NASCAR
AJ Allmendinger Leaves Field in Texas Dust at COTA
AUSTIN, Texas – After finishing second to Kyle Busch last year, this time it was AJ Allmendinger’s turn to bask in Texas sun. The Kaulig Racing No. 16 Chevrolet led a whopping 27 of 46 laps en route to their first victory of 2022 at COTA. This marks Allmendinger’s record seventh Xfinity road course victory, locking him into the Playoffs once again.
After taking the lead on lap four, Allmendinger was in a league of his own for Stage 1, his first Stage win of the year. Stage 2 was also an uninterrupted run, the win went to Sam Mayer as others pitted.
Once he took the lead away from Ross Chastain to start the final Stage, Allmendinger never let up. The 16 led the remainder of the race, including outlasting the field on two more restarts. A dominant victory from Circuit of the Americas has the 16 team back in the championship discussion once again.
“I was hard on myself yesterday,” Allmendinger admitted after the win. “Where I put ourselves, the setup that I made for us. But this Nutrien Ag Chevy was really good, it was hard to drive, I had to drive it a certain way. But Action Industries, Leaf Filter, everyone that allows us to do this, Xfinity, for putting this great series on, Chevy, everybody. My wife, cuz she’s gotta put up with my whining every night about how bad I am. Mom and Dad, I love you, Tickles, all my friends and family.
“But you know, all these men and women here at Kaulig Racing, between the Cup and Xfinity side of it, they don’t sleep during the week. They’re busting their tails, and that’s why I’m so fricking hard on myself sometimes, because they deserve to win more than anybody here. I just want to do it for them, so thankfully we got one done today.”
Behind Allmendinger, top finishers from COTA included Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Noah Gragson, Sam Mayer, Myatt Snider, Brett Moffitt, Jade Buford, Miguel Paludo, and Sheldon Creed. With COTA being the Dash4Cash qualifier, Allmendinger, Hill, Gragson, and Mayer will all race for $100,000 next week.
The Xfinity Series is back in action next Saturday from Richmond Raceway. Coverage of the Toyota Care 250 is Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. The first short track race of 2022 is also the first Dash4Cash race, so one driver will walk away with a big check.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Logan Riely/Getty Images for NASCAR
