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Jim Utter

NASCAR Cup Charlotte: Allmendinger holds off Byron for emotional win

Allmendinger moved into the lead for the first time in the race when he passed Kyle Busch on the start of the final stage, but had to navigate five restarts over the final 31 laps.

With less than 10 laps to go, William Byron moved past Busch into the second and closed to Allmendinger’s rear bumper several times, but the 41-year-old veteran deftly held him at bay and won by 0.666 seconds.

Busch, Keselowski, Wallace and Chastain were the four drivers lowest in points without a victory following the race and have been eliminated from playoff contention.

With that quartet out of the playoffs it means Byron, Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney kick off the semifinal round of the championship fight next Sunday in Las Vegas.

The win is the first for Allmendinger and his #16 Kaulig Racing team this season, which had been a disappointment as he failed to qualify for the playoffs.

Race winner AJ Allmendinger, Kaulig Racing, Chevrolet Camaro (Photo by: John Harrelson / NKP / Motorsport Images)

That frustration was evident in the emotional response from Allmendinger to the win, who could be heard crying over his team radio and was in tears doing an interview on the frontstretch.

“This is why you do it. This is the only reason you do it,” Allmendinger said. “You fight. All the blood, sweat, tears, everybody at Kaulig Racing has just been such – I wouldn’t say a down year, but up-and-down year. It’s our second year in the Cup Series.

“I usually give these chequered flags away but I'm going to have to wrap this around [my son] Aero. My mom and dad, all my family and friends, those people see how much anguish and how much I put it on my shoulders when we're struggling. It just means the world.”

Behind Allmendinger and Byron, Busch ended up third ahead of Ty Gibbs in fourth and Joey Logano rounded out the top five.

NASCAR Cup – Charlotte Roval race results

 
 
       
Driver Info
 
 
 
   
Cla Driver # Manufacturer Laps Time Interval Pits Points Retirement
1 United States A. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 109 3:05'57.187   5 41  
2 United States W. Byron Hendrick Motorsports 24 Chevrolet 109 +0.666 0.666 6 35  
3 United States K. Busch Richard Childress Racing 8 Chevrolet 109 +3.094 2.428 6 38  
4
T. Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing
54 Toyota 109 +3.418 0.324 6 35  
5 United States J. Logano Team Penske 22 Ford 109 +4.070 0.652 6 32  
6 United States T. Reddick 23XI Racing 45 Toyota 109 +5.168 1.098 6 48  
7 United States C. Buescher RFK Racing 17 Ford 109 +5.898 0.730 6 30  
8 United States A. Bowman Hendrick Motorsports 48 Chevrolet 109 +6.812 0.914 6 29  
9 United States C. Elliott Hendrick Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 109 +7.992 1.180 8 42  
10 United States R. Chastain TrackHouse Racing 1 Chevrolet 109 +10.438 2.446 7 40  
11 United States R. Preece Stewart-Haas Racing 41 Ford 109 +11.057 0.619 7 26  
12 United States R. Blaney Team Penske 12 Ford 109 +11.413 0.356 6 25  
13 United States K. Larson Hendrick Motorsports 5 Chevrolet 109 +11.821 0.408 6 30  
14 United States A. Dillon Richard Childress Racing 3 Chevrolet 109 +12.188 0.367 7 23  
15 United States C. Bell Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 109 +12.664 0.476 6 37  
16 United States B. Wallace 23XI Racing 23 Toyota 109 +13.133 0.469 7 34  
17 United States C. Lajoie Spire Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 109 +13.917 0.784 8 20  
18 United States B. Keselowski RFK Racing 6 Ford 109 +14.556 0.639 9 19  
19 United States K. Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing 4 Ford 109 +15.301 0.745 6 18  
20 United States M. Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 109 +15.808 0.507 7 27  
21 United States A. Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing 10 Ford 109 +17.128 1.320 9 16  
22 United States J. Haley Kaulig Racing 31 Chevrolet 109 +18.835 1.707 7 15  
23 United States T. Gilliland Rick Ware Racing 51 Ford 109 +21.283 2.448 6 14  
24 United States H. Burton Wood Brothers Racing 21 Ford 109 +22.586 1.303 8 13  
25 United States A. Cindric Team Penske 2 Ford 109 +22.977 0.391 8 12  
26 United States J. Bilicki Live Fast Motorsports 78 Chevrolet 109 +24.804 1.827 8    
27 United States A. Hill Beard Motorsports 62 Chevrolet 109 +25.175 0.371 7    
28 United States C. Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing 14 Ford 109 +26.180 1.005 7 9  
29 Germany M. Rockenfeller Legacy Motor Club 42 Chevrolet 109 +26.314 0.134 11 8  
30
Z. Smith Front Row Motorsports
38 Ford 109 +27.281 0.967 8    
31 United States T. Dillon Spire Motorsports 77 Chevrolet 109 +31.038 3.757 9 6  
32 United States M. McDowell Front Row Motorsports 34 Ford 109 +51.381 20.343 11 7  
33 Mexico D. Suarez TrackHouse Racing 99 Chevrolet 109 +56.751 5.370 7 9  
34 United States R. Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing 47 Chevrolet 96 +13 Laps 13 Laps 9 3 Electrical
35 United States A. Lally Rick Ware Racing 15 Ford 84 +25 Laps 12 Laps 6   Accident
36 United States E. Jones Legacy Motor Club 43 Chevrolet 79 +30 Laps 5 Laps 6 1 Accident
37 United States D. Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 11 Toyota 76 +33 Laps 3 Laps 6 9 DVP

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