Column: Allmendinger overcomes demons to play playoff spoiler in NASCAR win at Charlotte

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AJ Allmendinger finds the pressure of racing at NASCAR’s top levels so intense that he once took a two-year mental health break just to alleviate the constant stress and anxiety engulfing him every week. Five years later, he played the spoiler in NASCAR’s playoff elimination race on The Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

AJ Allmendinger, top, embraces team owner Matt Kaulig in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Concord, N.C. AJ Allmendinger celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Concord, N.C. AJ Allmendinger celebrates in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Sunday, Oct. 8, 2023, in Concord, N.C.

Kaulig in 2019 entered Allmendinger in five road course races in the second-tier Xfinity Series and Allmendinger won in the final start — at The Roval. Kaulig bumped him to 11 Xfinity races in 2020 and Allmendinger again won at The Roval. The results have been underwhelming. Kaulig launched at the same time as 23XI Racing and Trackhouse Racing but didn’t get its first win until Sunday and has yet to make the playoffs; 23XI and Trackhouse have five Cup wins each, 23XI placed two drivers in the playoffs each of the last two years while Trackhouse was runner-up in the championship last year with Ross Chastain.

So he’s not kidding when he says he has the best life possible. But as he’s done his entire career, Allmendinger internalizes and can buckle under the unattainable expectations he sets for himself. He scored the job of his life in 2012 when Roger Penske gave him a Cup ride, but Allmendinger was barely holding it together 17 races into the season when he said he accepted a pill from a friend at a party in an effort to let loose.

Gurney’s numbers, like Allmendinger’s, were modest. But Gurney was regarded among the best drivers in the world, underappreciated for skills that spanned several disciplines.

 

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