Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger has been on plenty of wild rides, but nothing quite like the one this summer when the Thornton resident went from unemployed and depressed to glamorous and giddy.
Allmendinger will make his sixth consecutive start for Indianapolis-based Forsythe Championship Racing this weekend at the Grand Prix of Denver.
In June, the notion of competing on his home track was far from certain.
The outspoken 24-year-old was fired by Loveland-based RuSport on June 9, became engaged the next day, hooked up with Forsythe the following week and reeled off the first three victories of his career. He climbed into the title chase with 210 points, behind two-time defending series champion Sebastien Bourdais (255) and Justin Wilson (224), his former Ru- Sport teammate.
The support of his fiancée, Lynne Kushnirenko, and his new teammate, Paul Tracy, has aided Allmendinger’s rise. Besides saying yes to Allmen- dinger, Kushnirenko had two other words for her husband-to-be: “You’re crazy.”
“It was a big emotional roller coaster. But no one could have written a better story. His first win made him feel worthy again, because his confidence was shot. Then he got his second win, and then his third, and he’s on the biggest roll of his life.”
Kushnirenko, a Toronto chiropractor, helped Allmendinger through those dark days as he pondered racing style clashes with his old team before Forsythe asked him to replace Mario Dominguez, who finished second last year in Denver.
“If I was home alone and didn’t have her, and had to go through that alone, I don’t know if I could have,” Allmendinger said. “Having her to look at, to talk to, made it so much easier. We all know that when you’re happy away from your career it makes you better when you go to work, and that’s me right now.”
Allmendinger, Bourdais and Wilson have combined to win all nine Champ Car races this season, with Bourdais claiming five, Allmendinger three and Wilson one. In June, contending for the title was one of the last things Allmendinger was thinking about when he was let go by RuSport, the team that brought him to Champ Car and persuaded the California native to relocate to Colorado.
But joining Forsythe and becoming teammates with Tracy might have been the best thing for Allmendinger, Champ Car’s only full-time American driver. Forsythe allows him to express himself more freely – on and off the track – and Tracy’s similar driving style has helped Allmendinger adapt to the team’s engineers and the car’s basic setups.
“It’s been a fantastic deal,” said Allmendinger, who plans to sell his Thornton home and move to Toronto. “Everything that goes along with being a part of a team was so easy to adjust to and everybody made me feel like they wanted me, and I was at home. We just have great team chemistry. We’re laughing, joking around, and every time I get in the car it’s a good race car.”
Former teammate Wilson is more of a technical driver. Allmendinger does things more by feel, instead of poring over data.
“It was interesting to go to Forsythe and get teamed up with Paul, because we have the same personality and driving style,” Allmendinger said. “The setup that was built around him helped me immediately. That’s the reason why I was able to be so quick right away.
“And it’s no secret that Paul and I are a little bit more aggressive, and Justin is methodical and really smooth. He does things in the race car that amazed me, in terms of the data. But it was hard to share that. Coming to Forsythe, it was easier to attack the track. It’s a feel that’s hard to put into words.”
Tracy, the 2003 series champion and winningest active Champ Car driver, said Allmendinger has pushed him to become a better racer.
“Since A.J. joined the team we’ve really been able to develop the car a lot more,” Tracy said. “It’s been a while since I’ve had a teammate that really pushed me. For the last few years I was usually comfortably faster than my teammates. So having A.J. in the team has also made me raise my game.”
RuSport president Jeremy Dale said Allmendinger’s success “validates the decision that RuSport made in terms of putting him in the Atlantic car and Champ Car.”
Looking to this weekend, Allmendinger is eager to begin practicing and qualifying at the 1.65-mile course around the Pepsi Center. A year ago Tracy was the class of the field, winning the pole and leading 59 of the first 62 laps before crashing. Bourdais inherited the lead and went on to win for the second consecutive time.
Allmendinger finished third after he was passed by Dominguez with less than 2 miles left in the race. He was sixth as a series rookie in 2004.
“Last year Paul basically had the car to win, dominating until his mistake, and Mario finished second, so I’m really excited about Denver and having a chance to win again,” Allmendinger said.
Bourdais, who built a huge lead by winning the first four races of the season, views the championship as a three-man battle.
“Justin and A.J. are two good drivers on very good teams, with all the money to move forward,” Bourdais said. “It’s going to be like this to the very end, I’m pretty sure.”
Staff writer Mike Chambers can be reached at 303-820-5453 or mchambers@denverpost.com.
A.J. Allmendinger
The Thornton resident has had a wonderful ride in the Champ Car series this year with three victories for his new team, Indianapolis-based Forsythe Championship Racing.
Age: 24
Born: Los Gatos, Calif.
HIGHLIGHTS
Two podium finishes in his 2004 Champ Car rookie season.
Had eight victories in the Toyota Atlantic championship in 2003, most wins in a rookie season and won the series championship.
Nine of 10 podium finishes in the Barber Dodge Pro Series to win the series in 2002.
Two-time International Karting Federation Grand National Champion.
2006 CHAMP CAR SEASON
Race Start Finish
Long Beach 4 16
Houston 3 8
Monterrey 3 3
Milwaukee 3 4
Portland 2 1
Cleveland 1 1
Toronto 2 1
Edmonton 4 3
San Jose 3 7
Source: Champ Car
