Top Dog: AJ Allmendinger
So close, yet so far.
That could summarize AJ Allmendinger’s weekend in a nutshell. Allmendinger is a road course ace in NASCAR, the dominant force on this track type in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. That has translated into his part-time Cup stint, too, peaking with a win last summer at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
However, Allmendinger’s prowess was bested in both series at Watkins Glen, finishing runner-up to reigning Cup champion Kyle Larson in each event.
On Sunday (Aug. 21), Cup’s Go Bowling at the Glen was arguably peak NASCAR 2022. Drivers not only faced the Glen in the Next Gen car for the first time, but they also had to do it in the rain. That worked to Allmendinger’s disadvantage on lap 2 when Austin Cindric locked his tires up going into turn 1, spinning Allmendinger from fifth position.
Varying schedules to switch from rain tires to the slicks allowed Allmendinger to recover and finish stage one in 10th. After restarting deep in the field in stage two, the No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet finished the stage in 11th.
Drivers figuratively heard Jaws music in the final stage as Allmendinger methodically worked his way through the field. The Kaulig Racing driver then charged up to sixth before making a green flag stop. When everything cycled through, Allmendinger found himself in fourth before a caution flew with 12 laps remaining.
On the restart, Allmendinger muscled his way around Michael McDowell to challenge the Hendrick Motorsports drivers of Larson and Chase Elliott when another caution came out for Loris Hezemans.
“Come on. The 27 is running for 93rd” – 16 radio lol.
“Running his own race. Got to get on TV. Sponsors matter” – Chris Rice.
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) August 21, 2022
The final restart saw Larson drive deep into turn 1, washing up the track and clearing Elliott in the process. That opened the door for Allmendinger, who was all over Larson for both the lead and race win. However, just like the NXS race the day before, Allmendinger could only get a sniff of Yung Money and had to settle as the bridesmaid.
“Obviously, Kyle (Larson) drove it in quite deep to get the lead there on Chase (Elliott) and I was getting shoved in the corner,” Allmendinger said. “Maybe if I could have gotten the car squared off a little bit earlier in the corner… but, obviously, I was getting run into so hard that I was happy just to keep it on the racetrack and not have anybody…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Frontstretch…