Former Hollister resident will return to area for race at Laguna
Seca in September
Former Hollister resident A.J Allmendinger has been on quite a roll recently.
The Champ Car rookie driver made his first podium appearance last month, placing third in the Molson Indy race in Vancouver. And, the 21-year-old driver of the Western Union No. 10 car, leads the Rookie of the Year standings. He’s eighth overall.
“I soon found out early on that this is a very difficult series to be a part of,” Allmendinger said. “There are so many good teams and great drivers in the series. If you off just a little bit, you are mid-pack. There is a lot of stuff to learn.”
Allmendinger has had continued to progress in his three years of Champ Car racing. Last year, he was named as the Toyota Rookie of the Year and the Toyota Atlantic champion.
“It is fun to be around other drivers and be part of everything that goes on as a Champ Car driver,” Allmendinger said. “But it is difficult because there is more pressure than I have ever experienced before from the media and the team. But there is no other place I would rather be.”
One of the highlights of Allmendinger’s season is always when he comes to Monterey to compete at Laguna Seca. He said he expects to have 20-30 friends and family show up when he next visits Sept. 10-12.
“It is definitely a race I am looking forward to,” Allmendinger said. “Not just because it is my home race, but it is a track I love and I’ve had good success at. And it is a fun track to drive. I think at that point we will be in the full swing of things and it will be a race we can have another good result at.”
Allmendinger, who graduated from Leigh High in San Jose, lived in Hollister for four years before moving to Colorado. His parents still live in Hollister.
“I went to almost every race that he went to last year,” his mom said at the start of the year. “But I probably won’t go to many this year because they go all over the world. Hopefully everyone cuts him some slack because it is a new team. There will be a learning curve, but he will do fine because he has raced all his life.”
He started racing when he was five years with BMX bikes. He went into Quarter Midget racing and then go-karts when he was 11.
Although he hasn’t gotten back to Hollister this year because of his busy schedule, Allmendinger plans to stay about a week while in Monterey to visit his family and racing buddies.
“Starting in go-karts is probably the best way to start for any young kid thinking about being a professional race car driver,” Allmendinger said. “The one thing I always say is never give up. If you give up, that means you never had a chance to begin with. This sport has a lot of ups and downs. Fortunately for me, I haven’t had too many down parts. But for most people, there are a lot more downs than up. But as long as you don’t give up, you have a chance to make it.”
