March 26, 2022 | By Lee Spencer

AJ Allmendinger is ready to put it all on the line in Austin

When it comes to road courses, ‘Put me in Coach, I’m ready to play,’ aptly applies to AJ Allmendinger.

The versatile veteran, who started his career in the big leagues in CART, is truly in his element when it comes to turning right and left.

So it’s not surprising that Kaulig Racing would recruit Allmendinger for double duty this weekend at Circuit of the Americas, where he finished second in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race and fifth in the cup contest last season.

“We had a really good weekend as a team last year at COTA,” said Allmendinger, who earned Kaulig Racing’s first top-five Cup result at the 3.41-mile circuit. “So I’m looking forward to keeping the momentum going that we have in the Xfinity Series and then going out and doing it again on Sunday in the Cup Series. 

“I always have a little more confidence at these types of tracks, and if we are at our best, I believe we can go contend with the best teams out there. As a team, our goal is to go out and make the best of the day.”

The 40-year-old Los Gatos, Californian is currently third in the Xfinity Series points standings. Of his 10 NXS victories, six were earned on road courses. Allmendinger rolls off fourth in Saturday’s Pit Boss 250. 

In 277 Cup starts, Dinger has two wins—both on road courses. His most recent victory came last year in the inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix. But the complexion of racing has changed with the introduction of a new Cup car. Although Allmendinger has plenty of experience racing with the composite, flange-fit bodies in the Xfinity Series, there are other variables to consider.

"With the Next Gen car, I think the braking will be the biggest difference compared to last year," Allmendinger said. "I think we will be able to be more aggressive and reach peak brake distance getting into the corners. The physicality of the race car will be increased as well – that’s something that makes racing more enjoyable for me, especially at a place like COTA where there’s so many different types of corners, whether you are at high speeds, or more aggressive with the brakes. 

“I think it’s not so much about the body on the road courses, it’s the brakes,” Allmendinger said. “Much bigger brakes. That’s a thing that really stood out to me at the ROVAL test was just how much later we could be on the brakes and with the sequential (gear) box you don’t wheel hop that easy, so that’s another reason you can brake later. That is the biggest difference. The cars are a little more nimble as well, so you can kind of throw them around and lap times were a ton quicker at the (Charlotte) ROVAL, it seemed like.”

Ryan Blaney won the pole for Sunday’s EchoPark Automotive Texas Grand Prix with a time of 132.343-seconds (92.759mph). Allmendinger starts 20th in the 39-car field. Last year he qualified seventh in the rain, but this weekend’s forecast in Austin is mid-80s and sunny.

“Speeds will be up, I think the physicality of the racecar will be up even more and I think that in a way could make passing a little easier could make it a little harder because you know we’re all that much deeper on the brakes,” Allmendinger said. “It’ll be interesting to see. You know COTA’s going to be one of those races that if the weather looks like it the way it is it’s going to be so hard to judge off of last year just because of how wet the race was. Yeah, I think that’s going to be the biggest difference on that. 

“It’s looked like at these races if you do kind of get into the wall the car takes it in one way on the body side of it but with the suspension, I think it’s a little more sensitive. You can’t just beat and bang off of each other and know it’s going to be ok because it seems like it’s a lot easier to have contact and do some suspension damage. I think we’ll kind of see how that plays out, but definitely with COTA braking is going to be the biggest difference to me than what it was last year.”

The new brakes are at least 30-percent larger than on the previous car, so there’s more wiggle room for the drivers. Allmendinger believes the new car’s characteristics encourage bolder moves, which should play right into his hands.

“I do like how aggressive you can be with it,” Allmendinger said. “Braking, you can really push the brakes extremely late compared to the old-generation car, and that’s something that I really enjoy is to kind of peak brake pressure or peak brake distance getting into a corner and try to maximize that. You can kind of toss the car around a bit more, just a little bit more nimble, the steering is quicker, the car reacts quicker. So that’s something that I always enjoy about a race car. 

“It makes it enjoyable to go out there and attack a race car, especially at a place like COTA where there’s so many corners, so many different types of corners that whether it’s high speed or late on the brakes. You know with that said, somebody like Kyle Larson or Chase Elliott I mean they are so good. They figure it out as well. I think more than anything it just makes it a little bit more enjoyable to go out there and drive.”