NASCAR
AJ Allmendinger onto Round of 8 with Talladega Last-Lap Pass
TALLADEGA, Ala. – The Kaulig Racing No. 16 team of AJ Allmendinger will fight onward for the 2022 Xfinity Series championship, after a clutch win from Talladega. While polesitter Austin Hill was the class of the field for much of the day, circumstances allowed Allmendinger to be right position to pounce on the last lap. AJ narrowly took his first oval win of the year, and first ever at a superspeedway.
After taking his first career pole, Austin Hill was the early dominator. The RCR No. 21 Chevrolet swept both stages, and after final pit stops was in the lead late. One big block however on Noah Gragson sent the two-time superspeedway winner back, giving the lead to Sam Mayer.
Going for his first Xfinity victory, Mayer was too far ahead of the pack on the last lap. This allowed Allmendinger to swing to the 1’s outside coming to the checkers, just beating Mayer to the line by 0.015 seconds in a photo finish.
In a rarity for any race, let alone Talladega, every car finished on Saturday. Aside from the Stage ends, the only caution of the day was a lap four spin by Ty Gibbs he recovered from. This is only the third time in Xfinity Series history that every car saw the checkered flag, last happening in 1998.
“Gosh, we’ve been so close to winning (a superspeedway race) and I feel like I keep giving them away,” Allmendinger said. “Thought I might have given it away. I’m still learning, trying to know what too big of a lead is. But honestly, all credit to (Kaulig teammate) Landon Cassill.
“He kept shoving me. He stuck with me. That’s what is great about Kaulig Racing, when you have teammates like Landon and Daniel (Hemric) that you know wherever you go, they’ll go with you. So thank you Landon.
“Man, I just wanted to win a superspeedway and finally got it.”
Behind Allmendinger and Mayer, top finishers were Landon Cassill, Ryan Sieg, Josh Berry, Parker Kligerman, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Hemric, Brandon Jones, and Noah Gragson. Hear from some of these drivers and other Playoff contenders below.
Heading into their first Playoff elimination race, Noah Gragson and AJ Allmendinger are the only drivers safe at the Charlotte Roval on Saturday. With the cut line only down to seven points, the chances are high for one driver currently in on points to derail their season. Catch the Drive for the Cure 250 Saturday at 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC, PRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Allmendinger will try to get his fourth-straight win at the Roval, can the Talladega winner make history next week?
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credit to Peter Stratta/TSJSports
