A.J. Allmendinger is not a patient man. He stepped into the seat of former Sprint Cup champion Kurt Busch in Penske Racing’s No. 22 Dodge and is anxious to reward the team’s confidence in him.
Allmendinger took a big step toward gaining acceptance on Saturday when he won the pole for Sunday’s STP 400 at Kansas Speedway. The Hollister product turned a lap of 175.993 and edged Kevin Harvick, who was second at 175.747 in a Chevrolet.
“More than anything, I just love being a part of this race team,” Allmendinger said after his second career pole. “I put a lot of pressure on my shoulders to go out there and win races, win poles for these guys, because they’re so use to it. I put a lot of that on me.
“To get a pole like this and get in the (2013) Shootout and just keep building the momentum, it’s a big deal today. The important day is tomorrow, but today we’re the best. That’s all that matters.”
Allmendinger, 31, spent his first five Sprint Cup seasons with second-tier teams and has not won a race in 159 starts. Busch won 10 races in his six seasons with Penske, so the opportunity is there.
“The great thing is that Mr. (Roger) Penske and everybody in the organization is patient,” Allmendinger said. “They’re like, ‘It takes time.’ It’s just because these guys deserve it. They’re use to running up front. We’ll get there. It’s a lot of work. We’re not quite there yet. But when we do get there, we’ll have the chance to win a lot of races.”
Allmendinger finished second to Ryan Newman at Martinsville on April 1, and believes the elusive first win is not far away.
“We’re getting closer,” Allmendinger said. “We just need to get faster throughout a whole race. We’re still working together and I think that’s what people don’t really understand. It’s tough to be a brand-new crew chief in the Cup Series along with a driver coming to a race team for the first time.
“To figure out what we need together and things like that. The good thing is that the Penske organization builds fast racecars. Dodge is a huge supporter or ours. We know when we do figure it out, we have the potential to win a lot of races. It’s just tough getting to that point.”
Harvick, who is fifth in points, has not won at Kansas Speedway in 12 starts and he’s never qualified better than 10th at the track. Poor qualifying has led to lack of success for Harvick at Kansas, where his best finish is sixth four times.
“We can win anywhere,” Harvick said. “We have proved that in the past. It’s just a matter of putting it all together and making the right pit calls and making the right adjustments. It’s not a matter of whether we can or can’t win here. We can win anywhere on any style race track at any time it’s just not making any mistakes and putting that whole day together.”
Joey Logano, the first driver to make a qualifying run, was third-fastest at 175.724 mph in a Toyota but must start from the rear because of an engine change during Friday’s practice session. Denny Hamlin, Logano’s teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, claimed the fourth starting spot at 175.667.
“We’re still smiling until I have to start last; that’s when my smile is going to wipe away, and I have to get to work,” Logano said.
Clint Bowyer of Emporia qualified eighth (175.302), Carl Edwards of Columbia was 21st (174.244) and Jamie McMurray of Joplin was 36th (173.182).
