WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Team
Flowmaster driver A.J. Allmendinger drove his JTG Daugherty Chevy into victory lane for the first time in his career Sunday in the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International. He joins Aric Almirola as the second first-time winner this season and with the win qualifies for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championship.
“My gosh; I can’t believe we’ve won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race,” said the jubilant Allmendinger. “With this whole 47 team, our first Cup victory together, my first victory….I love these guys.
“I just wanted it so bad for them and this team. They work so hard. I wasn’t gonna let Marcos take that from me.”
While Allmendinger led the final 30 laps, he did fend off a major challenge from Australian road-racing ace Marcos Ambrose for the win. In fact, the duo swapped the lead a few times throughout the waning laps, with Allmendinger able to get back in front each time the crossed the start-finish line. In the end, it was an advantage of just over a second for the California native’s first win.
Ambrose finished second with Kurt Busch third. Kyle Larson was fourth in his first Watkins Glen start with Carl Edwards making it a complete Team
Flowmaster sweep of the top-five in fifth.
Flowmaster is the Exclusive Performance Exhaust of NASCAR and many of the top teams in the sport have the company’s decal on the side of their car. Allmendinger is the 10th different Team
Flowmaster driver to win this season and the 17th victory in 22 races this year for team drivers.
Top-10 Finishers:
1. A.J. Allmendinger**
2. Marcos Ambrose**
3. Kurt Busch**
4. Kyle Larson**
5. Carl Edwards**
6. Joey Logano
7. Kevin Harvick**
8. Greg Biffle**
9. Matt Kenseth**
10. Brian Vickers
Next Race: Pure Michigan 400, Michigan International Speedway
Sunday, August 17, 2014