AJ Allmendinger brings home another Portland victory to his tenured motorsports career. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
PORTLAND, Oregon – NASCAR’s national touring series return to the Pacific Northwest certainly was wet but showcased AJ Allmendinger overcoming adversity after starting at the back to scoring the victory in Saturday’s Pacific Office Automation 147 at Portland International Raceway.
After a rain-shortened qualifying session, Allmendinger was slated to start 10th. However, with several unapproved adjustments, he had to relinquish the spot and start in the rear. Things got worse when the field was split in half before the green flag. Allmendinger panicked and while trying to catch the field, he lost it in Turn 10.
The ordeal frustrated the Kaulig Racing driver and he knew he had a long day ahead of him. Especially, when he had to pit before even reaching the opening lap.
“They required us to let all the cars go, but nobody would pass. By the time they were going green, we were half a lap behind them. I panicked and tried to catch them, and went sailing off Turn 10,” said Allmendinger, who led 6 of 75 laps. “I thought I destroyed the nose of the car, so I was in the pits before I took the green flag and went a lap down. Hell, I think I went off three or four more times.
“I’d never imagine all the mistakes I’ve made to be able to get back up front like that. You know, that’s what I love about this race team. They’re always here to pump me up. I’m super hard on myself, especially at these road course races. I felt like I was letting them down and was very frustrated at myself.”
Little did Allmendinger knew at the start of the race that several drivers shared agonizing emotions. On the opening lap, Sam Mayer was turned around in the infamous Shelton Chicane. His day would get worse as he ended up in another accident where the front of his No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro was damaged beyond continuation. Consequently, he ended up as the first retiree.
Lap 1. Turn 1. Car 1. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Pole sitter Anthony Alfredo’s time at the front didn’t last either as he missed the aforementioned chicane. Alfredo would fail to finish the race after getting caught up in a crash that resulted in a 31st place outing.
Early in the going, Ty Gibbs took command of the opening stage from Laps 2-43. No driver was able to catch the young gun, but Gibbs’ shot at victory hit several road blocks.
During the second stage, the lapped car of Jesse Iwuji made contact with the leader under caution, once again, at the Shelton Chicane. This incident put Iwuji in the penalty box for two laps. Gibbs would ultimately finish in seventh but his day would be memorable following contact with Noah Gragson, who had led up until then, in Turn 5. Gragson assured payback will be coming for Gibbs.
Another driver who was irate following an incident was Sheldon Creed. During the final stage, several drivers bottled the chicane and Creed got turned by Jade Buford, who also collected Jeb Burton and Daniel Hemric. Both Creed and Burton sustained heavy front damage as they tried bringing it back to the pits.
Burton’s car would engulf in flames while Creed couldn’t bring the No. 2 Whelen Chevrolet back to the pits. After getting out of his car, Creed made sure Buford knew he wasn’t pleased with his driving and gave him the double bird.
It would be end of days for Creed following this incident. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
On what’s been an extremely agonizing rookie campaign, Creed hopes sooner than later the results match his competitive speed.
“I don’t know if (Gibbs) or if we both just spun together, and then (Buford) caused us to end our day before the end of Stage 3. It was crazy out there today,” said Creed. “We all spun, then I got rolling and I was looking left and another car just stops in front of me. The damage was too much for us to continue. It just destroyed the whole front end of our Whelen Chevrolet.
“That’s just very representative of the way my year has gone. Every time we have speed, something goes wrong. Hats off to my entire Richard Childress Racing team, though. Everyone at RCR has been working really hard to make our cars faster and no one gives up. I feel like we had a really good shot at winning today, so I’m frustrated with the result and being taken out of the race.”
As the race was coming to a close, the debate of staying on wet Goodyear Eagles or going for dry sets would be the winning move. Buford and JJ Yeley decided to run the dry Eagles and were on the front row for the penultimate restart. The rest of the field made quick business on both drivers and it put Allmendinger, who had rallied all afternoon, in the top spot.
Behind him was chaos as the chicane bit more drivers. This time the recipients would be Justin Allgaier, Landon Cassill, Andy Lally and Patrick Emerling. Debris left in Turn 1 brought out the final caution, putting Allmendinger in the cat bird seat as a few laps still remained.
Late-race madness in Portland. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Allmendinger would fend off Myatt Snider, who had bounced back from an earlier spin in Turn 1, to score the victory in Portland by 2.879 seconds.
“Once we got back up front, I was setting my mind with everything I’ve done to cause us to lose this race. I was going to do everything I could to make sure we won it. Got a good restart and Myatt did a great job. It was a great battle,” said Allmendinger. “I knew if I could get to the lead, I could kind of dictate him. Kind of prayed for no more yellows because we weren’t really good on the brakes. The restarts were kind of tough. Just quite unbelievable honestly.”
It marked the Xfinity Series championship leader’s second win at Portland as he previously won the Grand Prix of Portland in 2006.
When asked about being both a Champ Car and NASCAR winner at the 1.976-mile road course, he reflected on two things.
First, the strong crowd that showed up on a rainy Saturday. And second, what it meant to win 16 years ago with his father being there, which he too was at the track Saturday. It was his first of five career wins (all taking place in 2006) with this particular triumph being special as it was held on Father’s Day.
AJ and Greg Allmendinger sharing another bonding moment in the Pacific Northwest. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
“This place was packed. We wished we had better weather for all the fans but that’s what racing in the Northwest is like. There’s always opportunity for rain,” said Allmendinger. “It was really cool to see how packed this place was and Portland has always been a special place for me. My dad was here and was here on Father’s Day 16 years ago.
“To be able to still be a part of motorsports and be with a great team like Kaulig Racing that allow me to be who I am. They know when I’m pissed off, it’s because I care and I’m mad at myself. To be able win the first (Xfinity) race here is special for a lot of reasons.”
With his best finish of the season, Snider showed his muscle after leading 19 laps including a Stage 2 victory. While disappointed of finishing second, improvements were made in his No. 31 Tree Top Chevrolet.
“We brought a great Chevy Camaro. We did lead plenty of laps and won our first stage and our first top-three. Definitely an improvement from this team,” said Snider. “I can’t say enough about Shane Whitbeck (Snider’s crew chief) and Jordan Anderson Racing. I’m so proud of everybody. It’s a great day for us.”
Snider leading Lally and Cassill in the closing laps of Stage 2. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
Rounding out the top-three in the 75-lap contest was Austin Hill. It marked his sixth top-five of the year and his first top-three result since Circuit of the Americas over two months ago. Hill felt he needed one more caution that would’ve put him in prime position to get his second win of the season.
“I think we could have given ourselves a shot at the win. We’re going to keep working at it, and we’re going to win one of these road courses. It was a crazy race,” said Hill. “We started second and did our best to stay in it all day. It wasn’t easy with all of the rain. Cars were slipping and sliding around and so much of this race was just about staying in it all day and doing our best to avoid the mayhem.
“We made all kinds of mistakes and raced in the front and the back of the field, but we did our job by avoiding damage. We were so close. I’m glad to be leaving this race with a top-three finish but we’re going to keep working hard for a win.”
Wet reflection underneath Hill’s Camaro. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
In spite of the risky gamble, Yeley ended up finishing eighth and scored his first Xfinity Series top-10 since Iowa in 2017 when he finished sixth for TriStar Motorsports. Not only did the former USAC Triple Crown champion bring MBM Motorsports a strong result, but he also did so while enduring pain in his right thumb which he couldn’t bend after the race.
“The end result was good. I didn’t put a lot of effort into practice knowing I was planning to ride around in the first two stages, waiting on carnage. Obviously, there was a fair amount,” said Yeley.
“We started the race on our wore out rain tires and didn’t have a lot of grip. Put my fresh ones in the second stage and it was pretty decent. The car felt better on dries than it did on wets (Friday). There at the end when we changed tires, the car was back at a pretty nice balance. At that point, we were looking to be a 15th to 20th place car. Things went our way. There was a long enough caution where the track dried out a little bit,” Yeley continued.
“Unfortunately, the first restart we fell back to about eighth or ninth. Able to pick up a couple of spots in the last couple of laps. A top-10 for us and we had Minutemen Coffee Company onboard. Their number-one goal was to beat (Gragson, who was sponsored by Black Rifle Coffee Company) which we did on the last lap.”
Yeley sporting the dry tires in the closing laps. (Photo: Luis Torres | The Podium Finish)
While Allmendinger heads off to World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway to compete in the inaugural Cup race at the 1.25-mile oval, the Xfinity Series will have a two-week break. Their next race will be at the Nashville Superspeedway for the Tennessee Lottery 250. Coverage begins Saturday, June 25 at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network. Kyle Busch is the defending race winner.
Stage 1 Results: Gibbs, A. Hill, Mosack, Hemric, Moffitt, Labbe, Gragson, Cassill, Jones and Allgainer
Stage 2 Results: Snider, Lally, A. Hill, Cassill, Berry, Alfredo, Allgaier, Allmendinger, Creed and Buford
Final Top 10 Results: Allmendinger, Snider, A. Hill, Berry, Allgaier, Hemric, Gibbs, Yeley, Gragson and Labbe
