97TH INDIANAPOLIS 500

Allmendinger racing, happy

FILE - In this May 18, 2013 file photo, AJ Allmendinger sits in his car during practice on the first day of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Allmendinger is in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his career with the team owner who fired him last summer from the best job of his life. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)
FILE - In this May 18, 2013 file photo, AJ Allmendinger sits in his car during practice on the first day of qualifications for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. Allmendinger is in the Indianapolis 500 for the first time in his career with the team owner who fired him last summer from the best job of his life. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - AJ Allmendinger’s parents attended their first Indianapolis 500 in 1979, when they camped in a grassy lot and watched Rick Mears win his first of four 500s.

Their son was born two years later - Greg Allmendinger named him after A.J. Foyt, his favorite driver - and for a time it seemed like the Allmendingers would make it back to Indy with him. Allmendinger had risen through the open wheel ranks to become one of the top drivers in the Champ Car Series with a five-victory 2006 season.

But a NASCAR opportunity came along and Allmendinger switched series, and the dream of one day cheering on their son in the “Biggest Spectacle In Racing”began to fade.

Until one bad decision cost Allmendinger the best job he ever had - and Roger Penske decided to give him a rare second chance.

Allmendinger will make his Indianapolis 500 debut on Sunday, seven years after he left open-wheel racing - in a Penske Racing entry, no less. It doesn’t get much bigger or better than this, and all these years later, Allmendinger has finally brought his parents back to the 500.

He’s posed for pictures at his car with his parents, who arrived in Indianapolis in time to see Allmendinger qualify fifth on Saturday.

“Then my Dad went and found Larry Foyt and said, ‘Where’s your Dad at? I want to go meet him, I haven’t met him yet … By the way, I’m AJ’s dad,’” Allmendinger said. “It’ll be cool to really share this with my parents, especially my Dad. For them to experience this.”

It’s funny how life sometimes works out, and Allmendinger has learned enough in the last 10 months not to question why things happen.

Allmendinger is a better person because he said he stupidly accepted a strange pill from a friend who said it would help with his fatigue.Allmendinger says the pill he popped last June was Adderall - he didn’t ask what it was as he was swallowing it - and it caused him to fail a random NASCAR drug test. Suspended hours before the July race at Daytona, Allmendinger was out of a job since Penske had no choice but to fire the driver when the backup “B” sample also came back positive.

He participated in NASCAR’s “Road to Recovery” program, and learned during that time he had to stop putting so much pressure on himself, that his happiness didn’t solely depend on his results on the race track. He had Penske’s support the entire time, even though the team owner had zero responsibility to a driver whose six months of employment had brought embarrassment to the great Penske organization

When The Captain calledand asked Allmendinger if he had any interest in running the Indianapolis 500, the only thing Allmendinger said was ‘Yes, sir. Whatever you want, sir.”

“I feel very fortunate, the racing side of it is great, but that he’s cared enough to stay in contact,” Allmendinger said. “That means way more than putting me in a race car. I’m just enjoying the ride right now. I’m never going to turn down a Roger Penske race car.”

Sports, Pages 19 on 05/21/2013

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