AJ Allmendinger leaps from his No. 16 car after his fourth consecutive ROVAL win. (Photo: Stephen Conley | The Podium Finish)
CONCORD, N.C. – As the laps wound down in Saturday’s Drive For The Cure 250 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, the unthinkable was about to happen.
AJ Allmendinger had not been beat in the NASCAR Xfinity Series on the ROVAL layout. However, with just a handful of laps to go, Allmendinger found himself trailing and falling behind Ty Gibbs.
With five laps to go, Gibbs held about a 10 car length lead on Allmendinger.
It was a lead that the “ROVAL King” was not sure he could close.
“I was wanting it pretty bad there,” Allmendinger said in a post-race conference. “I didn’t think we had a shot, but I’m always going to put it on my back when it’s time to go.”
At times, Allmendinger can be a bit tough on himself. Following his unprecedented win, the excitement once again raged as the Californian was like a little thief in the night scampering off with his score.
“We got that one. We stole that one!” he exclaimed.
A win is a win and the driver of the No. 16 does not plan to “give it back.”
Allmendinger felt like he was letting his team down. All told, he turned up the wick when it mattered during the race’s penultimate restart.
“It’s what I love about this team,” he shared. “I let them down. They keep pumping me back up.”
If it wasn’t for the final couple of cautions that sent the event in to overtime, Allmendinger postulated that he would have placed second behind Gibbs.
Talking to reporters after the race, Allmendinger said, “I didn’t think we had anything for him honestly once he got around me in that second stage. He wasn’t making any mistakes.”
That is high praise from a driver many call the “Road Course” or “ROVAL King.”
After the race, Gibbs was asked about the final restarts and if Allmendinger may have used him up a little on that final restart.
“The last one, I caught the fence when I got ran wide, and it just kind of hurt my momentum,” he said. “I feel like I gave it my best run, but I was proud of the effort.”
Despite coming up short, this effort will be a big punch in the arm as he continues to fill in for Kurt Busch in the NASCAR Cup Series.
A second place effort for the driver that will be in the hunt to win again on Sunday is like taking a masterclass. Now, he just has to put that experience to good use on Sunday.
Allmendinger was already locked in to the Round of 8 and was asked if there was any sense of urgency about these final four races before moving to Cup in 2023 and if this was his final shot to win a title.
First, Allmendinger laughed and said, “You’ve already written me off for next year?”
But, he would go to observe that that there was no urgency. The success in the time being is a bonus for him.
While a lot has happened since 2019, Allmendinger can reflect on the ROVAL race changing his NASCAR fate. (Photo: Molly Gastineau | The Podium Finish)
“Four years ago, I sat up here and told you all I wasn’t sure what I was going to be doing after the news about leaving the JTG/Daugherty,” Allmendinger said.
He recalled his conceit, at the time, that his position at NBC was going to be it.
“I left the car with three wins at the time, and now I can’t even remember where I’m at in total. That’s a good thing,” Allmendginer joked.
As Allmendinger and the No. 16 team prepare for the Round of 8, they go into some tracks that are going to be a little big of a challenge, especially knowing how well Noah Gragson runs at Las Vegas, Homestead-Miami and Martinsville.
Indeed, Gragson is considered the favorite to win the Xfinity Series championship. So, is it a must win for Allmendinger in the next three races?
“I wouldn’t say it’s a must win, but it is a must for us to be consistent,” he said.
Moreover, Allmendinger said that they know Gragson will run well, especially at a place like Homestead.
“Look, one person is going to go to Phoenix on points, at least. So we need to be consistent, run up front and finish in the top five at the end of the day for us to have a shot,” he observed.
Allmendinger recognizes the challenges ahead, but as he has recognized on many occasions, there is no quit in his team.
If it wasn’t obvious before, there’s none in the driver either.
Stage 1 Top 10 Finishers
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Stage 2 Top 10 Finishers
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Drive for the Cure 250 at Charlotte ROVAL Top 10 Finishers
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