Allmendinger Battles Sickness for Texas Top 5 Finish

AJ Allmendinger’s grit and determination were on full display at the recent Andy’s Frozen Custard 300 Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite battling a nasty bout of illness throughout the 200-lap event, the veteran driver dug deep to secure an impressive 4th place finish – his best result of the 2023 season so far.

The 42-year-old Californian arrived in Texas feeling under the weather but refused to let sickness slow him down. After qualifying 8th, Allmendinger methodically worked his way towards the front of the field, overcoming his physical struggles lap after lap.

“Physically it was hard, just trying to fight the cold or flu. I felt like crap in the race car,” Allmendinger admitted after climbing from his #16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet. “Proud of everybody…we startled a bit in first stage and I think we made it a lot better in the second and third stage.”

Allmendinger’s gutsy drive was made even more impressive by the dramatic finale that unfolded ahead of him on the 1.5-mile oval. With just a handful of laps remaining, young gun Sam Mayer and veteran Ryan Sieg waged an intense door-to-door battle for the race win.

As the leaders took the white flag, Sieg held a narrow lead over his hard-charging pursuer Mayer. But the youngster refused to be denied, throwing everything he had at the #39 Ford in a breathtaking last-lap duel. When the two cars flashed across the finish line after 300 miles of hard racing, it was Mayer who prevailed by an eye-watering margin of just 0.002 seconds – the closest finish in Texas Xfinity Series history.

A despondent Sieg could hardly contain his frustration at coming so agonizingly close to his first career Xfinity win, joking: “I should have ran [Mayer] into the wall harder, I guess. Tried to win the race…it sucks.”

But despite being overshadowed by the dramatic lead battle, Allmendinger’s performance was no less heroic. To finish 4th while feeling so ill was a true display of championship mettle from the veteran. It vaulted him up to 5th in the overall Xfinity Series standings with his consistently strong runs.

As he looks ahead to the next race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Allmendinger will no doubt be aiming to back up his Texas top 5 with another standout performance – hopefully feeling a bit better. But regardless of his health, you can count on him giving his trademark maximum effort every time he slips behind the wheel.