This whole NASCAR deal is not as easy as Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon have made it appear. That is the harsh reality that some of the former open wheel drivers are facing today.

A.J. Allmendinger won five races in Champ Car in 2006 and seemed primed and ready for the challenge that NASCAR Sprint Cup presented. Unfortunately, Allmendinger’s quest for stock car stardom is currently on hold. After failing to qualify for the first three races of the 2008 Sprint Cup season, Red Bull Racing has pulled Allmendinger from the driver’s seat and added veteran Mike Skinner, hoping to turn this fledgling program around. In 2007, Allmendinger successfully qualified for seventeen of the 36 races, which is less than 50 percent.

In all fairness to Allmendinger, the odds were totally stacked against him from the outset. He was a rookie driver with limited experience in stock cars joining an upstart team and manufacturer. However, in today’s NASCAR, sponsors and owners shy away from the excuses and reasons why a driver struggles. This is a results-based business, and if the results are not there, you are on the outside looking in.