By Caleb Whisler, Staff Writer
It was a wild night, but a strong showing for JTG Daughtery Racing at Daytona International Speedway as AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher were able to walk away with top-five finishes.
Allmendinger finished third in what he deemed as the “destruction derby” instead of a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race. The original plan for the No. 47 team was to stay around and ride around in the back, but they were close to being involved in wrecks.
“I think it was a destruction derby out there instead of a Cup race. We tried to run in the back and still got wrecked running in the back. So, you know it was just about survival and I thought the Kroger Clicklist Chevy was pretty good,” Allmendinger said.
“Just had a lot of drag on it so I thought our chance to win was going to be tough, but I tried to make the right decision there. I missed about seven wrecks it felt like.”
Allmendinger believes this finishes at Daytona will be momentum builders for the organization and his team as the season enters the second half.
“To get a top three at Daytona, both cars in the top five so I think that is both races we have had both cars in the top 10. A little bit of momentum after my mess up at Sonoma. So, hopefully this kicks us off into the second half of the season,” he said.
Like Allmendinger, Buescher’s day was all about survival. However, as the last lap unfolded, it looked like he could have scored the victory, but the way the race played out, Buescher was regulated to fifth.
“We got a good run on the outside, we were able to give (Erik) Jones a good shove down the back there and got him clear. We just couldn’t quite clear with him. So, congrats to him on his first win. Proud of our operation and what we were able to accomplish today. Wish we could have lined up and tried to get it, but that’s always easy to say after Daytona you go back and would love to replay it, but a good day for us,” Buescher said
Allmendinger and Buescher sit 23rd and 24th respectively in the points standings following Daytona.