(Photo: Sam Draiss | The Podium Finish)
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Finishing second is no fun. But for AJ Allmendinger, he had to live that infamy twice this weekend at Watkins Glen International. Nonetheless, it was to the same driver.
In Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Allmendinger swooped into the mix on a restart with five laps to go after Ty Gibbs and William Byron spun together. He could never run down Kyle Larson as he won his first Xfinity race since 2018.
A little over 24 hours later, the circumstances were nearly the same. Allmendinger ran third on a restart with five laps to go, behind Hendrick Motorsports teammates Larson and Chase Elliott. Once again, the seas parted after Larson ran Elliott wide in Turn 1.
Allmendinger seemingly had a better car Sunday than he did Saturday but it wasn’t quite enough. He frequently made up ground in the inner loop but Larson gained it back in other spots around the race track.
Allmendinger’s margin noticeably enlarged on the final lap and Larson cruised across the finish line for his second Go Bowling at The Glen victory.
Though Allmendinger was understandably disappointed, he had nothing but high regards for Larson.
“I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1000 times. He’s the most badass driver on the planet right now,” Allmendinger said after the race. “It’s tough to finish second to him but we were there. Yesterday, we got gifted a second place. Today, we earned it.”
And the respect was mutual, too. Larson spoke highly of Allmendinger after the race.
“I’ve always had a lot of respect for AJ [Allmendinger],” Larson said. “He’s one of if not the most underrated guys in the NASCAR, any series in NASCAR, of my career that I’ve had in stock cars.
“You can compare him to his teammates, and he’s always outrunning them. I feel like that’s kind of a way to judge how good a driver is. There’s no doubt in my mind if he was in equipment equal to mine, he would be winning races frequently. He continues to get better. I love getting the chance to race him.”
Allmendinger qualified sixth for Sunday’s race, but his track position quickly went out the window. The race started in the wet after a weather delay and he was spun by Austin Cindric on Lap 2. He battled back, slowly fighting his way into the mix.
“I’m glad we didn’t start the race when they wanted to,” he said. “Once we started it, it actually wasn’t too bad. It was disappointing getting spine early. So we’re always trying to play catch up. But those conditions weren’t bad. These cars are fun to drive. It’s just a fun day. I wish it was one spot better.”
Since Allmendinger is part-time in Cup, he isn’t hunting for stage points. His only goal was to win the race.
“I did everything I could. I was happy to come out second and have a shot to really be me and Kyle [Larson] there to go and try to win the race,” Allmendinger said. “I was a little bit too loose the last half of the race track and he doesn’t really make any mistakes. I was always pushing hard and these cars get arrow sensitive. That’s why I thought if I can get in front of him, I would probably be good, but it is what it is.”
At the end of the day, frustrations aside, Allmendinger deems it a good weekend. While winning is the goal of any driver, he thinks big picture and knows what his results do for Kaulig Racing.
“We’re a first-year Cup team,” he said. “To have a shot to win the race is all we can ask for. I wish I could have got it done. But yeah, it’s a solid weekend.”
