Context added to AJ Allmendinger’s “Recent” Sonoma Track Record

When you look at AJ Allmendinger’s recent Cup history at Sonoma, you’ll see a ton of Asterisk Mark results, and there not all that recent since he last raced here in 2018.

What happened in 2018 is missing below since this content was written for that race, but in that event his engine blew up after he completed 33 laps.

*** Content below is a straight copy paste from 2018 and it’s written from the pre-race perspective heading into the race

AJ Allmendinger – AJ Allmendinger is always a popular Fantasy NASCAR option at Sonoma, but in a way he’s also a “suckers pick.” Good finishes for him at Sonoma just haven’t panned out. His average finish is 22.4 and since 2010 he’s only finished in the top ten once. If you pick him look for him to be a 9th to 14th place driver and not a real contender. Last year at Sonoma, he ran well early and looked like a top five competitor, but his race was far from incident free. When Stage #1 ended he finished 2nd. On lap 38 is when his problems started when he spun, and Kyle Larson clipped him while running in the top five. After his spin he radioed his team and said he killed it. Then later in the race on lap 72 while he was in 16th, he had electrical problems which doomed him to a 35th place finish. In 2016 he had a strong car, but he got a penalty when equipment left his box. When the checkered flag waved, he earned the 4th best driver rating, had a 7th place average running position, finished 14th and led 20 laps. In 2015 he ran well, but his race wasn’t incident free. He started on the pole and consistently ran in the top two over the first 50 laps. Just after the mid-point while he was running in 8th, he complained about fuel pressure related issues. That later led to him going to the garage to replace his fuel cell which led to a disappointing 37th place finish. In 2014, Allmendinger had one of the best cars. He started 2nd and led 35 laps. Performance wise he was top five good, but his race wasn’t incident free. Pit strategy shuffled him back to the mid-teens around the midpoint and while he was working his way towards the front, he had contact with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and got heavy damage which led to his 37th place finish. In his four Sonoma races prior to that he had a 10.5 average finish.