With the final playoff berth on the line, it’s a given that there’s going to be a lot of beating and banging during this Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
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But one driver in particular will be doing a lot of dinging, you might say, to get himself and Kaulig Racing into the NASCAR Cup playoffs.
Of course, we’re talking about AJ Allmendinger, nicknamed ‘The Dinger.’ The Los Gatos, California native knows that the only way he can make the playoffs is to win Saturday night, plain and simple. If he finishes second, he won’t make it.
Allmendinger exclusively spoke with TheSportsRush.com on Friday as he prepared for Saturday night’s race. Even though he’s listed as being 18th in the NASCAR Cup standings, in actuality, he’s actually a distant 24th in terms of playoff points and standings.
“I’d love to be in Alex Bowman or Tyler Reddick’s position; they’re probably safe points-wise unless somebody knocks them out,” Allmendinger said of the two drivers who will likely make the playoffs on points if a winless driver does not break through. “But they’ll still have to race a little cautious, right?
“But we don’t (have to be cautious). We’ve just got to strategize and figure out how to get up front with all the other cars. You can’t kind of lay at the back halfway through the third stage and then just kind of drive through the field. Track position is a lot more critical now. It’s harder to pass just the way that the draft works for these cars.
“But yeah, at the end of the day, it’s win or nothing. so that’s what we’ve got to go do—and I’ll be willing to take the risk to go do that.”
Allmendinger Is Making his First Cup Playoff Bid Since 2014
This is AJ Allmendinger’s 10th full-time season in the Cup Series (plus seven part-time seasons), but he’s only qualified for the playoffs twice: 2011 (finished 15th) and 2014 (finished 13th). He’s been much more successful at making the playoffs in the Xfinity Series: he’s qualified in each of his three full-time seasons, finishing 4th in 2021, 5th in 2022, and 3rd last year.
While Allmendinger isn’t worried much about pressure in Saturday’s race, he does admit he’s paid heed to the risks, particularly if he’s minding his own business, driving a clean race, and then gets caught up in a multi-car ‘big one’ crash that prematurely ends his day and his playoff hopes.
“It’s just the mindset you have to have,” Allmendinger said. “I’ve done this for almost 20 years. If you’re not willing to take that big risk and know that a wreck could happen or something bad could happen, there’s no point of me being in the race car. There’s no way I’m going to go back and look at all the men and women at Kaulig Racing in their eyes and just say I did my best. Instead, if you ask them if AJ is willing to go do whatever it takes, they’re going to say, ‘Hell, yeah!’”
Allmendinger has a love-hate relationship with Daytona. He does not like racing in the draft, as well as the crazy driving late in the race that often leads to major pileups that collect innocent drivers.
“Believe me, I do not like this (type of) racing, never have, never will,” Allmendinger said. “I don’t hide the fact. Even I could win the race, get out, and they’d ask me, ‘Do you love this racing?’ I’d say, ‘Nope, I still hate it.’”
Allmendinger’s Drink Of Choice Saturday Is CELSIUS
Allmendinger will once again be riding with long-time sponsor CELSIUS energy drink on his car.
“It’s been a great partnership,” Allmendinger said. “When it comes to CELSIUS, it’s essential to my daily life. Whatever I’m doing, whether it’s working out or I’m on the golf course, I love having it. It hydrates me and keeps me going, especially during the summer months. I’m very fortunate to be associated with CELSIUS.
“I can promise you that if we are in victory lane Saturday night, I’m spiking a CELSIUS off the side of my race car like I always do when we’re in victory lane. That’s a 100% promise.”
Saturday night’s forecast calls for a 90% chance of rain, which is problematic. Also, on the surface, it would appear that the pressure is really on Allmendinger—but he sees it differently.
“There’s almost no pressure,” Allmendinger said. “There’s just one thing we have to do, and that’s to win. We don’t have to go through the stages or be worried about being collected up in something in the first stage because you’re racing for (playoff) points.”
The three-time Cup race winner has a decent history at Daytona International Speedway, with three top five and 8 top 10 finishes in 24 Cup starts. Even though he’s never visited Victory Lane there in either Cup or Xfinity, he’s no stranger to winning celebrations there.
“I’ve been in victory lane in a go-kart race there, I’ve been in victory lane at a Skip Barber National race there, and I’ve been in victory lane in the Rolex 24 Hours race,” he said. “And we’ve almost been in victory lane several times in a Cup car and especially in the Xfinity car. I was leading getting off turn two (on the final lap) in like four races and never been to victory lane.”
He hopes to change that Saturday.
“This is an iconic racetrack,” Allmendinger admitted. “I don’t care whether it’s a Truck race, an Xfinity race, a Cup race, whether it’s the (Daytona) 500 or the Rolex 24. If you pull into victory lane at Daytona, you’ve done something special. That’s my mindset (going into Saturday’s race).”
Here’s Allmendinger’s Secret To Win Saturday
The last scheduled pit stop could be the deciding factor, he says.
“Even before the final pit stop in the third stage, you’ve got to start positioning yourself up front,” he said. “You’re saving fuel always with this car; it’s just part of superspeedway racing. I know the fans hate it. We as drivers hate it, but it’s part of what we have to do.
“When you get to that final pit stop, you’ve got to do everything you can to get up front, and if you get up there, you do everything you can to stay up front.”
Often considered a road course specialist, maybe this Saturday’s race is when AJ Allmendinger changes that notion and brings home a win on one of NASCAR’s most prestigious venues.
