A new era was ushered in at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when AJ Allmendinger took the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ first race …
A new era was ushered in at Indianapolis Motor Speedway when AJ Allmendinger took the checkered flag to win the NASCAR Cup Series’ first race on the road course that no one will forget. Allmendinger, a former open-wheel driver who ran his lone Indianapolis 500 in 2013, had his chance to win that race dashed when he was forced to pit late with a loose seat belt. On Sunday, however, the 39-year-old, in a one-off Cup entry for Kaulig Racing, survived the carnage of the final laps to avenge his misfortune eight years earlier and win the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. Chaos in the final laps and overtime led to the opportunity for Allmendinger to take the race win. He was in third place when leaders Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe tangled following the second overtime restart, and Allmendinger took the lead for good when Briscoe was penalized for driving through the grass shortly before he spun out Hamlin as they raced for the lead. Allmendinger then held off Ryan Blaney on the white flag lap to score his second Cup Series victory in 375 career starts. His first career win came on the road course at Watkins Glen in 2014. “We just won at Indy!” he shouted on the front stretch after doing celebratory donuts. “I mean, this is unbelievable,” Allmendinger continued. “In my wildest dreams I could never imagine the way that just played out.” While Allmendinger has only raced in four Cup Series events in 2021 — all on road courses — he has found success with a fifth-place finish at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and seventh-place finish on the Daytona International Speedway road course. Allmendinger is running full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series this season, where he has two victories. He won the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity race and finished second to Austin Cindric. Points leader Kyle Larson finished third, followed by Chase Elliott and Matt DiBenedetto. Allmendinger thought his race was over after a pit road speeding penalty. He was too fast entering pit road for his stop on Lap 33 and had to start the final stage of the race from the rear of the field. He described Sunday’s race as “survival of the fittest.
