Friday, February 18, 2000
Local driver fighting to jump-start career
Allen trying to get back on track after '99 troubles
BY TOM GROESCHEN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The cold, hard world of big-time NASCAR racing slapped Glenn Allen Jr. with a reality check in 1999.
“What I thought would be a dream season really went bad,” the Lockland native said.
Allen, 29, was the Busch Grand National rookie of the year in 1996. Busch is one step below the major-league Winston Cup circuit.
By 1998, Allen seemed on his way to becoming the first Greater Cincinnatian to land a full-time Winston Cup ride. He finished a career-high 11th in the season points race that year.
For 1999, he joined a new team, (Akins/Sutton), with Busch star Elton Sawyer. But Allen soon learned he was a distant No.2 on the two-car team, as far as finances and sharing information. And one of the team's two owners was caught embezzling from the corporation, causing strains on funds and nerves.
Allen got the short end of the deal. He wound up losing his ride late in the year, and finished a career-low 32nd in the season points race. Sawyer finished fifth.
For 2000, Allen is scrambling to revive his career. Lacking a major sponsor —
the key ingredient in racing — he will run a limited, 10-race schedule on a relatively shoestring budget of $500,000. He did not make the 43-car field for Saturday's NAPA Auto Parts 300 at Daytona, finishing 56th in qualifying.
To get some perspective on the budget, consider Allen used to have between a $1.7 and $2 million outlay in his best seasons.
He has returned a bit older, wiser and chastened to Bill Papke, his original Busch owner who is footing the bill for Allen's 2000 season.
“I tried to build a new race team, and things didn't go well from the get-go,” Allen said. “I got stuck not getting any competitive race cars.”
Allen has not won a Busch race in 107 tries. He is known as a smooth, “professional” driver who stays out of trouble and generally hangs around the top 15. But in '99, he often found himself qualifying poorly and running near the back.
By the end of the year, journeyman Winston Cup driver Hut Stricklin had replaced Allen in the Barbasol Ford No.38 car.
“This is a huge money business, and you have to perform,” Allen said. “I took the brunt for what went on. If you're not doing well in the races, the driver is the one who's going to go.”
It didn't start this way for Allen, a former Lockland class president. He began his driving career at age 13 at the old Queen City Speedway in West Chester, the youngest person ever to race there.
As the son of Glenn Allen Sr., a former standout stock car driver, Allen Jr. had the genes. But Allen Sr., the former mayor of Arlington Heights, said driving is a small part of NASCAR.
“Things have changed a lot in just four years,” Allen Sr. said. “The difference is a lot of these Winston Cup kids can drive for free, because their parents can pay them. And now you've got to get a $2 million sponsor instead of $1 million. It's tough to get with the Fortune 500 sponsors, and then you never know which guy has the right say.”
The sons of Dale Earnhardt (Dale Jr.), Dale Jarrett (Jason), Terry Labonte (Justin), and Kyle Petty (Adam) are among the “Winston kids” who have driven on the Busch circuit.
Plus, Allen and friends sometimes get bumped by “Cup” regulars who occasionally drive Busch, including hammers such as Jeff Gordon and Mark Mar tin. Plus, NASCAR Craftsman Truck drivers are also targeting Busch as a springboard to Winston Cup.
Allen has discovered that you must be independently wealthy or have megabucks connections just to stay afloat. His family, while well off compared to most, doesn't have the millions of some competitors.
Allen and wife Katherine continue to live in Mooresville, N.C., in the Charlotte area where most NASCAR teams have race shops. He has done some soul-searching and scrambling the past few months, but with Daytona cranking back up, the old fire is back.
“Of all the Busch drivers sitting on the sideline, I think I have the most career starts, he said. “I have a pretty good finish ratio of bringing the car home in one piece.”
He also has a good idea about life not always being fair.
“I think it's been good for Glenn Allen to realize what it was like to not be a part of it, and how easily you can lose it,” he said.
And now, Allen finds himself scrambling for sponsorship money. He is trying to convince Cincinnati-based sponsors to help him. Few local drivers get near this level, which is why Allen is not ready to quit his Winston Cup dream.
“I'm only 29,” he said. “It's never over till it's over.”
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