Penske Racing's Justin Allgaier not rushing to turn rookie success into Cup ride
CONCORD, N.C. - Justin Allgaier looks forward to the day when he will make his first start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but he’s in no major rush.
Allgaier, who wrapped up honors as NASCAR Nationwide Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year last weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, is excited about a second full Nationwide season with Penske Racing in 2010.
Despite being the top rookie this year, Allgaier still feels as if he has some unfinished business and more to learn. At the top of his to-do list is getting his first career win.
“I told [crew chief Chad Walter] last night after the banquet was over when we were watching the highlight reels and they had all the guys up there with victories and victory lane: ‘Make me a promise that next year we get one of those because we should have been there a couple of times this year,’” Allgaier said at a luncheon Tuesday afternoon honoring the top Raybestos rookies in NASCAR’s three national series. “Whether it was my mistake or something that we should have done in the pits or whatever, we didn’t quite get there. Unfortunately, we felt like we had a good race car at a lot of places.
“So now, looking forward, we’ve got to capitalize on the weekends that we’re better, and we’ve got to take the weekends that we’re not as good and we’ve got to really refocus ourselves and make sure that we can get our car better.”
Despite being shut out of victory lane, Penske Racing Vice President of Operations Mike Nelson is pleased with Allgaier’s progression from the beginning of 2009 to the end.
Allgaier, who competed in the Automobile Racing Club of America events from 2002-2008, had made just four Nationwide starts prior to 2009. This season, he posted three top-fives and 12 top-10s on the way to finishing sixth in the standings.
“The things he has learned the most this year are just the different race tracks, the nuances about the different tracks that we go to and how to drive this Nationwide car at these tracks, so it’s been a steep learning curve for him, and he has done a good job with it,” Nelson said.
Allgaier said on Tuesday that Walter will return as his crew chief next season and that he is eager to work with incoming teammate Brad Keselowski. Keselowski, who has competed in Nationwide the last 2 1/2 seasons for JR Motorsports, will be running full time in both Cup and Nationwide for Penske.
“I think it’s going to be a really, really great opportunity for me to learn from somebody that’s got experience and as a team to grow,” Allgaier said. “I think any time you’ve got two teams it’s always better than one. Three teams is always better than two, so I like the idea of the team keeping growing, and I’m looking forward to next year, for sure.”
Allgaier is open to the idea of making his first Cup start in the near future but believes it will happen soon enough. Nelson and Allgaier, 23, appear to be on the same page where the driver’s future with the company is concerned.
“We have goals and expectations, and right now, we want to be able to get him back in this Nationwide car this next year now having been to all the race tracks and a full season, and we’ll take things as they come,” Nelson said.
“Obviously that’s our goal for him to be in the Sprint Cup Series at some point in time, but for right now, we’re focused on trying to get our first win and trying to challenge for the championship next year in the Nationwide Series.”
