FEATURE: A.J. Allmendinger: “Absolutely zero” interest in Indy-Charlotte ‘Double’
by Ben Schneider / LASTCAR.info Staff Writer
Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger speaks with the media the day before the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. (PHOTO: Ben Schneider)
After his Indianapolis 500-Coca-Cola 600 ‘Double’ went awry due to inclement weather for the second consecutive year, Kyle Larson indicated that attempting to run both races on the same day had proven too logistically difficult for his liking, especially given NASCAR’s new, stricter policy on playoff waivers.
As such, while he hasn’t ruled out running the “500” again one day, Larson also told Frontstretch he has “no desire” to make a third attempt at the ‘Double,’ leaving many to wonder who might be the next driver to take up the challenge.
Don’t expect A.J. Allmendinger to raise his hand.
“None,” said Allmendinger when asked at Sonoma if he had any desire to give the Indianapolis 500 another shot, ‘Double’ or otherwise. “Absolutely zero.”
Before coming to NASCAR full-time in 2007, Allmendinger won five races in the Champ Car World Series and finished third in the 2006 championship standings. In 2013, he made a brief return to open-wheel competition in the now-reunified IndyCar Series, running a partial schedule with Team Penske that included the Indianapolis 500. Allmendinger finished the race in seventh and likely could have finished higher had his seat belt not come loose, which forced him onto an alternate pit strategy as he made an unscheduled stop.
The 2013 running of the “500” remains Allmendinger’s lone start in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing.” After the death of his former RuSPORT and Michael Shank Racing teammate Justin Wilson at Pocono in 2015, Allmendinger told the media before the 2016 Daytona 500 that he would “never again” return to IndyCar, only leaving the door open under one possible condition. “The only way I would do it is if they put in a closed cockpit over the car and tested it and they thought that was a good direction in safety, then I might think about doing it again.”
In 2020, the IndyCar Series introduced cockpit protection in the form of the aeroscreen, which has already been credited with preventing head injuries and saving lives in the five-and-a-half seasons since its implementation. Despite this, however, it appears Allmendinger’s stance remains unchanged on running another Indianapolis 500, let alone attempting the 1,100-mile ‘Double’ of which only Tony Stewart in 2001 has completed every lap.
One can hardly blame Allmendinger for remaining fully committed to NASCAR at this point in his career. After being released from JTG Daugherty Racing at the end of 2018, Allmendinger joined Kaulig Racing for a partial Xfinity Series schedule the following summer. Since then, that partnership has yielded 16 Xfinity Series wins, two Cup Series wins, a best finish of third in the Xfinity Series championship standings (2024), and a return to full-time Cup Series competition.
While Allmendinger currently ranks 16th in Cup Series points, he remains in pursuit of a win. Although some believed the Cup Series field’s experience at Sonoma, a longtime schedule mainstay compared to Mexico City and Chicago’s street course, would help minimize the gap to road course ace Shane van Gisbergen, Allmendinger was unconvinced in Saturday’s media bullpen. “The only thing that’s going to shorten the gap is us getting better,” he said. “For me, especially, just focus[ing] on myself and trying to get better. The fact that [van Gisbergen] hasn’t been here in a Cup car on a race weekend isn’t going to change anything.” Allmendinger was proven right on Sunday, as his former Kaulig Racing teammate scored perhaps his most impressive Cup Series win yet, leading 97 of 110 laps.
Allmendinger sits 50 points outside of the playoff picture heading into Sunday’s race at Dover.
