AJ Allmendinger 2012 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2011 Stats: Points Finish 15th, 0 Wins, 1 Top Five, 10 Top Tens, Average Running Position 17.3, Average Finish 16.1, Laps Led 51, Driver Rating 80.5
Strengths- AJ’s a good driver at many different track types. He’s good on short tracks, small flats, road courses, and was even a reliable driver on restrictor plate tracks (in 2011).
Weaknesses- AJ Allmendinger struggles at the big flat tracks. His new Penske equipment might change that though. Consistency on intermediate tracks has historically been a problem.
Intermediate Track Grade- B-, Last season Allmendinger scored the 18th most points on this track type. With his Roush Fenway RPM equipment he should’ve been better. I believe he’s very capable on this track type but it seemed like that right after he got a good finish be backed it up with a stinker. That takes away some of his fantasy viability to me on this track type. The 22 car was very good on 1.5 mile tracks so AJ will be a sleeper at every cookie cutter on the schedule.
Flat Track Grade- B, Allmendinger is very good on the shorter flat tracks. Last season on the small flats he finished in the top twelve in three of four races. If you’re in an allocation league he most likely will be the best pick available to you in his mid level tier.
What I don’t like about Allmendinger on this track type is his performances on the big flats. At Pocono he’s only finished in the top ten once (22nd place avg finish) and at Indy he only has one top ten there as well (17th place avg finish).
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B, Last season AJ scored the 8th most points on this track type (make sure you join FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com and check out the stats wizard). In three of the four plate races in 2011 he finished in the top eleven.
When Allmendinger raced at Petty he had a fair level of success at Daytona. In six races he had three finishes of 11th or better and only two finishes of 30th or worse. Last season he finished 10th and 11th at Daytona.
Talladega has been a different story though. He only has one top fifteen finish and sports a 27th place average finish. In the spring Talladega race he finished 11th.
Short Track Grade- B+, Last season Allmendinger finished 31st at Bristol in the first short track race of the season but in the remaining races he was solid. In the other five short track races he finished 7th, 11th, 11th, 12th and 14th. In those five races he accumulated the 7th most points.
Road Course Track Grade- A- , Allmendinger is a lock for a good finish on the serpentine tracks. On this track type Allmendinger has seven straight finishes of 13th or better. Last season Kurt Busch dominated at Infineon in the 22 car and Brad Keselowski nearly won at Watkins Glen. Look for his success to continue on the road courses.
How to use AJ Allmendinger from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2012? Allmendinger is a versatile driver and is good at many of the different disciplines. From a fantasy NASCAR perspective I would focus on using him at road courses, shorter flat tracks and 1.5 mile tracks in the Atlanta, Charlotte, Texas mold.
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