Event Guide

AJ Allmendinger

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AJ Allmendinger took the step up to the Champ Car World Series in 2004, with the same RuSPORT team that he won the 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship with.

In his first season on the circuit, he finished five of the season’s last six races in the top six, capped by a third place run in the season finale. He earned the Roshfrans Rookie-of-the-Year award by a 41-point margin, becoming the first American-born driver to claim the honor since 1991.

In 2005, he finished fifth in the championship standings on the strength of six top fives and nine top 10s.

The following year was a breakout campaign for Allmendinger, but the young American driver had to endure quite a bit of adversity before making his mark.

After the first four races of the 2006 Champ Car season, the Los Gatos, California native was released by RuSPORT. Just a few days later, he signed with Forsythe Championship Racing. With his new team, he recorded three consecutive victories and finished the year with five victories overall. Also that season, Allmendinger got to taste NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series action - racing three times with Bill Davis Racing, scoring a best finish of ffifth in the John Deere 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Both his open wheel and NCTS results led the newly established Red Bull Racing team to offer him a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series ride for the 2007 campaign, where he will team up with Brian Vickers.