Race Weekend Central

AJ Allmendinger Kisses the Bricks, Wins Xfinity Race at Indy Road Course

AJ Allmendinger will kiss the bricks after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Pennzoil 150 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course Saturday, July 30.

Allmendinger overcame a long pit stop early on, got the lead on lap 45 and never looked back en route to the victory.

It’s the No. 16 Kaulig Racing driver’s third win of the season and 13th of his career.

“God I love this place,” Allmendinger said after the race. “Indy, baby, let’s go!

“Can’t thank everybody at Kaulig Racing, all the men and women. We struggled, we’ve worked hard to get a little bit better. This Nutrien Ag Solutions Chevy was really good. I knew Bowman was really good on the long runs, so I tried to gap him as much as I could. God, I love Indy.

“We win and lose as a team but I knew the way our car’s set up in traffic it’s not very good,” Allmendinger said about the slow pit stop at the beginning of the race. “We were having a little bit of brake issues as well. The guys recovered really well, just frustrating cause I knew we gave up stage points a little bit there as well to the guys we were fighting in the points. But at this point, points don’t mean a damn thing, we’re kissing the bricks, hell yeah.”

Alex Bowman was second, Justin Allgaier was third, Ross Chastain came in fourth and Chase Briscoe crossed the line in fifth after losing third gear.

Riley Herbst finished sixth, Sam Mayer was seventh and Ty Gibbs came in eighth. Both Herbst and Gibbs over came spins around lap 25.

Austin Hill and Noah Gragson completed the top 10.

See also
Noah Gragson Finishes 10th At Indy After Another Run-In With Sage Karam

During the race, some drivers encountered various issues.

The first victim was Parker Kligerman, who, on lap 14, lost his brakes and spun around entering turn 7, right into the No. 44 of Ryan Ellis.

Both drivers’ days were ended early after their collision.

Then, a pair of Monster Energy cars encountered trouble after stage two went to green on lap 25. Josh Berry went three-wide in the middle between Herbst and Gibbs, sending Gibbs around in turn 1. Later that same lap, Berry tagged Herbst, who also spun, though his damage was a bit more severe.

A few other cars got turned throughout the event, including some front runners like Sheldon Creed. Additionally, Bubba Wallace exited the race on lap 30 due to engine issues.

But in the end, once Allmendinger got out front, no one could reach him. He led 42 circuits on the way to the win.

Xfinity Results from Indy Road Course

The Xfinity Series heads to the 2-mile Michigan International Speedway Saturday, Aug. 6. The New Holland 250 will air at 3:30 p.m. ET on USA Network and the Motor Racing Network.

About the author

Joy joined Frontstretch in 2019 as a NASCAR DraftKings writer, expanding to news and iRacing coverage in 2020. She's currently an assistant editor and involved with photos, social media and news editing. A California native, Joy was raised as a motorsports fan and started watching NASCAR extensively in 2001. She earned her B.A. degree in Liberal Studies at California State University Bakersfield in 2010.

Sign up for the Frontstretch Newsletter

A daily email update (Monday through Friday) providing racing news, commentary, features, and information from Frontstretch.com
We hate spam. Your email address will not be sold or shared with anyone else.

Share via