Michael Shank, owner of Michael Shank Racing wants to put A.J Allmendinger into his Grand Am car as soon as NASCAR says he can.
Allmendinger was temporarily suspended after failing a random drug test on July 7, His “B” sample was tested and came back positive as well two weeks later and at that time Allmendinger was indefinitely suspended from NASCAR until completion of their “Road to Recovery” program.
Allmendinger spoke with FOXSPORTS.com on Wednesday during a telephone interview, Allmendinger expressed regret as well as gratitude for the outpouring of support from fans, which he acknowledged “helped me get through all of this.”
It is still isn’t completely known why Allmendinger failed the drug test, sources say what was found in the urine was an “amphetamine” but Allmendinger has never said where it came from, and claims they are working to find out.
Allmendinger said he has met with the the administrator of NASCARs “Road To Recovery” program and was given a “Road Map” to help him get back to NASCAR.
Michael Shank told SIRIUS Radio that he would field a car for Allmendinger as soon as he satisfies the sanctioning body’s requirements for reinstatement “He has to go through the Road to Recovery – which we all accept and we all agree with.”
“That process, I’m told, can take anywhere from a month to three months. We’ll be testing in Daytona in October and November with the Daytona prototype and some new stuff we have from Ford Racing coming. If that’s the case, as soon as NASCAR says it’s been satisfied, we’ll get him back in.”
Allmendinger was part of a team of drivers fielded by Shank that won this years 24 Hours of Daytona.
