AJ Allmendinger won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup race following a thrilling duel with Marcos Ambrose that went down to a final two-lap shootout at Watkins Glen.
Allmendinger led the field to the final restart, having grabbed the position back after they swapped the lead just before the final yellow flag – one of many lead exchanges between the pair in the closing stages.
At the last restart, following a second red flag for track repairs, Allmendinger led but Ambrose hit him at the Carousel, got Allmendinger loose and dived past him. But Allmendinger fought back, banging into Ambrose and barging his way past at Turn 6.
Ambrose then got sideways at the next corner, allowing Allmendinger to escape over the final lap to score his first win for the JTG Daugherty team.
“I just wanted it so bad,” said Allmendinger. “I wasn’t going to let Marcos take that from me. He moved me out of the way [at Turn 5], just like I’d do to him, so I leaned on him in the next corner. That’s what I did.”
Ambrose said: “He really deserved it, I was giving it everything I had to rattle his cage.”
The race had previously been halted for over an hour due to a huge crash on the exit of Turn 5 when Greg Biffle ran wide, and was clipped from behind by Ryan Newman who bounced off the rear of Biffle’s car and slammed into the Armco on the right-side of the following straight.
As Newman spun back across the track, he clipped Michael McDowell’s car, sending it into the barrier on the other side of the track where the longer ‘Boot’ section rejoins the NASCAR layout. McDowell’s entire rear axle became impaled in the debris fence, and he took down a whole section of crash barrier.
Both drivers walked away from the crash, and Newman complained of the safety levels at the circuit, saying: “It’s a very antiquated racetrack.”
Poleman Jeff Gordon was on course to challenge for the win when an electrical connection failed, stranding him on the track just after half distance when running second to Ambrose.
He had led the opening stint of the race, but had been jumped by Ambrose during the opening round of pitstops.
Behind Allmendinger and Ambrose, Kurt Busch finished third, ahead of a late-charging Kyle Larson, Carl Edwards, Joey Logano and Harvick, the latter delayed by a rogue beanbag that got loose inside his cockpit.
Regan Smith, who was subbing for the absent Tony Stewart, was taken out in a late-race crash caused by Jimmie Johnson spinning out.
Results - 90 laps:
Pos Driver Team/Car Time/Gap
1. AJ Allmendinger JTG Daugherty Chevrolet 2h26m48.000s
2. Marcos Ambrose Petty Ford +1.160s
3. Kurt Busch Stewart-Haas Chevrolet +1.437s
4. Kyle Larson Ganassi Chevrolet +1.899s
5. Carl Edwards Roush Fenway Ford +2.357s
6. Joey Logano Penske Ford +2.710s
7. Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet +2.917s
8. Greg Biffle Roush Fenway Ford +3.152s
9. Matt Kenseth Roush Fenway Ford +3.619s
10. Brian Vickers Waltrip Toyota +3.778s
11. Dale Earnhardt Jr Hendrick Chevrolet +4.132s
12. Kasey Kahne Hendrick Chevrolet +4.474s
13. Martin Truex Jr Furniture Row Chevrolet +4.693s
14. Jamie McMUrray Ganassi Chevrolet +5.893s
15. Casey Mears Germain Chevrolet +6.221s
16. Austin Dillon Childress Chevrolet +6.258s
17. Justin Allgaier Hscott Chevrolet +7.547s
18. Aric Almirola Petty Ford +7.937s
19. David Ragan Front Row Ford +8.311s
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr Roush Fenway Ford +8.829s
21. Danica Patrick Stewart-Haas Chevrolet +9.588s
22. David Gilliland Front Row Ford +9.754s
23. Reed Sorenson Baldwin Chevrolet +10.042s
24. Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Toyota +10.939s
25. Boris Said FAS Lane Ford +10.958s
26. Nelson Piquet Jr Humphrey Ford +11.001s
27. Clint Bowyer Waltrip Toyota +24.364s
28. Jimmie Johnson Hendrick Chevrolet +39.344s
29. Landon Cassill Hillman Chevrolet -1 lap
30. Joe Nemechek NEMCO Toyota -1 lap
31. Michael Annett Baldwin Chevrolet -2 laps
32. Paul Menard Childress Chevrolet -3 laps
33. Alex Kennedy Circle Sport Chevrolet -4 laps*
34. Jeff Gordon Hendrick Chevrolet -4 laps
35. Brad Keselowski Penske Ford -5 laps
36. Alex Bowman BK Toyota -5 laps
37. Regan Smith Stewart-Haas Chevrolet -9 laps*
38. Josh Wise Parsons Chevrolet -12 laps
39. Ryan Truex BK Toyota -21 laps*
40. Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Toyota -21 laps
* Not running at finish
Retirements:
Ryan Newman Childress Chevrolet 55 laps
Michael McDowell Leavine Ford 55 laps
Cole Whitt BK Toyota 9 laps
