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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kicks off at Daytona, Allmendinger ready for new season


By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune managing editor

NASCAR is back in a big way as the Daytona 500 kicks off the season today at 2 p.m. in Daytona Beach, Florida with a new name sponsor for the premium series.

Allmendinger getting ready for the 2016 Daytona 500 (Images courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography)

Monster Energy has replaced Sprint and the race season is now called the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series.

NASCAR veteran AJ Allmendinger, who drives the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Kroger – Clicklist/Chevrolet SS, took time to talk with the Tribune about the upcoming season, rule changes, Kentucky Speedway and starting the year with a main event.

“Our sport is unique in that our Super Bowl is the first race of the season,” Allmendinger said. “You spend all winter with everybody on the race team working hard, building these race cars and trying to get maximum speed out of the car at Daytona. The way the schedule works out, we’re at Daytona for two weeks and so you build up to the race even more.”

Daytona has been kind of a mixed bag for Allmendinger.

“I’ve had some heartbreak there, I’ve had a little bit of success,” Allmendinger said. “My first two years at Daytona, it wasn’t even about winning the race, it was about making the race, when I was with Red Bull. I spent two years, watching people get introduced and I wasn’t part of the race because we didn’t race our way in.”

In 2009, the team finally raced its way in and Allmendinger almost won the race, finishing third.

Despite all of the preparation that goes into starting the season with a top finish, Allmendinger said Dayton is a place where drivers don’t have a lot of control.

“It’s kind of the luck of what happens in front of him and around him and it’s a tough race, but the Daytona 500 is what it’s all about,” Allmendinger said. “It’s cool to be a part of a race that even if you are not a race fan, all you have to say is it’s Daytona, and they know what you are talking about.”

NASCAR has implemented some changes this year designed to increase the sense of urgency and emphasize aggressive racing and strategy.

Format enhancements include:

  • Races will now consist of three stages, with championship implications in each stage.
  • The top-10 finishers of the first two stages will be awarded additional championship points.
  • The winner of the first two stages of each race will receive one playoff point, and the race winner will receive five playoff points. Each playoff point will be added to his or her reset total following race No. 26, if that competitor makes the playoffs.
  • All playoff points will carry through to the end of the third round of the playoffs (Round of 8), with the Championship 4 racing straight-up at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the title.

Almendinger said the new format is going to be interesting.

“It’s going to definitely change Daytona and Talladega, where you can’t just lay back,” Allmendinger said. “Daytona has been tough anyway over the last couple of years, because I feel like there has been such great three-wide racing, so to a certain extent, if you started laying back and tried to wait for a certain amount of time to go, there was nowhere to go.”

Two years ago, Allmendinger said he tried to lay back and save his car a little bit, but the strategy backfired.

“With about 40 to go, I decided to try to make my move and the next thing I know, it was three rows deep, ten rows in front of me,” Allmendinger said.

Still, he believes that putting the stages in play and points being on the line will up the ante of having to be aggressive. He said fans should love that and it’s going to be great to watch, because it increases the chance of the big one happening a lot more often.

The “big one” is a crash involving a lot of cars, which traditionally comes near the end of the race when drivers become desperate to win or improve position.

“I think there’s going to be some strategies, if you get some (caution flags) at the right time right before the stages end on whether you pit, or stay out and try to get some points,” Allmendinger said. “The only thing I don’t want is for fans to think we are going to start driving harder all the time. I don’t think you are going to see guys driving the race cars harder, but it will definitely play out with all the format changes and points being on the line.”

He expects the rule changes to have the most impact in the last five or six races before the playoffs start.

“Those teams that haven’t won a race, that are in places 13 (though) 17, in that gaggle of cars, getting the chance to get those points in those stages is going to be important,” he said.

There has been a lot of talk of a youth movement in NASCAR, with veterans such as Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards retiring earlier and young drivers moving through the ranks.

Allmendinger, 35, credits technology with helping the youngsters move up quickly.

“You see the simulators that all the manufacturers have now, so these drivers can get in the car and get the feel of what it’s supposed to feel like,” Allmendinger said.

Previously, drivers only learned about a track by racing on it and after about three or four years began to figure it out and improve. With simulators, less-experienced drivers can gain years of experience before they race on a track at the highest level.

Sponsors have also recognized the youth movement and have embraced it.

“You see guys like Kyle Larson with Target or Chase Elliot with NAPA, the sponsors recognize it and they latch on right now,” Allmendinger said. “These guys deserve it because they are really good. It’s fun for fans, because they get to see these guys come up so early and develop.”

Allmendinger has latched on with a pretty big sponsor that has a strong local connection.

“Having Kroger, such a big brand and a big company sign on full time on my car this year and for them to put their belief behind me, means so much for me,” Allmendinger said. “In this day and age, you’ve got to have talent, but it’s more about having that sponsor behind you and it’s a tough challenge. I’m very fortunate to have such a company as Kroger behind the race team.”

Almendinger would also like to have a better showing at the Kentucky Speedway Quaker State 400 presented by Advanced Auto Parts. Track modifications installed in conjunction with a much-needed resurfacing in 2016, presented challenges for some drivers, including Allmendinger. He finished 36th after crashing and completing just 103 laps.

Despite his misfortune, Allmendinger said they really “did a good job,” with the changes at Kentucky Speedway and says it is not like any other mile-and-a-half on the circuit right now because both corners are so different.

“I thought we had a really good test there last year, but they changed the tire a little bit and we came back and we missed a lot,” Allmendinger said. “It’s a race that is circled on our calendar to know we’ve got to be better at.”

It’s also important for Allmendinger because of Kroger’s support of Kentucky Speedway and he didn’t miss the chance to give his sponsor a plug.

“Kroger is really pushing its Clicklist, where you go on the website and you click what you want and go pick it up right away,” Allmendinger said. “They are really trying to push that and Kentucky Speedway is a big race for them, so we are really going to try to do everything we can to do a lot better.”

In 2014, Almendinger seemed on the verge of a breakout, when he won at the Watkins Glen road course, his only victory in NASCAR’s top series, and qualified for the Chase.

“To be able to win my first race and the team’s first race together was so big and it’s hard to put into words to put so much work into it and to finally achieve your goal,” he said. “At the same time, you get to celebrate for a day or two maybe, but then you get back to the grind and all of these drivers are so amazing, it’ll put you right back in your place. But you still want to go out and do it again.”

He suffered through a rough period in the summer in 2016 and failed to make the Chase, despite finishing strong.

“Last year, we couldn’t get any victories, but it’s the most top ten’s I’ve ever had and the most the team has ever had and we just missed the Chase,” Almendinger said. “So, hopefully there are better things ahead this year.”

While the ultimate goal is to win a lot of races and a championship, Allmendinger and the team know that is a lot to ask in the highly competitive world of NASCAR.

“I think there are certain racetracks we’ve got great chances at and there are certain racetracks where we’ve got to set our expectations to have solid top 15 runs,” he said. “So our goals are to get a win or two and keep getting better, I guess that’s what it’s all about.”

Contact Mark Hansel at mark.hansel@nkytrib.com


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