Almost two months ago, Penske Racing released driver AJ
Allmendinger from his duties at the helm of the #22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge
Charger after testing positive for a substance banned by NASCAR under their
substance abuse/drug testing policy. Allmendinger insisted that he took a pill one night from a friend of a
friend that allegedly contained some amphetamine not allowed by the sanctioning
body and for failing a pair of drug tests, Allmendinger was indefinitely banned
from the sport.
Less than two months after he was officially release from
his position with Team Penske, AJ Allmendinger has been reinstated after
successfully completing NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program.However, he is still without a ride in the
NASCAR Sprint Cup ranks and as the big league racing series is 1 event into its
12 race “Chase for the Cup” championship shootout – it is unlikely that
Allmendinger will be piloting a Dodge stock car before the end of the year.
Penske Racing will move to Ford next year as the Chrysler
Group officially removes itself from factory backing of any the NASCAR Sprint
Cup, Nationwide Series or Camping World Truck Series events.This means that Dodge fans will likely not
have a chance to root for AJ Allmendinger behind the wheel of a Dodge stock car
but for those faithful Dodge fans who were disappointed to hear about AJ’s
failed drug test – he has acted quickly according to NASCAR’s wishes and has
jumped through the necessary hoops to gain reentry.
The bigger test for Allmendinger will be moving forward, as
he will certainly be a target for future drug testing procedures.The last NASCAR driver to fail a drug test,
be suspended, and return to the sport was Jeremy Mayfield.Mayfield failed a second drug test shortly
after being reinstated and for that, he received a lifetime ban.Hopefully Allmendinger has learned a valuable
lesson from this whole mess.
"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.
"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.
"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.
"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.
"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.
