AJ Allmendinger had a banner day at Martinsville today, coming home second place for an all-time best finish on an oval. Furthermore, according to “Dinger” himself, he succeeded keeping Kyle Busch out of victory lane.
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| His hood said "CAR" that week |
“We might not have finished first, but we kept the 18 out of victory lane”, Allmendinger said after exiting his car. “When we had that late restart, my guys told me to go for the lead, but to make sure above all else to keep that M&M’s car out of victory lane. And we made that happen today.”
Allmendinger credited his success to a new pre-race ritual—harassing Michael Waltrip.
“I don’t know what it was about smacking that hat off Mikey’s head—wait, of course I do, it made me feel good!”, Allmendinger said. “Next week at Texas I’m thinking I try to brand him with an iron. Or maybe I make him eat that stupid ear-cam that he wears—the possibilities are endless.”
Allmendinger said that he hopes to take today’s strong finish and turn it into momentum for the rest of the season.
“This just shows what this little team can do—well, I say ‘little’, but Brad Daugherty’s seven-foot-something”, Allmendinger continued. “When we put our minds to it, we can keep a top Truck Series guy like Kyle Busch out of victory lane.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need some oxygen tanks ready—I’m going to try and read through all my sponsors in one breath.”