Allmendinger, Elledge plan patience as they learn one another in new pairing

By SceneDaily Staff

Friday, July 11, 2008

Jimmy Elledge (pictured) has taken over as crew chief for AJ Allmendinger.

David Griffin
NASCAR Scene

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JOLIET, Ill. – AJ Allmendinger has seen a lot of changes in his Red Bull Racing team this season. This week, his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team hired veteran crew chief Jimmy Elledge to lead the team as it continues to search for a spot in the top 35 in owner points.

Allmendinger was sidelined for five races earlier this season when the team put Mike Skinner behind the wheel to evaluate the team. Skinner made five races, and Allmendinger has made the field for every event since that time, including this weekend's LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Will the addition of Elledge, who last worked a Chip Ganassi Racing, be what it takes to give Allmendinger the ability to run well in races once he makes them? Allmendinger certainly hopes so.

“We’re excited," he said. "I think the addition of Jimmy is going to be good. [Former crew chief] Ricky [Viers] and I worked for a year and a half together - and he’s a close friend of mine - and I think ultimately it just came down to when you go through so many tough times together it just kind of strains you. There’s a lot of frustration the last few weeks. Not anything specific, but we’ve just been struggling. The addition of Jimmy, the experience that he brings - that will be great for me, not just as a driver, but to have the experience on the pit box, I think for the team it’s going to be good.”

He said that he and Elledge will need some time to develop their relationship. Elledge was hired on Tuesday, and the two talked on the plane Wednesday. Other than that, they're not very familiar with one another.

Allmendinger said there isn't anything specific the team needs to work on, that the two just need to learn one another.

"It’s going to take a few races to see what he likes to do - what I like in the car," he said. "Ultimately, the experience level is just going to be the good thing. The pit strategy - maybe making different calls during the race about what to do with the race car. There is not one specific thing, we just just have to learn and get in the groove and kind of move forward.”

Elledge said that he thinks the race team has been heading in the right direction. Right now, he's trying to learn all the people and figure out what the team needs to take the next step. Allmendinger's team in 37th in owners points, 200 behind the team in 35th.

Elledge's first assignment is figuring out what Allmendinger is looking for in the car and then finding a way to give that to him.

"[I need to find out] what the problems are and what they want me to try and fix," he said. "[I'm going to] try to take next week - when we have a week off - sit around and talk about it and think about it little bit. They don’t have to fix anything. I think they have great equipment and good direction on a lot of things. I think it is just sorting it all out.

"Getting AJ comfortable and getting the confidence that he has what he needs in the car. Just the communication of getting him what he wants-- that’s key. I have a lot of experience with newer and younger drivers - starting with Casey [Mears] from scratch as a rookie and with Reed [Sorenson]. Hopefully, I can do that here for AJ.”