AJ Allmendinger was among the loudest people cheering when Felix Rosenqvist captured the 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500 with Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian on May 24.
But Allmendinger wasn’t in Indianapolis. He was preparing for NASCAR's longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway later that evening. Allmendinger watched as his longtime friend and occasional boss Michael Shank celebrated a second Indianapolis 500 victory as a team owner.
Marcus Armstrong, a second-year MSR driver, led the field to the final restart with one lap remaining, while teammate Rosenqvist lined up third. Rosenqvist charged around the outside and edged Team Penske's David Malukas in the closest finish in Indianapolis 500 history.
“Oh, my God, I probably wasn't happier than he was, but it was a close second, let's put it that way,” Allmendinger said.
For Allmendinger, the Indianapolis 500 victory was especially meaningful because of his long friendship with Shank, a relationship that stretches more than two decades.
The connection began in 2005 when Shank contacted RuSPORT, the team for which Allmendinger drove in Champ Car at the time, about having Allmendinger and teammate Justin Wilson drive for his sports car program in the 2006 Rolex 24 At Daytona. The pair finished second in their first attempt, and Allmendinger eventually helped deliver the team's breakthrough victory in the endurance classic in 2012.
Over the years, their friendship evolved far beyond the racetrack.
“What he means in my life, on the racing side of it and then more importantly, on the friendship side of it and the big-brother side of it, it was hard to go get in the race car for the Coca-Cola 600 because all I wanted to do was fly here and just come party with him,” Allmendinger said.
“I was so thrilled. I got to meet Felix (Rosenqvist) earlier this year running the Rolex car and talking to him about the previous years when he'd run it (the Indy 500). What a way to win the thing. Talk about just rolling the outside and winning it like that. He deserved it, and that team deserves it.”
The victory also brought back memories of another milestone year for both men: 2021.
That season, Shank earned his first Indianapolis 500 victory with Helio Castroneves. Less than three months later, Allmendinger delivered Kaulig Racing's first NASCAR Cup Series victory in the inaugural Cup race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Aug. 15.
Whether it's the oval or the road course, Indianapolis remains one of Allmendinger's favorite places in motorsports.
He returned to the Speedway on June 3-4 for a Goodyear tire test in preparation for the Brickyard 400 Presented by PPG on July 26, the third consecutive year NASCAR's premier series will compete on the famed 2.5-mile oval after three seasons on the IMS road course.
NASCAR raced on the Indianapolis oval from 1994 through 2020 before moving to the road course for three seasons. The Brickyard 400 returned to the oval in 2024. Allmendinger also made one Indianapolis 500 start, starting fifth and finishing seventh in 2013 with Team Penske.
Every visit still carries the same sense of awe for Allmendinger.
“That's what makes it different, right?” Allmendinger said. “There is the history behind it. Whether it's the Indy 500 or Brickyard 400 or just when Formula One ran here, MotoGP -- the badasses run here, and they win here. Just to drive into this place, it gives me chills every time.
“I don't take it for granted. I'm on the longer side of it right now. I've not got many years left, maybe. I don't know, we'll see. But I don't take it for granted, driving into this place just to see it, first of all, and then more importantly, get to drive on it. I'm very lucky.”
As much as Allmendinger appreciates Indianapolis' history, seeing Shank continue adding to it may have been the most rewarding moment of all.
“Personally, just super proud and probably not enough adjectives to describe how happy I am for him and (wife) Mary Beth,” Allmendinger said. “There were times when we raced, and he's like, ‘Man, I can't pay you,’ and I'm like, ‘I got you, bud.’ There were times that I'm like, ‘I need a ride,’ and he's like, ‘Get in my car.’
“So, we've picked each other up off the ground, we've gotten to celebrate some cool things. I just joked with him, I said, ‘Boy, you're just big time. All you do is win Indy 500s and Rolexes, it seems like.’”
