AJ Allmendinger 2011 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2010 Stats: Points Finish 19th, 0 Wins, 2 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens, Average Running Position 17.8, Average Finish 17.8, Laps Led 181, Driver Rating 79.1
AJ Allmendinger is a very underrated driver but throughout his career one thing has followed him, uncertainty. At the end of the 2010 NASCAR season there was speculation as to whether RPM teams would even finish the season. Even with new RPM ownership for 2011 speculation still surrounds him. As of December 27, 2010 he still doesn’t even have a sponsor for the upcoming season (I’m assuming Best Buy will return but it hasn’t happened yet).
Not having a full time sponsor listed this close to Daytona is a real problem. Without the expected revenue from a sponsor it’s very possible that RPM is already making substantial budget cuts in addition to the disbanding of the #9 and #98 teams.
Strengths – Many of AJ’s best performances come on low grip tracks. AJ is good on almost every track type and was very competitive from the all-star race until the end of the season.
Weaknesses – The 43 team and RPM in general have let him down on many occasions. His team makes costly mistakes on pit row and RPM doesn’t provide a stable atmosphere. Also his restrictor plate luck is well below par.
Intermediate Track Grade- B, From the June Michigan race onward AJ only finished outside the top twenty once and had an average finish of 13.8. His best finish in this time period was a fifth at Homestead.
Flat Track Grade- B-, AJ Allmendinger was solid on flat tracks in 2010 but his best finish on this track type was only tenth. His strong suit on flat tracks was consistency. In all seven flat track races of the year he never finished outside the top twenty five. His average finish on the small tracks was 13.75 and his average finish on the big flat tracks was 16.6.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- C, Allmendinger has had good runs at Daytona recently, but I think the repaving will hurt him. His strength at Daytona was long runs on a slick track and now that advantage is gone from him. He was very good in the Daytona 500 but facts are facts and his average finish for the year on these wild card tracks is 29.75.
Short Track Grade- B-, Allmendinger finished the short track season strong by finishing 8th at Richmond and 12th at Martinsville. Allmendinger’s problem is that all of his other short track finishes are outside the top fifteen.
Road Course Track Grade- A-, In the last four road course races AJ has two top sevens and two thirteenths. Back in his open wheel days these serpentine tracks are all he did. In his final CART season (2006) AJ won five of the seasons fourteen races.
How to use AJ Allmendinger from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2011? Focus on using AJ Allmendinger at intermediate tracks, road courses, and flat tracks. If you’re in an allocation league he’ll provide you more than enough starts between these track types.
AJ Allmendinger Stats/Loop Data
