24 September 2008

A.J. Allmendinger Gets a Raw Deal

Yesterday, I saw on the Autosport and SpeedTV websites that A.J. Allmendinger and the Red Bull NASCAR team had mutually agreed to part ways.

In my opinion, this was a raw deal for Allmendinger given the improvement he has shown over this racing season. Granted, he started poorly but he gracefully stood by while Mike Skinner got in the car for several races and helped Red Bull sort out the car. Allmendinger learned from Skinner while out of the car and stood by the team in what was no doubt an embarrassing situation for him. When he got back in the car, he began to show improvement and his results have improved over the course of the season. How unfortunate it is that Red Bull is not giving him the chance to continue his improvement and show what he can really do.

I read that one of his options is going to Ganassi racing. This, in my opinion, would be a terrible move on Allmendinger's part. He would essentially be going to the same situation he has been in last season and this season. Ganassi isn't providing cars that are any better than the Red Bull cars. I really don't see where hiring Allmendinger would benefit Ganassi either; what Ganassi needs is a good veteran driver to sort out their car problems. Allmendinger doesn't yet have the experience to do that for them. Allmendinger needs a good, established team to provide him good equipment and Ganassi needs a good, veteran driver to improve his equipment.

Mac
kf4lmt@comcast.net

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