Starting out in 6th place, Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet, won his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race out of 213 races at the CHEEZ-IT 355 at the Watkins Glen International. This is his first win and fourth Top 10 finish in 2014.
This is also his first win and fourth Top 10 finish in 6 races at Watkins Glen International. His Margin of Victory was 1.160 Seconds over 2nd Place Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford, who started out in second place. Marcos Ambrose posted his sixth Top 10 finish in 7 races at Watkins Glen International and it is his fifth Top 10 finish in 2014.
Third Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet, who started in fifth place posted, his 6 Top 10 finish in 14 races at Watkins Glen International.
Our fourth place winner Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet, who started out way back in twenty-third, place was the highest finishing rookie.
Fifth place winner Car 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford, started out in sixteenth place, and was followed by sixth place Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford, who started this race in eleventh place.
7th place holder was Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet, who started out in fourth place, and was followed by 8th place winner, Car 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford, who started out in twenty-eighth place.
Our ninth place spot was taken by Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota, who started in eighth place. Last spot in the Top 10 went to Car 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, who started back in twelfth place.
The race saw lots of action with 6 Cautions for 17 Laps:
1st Caution on lap 11 for Car 26 Cole Whitt Bully Hill Vineyards Toyota, for a crash in Turn 1.
2nd Caution on lap 52 for Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, for ‘slow on track’.
3rd Caution on lap 57 for Car 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Ford, Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet, Car 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford, Car 23 Alex Bowman Dustless Blasting Toyota, Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet, for the big crash in Turn 5. That crash turned into a red flag so the safety barriers could be repaired.
A 4th Caution came on lap 79 for Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet, who stopped in the inter-loop.
5th Caution on lap 83 for Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet, Car 14 Regan Smith Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota, Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet, for a crash in Turn 1.
6th Caution on lap 88 for Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota, when he spun out at the pit entrance; Car 33 Alex Kennedy MediaCAST Chevrolet, Car 36 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet crash in Turn 1
There was a battle for the lead with 5 Lead Changes among 6 drivers.
Lead Changes: J. Gordon 1-29; K. Kahne 30-32; M. Ambrose 33-51; J. Johnson 52-57; C. Edwards 58-60; A. Allmendinger 61-90.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the point standings by 5 points over Jeff Gordon. Chase Grid Outlook: 1.D. Earnhardt Jr. 773 (3 wins);2.B. Keselowski 696 (3);3.J. Johnson 650 (3);4.J. Gordon 768 (2);5.J. Logano 671 (2);6.C. Edwards 658 (2);7.K
This was an exciting race in the closing laps. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet and Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford bumped and leand on each other. Fortunately, they managed the difficulty racing side-by-side without wrecking anyone.
Both drivers were in a fight to claim an almost certain spot in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on the 2.45-mile road course at Watkins Glen International .
A crucial key to this win for AJ Allmendinger, was gaining a few car lengths lead during the ‘white flag’ while Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet was putting pressure on Marcos Ambrose in a fight for second place. The fact that AJ Allmendinger was able to hold off the best road racer in the series (some say the best in the world) Marcos Ambrose, made for an amazing race.
The 3rd Caution came on lap 56 when a violent crash near the exit from the Carousel (Turn 5) halted the action for an extended period, while track workers made repairs to severely damaged Armco barriers between Turns 5 and 6.
Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet was destroyed in this wreck. His car turned sideways and smashed into the guard rail to the right of the racing surface, and Car 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Ford, plowed into Newman’s car as it rebounded off the barrier and backed hard into the guard rail on the left side of the course. Newman was running behind Car 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford right before the crash.
“From my standpoint, Biffle jumped the curb and hit the splitter or something up on the curb and got out and got across the grass,” Newman said. “And I probably could have given him a little bit more (room), but I tried to time it so I could shoot past, but he slowed down when he got back on the race track.”
Newman shot across the track into the barrier as he was trying to avoid Biffle. McDowell, on the other hand, hand no chance to avoid Newman’s Chevy.
“I’m not sure what happened,” McDowell said. “I saw the 16 (Biffle) get wide and the 31 (Newman) come back across the track. I didn’t have time to adjust or move. I tried not to hit Ryan in the door there. That was pretty much it. I was just along for the ride.”
The stoppage lasted more than 81 minutes, and after pit stops under caution when the race resumed, Allmendinger passed Edwards for the top spot on Lap 61. He stayed out front, maintaining a lead of more than 1.5 seconds over Ambrose, who moved into second place on Lap 66.
Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet post race comments:
“Yeah, I mean I knew our car was slick on restarts on the tires, and I knew Marcos was going to try to move me out of the way if he had the opportunity,” Allmendinger said. “To his credit, he didn’t wreck me. He just moved me like he should have. I went down into the next corner and leaned on him a little bit to see if I could get a gap and get them racing behind me. “I knew if I could just get a three- or four-car-length gap, they weren’t going to get back to me. That was just a fun race. Thanks to the fans for enduring the red flags, the track workers for putting the track back together a couple of times. Everybody at home, if you didn’t love that you are not a fan of racing.” “This is what I live for—this is all I talk about,” Allmendinger said. “I don’t want to hear that AJ might be the next first-time winner—I’m tired of hearing that.”
Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford post race comments:
“I slid coming off Turn 11 after I got the lead (on Lap 86), and he was able to get it back before the caution dropped,” Ambrose said. “That was probably the difference between winning and losing the race right there. “If I could have held the lead when the caution came out, I would have probably had the advantage on the restart and been able to fend him off. But that’s just racing. It’s what it is, what it’s all about. You try to land him on a restart, take a couple of chances. I’m pleased we got through the S’s side by side without wrecking the whole field, because it could have easily happened out there.”
One thing AJ Allmendinger commented on when he got out of the car, was the fact that everyone was racing with heavy hearts, and their thoughts and prayers were with the Ward family. Saturday August 9, a tragic fatal incident occurred at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in Ontario County, New York involving Sprint Car 13, Kevin Ward and Sprint Car 14 Tony Stewart. Due to the incident Tony Stewart did not race and had Regan Smith drive Car 14 Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet.
A tough day for Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet who was Coors Light Pole Award winner with a speed of 129.466 mph. After having led from the start mid-way through the race he all of a sudden lost power on track & had to be pushed back to the pits. After getting back to the pits while his team diagnosed and repaired an electrical-system failure, Gordon finished in 34th place.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads the point standings by 5 points over Jeff Gordon. Chase Grid Outlook: 1.D. Earnhardt Jr. 773 (3 wins);2.B. Keselowski 696 (3);3.J. Johnson 650 (3);4.J. Gordon 768 (2);5.J. Logano 671 (2);6.C. Edwards 658 (2);7.K
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race Number 22
Unofficial Race Results for the 29Th Annual Cheez-It 355 At The Glen –
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, NY – 2.45 Mile Road
Total Race Length – 90 Laps – 220.5 Miles
Finishing Position Starting Position Car # Driver Team Laps Status
1. 6. Car 47 AJ Allmendinger Scott Products Chevrolet 90 Running
2. 2. Car 9 Marcos Ambrose Stanley Ford 90 Running
3. 5. Car 41 Kurt Busch Haas Automation Chevrolet 90 Running
4. 23. Car 42 Kyle Larson Target Chevrolet 90 Running
5. 16. Car 99 Carl Edwards Kellogg’s/Cheez-It Ford 90 Running
6. 11. Car 22 Joey Logano Shell Pennzoil Ford 90 Running
7. 4. Car 4 Kevin Harvick Budweiser Chevrolet 90 Running
8. 28. Car 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 90 Running
9. 8. Car 20 Matt Kenseth Dollar General Toyota 90 Running
10. 12. Car 55 Brian Vickers Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota 90 Running
11. 7. Car 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. National Guard Chevrolet 90 Running
12. 30. Car 5 Kasey Kahne Farmers Insurance Chevrolet 90 Running
13. 25. Car 78 Martin Truex Jr. Furniture Row Chevrolet 90 Running
14. 14. Car 1 Jamie McMurray McDonald’s Chevrolet 90 Running
15. 22. Car 13 Casey Mears GEICO Chevrolet 90 Running
16. 31. Car 3 Austin Dillon Dow Chevrolet 90 Running
17. 15. Car 51 Justin Allgaier Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet 90 Running
18. 27. Car 43 Aric Almirola Smithfield Ford 90 Running
19. 26. Car 34 David Ragan Dockside Logistics Ford 90 Running
20. 21. Car 17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ford EcoBoost Ford 90 Running
21. 43. Car 10 Danica Patrick GoDaddy Chevrolet 90 Running
22. 33. Car 38 David Gilliland Long John Silver’s Ford 90 Running
23. 39. Car 36 Reed Sorenson Chevrolet 90 Running
24. 17. Car 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Ground Toyota 90 Running
25. 34. Car 32 Boris Said Genny Light Ford 90 Running
26. 32. Car 77 Nelson Piquet Jr. WORX Ford 90 Running
27. 24. Car 15 Clint Bowyer RK Motors Charlotte Toyota 90 Running
28. 3. Car 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe’s Chevrolet 90 Running
29. 41. Car 40 Landon Cassill Newtown Building Supplies Chevrolet 89 Running
30. 40. Car 66 Joe Nemechek Land Castle Title Toyota 89 Running
31. 42. Car 7 Michael Annett Pilot/Flying J Chevrolet 88 Running
32. 20. Car 27 Paul Menard Splash/Menards Chevrolet 87 Running
33. 38. Car 33 Alex Kennedy MediaCAST Chevrolet 86 Accident
34. 1. Car 24 Jeff Gordon Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet 86 Running
35. 9. Car 2 Brad Keselowski Miller Lite Ford 85 Running
36. 36. Car 23 Alex Bowman Dustless Blasting Toyota 85 Running
37. 13. Car 14 Regan Smith Rush Truck Centers/Mobil 1 Chevrolet 81 Accident
38. 37. Car 98 Josh Wise Phil Parsons Racing Chevrolet 78 Running
39. 35. Car 83 Ryan Truex Burger King Toyota 69 Suspension
40. 19. Car 18 Kyle Busch M&M’s Toyota 69 Running
41. 10. Car 31 Ryan Newman Caterpillar Chevrolet 55 Accident
42. 29. Car 95 Michael McDowell K-Love Ford 55 Accident
43. 18. Car 26 Cole Whitt Bully Hill Vineyards Toyota 9 Accident
Race Comments: AJ Allmendinger won the Cheez-It 355 at The Glen, his 1st NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. Prior to the start of the race, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field for the reasons listed: No. 14 (driver change) and No. 10 (engine change). Failed to Qualify: N/A Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 26 Mins, 48 Secs. Average Speed: 90.123 MPH Margin of Victory: 1.160 Seconds Caution Flags: 6 for 17 laps.
3M Lap Leader: AJ Allmendinger, #47 30 Laps American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award : Marcos Ambrose, #9. Coors Light Pole Award: Jeff Gordon, #24 129.466 mphDuralast Brakes “Brake in the Race”: Jeff Gordon, #24 Mahle Clevite Engine Builder of the Race : Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines, #47 Mobil 1 Driver of the Race: AJ Allmendinger, #47 Moog Chassis Parts Problem Solver of the Race: Carl Edwards, #99 crew chief Jimmy Fennig, 0.197 seconds Sherwin-Williams Fastest Lap: Marcos Ambrose, #9 Sunoco Rookie of the Race: Kyle Larson, #42
Next Race: Aug. 17, 2014 – Michigan International Speedway
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