Ring a Ding Dinger
KANSAS CITY, KS. - A.J. Allmendinger is the latest former open wheeler to be caught in the NASCAR numbers game.

The former Champ Car World Series standout struggled in his rookie season on the Cup series last year as Team Red Bull ventured into NASCAR's top series.

But like most young drivers, no matter where they come from, Allmendinger got better with more seat time and improved greatly this season. After a rocky start to the year when the team tabbed veteran Mike Skinner to qualify and race the car just to get the No. 84 into the field, Allmendinger continued his improvement with each passing week once he got back in the car.

Unfortunately parent company Red Bull is very high on Scott Speed and as the former F-1 driver continued his stock car education in ARCA and the truck series, it became increasingly apparent that there was only going to be room for one of the two to pair with Brian Vickers in 2009.

So Allmendinger is the odd man out and will make his last start for Red Bull this weekend here in Kansas. The story goes Red Bull was willing to give him a deal for 2009 but nothing more and Allmendinger has another three-year opportunity from a mystery team on the table.

The good news is it sounds like Allmendinger will stay in the Cup Series. But whether that is with a competitive team or not is another issue. The music is close to stopping and the 2009 Cup line-up is about out of seats.

The open wheel brigade has had it tough following in the shoes of Juan Pablo Montoya with Allmendinger, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish Jr., Patrick Carpentier and Jacques Villeneuve all pretty much washing out. Hornish and now Allmendinger appear to be safe for 2009. The rest are walking around with a resume and helmet in hand.

It's a tough time in the NASCAR garage right now for a variety of reasons. At least in Allmendinger's case, it looks as if he'll be employed.
Posted: 9/27/2008 9:43:17 AM
Comments:

Report Inappropriate Content

Select the reason that best describes why you think this content is inappropriate, and then click Submit. We'll review the content to determine if action is required. Thanks for your input!
 
Submit
Cancel