NASCAR star AJ Allmendinger has admitted that teams are struggling to know what to expect from this weekend's Cup Series race at Chicagoland.
The series hasn't raced at the mile-and-a-half oval since 2019, before the introduction of the Next Gen car, leaving teams somewhat in the dark about how to best set up their machinery and dial in their simulators.
The one thing that does seem clear is that the surface of the track will be rougher than in previous years, making tires a potentially valuable resource over the course of the weekend.
Allmendinger made ten Cup Series starts at the track before it became defunct, but never led a lap or secured a top-ten finish, with his best result 13th in both 2008 and 2009.
READ MORE: NASCAR Cup Series chief reveals major hurdle that could prevent Dodge return
Allmendinger: Chicagoland will be a unique challenge
Speaking as part of Kaulig Racing's weekend preview, the 500-start Cup Series veteran said: "Chicagoland is going to be bumpy, slick and hot, so it'll present a unique challenge. Hopefully, we can keep making our mile-and-a-half program a little better.
"There’s really not much you can carry over from other tracks based on what we’ve learned. It might be somewhat similar to Charlotte, but we haven’t raced at Chicagoland in so long that it’s hard to know what to expect.
"There are a lot of unknowns for everybody. We’ll get to the track on Friday, see how we unload for practice and hopefully be close to where we need to be."
His team-mate Ty Dillon sounded a little more optimistic about the weekend in prospect, saying: "Chicagoland, I felt like the last time I ran there, it was one of my favorite tracks and they took it off the schedule, of course. I had some good experiences there, so I’m looking forward to going back."
NASCAR TODAY: Cup star closes in on Jeff Gordon record as $1million bracket set for exciting matchups
