AJ Allmendinger signs 5-year extension with JTG Daugherty Racing

AJ Allmendinger and JTG Daugherty Racing are staying together long-term, with the driver signing a five-year extension to remain with the organization through the 2020 season, the team announced Saturday.

The move provides the 33-year-old Allmendinger stability that he’s lacked throughout much of his NASCAR career. After transitioning from open-wheel, he struggled mightily and lost his seat with Team Red Bull Racing. As he gained more experience Allmendinger became more competitive and eventually signed with Team Penske, one of the sport’s upper-echelon outfits.

But after failing a drug test halfway through the 2012 season, Allmendinger was fired. He completed NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program later that year and resumed his career, bouncing between various teams.

JTG Daugherty, a midsize single-car team, took a chance on Allmendinger and signed him to drive its No. 47 Chevrolet full-time in the summer of 2013. The pairing clicked almost instantly. Allmendinger won both his and the team’s first race last season at Watkins Glen, qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup. He finished a career-best 13th in the standings.

“It’s huge,” Allmendinger said of the extension. “This sport is not easy, especially this day and age. It is so competitive and it’s so brutal when it comes to trying to find sponsors and keep sponsors and having a job. This is a home and I know it’s the right place for me.”

Further factoring into Allmendinger’s decision is his comfort level with co-owners Tad and Jodi Geschickter and Brad Daugherty. The team recently announced an expanded multi-year primary sponsorship with Kroger, which will be on the No. 47 car in 24 races.

The comfort level between both parties is such that Allmendinger says he never gave any consideration to leaving for a bigger team.

“I don’t want this to be a stepping stone for a big team,” Allmendinger said. “I’ve been there. It’s great. There are a lot of benefits to being on a team like Penske and all the resources, but there are a lot of benefits to being this underdog team that keeps building and showing great things. When you have companies step up to show that a small team can keep getting big sponsors. We can go out there and try to take it to them.

“I feel like this is the right place, the right role for me. It’s big for a lot of reasons.”