Autosport

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

Allmendinger reinvigorated after NASCAR win at The Glen

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