stopping moments when he was navigating traffic and fighting for the lead with Starworks Motorsports drivers.
It wasn’t enough to make him crack under the pressure though, as his competitors expected. The 24-hour, 35 minute and 57 second race featured 10 different leaders and 14 cautions. There could have been more near the end, something Allmendinger didn’t want to see as he continued to extend his lead. Fortunately for the team there wasn’t any and as long as nothing broke they were headed for victory lane and brand new Rolex watches
“Honestly you get in the car with three hours to go and having a chance to win the race and I joke about it, but I haven’t had that position for a long time,” Allmendinger said.
“For me it’s about having confidence but you sit there and go, ‘OK, can I be in this position and hit three hours of perfect laps and not make any mistakes.’ It creeps into your mind as I’m sitting strapping my helmet on and about to get in the car. [Negri] did such a great stint at that point to hold onto the lead and a ton of pressure and he never put a wheel wrong before I got in the car and at that point I felt like I had worked so hard to get that lead and I had done everything that I sat there and thought to myself everything I needed to do to get the lead. Yeah, I didn’t want to see a yellow but at that point if it came out that was just another test for myself as a racecar driver.”
Allmendinger spoke about how proud he was of everyone on the team for all his or her hard work. Everyone who worked on the car, those involved on raceday and were now loading the car up to go home. But he also didn’t hold back in saying that he was proud of himself and his personal performance.
It takes a lot for a driver to compete in an endurance race like the 24 hours at Daytona. Especially one as prestigious as the Rolex 24 and Allmendinger said it was a great test for him he was proud that he had a chance to go win the race. Something he hasn’t had many of in Cup since he came NASCAR in 2007.
“2007 was hell honestly, it was the worst year of my life when it came to my career,” said Allmendinger before opening up a big.
“There was plenty of times in my bus on Friday, missing a [Cup] race that it was either should I go back to IndyCar or slit my wrist, honestly. We’re race car drivers right? It sounds over the top but I knew I wanted to be in the Sprint Cup Series, that’s where the best of the best was.”
Sure, Allmendinger says he would have loved to gone about entering NASCAR differently. When CART and IndyCar had things going on that didn’t appeal to him he jumped at the chance to go to NASCAR, wishing he could have done come Truck or Nationwide races first. Instead he went right to Cup and it was anything but pretty.
“It was just a tough couple of years, the last few years have been tough and I feel like the last two years I at least got on a good rhythm and it makes me feel good to know that a guy like Roger Penske can look at my talent and say, ‘You know what, he might not have a Cup win’ and Shell Pennzoil that’s used to winners and champions in their car but if we give him the right stuff he might be able to do that,” said Allmendinger.
“It’s been a tough time but the fun thing was a guy like Mike Shank, no matter how I felt about myself after a tough year or tough season he never waivered on whether he wanted me in the car. Every year we said we were doing this, that’s why I love this guy so much. He’s always been there for me, I would do anything for him and I’m just happy I can be a small part of this victory for him.”
