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SPEED Quotes: Petty, DW, McReynolds Debate Allmendinger’s Return To NASCAR
The crew from NASCAR RaceDay on SPEED weighs in on whether AJ Allmendinger will return to NASCAR competition...
SPEED Staff  |  Posted July 29, 2012   Indianapolis, IN
AJ Allmendinger successfully completed NASCAR's Substance Abuse Policy Road to Recovery Program. (Photo: Getty Images)
NASCAR RACEDAY PANEL DEBATES ALLMENDINGER’S CHANCES AT RETURN TO NASCAR

Petty: “He’s not going to come back … I’m glad he’s on the ‘Road to Recovery,’ but he might as well be on a weight-loss program when it comes to coming back in NASCAR.”

The NASCAR RaceDay panel on Sunday debated the likelihood that suspended NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver AJ Allmendinger will return to the Cup Series following his completion of NASCAR’s “Road to Recovery” program after failing a random drug test. Following are excerpts from that exchange between SPEED analysts Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and Kenny Wallace:

Waltrip: “You can fight the wall, you can fight the law, but you can’t fight City Hall. NASCAR learned a lot about how to administer this (substance abuse) program in the (Jeremy) Mayfield situation. I said this a couple of weeks ago – they don’t want to suspend drivers; they don’t want to catch drivers doing something wrong, but when they do, these policies are pretty much foolproof. They are what they are.”

Petty: “We all hope he makes it back. We all like to think ‘forgive and forget,’ but this is NASCAR and this is racing and this is competition and this is somebody else’s money. We’re spending corporate America’s dollars on this and he’s not going to come back. I don’t see how he can come back. I’ll say it. I don’t mind saying it. I don’t think he’s going to come back. A Gibbs isn’t going to pick him up. A Hendrick isn’t going to pick him up. A Roush isn’t going to pick him up. And when you have owners like that that have that many teams and have that many employees and have that many things and so many pots on the fire, they cannot afford to have that. I pray that when it all comes out, it’s nothing major. I’m glad he’s on the ‘Road to Recovery,’ but he might as well be on a weight-loss program when it comes to coming back in NASCAR because I don’t see any way for him to come back to this sport.”

McReynolds: “There probably isn’t a more patient owner in our sport than Roger Penske. He will walk the last part of the last mile with you, but we know AJ only had one year on his contract. I’ve been disappointed in that performance over there. In 17 races before this happened, he only had one top five and three top 10s. He should have won that Martinsville race, but I think even before this happened that he wasn’t going to be in that No. 22 car at the end of 2012. As far as Sam Hornish, it’s no different than any other driver – it’s going to be about performance. I think that’s one reason they’re only doing a few races at a time (with Hornish).”

Waltrip: “If you take two drivers and they’re of equal talent and you look at their record and this guy over here has been busted for drugs, the scale is tipped.”

Petty: “NASCAR has a policy and you’re either positive or you’re negative. It’s like being pregnant – you’re either pregnant or you’re not.”

Wallace: “There’s only one way he makes it back. That’s if he brings $4 or $6 million of someone else’s money to the Nationwide Series.”
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