Sunday's telecast of the Super Bowl may attract as many as 100 million viewers, but there's at least one regular on the NASCAR circuit who won't be watching.

A California native, but an ardent cheesehead when it comes to NFL football, Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger has seen his last pro football game of the season, after watching his beloved Green Bay Packers lose to the New York Giants in the NFC championship game.

Allmendinger was in Austria at the time, on a promotional trip for the Red Bull Racing team that fields his Toyotas in the Cup Series. The 2004 Champ Car rookie of the year stayed awake into the wee hours, only to see his favorite team lose.

So when the Giants take the field against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Allmendinger swears he won't be in front of his television.

"I'm boycotting the Super Bowl, because my Packers lost last week," Allmendinger said. "I don't give a crap. I hope they both lose somehow. I'm not watching it.

"It was bad enough watching them lose, but to have to watch them lose at 4 in the morning, in German, and then having to catch a 10-hour flight, it's ruined the rest of my year. I'm still mad. The only thing I'm happy about is that I'm pretty sure Brett Favre won't end his career on an interception, so at least we'll get another year of watching Brett."

Despite the Packers loss, however, Allmendinger's load is lighter this year. After struggling through a baptism by fire in his rookie campaign last season, Allmendinger's comfort level in a Sprint Cup car has improved immeasurably.

So has his performance. His No. 84 Camry was quick at the Las Vegas test, and in the first test session of the year at Daytona International Speedway in early January, he ran consistently in the top five. Though testing is a far cry from racing against 42 other cars, the results have been encouraging -- a sharp contrast to his frustrating first season.

His propensity for contact with the SAFER barriers earned him a variety of nicknames, all with a similar theme: "A.J. Wallmendinger," "A.J. Wallbanger." You get the idea. And if the walls at the Cup racetracks took a beating, Allmendinger says you should see the interior of his motorhome.

"If you look at the inside of it, there's a lot of damage to it," he said. (Continued)