An Emotional A.J. Allmendinger Wins Playoff Race at Charlotte's ROVAL
CONCORD, NC – RIS – An emotional A.J. Allmendinger outran William Byron in the final stage to win the playoff race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday. Allmendinger dominated the final stage of the race for his third career victory in the Cup Series. Byron dogged Allmendinger throughout the final run, but could never catch him. Allmendinger survived five restarts to lead the final 33 laps of the 109-lap race. All 46 of his laps led came in the race’s third and final stage.
Allmendinger’s three victories have all come at road courses. He got his first win in 2014 at Watkins Glen and scored his second in 2021 at the Indianapolis road course. Allmendinger’s emotions let go after the checkers”
“You me3ver know if it will happen again (said through tears)”
This season is Allmendinger’s first full-time season in Cup since 2018 and he’s scored three top fives and six top 10s.
Tyler Reddick was the only driver to jump into the top eight in the points standings to advance to the third round. Reddick entered the race ninth in the points standings and moved into the top eight with a sixth-place finish. Brad Keselowski was the victim of Reddick’s move, as Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch won’t move on to the third round.
Reddick is joined in the third round by William Byron, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.
Byron finished second while Kyle Busch was third. Busch entered the race likely needing a win to advance to the third round and simply couldn’t get close enough to Allmendinger or Byron over the final green-flag run to have any shot.
"But overall this ride is on me anyways," Busch said. He finished 34th and 25th in the first two races of the third round. "The first two weeks of this round was obviously not very good, and we didn't score any points. That's where it's at. That's where it lies. Texas, Talladega, just not being able to execute and do a good job when points were on the line."
"It sucks to be out this early, but let us do Texas over again, and I feel like we're right there."
The Charlotte race was the last race in the round of 12 for the NASCAR playoffs. Allmendinger is the first non-playoff driver to win a race during this season's playoffs.
Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch are the four drivers who were below the playoff cutline and will miss out on the round of eight, losing a chance to win this year's championship. Chastain was the closest one behind eighth place, 13 points behind Martin Truex Jr.
William Byron, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, and Truex are the eight drivers who will still have a shot at the 2023 title.
Unofficial Results: Bank of America ROVAL 400, October 8, 2023 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Unofficial Results: Bank of America ROVAL 400, October 8, 2023 - Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 6, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Celsius Chevrolet, 109, 10, , 2, 46, 5, 41, Running
2) 14, William Byron (P), No. 24 HP Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 35, Running
3) 5, Kyle Busch (P), No. 8 Lenovo Chevrolet, 109, 8, 10, 1, 6, , 38, Running
4) 10, Ty Gibbs #, No. 54 Interstate Batteries All Battery Center Toyota, 109, 9, , , , , 35, Running
5) 7, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 109, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 1, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, 109, 1, 4, 1, 27, 1, 48, Running
7) 20, Chris Buescher (P), No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, 109, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 16, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 29, Running
9) 8, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 109, 7, 1, 1, 15, 1, 42, Running
10) 12, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Worldwide Express Chevrolet, 109, 3, 6, , , , 40, Running
11) 18, Ryan Preece, No. 41 Autodesk/HaasTooling.com Ford, 109, , , , , , 26, Running
12) 17, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Discount Tire Ford, 109, , , 1, 6, , 25, Running
13) 36, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 Valvoline/HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 109, , 5, , , , 30, Running
14) 15, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Huk Performance Fishing Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 23, Running
15) 2, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 DEWALT Plumbing Solutions Toyota, 109, 5, 2, 2, 9, , 37, Running
16) 4, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 23 Leidos Toyota, 109, 2, 7, , , , 34, Running
17) 24, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 20, Running
18) 19, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 6 Castrol Edge Ford, 109, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 22, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Rheem - Chasing a Cure Ford, 109, , , , , , 18, Running
20) 11, Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 109, 4, 8, , , , 27, Running
21) 21, Aric Almirola, No. 10 IHOP Ford, 109, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 25, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 15, Running
23) 32, Todd Gilliland, No. 51 Ruedebusch Development & Construction Ford, 109, , , , , , 14, Running
24) 31, Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 109, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 29, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Menards/Cardell Cabinetry Ford, 109, , , , , , 12, Running
26) 28, Josh Bilicki(i), No. 78 Zeigler Auto Group Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 0, Running
27) 33, * Austin Hill(i), No. 62 United Rentals/Beard Oil Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 0, Running
28) 30, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 Ford Performance Racing School Ford, 109, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 26, Mike Rockenfeller, No. 42 Sunseeker Resorts Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 34, Zane Smith(i), No. 38 Ambetter Health Ford, 109, , , , , , 0, Running
31) 37, Ty Dillon, No. 77 Bon Secours Chevrolet, 109, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 13, Michael McDowell, No. 34 Love's Travel Stops Ford, 109, , 9, , , , 7, Running
33) 3, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Aguas Frescas Chevrolet, 109, 6, , , , , 9, Running
34) 27, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Harris Teeter/Totino's Chevrolet, 96, , , , , , 3, Electrical
35) 35, Andy Lally(i), No. 15 Camping World Ford, 84, , , , , , 0, Accident
36) 23, Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet, 79, , , , , , 1, Accident
37) 9, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 Mavis Tires & Brakes Toyota, 76, , 3, , , , 9, DVP
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs
Total Race Length: 109 Laps - 252.88 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 57 Secs.
Average Speed: 81.596 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.666 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 45, 23, 1, 19, 20, 99, 9, 8, 54, 16
Stage 2 Top 10: 9, 20, 11, 45, 5, 1, 23, 19, 34, 8
Comments: AJ Allmendinger has won the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, his third career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 5, 77 (Backup car).
Cautions: 7 for 18 laps;
Laps: 27-29 (Stage 1 Conclusion [47]);
49-53 (Nos. 78, 7 Incident Turn 4 [47]);
77-78 (Nos. 11, 77 Incident Turn 17 [34]);
81-82 (Nos. 34, 43 Incident Turn 7 [78]);
86-87 (No. 15 Spin [None]);
95-96 (No. 99 Incident Turn 8 [47]);
98-99 (No. 47 Stalled Turn 2 [99]).
Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers;
T. Reddick (P) 1-27;
C. Bell (P) 28-35;
C. Elliott (P) 36-50;
C. Bell (P) 51;
K. Busch (P) 52-57;
A. Allmendinger 58-70;
R. Blaney (P) 71-76;
A. Allmendinger 77-109.
Total Race Length: 109 Laps - 252.88 Miles
Time of Race: 3 Hrs, 5 Mins, 57 Secs.
Average Speed: 81.596 MPH
Margin of Victory: 0.666 Seconds
Stage 1 Top 10: 45, 23, 1, 19, 20, 99, 9, 8, 54, 16
Stage 2 Top 10: 9, 20, 11, 45, 5, 1, 23, 19, 34, 8
Comments: AJ Allmendinger has won the Bank of America ROVAL 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course, his third career victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reason(s) indicated: Nos. 5, 77 (Backup car).
Cautions: 7 for 18 laps;
Laps: 27-29 (Stage 1 Conclusion [47]);
49-53 (Nos. 78, 7 Incident Turn 4 [47]);
77-78 (Nos. 11, 77 Incident Turn 17 [34]);
81-82 (Nos. 34, 43 Incident Turn 7 [78]);
86-87 (No. 15 Spin [None]);
95-96 (No. 99 Incident Turn 8 [47]);
98-99 (No. 47 Stalled Turn 2 [99]).
Lead Changes: 7 among 6 drivers;
T. Reddick (P) 1-27;
C. Bell (P) 28-35;
C. Elliott (P) 36-50;
C. Bell (P) 51;
K. Busch (P) 52-57;
A. Allmendinger 58-70;
R. Blaney (P) 71-76;
A. Allmendinger 77-109.
Ronald Fleshman and John Davison
Ron Fleshman and John Davison are Editors at ris-news.com