AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe headline a wild day at the Brickyard
By Bob Pockrass
FOX Sports NASCAR Writer
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is known for some of the most epic moments in motorsports.
The first NASCAR Cup Series race on the Indianapolis road course might not have been epic, but it certainly was memorable.
AJ Allmendinger, a former Cup and IndyCar driver now competing full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, emerged victorious after a wild race during which NASCAR and track officials had to remove a temporary curb on the course after it came apart, causing a flurry of accidents.
Then Chase Briscoe, who didn’t know he was under penalty for cutting the course but knew he needed a win to advance to the NASCAR playoffs that start in three weeks, turned Denny Hamlin — not maliciously — during the second overtime, allowing Allmendinger to slip into the lead with less than two laps remaining.
"We know showing up at the road-course races, we have fast race cars, but like at Indy, the way that played out, I mean, this is just pure enjoyment," Allmendinger said before quipping: "I'm going to tell them I'm retiring now. Sorry, guys. I'm done, I'm out. I'm not going to Michigan next week."
Here are three takeaways from the Verizon 200.
Allmendinger, Kaulig enjoy signature moment
Allmendinger, who once had his seat belts come off when he was leading the Indianapolis 500, earned his second career Cup victory and the first for Kaulig Racing, an Xfinity organization that fields a car in the Cup Series part-time, with plans to run two Cup cars next year.
His first Cup win came at Watkins Glen in 2014, and the win Sunday came in his 375th career start.
"We all know this is what we love and hate about racing," Allmendinger said. "It can just bury you in the ground, and then you have moments like this, where you just forget about every bad emotion, every low moment you’ve ever had because all it takes is one victory like this, especially at Indy.
"To me, this is the biggest place in the world. If you told me I have to win at one place, this is where I want to win. It erases all that bad feeling, and this is why I come here and do this."
Kaulig will have three drivers — Allmendinger, Jeb Burton and Justin Haley — in the Xfinity playoffs, but this win certainly will be a highlight of the year.
"It's unbelievable," Kaulig team president Chris Rice said. "I thought I was going to throw up walking down pit road."
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Briscoe punt sours Hamlin
Hamlin was going for his first win of the season, and though he has been first or second in the standings much of the year, a Briscoe win would have left a slight possibility that Hamlin could miss the playoffs.
Hamlin had a roughly 90-second discussion with Briscoe after the race.
"If you cut the racetrack and end up in the lead, you’re going to have a penalty," Hamlin said. "Lack of awareness. Race me for a lap. He went right in the back of me.
"We can’t race that way. I don’t think he did it malicious. I’ve raced with him for a year now. He’s not that kind of person, just bad judgment."
Briscoe swore that he didn’t try to punt Hamlin and didn’t know he was under penalty. NASCAR ended up parking him for the final lap.
"A lot of guys were getting lazy through that turn and would just swing it out wide and leave the bottom wide-open," Briscoe said. "So I was kind of all over him in the esses, and when I went to go underneath him, I just clipped him in the right rear.
"He was already trying to get back to the left, so it just turned him right around. It is unfortunate for them."
If there is any solace for Hamlin, Allmendinger’s win clinched a playoff spot for Hamlin. There are now only two spots left, with two races remaining in the regular season.
The drivers who could still get in on points: Kevin Harvick, who could clinch next week, as he is 95 points ahead of the current cutoff, and Tyler Reddick, who has a 28-point edge on teammate Austin Dillon.
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Kyle Larson denied
Kyle Larson led a race-high 28 laps but had to settle for a third-place finish after the wild final 20 laps.
Pitting from the lead with seven laps remaining in regulation, Larson thought he was in a decent spot with the freshest tires and restarting fifth.
He got up to second after the ensuing restart, but following the first of the two red flags, he got hit by Kurt Busch to lose several spots, suffered some damage to his car on the same lap and then rallied to third.
"We had to come down, put tires on, and some guys gambled and stayed out, and that kind of just got us in the mess a little bit," Larson said after missing out on a potential sixth Cup win of the year.
"I was able to find my way to the front row and then just got shoved around and put in the grass. It kind of ended my shot to win there."
Bob Pockrass has spent decades covering motorsports, including the past 30 Daytona 500s. He joined FOX Sports in 2019 following stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @bobpockrass. Looking for more NASCAR content? Sign up for the FOX Sports NASCAR Newsletter with Bob Pockrass!
