NASCAR: Allmendinger scores Cup victory in wild finish at Indianapolis Road Course.
16-08-2021 08:51 - MOTORSPORT
The first NASCAR Cup Series road-course race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was full of drama — for AJ Allmendinger, who led only the last two laps of overtime to secure his second career NASCAR Cup Series victory Sunday, and for those who fell short of the cherished trophy in an action-packed final few laps.
Denny Hamlin was leading the race on the final restart with two laps to go before being hit from behind by rookie Chase Briscoe in Turn 10, just before Briscoe was supposed to serve a penalty for running off-course earlier in the lap. Instead of winning, Hamlin finished 23rd and Briscoe, 26th.
With those two cars derailed, Allmendinger moved up from third place to take the lead and hold off Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson by .929-seconds.
Before the race, Allmendinger shrugged off any suggestions that he shouldn't be considered an odds-on favorite despite his impressive road-course background. This season he's competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing and Sunday marked only his fourth Cup Series start of the year.
But the former open-wheel star has an Indianapolis 500 start, leading 27 laps in a seventh-place finish in 2013, and this iconic track has long been considered hallowed ground by the 39-year-old Californian.
Source: nascar.com
Denny Hamlin was leading the race on the final restart with two laps to go before being hit from behind by rookie Chase Briscoe in Turn 10, just before Briscoe was supposed to serve a penalty for running off-course earlier in the lap. Instead of winning, Hamlin finished 23rd and Briscoe, 26th.
With those two cars derailed, Allmendinger moved up from third place to take the lead and hold off Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson by .929-seconds.
Before the race, Allmendinger shrugged off any suggestions that he shouldn't be considered an odds-on favorite despite his impressive road-course background. This season he's competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing and Sunday marked only his fourth Cup Series start of the year.
But the former open-wheel star has an Indianapolis 500 start, leading 27 laps in a seventh-place finish in 2013, and this iconic track has long been considered hallowed ground by the 39-year-old Californian.
Source: nascar.com