By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor
*Editor’s note: Motorsports Tribune will be previewing the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season for 24 drivers. We will release one driver preview per day over a 24-day stretch.
Age: 35
Years in Cup: 11
Career Wins: One
Biggest Accomplishment: First career Cup Series win (Watkins Glen – 2014)
For A.J. Allmendinger, 2016 may not have provided a race win or a Chase berth, but the California native was still able to rebound from a down year in 2015 to make some noise in his third full-time season with JTG-Daugherty Racing and the No. 47 team.
In 36 starts, Allmendinger scored two top-five finishes, which included a runner-up finish at Martinsville and a fourth place result at Watkins Glen. In addition to the two top-five finishes, Allmendinger finished the season with nine top-10 finishes, 29 laps led, and an average finish of 17.8. However, that was not quite enough to be able to make the Chase as he fell just short of that goal for the second year in a row en route to a 19th place finish in the points.
Heading into 2017, Allmendinger and crew chief Randall Burnett return for their second season together as JTG-Daugherty will also be expanding to a two-car team for the upcoming season as Chris Buescher joins the fold. For Allmendinger, expect 2017 to be much of the same, with the No. 47 team being a force to be reckoned with on the road courses and showing flashes of brilliance on the ovals that make up the majority of the schedule.
Allmendinger likely will be flirting with another Chase berth this season, especially if he is able to win at one of the road courses. Aside from Watkins Glen and Sonoma, Allmendinger could also be a dark horse to win at a track like Martinsville, where he has finished 11th or better in seven of his last nine starts at the track, including two runner-up finishes.
Fun to go to the @JTGRacing shop and see all the work going on. Where the team is now compared to 3 years ago just shows all the hard work..
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) January 11, 2017
That Tad and Jodi have put in. Its just awesome to see it grow into having 2 teams with @Chris_Buescher and so many new people. Really cool
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) January 11, 2017
