Following Kurt Busch’s success last year in running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca Cola 600, there’s been talk as to whether other drivers would consider making an attempt at running both races on Memorial Day.
A.J. Allmendinger, who has open-wheel experience, told SpeedwayMedia.com that he would consider running the double, but “it’d have to be the right situation”. Having an Indianapolis start under his belt, the 33-year-old doesn’t want to mess up the memories from 2013.
“It sounds strange, but I don’t want to mess that up by jumping in a car just to say that I’ve done the double,” he commented.
Allmendinger ran the Indianapolis 500 in 2013 for Roger Penske and says that it was “really special”.
“Special is a big understatement, honestly,” he notes. “It was just a dream come true to be at the Indianapolis 500, especially with Roger Penske. All the memories that I got over the course of those few weeks and having a shot to win the race, leading laps, if it wasn’t for the seatbelt issue. Really having a shot to win the race is something that will always stay with me and mean something to me.”
Though if the right opportunity came along with a team that was capable of winning the event, he says that he would probably do the double.
“The fact that I would have to be on a great team that I knew when I got in the car that I had a shot to win the race, and accomplish something special,” he commented. “I’m not a guy that wants to be there to say that I was there and did it; I want to have a true shot at winning the race. Obviously, with Roger Penske, I had that opportunity. So right situation, and (JTG Daughtry team co-owner) Tad (Geshickter) – I have already talked to him about it and if the opportunity came up, he’s onboard with it. He’d love to be a part of it and share that, so I have the blessing from the race team. So it’d have to be a good situation, but I’d definitely do it if it was there.”
After finishing 13th in points last year, the California native is looking forward to his second season with JTG Daughtry in hopes of finding more success after scoring his first career victory at Watkin’s Glen.
“Anytime you start a new year, you’re excited about it,” he said. “I feel like after last year with our success late in the year, I felt like the team jelled and we really started running well at a lot of race tracks. So I’m looking forward to this year.”
Allmendinger added that the new package adds a bit of an unknown, which he will get a chance to try out in a test next Monday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
“Overall, just to have a second year together with this race team – for the most part, we’re staying intact and I feel like we’ve added a couple key components to make us better,” he continued. “Just really looking forward to kicking the season off.”
