AJ Allmendinger wanted 'one more spot' after second place at Martinsville

By foxsports
Published

Kyle Busch left Martinsville Speedway the big winner, sweeping this weekend's two NASCAR races at the Virginia short track, but after Sunday's STP 500 Sprint Cup race, runner-up AJ Allmendinger was nearly as happy as Busch was.

No, Allmendinger didn't win.

But what he did do was post his best Cup Series finish since his victory on the Watkins Glen road course in 2014. 

It was a tremendous result for Allmendinger and the single-car JTG Daugherty Racing squad, especially after a disappointing 2015 season that saw Allmendinger wind up 22nd in points after a career-best 13th the year before.

"We weren't where we wanted to be about six months ago," said Allmendinger. "We brought in Randall Burnett (crew chief) and Ernie Cope (director of competition), so many different people. Kept the same core group."

Allmendinger admitted he had been struggling.

"I'm trying my butt off. I didn't like myself last year," he said. "I didn't like who I was for the team. I was frustrated. I want to be better for these guys -- guys that when they step up, they make me better."

Without question, Allmendinger and the team were better on Sunday, where they put up a valiant effort trying to run down Busch in the final laps of the race. 

When the final caution flew on Lap 484, the team opted to keep Allmendinger on the track, which was a pivotal decision. The No. 47 restarted directly behind Busch and picked up a spot when second-place Matt Kenseth got hung out on the restart, allowing Allmendinger to grab the runner-up position, which he held for the duration of the race. 

"God, I wish we had one more spot," said Allmendinger. "But that was pretty darn cool."