Allmendinger shifts to NASCAR this week

A.J. Allmendinger, a fast-rising star in U.S. open-wheel racing, abruptly switched to NASCAR stock car racing Tuesday and is scheduled to race Sunday for a new Toyota team.

Allmendinger -- a five-time winner this year in the Champ Car World Series, where he is the only American driver -- joined a growing parade of open-wheel racers who are either moving to NASCAR or giving it serious thought.

Juan Pablo Montoya, a former Formula One driver and Indianapolis 500 winner, recently joined NASCAR’s minor leagues to prepare for its premier Nextel Cup series next year.

Sam Hornish Jr., winner of this year’s Indy 500 and the Indy Racing League championship, also is mulling an eventual switch to NASCAR. So is Formula One driver Jacques Villeneuve, also a former Indy 500 winner. IRL driver Danica Patrick toyed with the idea earlier this year.

They’re drawn by NASCAR’s popularity -- and attendant earnings potential for a driver -- at a time when Champ Car and the IRL are struggling to maintain attendance, television ratings and sponsorship money.

Allmendinger, 24, of Hollister, Calif., is going directly to the Cup series as part of a multiyear deal with Team Red Bull, one of the teams planning to race the Toyota Camry when the car makes its NASCAR debut next year.

In preparation, Red Bull is racing a Dodge in some Cup events this year, and Allmendinger is expected to try to qualify for Sunday’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Georgia and next weekend’s at the Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

It wasn’t clear if Allmendinger would be required to drive in the last race in Champ Car’s season Nov. 12 in Mexico City. The Nextel Cup series races in Phoenix that day, but Team Red Bull does not plan to enter that event.

Veteran Bill Elliott was scheduled to drive the Atlanta race for Red Bull, but the team said Elliott had agreed to let Allmendinger take the wheel.

“I’m really excited about this next challenge in my racing career,” Allmendinger said in a statement.

“To race against some of the best drivers in the world, in front of fans that are as enthusiastic about racing as I am, is going to be a pretty big thrill.”

Red Bull previously had named Cup driver Brian Vickers as its other driver for 2007. Vickers currently is with Hendrick Motorsports.

Allmendinger had signaled earlier that he might leave Champ Car. He ran two NASCAR Craftsman Truck series races this year for Bill Davis Racing, finishing 13th in New Hampshire in September and fifth this month in Talladega, Ala., in a Toyota truck.

He started his string of Champ Car victories after being fired by RuSport Racing in June and moving to Forsythe, winning his first three races with that team. He’s second in points behind Sebastien Bourdais, who clinched the Champ Car title last weekend.

“We have watched A.J. grow up in the Champ Car system, and to see him leave the series at this point in his career is a disappointment to our fans,” Champ Car spokesman Eric Mauk said.

“But his departure creates opportunities for other young drivers to step up next year and make their mark, and we look forward to that.”

Whether Allmendinger makes Sunday’s Cup race in Atlanta, and overall adjusts to NASCAR quickly, remains to be seen. With Elliott, the new Red Bull team failed to qualify in its first attempt two weeks ago in Charlotte, N.C.

Kevin Harvick, second in NASCAR’s Chase for the Nextel Cup, said during a conference call that Allmendinger had “done a good job” in the truck races but added, “The learning curve is going to be pretty steep. It’s going to be tough.”

james.peltz@latimes.com