AJ Allmendinger vents frustrations over difficulties at NASCAR Sonoma: 'I'm out of talent

AJ Allmendinger was upset with how things began for him at the NASCAR Cup Series race at Sonoma. During the race, Allmendinger expressed his frustration with his performance on the road course.

“I’m completely frustrated on how I can’t save tires. I’m out of talent trying to figure it out,” Allmendinger said on his radio. Before that, AJ Allmendinger told his team, “I don’t get why I suck.”

Allmendinger made the comments as Stage 1 was coming to a close. He finished the stage in 15th after starting the race fifth. Allmendinger was looking to build on what he did at the Chicago Street race, finishing sixth to earn his fifth top-10 finish of the year.

Allmendinger is back in the Cup Series full-time after competing part-time in 2024. He was a full-time Xfinity Series driver last year and finished third in the final standings. Heading into the Sonoma race, Allmendinger was in 18th place in the playoff standings and 43 points behind the playoff cut line.

AJ Allmendinger reflects on racing career

NASCAR fans were introduced to Allmendinger in 2007. During that time, the 43-year-old has won three Cup Series races and earned 85 top-10 finishes in 465 starts. Before making his NASCAR debut, Allmendinger competed in various organizations, including Champ Car, where he had the opportunity to compete in Mexico City in 2004 and 2005.

“It’s kind of crazy to me that it’s been 20 years,” Allmendinger said in an interview with Motorsport.com’s Luis Ramírez in June. “I mean, I guess I’m fortunate enough that 20 years later, I get to come back and still be doing this. I’m super pumped by it. I will always remember the atmosphere back in the Champ Car races. So I can’t imagine what it’s gonna be like to have a Cup race there. The crowd and the pre-race — everything that goes with it. I always love that race track. It’s such a beautiful race track, and obviously a little bit different layout from the last time I (was) there, but it’s gonna be a lot of fun and there’s been a lot of build-up for it. So if you can make the weather nice when we get there, that’d be fantastic. But other than that, I can’t wait to get there.”

Allmendinger’s last Cup Series win came in 2023 when he placed first at the Charlotte Roval. When he was competing full-time in the Xfinity Series last year, Allmendinger won at Las Vegas.