A. J. Allmendinger

Infobox_NASCAR_driver
Name = Anthony James Allmendinger


Birthdate = birth date and age|1981|16|12
Birthplace = Los Gatos, California
Achievements = 2-time IKF Champion

2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion

2003 Champ Car Atlantic Champion

Awards = 2004 Champ Car World Series Rookie of the Year
Cup_Car_Team = #00 - Michael Waltrip Racing
#10 - Gillett Evernham Motorsports
Prev_Cup_Year = 2007
Best_Cup_Pos = 43rd - 2007 (Nextel Cup Series)
First_Cup_Race = 2007 Food City 500 (Bristol)
Cup_Top_Tens = 3
Prev_Busch_Year = 2007
Best_Truck_Pos = 59th - 2007 (Busch Series)
First_Busch_Race = 2007 Camping World 300 (California)
Last_Busch_Race = 2007 Ford 300 (Homestead)
Prev_Truck_Year = 2007
Best_Truck_Pos = 34th - 2007 (Craftsman Truck Series)
First_Truck_Race = 2006 Sylvania 200 (New Hampshire)
Last_Truck_Race = 2008 San Bernardino County 200 (Auto Club)
Truck_Top_Tens = 3
Updated_On = May 13, 2008

Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981, in Los Gatos, California) attended Leigh High School and is an American racecar driver who is a free agent. He formerly drove the #84 Red Bull Toyota Camry for Red Bull Racing Team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Racing career

Early career

He started his career in karts. He won two International Karting Federation Grand National championships. [http://www.champcarworldseries.com/Drivers/Driver.asp?ID=319 Allmendinger's Champ car profile] ]

Allmendinger won the Barber Dodge Pro Series championship in 2002, and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship in 2003 with Carl Russo's RuSport team.

Champ Car

In 2004 they entered the Champ Car World Series, with Michel Jourdain Jr. joining Allmendinger. He generally outperformed the experienced Mexican, scoring a run of 6 top-6 finishes towards the end of the season, winning the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year award ahead of Justin Wilson. Wilson joined the team for 2005, and both drivers have been in regular contention for podium finishes.

On June 9, 2006, RuSport announced that Allmendinger would be replaced by 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta. However, he did not remain unemployed long, as Forsythe Championship Racing hired him on June 14, 2006. In the interim, he became engaged to Lynne Kushnirenko, a Canadian model and chiropractor.

On June 18, 2006, Allmendinger won the Grand Prix of Portland in his first race with Forsythe Championship Racing. Allmendinger became the first American to win a Champ Car World Series event since Ryan Hunter-Reay won at The Milwaukee Mile in 2004.

On June 25, 2006, Allmendinger won the Grand Prix of Cleveland from the pole in a hectic race that saw two-time CART champ and points leader Sébastien Bourdais, teammate Paul Tracy, former teammate Justin Wilson, Dan Clarke and former seatholder Mario Dominguez eliminated during the race.

He continued his winning streak by winning his third consecutive race at the Grand Prix of Toronto on July 9, 2006. He started second after Wilson bested Allmendinger's time in the last lap of the event's final qualifying session. The victory moved Allmendinger into second place in the CCWS championship standings, behind leader Bourdais.

He chalked up his fourth and fifth wins of the season at Denver and Road America. He left Champ Car to accept a lucrative offer from NASCAR Team Red Bull.

Champ Car driver
Name = A.J. Allmendinger
Nationality = flagicon|USA American
Car number = -
Team = -
Races = 39
Championships = 0
Wins = 5
Podiums = 14
Poles = 2
First race = 2004 Grand Prix of Long Beach
First win = 2006 Grand Prix of Portland
Last race = 2006 Lexmark Indy 300

NASCAR

Allmendinger made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series driving for Bill Davis Racing at New Hampshire International Speedway on September 16 2006 [ [http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/nascar/32253/ SPEEDtv.com - The Online Motorsports Authority | Craftsman Trucks | TRUCKS: Allmendinger Signs Two-Race Deal | by RACER staff | The latest NASCAR headlines | Johnson, Kenseth, Martin, Stewart, Kahne, Earnhardt, Burton, Harvick, Hamlin, Busch, Gordon, Biffle, Edwards, McMurray, Mears, Bowyer, Newman, Jarrett, Sadler, Riggs, Vickers, Waltrip, Labonte, Truex, Nemechek, Petty ] ] [http://racing-reference.info/driver?id=allmea.01 NASCAR results at Racing-reference.info] ] . He crashed his primary truck in qualifying but started the race 32nd and finished on the lead lap in 13th. He also competed at Talladega Superspeedway in October with a finish of 5th. In his 3rd career truck series start, he qualified in 2nd place at Atlanta.

It was announced on October 24, 2006 that Allmendinger would drive the NEXTEL Cup #84 Team Red Bull Toyota Camry in 2007.

Allmendinger attempted his first NASCAR Nextel Cup Series event at Atlanta in October 2006 driving the Team Red Bull entry, however, due to qualifying being rained out, a lack of owner's points prevented Allmendinger from making the race. He also attempted to make the race at Texas Motor Speedway, failing to qualify again, however.

Allmendinger failed to qualify for the 2007 Daytona 500 after a crash in the first Gatorade Duel race. He also failed to qualify for the California, Las Vegas, and Atlanta races. Allmendinger finished 40th his first Nextel Cup start at the Food City 500 at Bristol, and as the season progressed, Allmendinger made a handful of races, predominantly in the "Car of Tomorrow". To assist him in the transition to stock cars, he participated in selected Craftsman Truck Series races for Toyota for the Darrell Waltrip Motorsports organization and the #42 Chip Ganassi Dodge in the Busch Series.

Allmendinger failed to qualify for the 2008 Daytona 500. After three failures to qualify in 3 attempts, he was replaced by veteran driver Mike Skinner on a temporary basis. Allmendinger returned to the Cup series at Talladega. On May 17, 2008, he won the Sprint Showdown at Lowe's Motor Speedway during NASCAR's annual All-Star weekend. The win qualified Allmendinger for the Sprint All-Star Race later that evening, where he finished 17th.

During the Sprint Showdown he was referred to by Elliot Sadler as "Whatever his name is!"

Due to Allmendinger's 11th place finish at Watkins Glen, for the first time in his career, he had a guaranteed starting spot for the next race, but he fell out of the top 35 in owner's points again after the race at Michigan International Speedway. He later left California 31st in owner's points, giving him a guaranteed start at Richmond. After New Hampshire, a crash left him 36th in points. He left Dover 34th in owner's points. A.J. had his best career finsh at Kansas Speedway coming in 9th. He was released from team two days later.

Allmendinger will not drive for Red Bull Racing Team in 2009, most likely being replaced by developmental driver Scott Speed. He was replaced for the rest of the season by Speed and Mike Skinner.

NASCAR Sprint Cup results

() (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Persondata
NAME=Allmendinger, A. J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Allmendinger, A. J.
SHORT DESCRIPTION=American NASCAR driver
DATE OF BIRTH=16 December 1981
PLACE OF BIRTH=Los Gatos, California
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=