With Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at the Charlotte Roval serving as an elimination race for the playoffs, all the attention was on the drivers whose season depended on a solid result in order to keep their title hopes alive.
Yet it was A.J. Allmendinger, who didn’t qualify for the playoffs at all, who took the victory.
Allmendinger, a storied road racer, took home his third Cup Series win — all three of which have been on road courses. He led 46 of 109 laps and held off William Byron for the victory.
Always known for his emotions-on-the-sleeve personality, Allmendinger then broke down in tears of joy on his cool-down lap and in his post-race interview.
“You never know when you’re going to do it again,” Allmendinger told the crowd as he gathered his composure. His status for whether or not he’ll return to the Cup Series next season is uncertain.
Tyler Reddick looked to have the dominant car early on but opted to stay out of the pits for stage points in the first stage, having entered the race two points behind the cut line. That mired him deep in the field when the race restarted and he was only able to fight back to sixth, but he did successfully advance to the next round.
Chase Elliott then seemed like he might have his best shot at a win in 2023, but was hurt when Josh Bilicki brought out a caution just as he was about to enter pit road. Like Reddick, this forced Elliott to sacrifice track position under caution, and he finished ninth.
Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain and Bubba Wallace were the four drivers eliminated from title contention, none of whom come as much of a surprise. Reddick leapfrogging Keselowski was the only change in points between the drivers who entered the day below the cutoff, and those who ended below it.
The next round of the playoffs will feature two intermediate races at Las Vegas and Homestead, and then the cutoff race at Martinsville, which is always sure to feature desperate drivers turning to desperate measures to advance.
What will transpire this year? We’ll find out in the next three weeks.