DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A.J. Allmendinger was on cloud nine after a third-place finish in Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona Int’l Speedway.
It was his first start of the season in any of NASCAR’s national divisions and his third-place effort gave Kaulig Racing a sweep of the top-three spots in the Circle K Firecracker 250.
Unfortunately for Allmendinger, the high of finishing third was quickly erased following post-race inspection.
NASCAR disqualified the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro driven by Allmendinger after a post-race vacuum check revealed a discrepancy in the engine of the No. 10 entry.
“Whenever you go, especially to restrictor-plate style races, the teams are very much aware that everything’s got to be sealed up tight,” Xfinity Series Managing Director Wayne Auton said. “It could compromise the ability of the restrictor plate to do its job.”
As a result, the team was dropped from third to last in the 38-car field. Kaulig Racing still won the race with Ross Chastain and took second with Justin Haley, but Allmendinger’s third-place effort was effectively erased.
Allmendinger, who left Daytona after the race to travel to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, to be a part of NBC Sports’ coverage of a IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship event, said in a tweet that he was still excited for Kaulig Racing despite the disqualification.
Well landed and got the news. Its a 1-2 finish for @KauligRacing ?… nothing that the team did wrong. Oh well. So pumped still for @RossChastain for the job he did and for @Justin_Haley_ badass racecar drivers. Time to go to work now for @NBCSports 830am here we come @IMSA!!!
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) July 6, 2019
Allmendinger’s disqualification is the third so far this year in NASCAR competition.
Ross Chastain won the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway on June 16, but was disqualified in post-race inspection for a ride height violation. Christopher Bell was also disqualified for a ride height violation following a third-place finish in last Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.