For the third time in a row in his third attempt at the road course at Charlotte, AJ Allmendinger is back in victory lane.
The veteran racer won once again at the Charlotte Roval in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity race at the track, clinching him into the next round of the playoffs.
“The big picture is a championship, but this win means a lot,” Allmendinger said on NBC. “To get three in a row at The Roval… what an awesome day.”
Allmendinger played the race safe, moving up on the grid gradually through the first half of the race.
Once in stage 2, his Kaulig Racing team opted to pit before the end of the second frame, setting him up to pounce during the final 20 laps.
Allmendinger got to the back bumper of race leader Ty Gibbs, forcing the youngster into a mistake and taking the lead with 19 to go.
The win on Saturday gives Allmendinger his fifth win of the season in the No. 16 car.
If it wasn’t for a late caution, the 16 car would have cruised to the win, but they had just a bit more work to do to secure this one.
“I knew (the caution) was coming out,” Allmendinger said. “It wasn’t going to go simple like that. I knew we had to be on the defense early. I can’t thank (my team) enough. This car was stupid fast.”
The result sets the next round – the semifinals – of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs and gives Allmendinger a 34-point lead going into the final four races of the season.
The series returns to the track next Saturday at Texas.
| 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Grid | ||||||
| Prior to Round of 8 – Next Race Sat. @ Texas 2:00pm CT NBC |
||||||
| Position | Driver | Wins | PP | Points | Cutoff | |
| 1 | AJ Allmendinger | 5 | 50 | 3050 | +34 | |
| 2 | Austin Cindric | 5 | 44 | 3044 | +28 | |
| 3 | Justin Allgaier | 2 | 20 | 3021 | +5 | |
| 4 | Noah Gragson | 2 | 17 | 3017 | +1 | |
| Playoff Cutoff | ||||||
| 6 | Daniel Hemric | 0 | 16 | 3016 | -1 | |
| 7 | Justin Haley | 1 | 9 | 3015 | -2 | |
| 8 | Harrison Burton | 0 | 8 | 3008 | -9 | |
| 8 | Brandon Jones | 0 | 8 | 3003 | -14 | |
NASCAR Xfinity Results
The Charlotte Roval
1. AJ Allmendinger
2. Noah Gragson
3. Daniel Hemric
4. Alex Labbe
5. Ross Chastain
6. Austin Cindric
7. Cody Ware
8. Jade Buford
9. Michael Annett
10. Brandon Jones
11. Jeffrey Earnhardt
12. Riley Herbst
13. Josh Bilicki
14. Myatt Snider
15. Joe Graf Jr
16. Jeremy Clements
17. Ryan Vargas
18. Chase Briscoe
19. Timmy Hill
20. Kody Vanderwal
21. Ryan Sieg
22. BJ Mcleod
23. Justin Allgaier
24. Stephen Leicht
25. Matt Mills
26. Brandon Brown
27. Tommy Joe Martins
28. Gray Gaulding
29. CJ McLaughlin
30. Jesse Little
31. Kaz Grala
32. Preston Pardus
33. Harrison Burton
34. Josh Williams
35. Justin Haley
36. Austin Hill
37. Kyle Weatherman
38. Brett Moffitt
