When AJ Allmendinger Did The Unthinkable

[@niftyfiftytwo1484]

That was a ridiculously classy interview after the Portland win. Thanked his current team, thanked his old team, credited his old team mate. Class.

[@Demise90Racing]

100%. He could have easily threw RuSport under the bus and gloated, but he kept it very humble and respectful.

[@SumnerTube21]

@@Demise90Racing yeah he certainly could and I think I would have atleast had a minor dig at them

[@jacklaidlaw6097]

Sorry seeing Justin Wilson next to Dinger just cracks me up, Justin was one of the tallest drivers out there and AJ being a short king.

[@JK7kaye]

I'm grateful for this channel. Its almost impossible to find other interesting Indycar history videos.

[@Demise90Racing]

I really appreciate that. Although I'm not exclusively doing IndyCar, I always make sure the videos are the best they can possibly be. Thank you!!

[@andrewwinslow9315]

CountyLine Films makes great content

[@Demise90Racing]

@@andrewwinslow9315 I randomly came across that channel yesterday. I'm all for content creation and hearing people's different perspectives on the same events. But if you're going to make a video about the same race as someone else, at least title the video differently lol. That dude just straight named his video the same as one of mine 🤣

[@Posirep]

The funniest and almost most forgotten thing about AJ's 2006 season is that he was fired TWICE. Probably the most successful year for a driver fired by 2 different teams in 1 season . Gerry Forsythe was known to hold grudges. When ChampCar folded he was so butthurt about it that he refused to field a unified IndyCar entry and still refuses to this day. This to the point where he held Paul Tracy to his contract and paid him not to get another ride in IndyCar...which effectively ended Paul career outside of a couple spots a few years down the line where Paul says seeing Dan Wheldon's body in the hospital officially made him call it quits. But after 5 wins, few podiums and being 2nd in points AJ announces the NASCAR deal....and Forsythe immediately fires him and replaces him with Buddy Rice. AJ fully intended to finish the season but got fired cuz thats the kind of guy Forsythe is.

[@w.arnold8806]

The end of that story should be in the video. Crazy stuff.

[@plantfeeder6677]

Sounds like Red Bull is the culprit here to me Again someone explain to me how a company that has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY has 100 GP victories and can dictate where a driver is to race?! Sounds like Red Bull needs to be gone from motorsports. They're stinking up the sport and I'm boycotting their products from now on.

[@sadaba43]

​@@plantfeeder6677where'd ya get that idea? the team was named for forsythe so it seems likely he got his way with it for the most part, redbull was a sponsor but not the cause i don't think

[@isthatrubble]

​@@plantfeeder6677 what are you talking about? the nascar team offered AJ a contract and he accepted it. red bull didn't force him to drive for their nascar team. anyone or any company can own a racing team or control one through sponsorship if they want to and have the money. benetton is a fashion brand, joe gibbs was a football coach, virgin is a..... well they're lots of things, but they've got nothing to do with the automotive industry. even teams owned by drivers don't really have anything to do with the automotive industry, they're not developing anything but their own race cars.

[@BadWallaby]

SOOO MUCH respect for AJ to show appreciation for his pervious team and the opportunity they gave him! Such a humble guy!

[@JLvatron]

Dude, he’s an alcoholic

[@craigstephenson7676]

@@JLvatronyour point being?

[@JLvatron]

@@craigstephenson7676 Very irresponsible. He shouldn't be allowed to drive.

[@moman4kids1]

AJ thrives when the team listens to him and has a competent Crew chief like Mike Cannon behind him!!!! AJ has won in every class he has entered along with leading laps for every Daytona 24 he has entered along with winning it!!!

[@shawnwilliford1788]

Love that series. Grew up watching it. Miss it

[@RedCometXIII]

I remember being really disappointed that AJ was leaving CHAMPCAR for NASCAR. That was the height of the IRL/CHAMPCAR exodus to NASCAR with AJ, Hornish, and Dario were all leaving. Robbed us of some great open wheel racing careers.

[@AeroGuy07]

My brother was at the Cleveland race, but he worked for an audio company and was working, so he doesn't remember the race. What he does remember is that they used to hope for cloudy or rainy races. There was no shade at Burke Lakefront Airport.

[@piperboy91]

I was there too. It was on airport runways so it was fucking miserable.

[@randalskinner1194]

Hey, nice job, once again, on a very insightful vid on the “Dinger”. Very talented road racer and quite versatile as well. Sliding into a “fender” car is no cake walk. He’s good…….really good! Keep em coming Demise 90. You have a real knack for this commentary gig! Lifetime subscriber 🏁

[@Demise90Racing]

Thanks Randal. I couldn't agree more. Some times I feel like AJ doesn't get the love he deserves. I really appreciate that, I'm glad you keep coming back!!

[@KellieLeigh48]

Yay! Big Allmemdinger fan here and been waiting on u to cover him... Great upload Demise 🤘🏻

[@Demise90Racing]

Hell yeah. I feel like the Dinger doesn't get enough respect for what he did in Champ Car. And as always, thank you very much!

[@v1-vr-rotatev2-vy_vx31]

And AJ is still a winner, there's no stopping this guy.

[@Grindtone603]

I had forgot about this. Thanks for covering this. Feels like this was 30 years ago considering how long the Dinger has been in NASCAR

[@Demise90Racing]

I feel like most people have forgotten about it, which is why it needed a video and appreciation. But, I can't lie it does feel like forever ago no doubt.

[@nathanstroud2223]

I'll always think of Allmendinger as an open-wheel driver because that's his background and that's arguably where his career peaked. The idea that most fans nowadays just know of him as a NASCAR driver and don't know where he came from makes me feel old.

[@MalloryMinerva]

I have a lot of affection for Portland International Raceway (being my local track), its always nice to see it come up in these videos.

[@Demise90Racing]

Hell yeah. It's pretty much the only major race track in the NW. I'm glad IndyCar and NASCAR race there again. I'd love to make it out there sometime.

[@lonewolf2513]

And AJ still gets pumped up after wins to this day

[@Demise90Racing]

Hell yeah. His energy is next level when he gets the W.

[@emdotrod]

I always thought AJ could've been an Indycar champions had he stayed there. Or maybe won more races earlier if he didn't jump ship to NASCAR with Red Bull. Now that he race full time again this season, I believe he can score a win or two and entering the playoffs

[@Demise90Racing]

If he stayed the following year with Forsythe, it would have been hard to bet against him for the championship, that's for sure. Unfortunately one of the main reasons he made the move to NASCAR was because of the current landscape of IndyCar due to the split. And at that time NASCAR was still at it's peak before the 2008 recession.

[@emdotrod]

@@Demise90Racing yep I agree, he was making the rational move, only with a wrong team.

[@TheTotallyRealXiJinping]

4:42 Need this audio clip for my bedroom

[@beeemm2578]

YOU GUYS ARE FUCKIN!!!😂

[@LooseCohesion]

Best looking race cars ever...

[@Demise90Racing]

Couldn't agree more. The CART/Champ Car era cars are some of the best looking race cars of all time.

[@sadaba43]

what a crazy series of races, had no idea aj popped off like that in indycar, what a legend

[@mrserious42]

I grew up watching all these races, you're doing great work here highlighting some of the really awesome moments from the history of Indycar/CART/Champ Car

[@Demise90Racing]

I grew up watching this stuff too.Thats why I have a lot of races from the 90's. Even though I was young I still remember these races like it was yesterday. I'm glad you are enjoying the videos 👍

[@jsembler1]

Again, thanks for these. I didn’t watch these Champ Car years after CART, so I missed out on some great moments. Greg Moore’s death at Fontana really broke my heart, so I just stopped watching for a while. Thanks for allowing all of us to relive what some of us may have missed.

[@Demise90Racing]

I'm happy to do it Justin!

[@japplewhite1986]

I know what you mean Justin. I was a fan of Greg's myself. I was 13 yrs old at the time. It just wasn't the same after Greg's passing. Even before Greg's passing with the Rodrigo Gonzalez accident. But, I continued to watch from time to time.

[@jsembler1]

@@japplewhite1986 spot on. It wasn’t the same. The talent level in CART was still there, and the cars were still incredible in every way, but his death knocked the wind out if the series.

[@japplewhite1986]

@@jsembler1 Absolutely, it was different. I think that's because Greg was for one was beyond his years as a driver and his maturity level one would think he was older. Till this day I still say that if Greg didn't die, Helio wouldn't have had those Indy 500 wins. I remember rooting for Greg during the old IROC series, which were always enjoyable to watch different drivers from CART/IRL/Nascar series driving a stock car.

[@acecombat2shill]

i wonder what wouldve happened had he stayed in champ/indycars

[@KellieLeigh48]

He'd probably be a 4 or 5 time champ by now

[@rjmidwest6911]

I don't know but when ChampCar and IRL merged alot of drivers ended up out of rides. No guarantees he would've made the cut or even been successful against the IRL guys

[@jrsmith5080]

@@rjmidwest6911 i remember he ran a part time schedule for Penske in IndyCar during 2013

[@jrsmith5080]

@@rjmidwest6911 i think he saw nascar to be more popular so he wanted to be apart of that

[@Demise90Racing]

Unfortunately one of the driving factors of his move to NASCAR was because of the split in IndyCar. Champ Car was noticeably going down hill, and NASCAR was still at its peak at that time.

[@seen48]

Pretty incredible what he accomplished. I’m a NASCAR fan so it’s cool to see him back in the Cup series. Class act all around.

[@roadbeef]

AJ, Tyler McQuarrie, Rick McCormick, Johnny O'Connell, Tommy Kendall - all of them the pride of the Jim Russell Racing School when it was between Laguna and Sears. Otherworldly talents. I'm probably forgetting several others.

[@kellycook5314]

I attended the race in Toronto. A.J. autographed the Indeck team jersey. Didn’t realize he had won 3 in a row . Thanks for the heads up 🇨🇦👍

[@Demise90Racing]

That's awesome! Glad you enjoyed the video 👍

[@RosieMiddleton-u2m]

11:30 - Tracy is a real good guy deep down. I love this!

[@bogthing1]

Loved Champ and those classic car designs.

[@JamesCook-u9h]

I was a Marshall at Road America for a Nascar race. The entire day was one big accident. AJ won and on the cool down lap i noticed he didn't have a scratch on jis car

[@SportzyCG]

W vid and nice job on 4k ur getting popular

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you very much. Getting closer to 5k 🏁

[@OpTiC_DaD]

My Brother raced with Dinger back in the mid 2000s on NR03 AJ’s easy to root for. 🤙🏻

[@RosieMiddleton-u2m]

I don't remember him being fired - I must've been aware at the time but in my memory he got an opportunity at a better team and ran with it! In my memory AJ was on fire in 2006!

[@fluffskunk]

AJ will always been one of the great "could-have-beens" had he not gone to NASCAR. This is a guy who had all the talent needed to run at the front of any Indycar field, and with Mike Cannon as his engineer, he absolute blossomed. And then he left and barely accomplished a thing for the rest of his career.

[@enterthekyuubi]

Such a satisfying revenge story. 😂

[@aaronvanourney791]

I watched him win his first in person at Portland!

[@StevenP727]

R.I.P Justin Wilson

[@marcusbt1219]

Good video as always

[@Demise90Racing]

Thank you! As always, much appreciated!

[@bob_._.]

What I remember of that time is Allmendinger, who often expressed his hatred of oval racing, getting all butt hurt about RuSport dropping him and getting an agent to get him into Nascar the next season, in the few days before Forsythe hired him.

[@simrigpc27b12]

I remember how pissed off I was when he bailed to NASCAR. But seeing where open wheel went he made the right decision 😄

[@luisvaldes1568]

Ii was super pissed when AJA went to Nasscar!

[@brandensimmons653]

The ultimate revenge for AJ

[@Demise90Racing]

100%. I love how humble he was through the whole situation too.

[@GeoThaDude]

Imagine if Red Bull would have kept him in CHAMP for a couple more years or shifted him to IRL. He was definitely a better open wheel racer than stock cars. We'll see if he can get a rhythm going in Cup this year.

[@MatthewHarding007]

something like this happened in f1 but the other way round

[@MrAndyNich]

Always liked AJ. I totally forgot he drove an open wheel car.

[@patrickanderson9023]

I have never understood why Allmendinger didn`t stay in Indycar, racing or at least got back to Indycar after a few years in NASCAR. He would be a title contender in Indycar, while in NASCAR he fights for 20th place finishes.

[@kirthooper4625]

The dinger has always been a wheelman

[@patrickmoore2894]

He left indycar as a winner, became an also-ran in tin tops. Guy could have been a legend.

[@CptJET-he8nc]

💯👍

[@Federico_Cahis]

Respect to A.J. But as a Champcar fan, those years were unspeakably bad. The lineups were an absolute joke. Even in a spec series, Forsythe was absolutely dominant after all of the top teams went to the IRL.

[@clowe14f1]

I still believe to this day that if AJ had stayed in Champ car in 07 he would have dethroned Sebastion as champ.

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

RuSPORT must’ve been kicking themselves after AJ won races for Forsythe

[@Demise90Racing]

No doubt. Such a kick in the balls for them lol. But, you got to respect how humble and respectful AJ was about the whole situation.

[@IanTheMotorsportsMan_YT]

@@Demise90Racing that is true. I love the class!

[@wendigockel]

The American open wheel split really robbed us of some possible Indycar legends. If nobody ever had listened to that little shit that was Tony George, we might talk about Sam Hornish jr as an all-time best, Tony Stewart as a multiple-time champion and maybe a team owner these days and AJ Allmendinger as a multi-time champion as well. Not to mention the numerous "what could have been"-scenarios out there. I'm talking Jeff Gordon jumping ship to Indycar, Greg Moore and Gonzalo Rodriguez not having their fatal crashes and Kenny Bräcks career going on longer than it eventually did.

[@Demise90Racing]

No doubt the landscape of IndyCar could look drastically different. I guess we will never know, but I think we all have an idea of what could have happened.

[@Posirep]

Guys like Hornish or Stewart would have never made it to CART...that was George's reason for starting the IRL. The only reason anyone knows who they are is cuz of Tony George splitting. AJ on the other hand would have made it to CART even without the split. Even F1 teams sought after him back then but he made it clear he wanted nothing to do with F1...but that was more due to contract stipulations than anything else.

[@danielhenderson8316]

Hornish wouldn't as his career practically ended with the IRL/Champ Car merger. He was already falling being as more and more road courses were getting added. Tony Stewart probably would have had success as long as he stayed in shape. He was a good road racer. My favorite what if on the split never happening is Eddie Cheever would never be an IRL 500 winner.

[@Posirep]

@danielhenderson8316 Yeah, he almost had to go to NASCAR cuz he was garbage on road courses.

[@Artessnow]

I never knew AJ ran open wheels

[@Sub_93]

#Bridgestone

[@Ellisf1]

Why would redbull pull him from champcar when he was doing so well!? Makes no sense.

[@muhammadwahyuhidayat21498]

Next for my request is Supercars Australia 2005 season at Bathrust 1000 where Greg Murphy and Marcos Ambrose brawl after Crash during Caution flag comes out.

[@Demise90Racing]

Maybe I will do Supercar content at some point. I have one of your requests for you really soon.

[@muhammadwahyuhidayat21498]

@@Demise90Racing i hope

[@rvrschrs64]

i';ve followed almandigers fo

[@russellsamson4100]

Loved him when he was in Indy Car, F k Nascar

[@JLvatron]

Isn’t O.J. Almendinger like a serious alcoholic? He shouldn’t be allowed to drive.