"They were so nonchalant" - AJ Allmendinger "scared to death" during son Aero's head surgery

NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger recently opened up about the challenges faced during his son's medical journey after he recently underwent brain surgery.

In an interview with Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports, Allmendinger reminisced about the moments before Aero's surgery and described the contrast between his apprehension and the seemingly nonchalant demeanor of the medical staff. An excerpt of the interview was published on X (formerly Twitter):

"The doctors from the moment we got there said "yeah it's gonna be harder on you two. It's still head surgery so you're scared to death for your child but they were so nonchalant."

AJ Allmendinger went on to describe the ordeal that he and his wife Tara went through as they waited for the news on Aero's condition, saying:

"He went off to anesthesia, we went down and started eating lunch, and it seemed like 45 minutes. We got a text 'he's being closed up, we're all done'."

The speedy recovery and resilience that his son demonstrated were quite memorable for Allmendinger, as he stated:

"Okay, and they took his wrapping off the next morning and his head had already changed a lot. He was smiling, he had no idea anything happened."

He added:

"So how these young children can bounce back is absolutely amazing. And yeah, it was harder on us than it ever was on him, it seems like."

When asked about the potential 800 miles he'll run this weekend at Daytona and whether they were more nerve-wracking than what he had recently been through, AJ Allmendinger answered:

"There's always a bit of a different perspective now when you have a child, but at the end of the day, we're all competitive, we all have egos, so once you get in the racecar, it doesn't really change."

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AJ Allmendinger compares Cup Series and Xfinity Series after moving to Kaulig Racing

AJ Allmendinger recently elaborated on his expectations and preparation for his full-time NASCAR Xfinity season with Kaulig Racing, marking a transition from the Cup Series.

In an interview with Fox Sports' Bob Pockrass, the 41-year-old driver reflected on the differences between the two series and said:

"Obviously, the cars are completely different. So trying to get to the feel of an Xfinity car, especially on the ovals, obviously did the road course races last year. The cars slide around a lot more the way the tires go away, the tires go away a lot more just trying to get the feel of that but that will come back quick."

Besides the obvious technical adjustments, the main disparity, according to AJ Allmendinger, is the increased expectations of the series.

"But more than anything it's the expectations, we run top-15 in most of the Cup races, of course, you want to win but you can get on the plane and you're fairly happy with that. Xfinity, if you don't run like top five or win a lot of races and go try to win the championship, then that's the letdown of the year," he said.