WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Watkins Glen International has been kind to A.J. Allmendinger over the years.
Since his first NASCAR Cup Series race at the famed 2.45-mile road course in 2008, Allmendinger’s been at his best.
In his 10 starts at The Glen, the driver of the No. 16 Chevrolet has six top-10 finishes, highlighted by his first career Cup Series win in 2014.
Eight years later, Allmendinger was quick to smile and walk down memory lane.
“I still remember everything about it,” Allmendinger said. “We had come here and tested, and I thought, ‘Wow, we’re gonna be really strong.’ I even told my parents, they were living in California at the time, I was like, ‘If you’re gonna pick a race to come to far away, you might wanna come to Watkins Glen.’ So, I had a lot of confidence with our car, and just the way the race played out.”
Driving for JTG Daugherty Racing in the No. 47 Chevrolet, Allmendinger fought tooth and nail with road course ace Marcos Ambrose in the closing laps, before ultimately powering his way to victory.
“The battle with Marcos (Ambrose), that was to me, the guy that was the best in the series on road courses at the time,” Allmendinger said. “So, to go toe-to-toe with him, and win that race, to have my first win, and Tad (Geschickter) and Jody (Geschickter), and Brad’s (Daugherty) first win, it’s just special. So, because of that, this place will always mean more than most.”
Since his victory in 2014, a repaved Watkins Glen came one year later, giving Allmendinger a fresh slate to dissect the track.
“It’s a lot different now, even since the repave,” Allmendinger said. “The repave’s been seven years old now. But, the track’s still a lot different then back then. The tires that they brought, at least on the old Cup cars, were always hard. I didn’t like the track as much after the repave. I’m looking forward with the Next Gen to see how this place is gonna feel.”
Now with Kaulig Racing, Allmendinger and the team have been grinding out their first season in the NASCAR Cup Series, racing a part-time schedule while teammate Justin Haley runs full-time in the No. 31 Chevrolet.
The Next Gen car has been a challenge for every team in the garage, however, Allmendinger feels Kaulig Racing and himself have adapted to the drastic differences.
“Brand new team, brand new car, I think our expectations, at least for me have been kind of where we’ve been at,” Allmendinger said. “At COTA, we had such a strong run, but what I’ve found about these new cars is the fact that the box of the setup is so tight. So, if you hit it, it’s great. So I thought after COTA, I was like, ‘OK, our road course stuff is going to be really good.’ And then the last couple we tried some stuff, and it wasn’t great. Then we went back to Indy, and made it a little bit better. So, I’m looking forward to here just for the mere fact that we’re trying some more stuff.
“On the ovals, at least the ones that I’ve run, the first couple we struggled,” Allmendinger continued. “But since then, we’ve had some really strong runs at Dover (Del.), we were gonna finish top-10 and a tire fell off on the last pit stop. We went to Gateway (Ill.), I’d never seen the place, finished top-10. Nashville, we ran strong. On the oval stuff, I felt kind of where we’ve been at. And then on the Xfinity side of it, I think we thought we’d be stronger on the oval stuff. But, we’ve maximized every weekend, and that’s why we have the points lead.”
At the tender age of 40 years old, Allmendinger has only grown stronger in his career. As he’s found new life at Kaulig Racing on both the Xfinity and Cup side, his passion has shown out.
A fire within has not only lifted Allmendinger’s performance, but given Kaulig Racing a spark as they continue to build as an organization.
“I care. I care about my performance. Being at my best for all the men and women at this race team,” Allmendinger said. “Kaulig Racing, Matt (Kaulig), especially, Chris (Rice), but everybody that works on these race cars, and at the shop. They work their butts off to give me the best that I can have. I love them, I really appreciate the hard work. Sometimes it comes out in the wrong way. I’m either mad at myself and I have to complain about it, or I’m frustrated with something.
“But, I expect to either raise the game in the team, or us raise it together, or however you wanna put it,” Allmendinger continued. “But, I always expect to be at my best. Even if we’re struggling, I expect to strap the team to my back and try and make more of it then maybe it should be. I have that passion, I’ve always said sometimes it works against me, if I get too frustrated. But, the moment I stop feeling like that, is the moment I probably need to not be in the race car, because I probably don’t care. There was a time I thought, ‘Maybe I need to change a little bit,’ but hell, I’m 40 years old, we’re still out there winning races. They’re still paying me to race cars, so probably not gonna change.”
Allmendinger will start Sunday’s Go Bowling At The Glen in sixth, after a strong second-place effort in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday.