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AJ Allmendinger participated in the Daytona 500 for the first race in five years, and he continued where he left off in 2018 with a top-10 result. Despite being involved in a multi-car incident on the final lap, Allmendinger came in sixth.
In the last NASCAR Cup Series practice before the Daytona 500, AJ Allmendinger was the quickest Chevrolet. The 41-year-old felt he had a shot at winning Sunday (February 19)'s race.
During the post-race interview, he said:
“I’m really pleased with the finish we had. Any time you get to start the season with a top-10 in the Daytona 500 it’s a big deal. Felt like our car handled very well, just tough racing, very track-position oriented. When we got out front, we just lacked a little bit of speed to stay up there; that was the toughest thing."
"But overall, our guys did a great job and fought hard through the day, and you just have to be there at the end. We had a shot to win the Daytona 500. That’s pretty freaking cool. I wish we could have done it, but all you can ask for is having a real opportunity and we did tonight. That’s pretty special.”
Without the whole field's awareness, there would have been a major accident at the end of Stage 1 of the Daytona 500. Allmendinger was being passed by the leaders and chose to stay in the center of the track, despite being 10-20 mph slower.
AJ Allmendinger pulls a Ross Chastain move at the Daytona 500
AJ Allmendinger will undoubtedly be the most despised driver in the early stages of the race, but he believes the juice was worth the squeeze. Allmendinger knew that if he stayed with the leaders for another lap or two, he'd win the free pass and rejoin the lead lap.
Last year, Ross Chastain did something similar at the end of Stage 1 at Talladega to stay on the lead lap. Chastain eventually won the race.
Brad Keselowski won Stage 1 despite the fact that the bottom lane was blocked. Due to Allmendinger's actions, Bubba Wallace, who smacked the wall following a bump from Martin Truex Jr., remained a lap down.
That move by Allmendinger made a lot of drivers mad. Ryan Blaney, in particular, was enraged by Allmendinger's decision. Blaney referred to Allmendinger as "the stupidest race car driver ever" and an "absolute f***ing idiot" over the radio.
