AJ Allmendinger Finds Inspiration In Absense Of Fallen Teamate
Story By: Reid Spencer/NASCAR Wire Service Photos By:Getty Images
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The absence of a former teammate, the late Justin Wilson, weighed heavily on AJ Allmendinger and his teammates at Michael Shank Racing as the Rolex 24 at Daytona approached.
But the tragic loss of Wilson in a freak IndyCar accident last year at Pocono Raceway also provides a source of inspiration and motivation for Allmendinger, who teamed with Wilson, Oswaldo Negri and John Pew to win the 2012 Rolex 24.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” Allmendinger told the NASCAR Wire Service on Friday, roughly 24 hours before the start of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s season-opening race. “You can ask all of us—Mike (Shank) especially.
“We all have a little chip on our shoulder. He’s sitting up there watching us, and it would make all of us a little more proud to win this thing, because we all want to win it for him and Julia (Wilson’s widow) and the kids. It’s difficult. It’s strange being here without him.”
Allmendinger was particularly close to Wilson, an ebullient driver who was beloved throughout the garage.
“We shared a bond together,” Allmendinger said, the day after Negri qualified Shank’s No. 60 Honda-powered Ligier JS P2 in third position among the Prototypes for the start of the Rolex 24. “That was something that made it so fun coming to this race, the bond that Ozz and I and John and JWil had gotten to share.
“And even last year, when he wasn’t driving with us, he was still here. You could still joke around with him. We all knew that, when Justin was around the race track, he was smiling and having a good time—or he was at least faking it if he wasn’t driving, ‘cause we all hate being at a race track and not driving.”
Olivier Pla has joined Allmendinger, Negri and Pew on the Shank team, and Allmendinger thinks they have an excellent chance to return to the winner’s circle.
“Last year (the team’s first with the Ligier), I thought we had a pretty good shot at it, but with all the work they’ve put in (since then), the car’s a lot more developed. When Michael Shank Racing came here last year with the car, heck, Ozz and John had barely sat in the thing and ran a couple of laps, and we were going green.
“So, with a year of development on it and how the car feels, it’s a great shot, but it’s 24 hours… You’ve got to get to the end of a 24-hour race before you worry about winning it.”
KYLE LARSON MEETS HIS NEW CREW CHIEF
Kyle Larson has a new crew chief in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but it took a while before the driver actually had his first-face-to-face meeting with Chad Johnston, the successor to Chris Heroy on the pit box for the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet.
The delay was understandable. Larson sped through a whirlwind offseason where, among other things, he competed in the Chili Bowl, the premier event for Midget cars, in Tulsa, Okla.
Johnston, who comes to Ganassi after two years as Tony Stewart’s crew chief, paid a visit to the simulator with Larson, who will start his third full season in Cup racing in February.
“He could see my driving style a little bit, even though the simulator isn’t quite (the same as on-track driving),” Larson told the NASCAR Wire Service a day before he begins his defense of the Rolex 24 title he won with Jamie McMurray, Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan last year.
“We went through some changes, and the communication was nice. He’s a really good guy, really quiet, calm and focused. So I think we’ll be really good.”
Johnston’s experience with Stewart should translate well to Larson’s effort.
“Me and Tony, I feel like aside from attitude, have a pretty similar feel as far as driving race cars and how we communicate about race cars,” Larson said. “So I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a transition, but you don’t really know until it actually happens.”
CHILDRESS, GANASSI TO JOIN MOTORSPORTS HALL OF FAME
The new class of inductees to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America includes NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owners Chip Ganassi and Richard Childress, who join a diverse 2016 group that includes driver and broadcaster Sam Posey, NHRA announcer Dave McClelland, former FIA land speed record holder Gary Gabelich, AMA racer Everett Brashear and former Indy 500 winner Bob Sweikert.
This year, the Hall of Fame moves from its Detroit-area home to the former Daytona USA building outside Daytona International Speedway, which recently completed its $400-million Daytona Rising transformation.
“This is a special honor to be recognized by the Motorsports Hall of Fame,” Childress said. “To be part of the first class inducted at the newly renovated Daytona International Speedway will be unique, and the racers enshrined in this hall of fame are from across the entire motorsports world.
“I want to thank (president) Ron Watson and all of the Motorsports Hall of Fame’s board members for considering me for this prestigious award.”
The induction ceremony for the 2016 class is scheduled for June 29 at Daytona.
