BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A frustrated AJ Allmendinger climbed out of the car and made a beeline to the fence behind pit road for a chat with Penske Racing teammate Will Power.
Though Allmendinger has an open-wheel background having raced in Champ Cars, his transition to IndyCar, even on a part-time basis, comes with its share of adjustment challenges after seven years driving stock cars in NASCAR. That was evident following a testing session Tuesday at Barber Motorsports Park, where Allmendinger said he went off the track a couple of times.
He does benefit from having two top IndyCar drivers on his team. Power has won the last two races at Barber Motorsports and Helio Castroneves took the first three years ago. Allmendinger also said he's starting ahead of the curve because he has a fast car.