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IndyCar
INDYCAR: Shank Searching For Sponsorship To Run Allmendinger
“I can tell you, when he comes back from his [rehab] program and he starts thinking about it, I think it's possible he could end up in IndyCar," says Mike Shank.
AJ Allmendinger lit up the Champ Car series in 2006 before switching to NASCAR. Could he make his IndyCar Series debut next year driving for his own team? (Photo: Marshall Pruett)
What’s next for former Penske Racing employee AJ Allmendinger?
According to Mike Shank, Allmendinger’s friend and business partner in the Michael Shank Racing Indy program, it could be a return to open-wheel.
“I think it's possible,” said Shank from Mid-Ohio, site of this weekend’s IZOD IndyCar Series race. “I don't think it's impossible, but you've got a couple factors here to deal with.”
Those factors include funding and desire, which Shank is trying to dial up equal measures.
Shank was one of the first to place a deposit on the new Dallara DW12 IndyCar chassis last year and took possession of the car in January, but without the sponsorship in place to start the season at Round 1 in St. Petersburg, the veteran open-wheel and sports car team owner opted to wait until the Indianapolis 500 to make MSR Indy’s debut.
With driver Jay Howard signed and ready to drive, Shank chose to skip Indy after a shortage of competitive engines meant he’d be forced to use the underpowered Lotus unit for the month of May. Since then, he’s continued to search for the backing necessary to go racing in 2013, but with his partner’s unexpected change of fortunes in NASCAR, that sponsorship hunt has taken a sharp turn towards placing the 30-year-old Californian in the cockpit.
“We’re here this weekend with our motorcoach and talking with four different groups to try to raise money to be able to do something like this with AJ,” Shank explained. “I never thought it would be an option, to be honest with you, because of his contract with Penske. Now that that is kind of to the side I will pursue that with a little different stance now. It is now possible to have AJ in IndyCar if he chooses he wants to do it.”
And that’s the biggest question for Shank and Allmendinger to answer.
Allmendinger, like open-wheelers Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish, hasn’t had the breakthrough in Sprint Cup he’s been pursuing since 2007 and with his recent suspension from NASCAR and subsequent enrollment in the sanctioning body’s drug rehabilitation program, he’s been provided with an easy excuse to put an end to his stock car experiment.
“He does not want to be that guy,” Shank clarified. “He's real passionate about NASCAR. He doesn't want to just go away and feel like he was defeated.”
Whether a NASCAR team would hire Allmendinger once he’s completed the rehab process is debatable, and rather than commit himself to an open-wheel return right away, it’s likely the five-time Champ Car race winner will exhaust his NASCAR options before considering a full-time drive with his own IndyCar team.
According to Mike Shank, Allmendinger’s friend and business partner in the Michael Shank Racing Indy program, it could be a return to open-wheel.
“I think it's possible,” said Shank from Mid-Ohio, site of this weekend’s IZOD IndyCar Series race. “I don't think it's impossible, but you've got a couple factors here to deal with.”
Those factors include funding and desire, which Shank is trying to dial up equal measures.
Shank was one of the first to place a deposit on the new Dallara DW12 IndyCar chassis last year and took possession of the car in January, but without the sponsorship in place to start the season at Round 1 in St. Petersburg, the veteran open-wheel and sports car team owner opted to wait until the Indianapolis 500 to make MSR Indy’s debut.
With driver Jay Howard signed and ready to drive, Shank chose to skip Indy after a shortage of competitive engines meant he’d be forced to use the underpowered Lotus unit for the month of May. Since then, he’s continued to search for the backing necessary to go racing in 2013, but with his partner’s unexpected change of fortunes in NASCAR, that sponsorship hunt has taken a sharp turn towards placing the 30-year-old Californian in the cockpit.
“We’re here this weekend with our motorcoach and talking with four different groups to try to raise money to be able to do something like this with AJ,” Shank explained. “I never thought it would be an option, to be honest with you, because of his contract with Penske. Now that that is kind of to the side I will pursue that with a little different stance now. It is now possible to have AJ in IndyCar if he chooses he wants to do it.”
And that’s the biggest question for Shank and Allmendinger to answer.
Allmendinger, like open-wheelers Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish, hasn’t had the breakthrough in Sprint Cup he’s been pursuing since 2007 and with his recent suspension from NASCAR and subsequent enrollment in the sanctioning body’s drug rehabilitation program, he’s been provided with an easy excuse to put an end to his stock car experiment.
“He does not want to be that guy,” Shank clarified. “He's real passionate about NASCAR. He doesn't want to just go away and feel like he was defeated.”
Whether a NASCAR team would hire Allmendinger once he’s completed the rehab process is debatable, and rather than commit himself to an open-wheel return right away, it’s likely the five-time Champ Car race winner will exhaust his NASCAR options before considering a full-time drive with his own IndyCar team.
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