It’s not hard to fathom why AJ Allmendinger would put aside a fulfilling gig with NBC Sports for a few weeks and race a NASCAR Xfinity Series stock car on road courses.
After all, the road circuits are his specialty, accounting for Allmendinger’s only Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory (at Watkins Glen in 2014) and his only two Xfinity Series wins (Road America and Mid-Ohio in his only two starts in 2013).
But why Daytona, where cars run within inches of each other at 200 mph, and every turn of the wheel can spell disaster?
After all, Allmendinger is enjoying his stint on TV, where, by his count, he has now called races in six different series. In the meantime, he has lowered his golf handicap index to an enviable 6.5.
Nevertheless, Friday’s Circle K Firecracker 250 at Daytona (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is part of the four-race deal Allmendinger struck with Kaulig Racing, a schedule that includes three road courses—Mid-Ohio (Aug. 10), Road America (Aug. 24) and the Charlotte Roval (Sept. 28).
“I don’t know how they talked me into this,” Allmendinger joked about his imminent return at Daytona, where temperatures in the greenhouse of his No. 10 Chevrolet are likely to exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit. “They asked, ‘Please!’ and I was like, ‘Road courses seem pretty cool.’
“And they said, ‘Let’s do Daytona.’ I said, ‘You sure?’ And they talked me into it.”
All kidding aside, Allmendinger has an impressive record at the 2.5-mile superspeedway. His three Cup series top fives at Daytona are tied for his most at a single track, matching Watkins Glen. Allmendinger’s first career top five came at Daytona. So did his last two, the final one coming in 2018, his last full season with JTG/Daugherty Racing.
And don’t forget, Allmendinger also was the anchor driver of the winning team in the 50th Rolex 24 Hours on the Daytona road course in 2012. So making a return to competition at Daytona isn’t such a stretch for the road course ace. And it helps that Allmendinger has confidence in the equipment he’ll be driving for Kaulig, as he proved in Thursday’s opening practice by topping the speed chart with a lap at 194.902 mph.
“You have to have a fast race car to go out there and have an opportunity to at least put yourself in position to win a race,” he said. “I’ve watched enough of these races, and the way guys run these races is a little bit different, probably a little more aggressive—some young guys—so I’ll try to ease into that as the race goes on.
The revival of Allmendinger’s stock car career started with a phone call.
“I was eating some sandwiches, trying to work on my TV body, and they called me,” Allmendinger said. “They said, ‘Hey, you want to get back in a race car?’ I was like, ‘This sandwich is really good.’ They were looking to do the road course events, and we started talking, and I told them, ‘Hey, I love to race, so whenever you have an opportunity and want me to do that, I’m willing to do that.
“We’ve talked about some other races besides road course races and Daytona, and we’ll kind of see how it plays out.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.