12 Questions with AJ Allmendinger

Jeff Gluck | USA TODAY Sports

Our series of weekly NASCAR driver interviews continues with AJ Allmendinger, a Northern California native who returns to his home track — Sonoma Raceway — on Sunday. Allmendinger, who won the most recent Sprint Cup Series road race last August at Watkins Glen, led a race-high 35 laps at Sonoma last year but finished 37th after hitting the wall.

Q: If NASCAR allowed you to listen to music while you were racing, would you want to?

A: Yeah, because I need everything I can get to tune my own thoughts out of my head. So if I could have something that would take my mind off my anger in the car, that would help.

Now maybe the choice of music might not help that, if it was Five Finger Death Punch or some hard rock. But I kind of look at it like when you're up on the golf course and you're about to tee off, and you've got the guy mowing the lawn and he shuts it off, and you're like, "Why didn't you just leave that running so I don't have to hear the thoughts in my head?"

Q: Where did your first paycheck come from?

A: My mom worked at a doctor's office and I did some filing after school. I was probably 14 or 15. I'd ride my bike after school over to my mom's office a few miles away and go file. It was exciting. (Laughs)

Q: Who is an autograph you got as a kid that seemed to be a big deal to you at the time?

A: That's a tough question, because I was never a really big autograph guy. So I probably can't give you a really good answer on that, because there's nobody who sticks out.

When I was watching racing, I was a huge Jeff Gordon fan, but I never had an autograph from him. As Brett Favre was coming into his first couple years with the Packers, I was a huge fan because I loved the way he played the game. But I never had an autograph from him, either.

So when fans come up to you and ask for autographs, is that weird for you?

Every person has their own agenda and wants. But I will say I got to meet Brett Favre in his good year at Minnesota. Dale Jarrett got me hooked up to go meet him on the field before they played the Panthers when they were playing in Carolina, and that was the first time I was kind of starstruck, like, "Oh my God!"

But for the most part, I was just never into autographs. The thing I question is when you're walking down an autograph line and you can hear the person ask, "Who is that?" And then all the sudden they have to have the autograph. I'm like, "I don't care if you don't know me, but why would you really want an autograph from somebody you don't really know?"

Q: Where's a place you've never been that you'd like to go visit?

A: I've gotten to visit a lot of cool places, but I'd love to visit Italy. I've just heard so many people talk about going to Italy. Whether it's the culture or the historic buildings there or just the food in general, you hear a lot of good things about it.

VIDEO: NASCAR Toyota-Save Mart 350: What to watch for

NASCAR Toyota-Save Mart 350: What to watch for USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Gluck breaks down what to watch for at Sonoma Raceway.

Q: Do people ever accuse you of being addicted to your phone?

A: Yes and no. I don't know if I ever get accused of being addicted to my phone, but I go in stages. There's times I basically throw my phone away and never look at it and don't want to be contacted or see the world. And then there's other times when I can't get off it, but maybe it's just a nervous habit where I'm trying to find something to entertain myself. I get bored pretty easily.

Q: If a genie promised you a championship in exchange for never being able to do your favorite hobby again, would you accept that offer?

A: Yeah. In a heartbeat. It'd be tough to never golf again, but I could take up something else after that. So yeah, for sure.

Q: What's your preferred method of dealing with an angry driver after a race?

A: I flip them off and tell them to kiss my (butt). (Grins) No, but all the theatrics we have after a race sometimes, I just laugh about it. I mean, we hate each other while we're out there. And some of us hate each other while we're in here (in the garage).

You know, if they want to talk about it, then great. If not, I just move on. I laugh because even if you go talk to somebody about it the next week, you're still in the same position. They're going to do it again — especially for a win.

It's more when stupid things happen when you're running for 25th. Then I'm like, "Really? Come on, we're just trying to get through this race." But I just kind of move on. I don't even give it a second thought.

We all have a list we build in our head of people who are owed things. You can have somebody drive through the back of you and go, "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to do that." (Rolls eyes) Oh, OK. I got you. Right.

Q: Do you ever get mistaken for another driver or celebrity?

A: I always try to say Brad Pitt, but that's actually never happened.

It's always Jamie McMurray or Justin Allgaier. And I say that my hair is nicer than Jamie's and I'm actually taller than Justin — and there's not that many people I'm taller than.

I don't see it.

Yeah, I know. One time, we were at the Rolex 24 test and I was standing there talking to Jamie, and some fans came walking up with his diecasts for him to sign. So he starts signing them and I said, "See ya," and walked away; and I had somebody chase me down and ask me to sign a Jamie McMurray car.

I'm like, "Did you not just see...", and they didn't understand it.

Q: If you had a time machine and you could travel to any year and race, where would you go?

A: I'd love to go back to the heyday of CART — back before they did the split — in the early '90s. That '91, '92, '93, '94 season, to me, was pretty awesome to watch. That's when I became an open-wheel fan. I loved when Nigel Mansell came back over from Formula One, and you had Mario and Michael (Andretti) and Paul Tracy. Indy was as big as it got in the month of May.

I became a true IndyCar fan then, and I wish I could go back and experience how much horsepower those cars had at the time and what they were like to drive. I got to race in some of the cool cities (when Allmendinger raced in CART), but not like it was when it was in its heyday.

Q: Would you rather have the ability to fly or be invisible?

A: Invisible. You could do a lot more damage being invisible. I'm scared of heights anyway. That's why I stopped growing at 5-foot-6.

Q: I've been asking each person to give me a question for the next interview. The last interview was with Alex Bowman, and he wanted to know: Do you move your seat closer to the pedals or your pedals closer to your seat?

A: (Laughs) That's a good question! I move my seat closer to the pedals. My arm length isn't that bad, but I've got short, stubby legs. So yeah. No matter if I get in my race car, a simulator or my street car, I always move my seat a lot closer.

Q: And do you have a question I can ask the next driver?

A: Let's go with: If they could only eat one thing for the rest of their life, what would it be?

Q: Finally, how did this interview go on a scale of 1-10?

A: I'd give it a solid 8.5. I might even lean toward a 9 on the mere fact that they weren't stupid racing questions that we all get asked every week that we're tired of.

Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck

PHOTOS: 10 cool pictures from Sonoma Raceway