Allmendinger out of #84

[Vez]

http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/headlines/cup/03/03/aallmendinger.redbull.possibly.out/index.html

They have to do something, especially since Vickers has made all the races so far.

They haven't given up on him which is in a way good, and are trying to find a seat in one of the other series to get him more seat time.

[JasonD]

Im surprised hes lasted this long really.

[dwboogityfan]

It's a shame for A.J. but inevitable considering the poor results he has had. I was fortunate enough to meet A.J. while I was across at Daytona and yes he is a bit brash at times but also has a good personality and was friendly to the fans. However, given time I'm sure he can come back to the #84 - possibly after running in the Truck Series.
As for his replacement of course I'm going to say my favourite driver Sterling Marlin! Marlin would be perfect when you look at the tracks coming up - after Atlanta we have Bristol and Martinsville and short tracks are Sterling's strong point. Also he has worked with Jay Frye at MB2 Motorsports so there would be some continuity.

[Lee Roy]

Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti (the winners of the last two Indy 500s and with 4 IRL Championships between them) have taken top 35 guaranteed starting spot rides and has dropped them out of the top 35 in only 3 races.

I imagine they'll soon be on their way back to open wheel racing.

I think the bloom is about to fall off the "open wheel driver" pumpkin in NASCAR.

[Osella]

Okay, but Hornish got wrecked in 2 of the last three races! And a certain open-wheel champion leads the Nationwide series and very nearly won the Daytona 500 to go with his two Nextel Cup titles...

Good drivers are good drivers, and Hornish and Franchitti are proven to be two of the best. Allmendinger, on the other hand, has not been around so long in any top-line race series let alone in any of NASCAR's championships, so what Red Bull really expected of him I don't know...just goes to show perhaps they just didn't understand how hard NASCAR was going to be!

[Jonesi]

NascarNow just reported Mike Skinner replacing AJA in #84, Johnny Benson to drive #27 at Atlanta.

[Lee Roy]

Good drivers are good drivers, and Hornish and Franchitti are proven to be two of the best.

In the minor leagues. They've now stepped up to the majors.

[e2mtt]

In the minor leagues. They've now stepped up to the majors.

Haha. The IRL isn't quite elite, but I sure wouldn't call it minor league. They will both end up succesful winners if they stick it out. Talent is still talent, even if it takes a little while to adapt.

On the other hand, no way AJ was ready for the switch. He really hadn't proven himself anywhere... a few wins in Champ Car, but he wasn't there long enough to really prove anything. No way he could be expected to succesfully develop a stock car for a brand new team with a brand new engine!

[Racin' Rob]

In the minor leagues. They've now stepped up to the majors.

Surely you are not judging them after just 3 races into their rookie season? I don't think I need to tell anyone here how different open wheel and stock car racing is. It takes time to adjust your whole way of thinking as a driver.

[Lee Roy]

Haha. The IRL isn't quite elite, but I sure wouldn't call it minor league.

I would.


On the other hand, no way AJ was ready for the switch. He really hadn't proven himself anywhere... a few wins in Champ Car, but he wasn't there long enough to really prove anything. No way he could be expected to succesfully develop a stock car for a brand new team with a brand new engine!

His teammate is currently 13th in points. And all of the Michael Waltrip Racing entries, who struggled so much last year, are all currently in the top 35.

[RaceFanStan]

Too many open-wheel drivers think they can START at the top tier of NASCAR. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
They don't get the seat-time (experience) in a lesser series before juming into a Cup car. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
Failure is almost certainly assured without the much needed experience. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/s.gif

Hello open-wheel drivers, here is your wake-up call : YOU'RE FIRED ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

[Lee Roy]

Too many open-wheel drivers think they can START at the top tier of NASCAR. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
They don't get the seat-time (experience) in a lesser series before juming into a Cup car. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/rolleyes.gif
Failure is almost certainly assured without the much needed experience. http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/s.gif

Hello open-wheel drivers, here is your wake-up call : YOU'RE FIRED ! http://www.motorsportforum.com/forums/images/icons/tongue-anim.gif

You only need to spend a few moments on an open-wheel forum to see what low regard NASCAR is held in in the open-wheel world. It is so sweet to see so many of their heros come over and then have leave with their posteriors in their hands.

[RaceFanStan]

I agree Lee Roy, I have to chuckle as each one gets kicked-out of their Cup ride. http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g202/gr8link/orn/00.gif

[harvick#1]

I would.


same here,

yes they go fast, but they are also flat out at nearly every track they race on.

plus 13 drivers on a grid, wow thats big time right there :p :

[BenRoethig]

Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti (the winners of the last two Indy 500s and with 4 IRL Championships between them) have taken top 35 guaranteed starting spot rides and has dropped them out of the top 35 in only 3 races.

I imagine they'll soon be on their way back to open wheel racing.

I think the bloom is about to fall off the "open wheel driver" pumpkin in NASCAR.

As much as I like Dario and Sam, I don't see them, or Patrick and A.J. in NASCAR for '09.

[BenRoethig]

You only need to spend a few moments on an open-wheel forum to see what low regard NASCAR is held in in the open-wheel world. It is so sweet to see so many of their heros come over and then have leave with their posteriors in their hands.

In all fairness to open wheel guys, theres a different between the old school indy guys and the formula road racing crowd. They really don't respect anything that isn't FIA approved.

[ms0362]

Most likely the begining of the end for him. He should have spent time in Trucks and the NW series before coming into the show. He didn't qualify for a bunch of races last year in the old car, now he has to adapt to the COT. Vickers shouldn't get to comfortable either. Large sponsers don't stick around just to qualify for races.

[Lee Roy]

Vickers shouldn't get to comfortable either. Large sponsers don't stick around just to qualify for races.

Vickers is 13th in points.

[harvick#1]

Vickers is 13th in points.

tied for 12th ;) actually

[Osella]

. Large sponsers don't stick around just to qualify for races.

Not a sponsor... They own the team..

[muggle not]

Not a sponsor... They own the team..
Then they are an Owner / Sponsor.

[muggle not]

I think all of the O.W. drivers are making a mistake by not running a full season in Nationwide or Trucks before making the attempt to go Cup. Their chances of success would be greatly improved.

[Lee Roy]

I think all of the O.W. drivers are making a mistake by not running a full season in Nationwide or Trucks before making the attempt to go Cup. Their chances of success would be greatly improved.


I think many of the current OW crossover drivers saw what Juan Montoya was doing and thought they could do the same. Take it from me. I've seen Montoya drive in CART and Formula One and he is a rare talent. Most of the current OW crossover drivers couldn't carry Montoya's helmet bag.

[GaryG]

Ex-F1 driver Scott Speed is taking the ARCA then trucks route. I think AJ shold have done the same. Speed is giving himself a couple of years to see if he can hack it. AJ is a good talent, but going Cup racing is jumping in the deep end of the pool.

[Bobby_Hamlin]

Montoya did ok in Formula 1 but nothing special when you look at his entire record.

Franchitti is really suffering in the cup cars, he's had some positive runs in the Nationwide series. Hornish has looked pretty good at times but needs some better finishes.

I don't know why anyone would have a chip on their shoulder about open wheel vs NASCAR, the situation is that NASCAR has grown to become the second biggest championship in the world next to Formula 1, so for these guys who are now coming to NASCAR from the IRL or in Montoya's case F1, are doing it because it's the place to be.

[BenRoethig]

They're also coming in because open wheel had deteriorated to a point where you couldn't make a living. They couldn't pay them what the tops talent was making in the 80s and 90s.

[RaikkonenRules]

Montoya's the only Openwheeler that's done any good so far.

Franchitti's just been plain slow in Cup.
Hornish crashes too much.
Carpentier could be decent soon.
Allmendinger needs more seat time in Nationwide. If the #84 ever gets into the Top 35 then they should run him again. Just barely missing Daytona seems to have put him and the #84 in a hole for the season.

[Lee Roy]

Montoya did ok in Formula 1 but nothing special when you look at his entire record.


Montoya did very well in F1. His tenure in F1 pretty much coincided with Michael Schumacher and Ferrari's near total domination of the sport. I think if you look at Montoya's record in F1 compared to drivers other than Shumi during that same period, he stacked up pretty good.

[tstran17_88]

Montoya did very well in F1. His tenure in F1 pretty much coincided with Michael Schumacher and Ferrari's near total domination of the sport. I think if you look at Montoya's record in F1 compared to drivers other than Shumi during that same period, he stacked up pretty good.Along with Fernado Alonso winning alot of races and two world championships with Renault in both Schumi and JPM's last two seasons.

[Bobby_Hamlin]

Montoya did very well in F1. His tenure in F1 pretty much coincided with Michael Schumacher and Ferrari's near total domination of the sport. I think if you look at Montoya's record in F1 compared to drivers other than Shumi during that same period, he stacked up pretty good.

Rose tinted specs syndrome here maybe.

The reason I say he was 'nothing special' is that he wasn't consistent enough. Sure he won some races and yeah Ferrari were dominant but he didn't blow his team-mates away, he did mostly as well as his car allowed him to, which is understandable in modern day F1 to some extent. Some circuits he never quite seemed to get a handle on. His best chance of success was possibly in 2003 and he blew it with several mistakes and errors of judgement, spinning potential race wins away etc. In 2005 McLaren had a title challenging car and he took too long to settle, missed races with the 'tennis' injury and never mounted any sort of championship challenge.

I watched him in CART, I watched him in Formula 1, and unquestionably one could see the talent but for some part there was also a lot of frustration and missed opportunity. So in short, I'm not sure he'll have the consistency to win regularly in NASCAR and ultimately be a success.

[Lee Roy]

Well, Skinner qualified the #84 in 34th, one spot ahead of Vickers.

It isn't the car.

[Lee Roy]

"CUP: Vickers Ninth place Finish Locks Him in to Race No. 6"

http://nascar.speedtv.com/article/cup-vickers-ninth-place-finish-locks-him-in-to-race-no-6/