AJ Allmendinger heads back to Watkins Glen International this weekend for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race as a defending winner. It’s a mantle he happily accepts, one that brings back plenty of memories, but one that comes with expectations and a golden opportunity.
Allmendinger aims to rely on his road-racing expertise in Sunday’s Cheez-it 355 at The Glen (2 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM) on the 2.45-mile circuit, site of his breakthrough triumph in NASCAR’s premier series. A victory would help provide a needed salve for the JTG Daugherty Racing driver, who sits 23rd in Sprint Cup points but could clinch a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup playoffs with a regular-season win.
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“I still believe it every day that we have a great shot to win a race and make the Chase and if I didn’t believe it, then I shouldn’t be in a race car,” Allmendinger said in a release provided by the team. “From there, it’s all about being better. Are we a championship-winning team right now? Probably not, but all you have got to do is look at what (2014 series runner-up) Ryan Newman showed last year. All you got to do is get into the Chase and you’ve got a shot.”
Allmendinger’s likely best chance comes on the twisty turns at Watkins Glen, where his shrewd road course ability makes the No. 47 Chevrolet a pre-race favorite. The proficiency paid off last season, where Allmendinger outran fellow road ace Marcos Ambrose for his first Sprint Cup win.
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But the performance sometimes comes with the double-edged sword of anticipation. It’s another element of pre-race preparation that crew chief Brian Burns has tried to manage.
“I’m not going to lie, it is a stressful weekend for us because we all have the same expectations,” Burns said. “We try not to talk about it and try to block it out so we can stay as calm as we can. We try to keep each other on an even level. We know that if we don’t make mistakes and do the simple things right and have the absence of bad luck, we can win.”
Misfortune derailed JTG Daugherty’s hopes in June at Sonoma Raceway, the other road course on the Sprint Cup schedule. Allmendinger claimed the Coors Light Pole Award and ran among the contenders until a fuel-pressure issue forced the No. 47 behind the wall for extensive repairs in the garage.
It was the latest setback in a season that thus far has produced just three top-10 finishes in 21 races.
“We’re doing our best and are trying to get better,” Allmendinger said. “To go out there, whether it’s battling for 25th or battling for the win, we are trying to get everything we can. This season has definitely not gone the way we’ve wanted it to go. It started off great and after five races we were top five in points and then we had some motor problems happen and a few incidents where we would be running in the top 10 and have an accident like we did at Bristol and so forth.”
A rebound could hinge on this weekend’s return to Watkins Glen. Allmendinger said he still gets chills watching the race replay, but that he still contemplates what he could have done better over the final laps. Regardless of any internal second-guessing, his stirring 2014 drive cemented Allmendinger’s name in the registry of premier-series winners.
“Winning a race, no one can take that away from you,” Allmendinger said. “You feel like you are king of the world for one day. At that moment, you are the best there is. I just remember on that day it was the best I had ever driven in my life. On that day, I had to man up and say, ‘I’m not letting this race get taken away from me.’ It’s something that no matter whether if I win again or not, it’s memories that I will always have.”