After dominating at Circuit of the Americas last year, A.J. Allmendinger went two-in-a-row and picked up a second consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the Texas road course.
The Kaulig Racing Chevrolet driver led 29 of 46 laps around the 3.41-mile circuit, taking the checkered flag in the Pit Boss 250 .853 seconds ahead of Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet driver William Byron.
“I knew it was going to be tough, just trying to fight to get back up to the front,” Allmendinger said during his post-race interview on the FOX broadcast. “I spent a lot of years not winning anything, so I’m going celebrate every one like it’s my last one. As much pressure as I put on myself, I’m always going to try to live up to it.”
With no stage breaks taking place according to NASCAR’s new road course rules, there were only five caution flags — most notably when the No. 00 of Cole Custer crashed into the tire barrier and became stuck in the sand trap on lap 29.
While he held the lead early in the race, Allmendinger lost the position to Sheldon Creed on lap 14. Allmendinger was unable to reclaim the lead until his No. 10 Chevrolet made contact with the left rear of Creed, spinning the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing entry with 14 laps to go.
Allmendinger, 41, held a tight grip on the lead from that point on, controlling the 38-car field and leading them to the checkered flag. It was his 16th Xfinity Series victory in 94 starts and his series-best 11th triumph on a road course.
Byron came in second, while reigning Xfinity Series champion Ty Gibbs made his first series start of the season and wheeled the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing entry to a third-place finish. JGR driver Sammy Smith and JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier completed the top five.
Last week’s winner Austin Hill experienced an engine issue in his No. 21 Chevrolet, taking him out of contention with under 20 laps to go. He officially finished 37th.
Still, Hill leads the standings by 15 points over Riley Herbst, who finished 10th.
Keyword: Victorious Allmendinger Goes Two-In-A-Row At COTA