AJ Allmendinger

[captin 1 VXR]

well should someone tell him he has made a big big mistake by jumping to nascar from champcars :rolleyes: .

well its not going good for him is it not even in the pick ups starts 26 th finishes 25th :dozey: so i work it out he over took mmmmm 1 person :rolleyes:

oh well can see him been droped by red bull .

think red bulls next add should say red bull gives u p45 and bus ticket home :D :D

[BenRoethig]

I foresee him going going to the trucks full time to learn how to drive a stock car. They picked the right driver long term, but he's way over his head jumping from Champ Car to Cup. Putting a rookie who is new to stock cars with a new team who owner is European and has no clue on the difference between an open wheel formula car and a stock car with a new manufacturer is never a recipe for success.

[El Sween]

In over his head. That will teach him to follow the money. Too much greed in young drivers at the moment. Not a good trait. Is it not all about winning races?

[tstran17_88]

I agree with Ben. It's very rare to make a jump like that into cup and have success. JPM may be the exception, but even Tony Stewart spent a year in Busch in between IRL races before making the jump to Cup.

[OWFan19]

Tony worked people his first year in Busch.

Times have changed. I dont think NASCAR wants the OW transfers to do well. It justifies their series as the premier racing series in the United States.

I think AJ will be out of NASCAR before the end of the season. Going to the IRL and not CC.

JPM will stick it out, and probably do well. It tough to go from F1 down to NASCAR, and then find himself back in CC or IRL. I would say the ego more than the racing.

[harvick#1]

AJ jumped the gun way too early, and its gonna only get tougher the more and more he fails to qualify, seems vickers had no problem qualifing the Red Bull car

[DEI8151]

I foresee him going going to the trucks full time to learn how to drive a stock car. They picked the right driver long term, but he's way over his head jumping from Champ Car to Cup. Putting a rookie who is new to stock cars with a new team who owner is European and has no clue on the difference between an open wheel formula car and a stock car with a new manufacturer is never a recipe for success.

well he struggled lastnight in the truck race so you can imagine how hard driving a cup car is when he is struggling in the truck

[Sparky1329]

AJ is in over his head especially in a Cup car. Red Bull is in big trouble for the whole season if they don't cut him loose soon.

[Jonesi]

AJ jumped the gun way too early, and its gonna only get tougher the more and more he fails to qualify, seems vickers had no problem qualifing the Red Bull car

Vickers qualified 2nd in the #25 last Sept at Cal Spdwy.

[RaceFanStan]

AJ's biggest liability is that he is with a new team with a new manufacturer.
The team doesn't have a guaranteed starting spot so AJ has to qualify on speed.
The new team is also learning Nextel Cup racing & there are lot of unknowns.
Because of this, AJ can't make the races & get the much needed seat time.
Things may have went better for AJ if he had been lucky enough to have gotten a seat in a top 35 car.
The deck was stacked against AJ from the start, unless the team picks things up, AJ has little hope. :s

I don't think it is AJ's failure, I believe it is the team that is sadly lacking. :s


As for open-wheel drivers coming to NASCAR, I say, "Bring them on !" :D

[muggle not]

AJ is in over his head especially in a Cup car. Red Bull is in big trouble for the whole season if they don't cut him loose soon.

Yeah, I agree on this one. AJ needs more experience in Trucks or Busch. Red Bull will have no choice but to cut him loose.

[Sparky1329]

To clarify.....I'm not blaming AJ at all. The fault lies with whoever thought it was a good idea to stick him in a Cup car right off the bat.

[BenRoethig]

To clarify.....I'm not blaming AJ at all. The fault lies with whoever thought it was a good idea to stick him in a Cup car right off the bat.

Which would be Toyota and/or Dietrich Mateschitz

[Lee Roy]

AJ's biggest liability is that he is with a new team with a new manufacturer.
The team doesn't have a guaranteed starting spot so AJ has to qualify on speed.
The new team is also learning Nextel Cup racing & there are lot of unknowns.
Because of this, AJ can't make the races & get the much needed seat time.
Things may have went better for AJ if he had been lucky enough to have gotten a seat in a top 35 car.
The deck was stacked against AJ from the start, unless the team picks things up, AJ has little hope. :s

I don't think it is AJ's failure, I believe it is the team that is sadly lacking. :s


I agree with Stan.

[BobbyC]

That's why AJ has a deal with DW to run (at least) 12 races in Waltrip's truck, which is protected. I wouldn't be surprised to see him run a full season with Waltrip Racing in the Truck Series to gain experience.

[Sparky1329]

That's why AJ has a deal with DW to run (at least) 12 races in Waltrip's truck, which is protected. I wouldn't be surprised to see him run a full season with Waltrip Racing in the Truck Series to gain experience.

Doing that before he set foot in a Cup car would've been a better idea.

[Hoss Ghoul]

It was Red Bull's decision to put him in the car. A.J. can't be blamed for taking a golden opportunity(and the gold!).

His performance should mainly be judged in comparrison to Vickers and the other Toyota drivers, with an awareness of his newness to stock cars.

Is he running the Busch race this weekend in Mexico? The road courses are one place he should show well this year.

[Osella]

His performance should mainly be judged in comparrison to Vickers and the other Toyota drivers, with an awareness of his newness to stock cars.

Is he running the Busch race this weekend in Mexico? The road courses are one place he should show well this year.

Well Vickers seems to be the only Toyota driver apart from Blaney who has any pace so far! (tho it's early days.. ;) )

And I'm not so sure about that second point...consider this; AJ has gone from a car with much more grip and mush less weight, with most of the downforce coming from the underfloor of the car (about 60% in a Lola champcar came from the underside of the car). Now he has to throw all that away as basically it will be more detrimental to him as there is virtually no connection between a NASCAR and almost any other racecar apart from a 70's sportscar!
So I think that someone with more NASCAR experience is in a better position on a road course, than someone with a lot of road course experience but no NASCAR background..

Course, when you've got both, you're Robby Gordon! ;)

[Sparky1329]

Well Vickers seems to be the only Toyota driver apart from Blaney who has any pace so far! (tho it's early days.. ;) )

And I'm not so sure about that second point...consider this; AJ has gone from a car with much more grip and mush less weight, with most of the downforce coming from the underfloor of the car (about 60% in a Lola champcar came from the underside of the car). Now he has to throw all that away as basically it will be more detrimental to him as there is virtually no connection between a NASCAR and almost any other racecar apart from a 70's sportscar!
So I think that someone with more NASCAR experience is in a better position on a road course, than someone with a lot of road course experience but no NASCAR background..

Course, when you've got both, you're Robby Gordon! ;)

I'm ticked off that Rob isn't racing in Mexico this year.

[Lee Roy]

well should someone tell him he has made a big big mistake by jumping to nascar from champcars :rolleyes: .


I don't know, it sounds like he might have made the right choice. Sounds like Champ Car might not be around much longer.

http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/35621/

[muggle not]

I don't know, it sounds like he might have made the right choice. Sounds like Champ Car might not be around much longer.

http://www.speedtv.com/commentary/35621/
You gotta learn to walk before you run. Allmendinger belongs in the Trucks or Busch at most at this stage.

[Lee Roy]

You gotta learn to walk before you run. Allmendinger belongs in the Trucks or Busch at most at this stage.

Right. But I'm talking about where he came from, which probably won't exist much longer.

[Jimmy Magnusson]

But if he belongs in Busch/Truck series, wouldn't Toyota have been much better off signing someone who had already done some time there, saved money (AJ isn't cheap) and gotten a better chance of early success?

[Osella]

You gotta learn to walk before you run. Allmendinger belongs in the Trucks or Busch at most at this stage.

Yeah, just look at Travil Kvapil! Did a lot of walking and still found running a problem :p

And Lee Roy, Champ Car is in no way in major trouble anymore. There's a new car, new drivers (including Graham Rahal, son of Bobby), more sponsors and new circuits. All these are signs of growth and popularity, and I for one hope it continues to succeed! :up:
Don't forget that until Red Bull levered AJ into Forsythe racing, he was a sacked, jobless, failed Champ Car driver who lacked the application to succeed...

[Lee Roy]

And Lee Roy, Champ Car is in no way in major trouble anymore. There's a new car, new drivers (including Graham Rahal, son of Bobby), more sponsors and new circuits. All these are signs of growth and popularity, and I for one hope it continues to succeed! :up:
Don't forget that until Red Bull levered AJ into Forsythe racing, he was a sacked, jobless, failed Champ Car driver who lacked the application to succeed...

Champ Car is dead. The carcass is just twitching.

[Osella]

No, Indycar is dead, Champ Car has much, much higher popularity than IRL for example.
You need Champ Car in America, otherwise there is only NASCAR and the Indy 500 will die further...
I think ChampCar is actually on the way up, Sportscar racing was 'dead' in 1992 but look at it now, Le Mans especially.

As a Motorsport fan, I'm more worried about the Busch series than ChampCar in terms of whether it's going uphill or downhill...

[Hoss Ghoul]

But if he belongs in Busch/Truck series, wouldn't Toyota have been much better off signing someone who had already done some time there, saved money (AJ isn't cheap) and gotten a better chance of early success?

Toyota has little or nothing to do with it. Red Bull owns the team, and Red Bull picked A.J. He's there to sell energy drinks, with an eye toward future performance.

[BenRoethig]

No, Indycar is dead, Champ Car has much, much higher popularity than IRL for example.
You need Champ Car in America, otherwise there is only NASCAR and the Indy 500 will die further...
I think ChampCar is actually on the way up, Sportscar racing was 'dead' in 1992 but look at it now, Le Mans especially.

As a Motorsport fan, I'm more worried about the Busch series than ChampCar in terms of whether it's going uphill or downhill...

Uh... :rolleyes:

[Osella]

Uh... :rolleyes:

Uh what?

[harvick#1]

um... :mark:

CCWS is in serious trouble.

[Osella]

Ummm, why exactly?? It is in a bit, but has been shaky for years, but it now is on the up, has a chassis & engine contract (no danger of Tony George nicking all the cars!) a new chassis design, full grids with drivers fighting to get on board and new races in Europe and the East again.
OOh, so they lost their series sponsor...

"Ford's announcement comes a day before the second largest US car maker is expected to report a record loss for 2006, estimated by analysts to be around $15 billion (USD) on a combined basis.

Ford lost $7 billion through the first nine months of 2006 and is expected to lose another $4.86 billion in the fourth quarter as it booked costs to close plants and cut jobs, according to estimates.

Ford cut North American production 22 percent in the fourth quarter and completed a buyout offer with unionised factory workers that cut 38,000 jobs, about half its US factory work force. Its US sales dropped 8 percent for the year.

Ford last month took the unprecedented step of mortgaging assets, including its US plants, to borrow over $23 billion to fund a cash burn it expects to tally $17 billion in the next three years.

Big wow, so FORD is in serious trouble (which kinda impacts on all NASCAR divisions too!), but I'm not seeing ChampCar losing teams, losing chassis, losing engine supply, drivers or its championship right now...So it may not be the great Indycar World Series it once was, but it's in far, far less dire straits than it was three years ago..

Unlike a certain NASCAR division, which seems to be losing teams and drivers to the Cup and Truck series...and is being severely dented by Buschwhackers taking all the prize money and making most of the current BGN drivers look like retards!

And lest we not forget, this is the division where a certain Red Bull driver could do with a bit of learning ;)

[Hoss Ghoul]

You're the only one who believes what you're saying.

[harvick#1]

how many times has CCWS say they are going to europe and South Korea/China and cancelled.

I will believe them when I see that

[harvick#1]

Ummm, why exactly?? It is in a bit, but has been shaky for years, but it now is on the up, has a chassis & engine contract (no danger of Tony George nicking all the cars!) a new chassis design, full grids with drivers fighting to get on board and new races in Europe and the East again.
OOh, so they lost their series sponsor...

Big wow, so FORD is in serious trouble (which kinda impacts on all NASCAR divisions too!), but I'm not seeing ChampCar losing teams, losing chassis, losing engine supply, drivers or its championship right now...So it may not be the great Indycar World Series it once was, but it's in far, far less dire straits than it was three years ago..

Unlike a certain NASCAR division, which seems to be losing teams and drivers to the Cup and Truck series...and is being severely dented by Buschwhackers taking all the prize money and making most of the current BGN drivers look like retards!

And lest we not forget, this is the division where a certain Red Bull driver could do with a bit of learning ;)

just stop while your behind ;)

[Osella]

Actually, perhaps people should pay more attention to what's actually going on, not just what they hear.
ChampCar might not have a lot of adverts and American drivers, but it still has great cars and great circuits and is far from dead!

You guys hate it when people say NASCAR is just left-left-left-left racing with no skill, as do I, but I'm not going to lie and say that ChampCar is dead when it quite clearly isn't! Try watching a few races, it's actually brilliant racing and you might actually really enjoy it (if you're a real race fan...).

Now, is anyone going to tell me that the Busch series isn't being damaged by the Buschwhackers... ;) And that AJ really shoudn't be in NASCAR when there are a lot of better qualified guys out there (who might actually qualify :p )

[harvick#1]

if Champ Car goes off of Speed, then yes i will watch it. but have they gone away yet with that stupid Time Limit rule

[Osella]

No, unfortunately that's one of the downsides to racing on a lot of street circuits.. And F1 has the same, as do a lot of other race series' and tracks.
But then again, they haven't done away with the time limit rule at Le Mans, Daytona, Spa or Sebring yet either! ;) :laugh:

[harvick#1]

those timed events do not have a set # of laps to run ;)

I for one got sick and tired of CCWS ending the race 6-12 laps early because of the time limit rule. I'm sure alot of fans aren't happy about that.

[Jonesi]

those timed events do not have a set # of laps to run ;)

I for one got sick and tired of CCWS ending the race 6-12 laps early because of the time limit rule. I'm sure alot of fans aren't happy about that.

I don't think most fans notice the time rule and fewer care. Most road racing are timed races. Almost all SCCA amatuer racing is timed sprints, all current ALMS is, some GrandAm. Even vintage IMSA, TransAm & CanAm were all xx laps or x.xx time which ever occurs first.

[Osella]

Yeah, but what's the alternative? If people really want to see a race run to it's duration then maybe they should go slightly further than the end of their garden to get to the track!
If people can't be arsed to go to a proper racetrack then they get what they deserve IMO!

Even NASCAR and F1 are going that way, with events only at tracks next to major cities to keep the crowds in.. And I'm pretty sure places like Chicagoland have restrictions on how late the races can run and how much noise they can make cos the people who bought houses near the giant racetrack next door didn't realise racecars would use it, for races, and make some noise.... :rolleyes:

[harvick#1]

Chicagoland speedway is located in the the middle of nowhere in Joliet.

actually most of the race tracks are located where there are very little to no homes. plus if the tracks doesn't have lights. then they start the race at noon to make sure they have 6 hours tops to finish a 400-500 mile race

[RaceFanStan]

But if he belongs in Busch/Truck series, wouldn't Toyota have been much better off signing someone who had already done some time there, saved money (AJ isn't cheap) and gotten a better chance of early success?
The problem is that someone @ RedBull thinks AJ Allmendinger is the best thing since buttered bread.
They have the arrogant confidence that AJ Allmendinger is superior to the redneck nascar drivers.
Typical arrogant open-wheel attitude. :rolleyes:

As to giving Allmendinger the top 35 car I think why should they ?
IF Vickers can qualify for the races & get HIS car in the top 35 in owner's points, then he should keep HIS car !
If Allmendinger can't qualify for the races I expect his ontrack performance would also be lacking. :rolleyes:

BTW, I wouldn't be giving Brian Vickers too many props just yet.
2 races in, he has qualified for 1 of them & he got a top 10. whooptydoo http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif
1 good run doesn't prove anything, let's look at where he is in 4 more races. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

I expect RedBull's struggles aren't over as the season is just beginning. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/eek.gif

[Lee Roy]

Try watching a few races, it's actually brilliant racing and you might actually really enjoy it (if you're a real race fan...).


I used to go to CART races and really enjoy them. It's current itteration, Champ Car, is a joke.

[tassiedevilAB]

He is testing of the cot car isn't bad, he seams to have got that worked out!
Just give.......... 'all man dinga ling' .........a fair go. Red bull are a new team they will make mistakes! There are not the arrogent ones.

AJA , IS THE ARROGENT ONE, that is one thing that he has to get out of if he want's to get by with the other drivers!.... Montoya has already become more humble than he was in f1.

[RaikkonenRules]

The problem is that someone @ RedBull thinks AJ Allmendinger is the best thing since buttered bread.
[/IMG]

Ah buttered bread now he was a legend of a driver :D :laugh: