A.J. Allmendinger has had a roller-coaster two weeks, from the high of getting married at a five-star Florida resort to the low of crashing a pair of race cars in Las Vegas.

But Allmendinger is no fool. He knew the switch from Champ Car to NASCAR wouldn’t be the smoothest of rides.

“If I expected this to be easy, I would have never done this,” he said Thursday. “My learning curve is steep and I’m going to have to have some pretty thick skin. But I knew that going in.”

That’s how Allmendinger was able to cheer up after a disappointing two-day test in Las Vegas this week.

A cut tire on the first day sent him crashing into the wall and tore up his Toyota Camry. Driver error on the second day cost him his backup, and sent Allmendinger and his new Team Red Bull crew packing for an early cross-country flight back to North Carolina.

It took him a day or two to find any positives in the experience, but he finally did: The accident happened when Allmendinger was utilizing something he had picked up from the first day, and after he had improved his speed by almost 6 mph.

Those small gains will be important in what’s expected to be a bumpy rookie season for the former open-wheel protege.

“It would almost have been easier for me to have never driven a race car before,” Allmendinger said. “It’s a slow learning process, and unfortunately I am diving into the deep end and there have more downs than ups right now. But that’s what will make it sweeter when the wins come - knowing what you went through to get there.”

More at AP.com

Bookmark to: