Daytona International Speedway: Allmendinger turned his back on his boss
At Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night, AJ Allmendinger and car owner Richard Petty had a heated exchange in the garage area.
From the seven-time NASCAR champion, Allmendinger pulled away, turned his back on his boss and then stormed away from The King. The executive vice president of Richard Petty Motorsports said his driver was merely frustrated by having a strong car and a poor finish, though Allmendinger declined to talk to reporters.
Petty VP Robbie Loomis said, “I always say the car owner shouldn’t talk to the driver anytime after the race, especially after an accident. I think Richard’s been here so many times, he’s been through this stuff and he was just trying to get him to loosen up and let the boys do their stuff on fixing the car and getting back out there. Anytime you talk to somebody at the wrong time, it always causes discussion that needs to be worked out. That’s all that happened.”
When Loomis got to the garage a few minutes after the incident, Allmendinger was still hot. Into the 400-mile race, the incident happened in 66 laps.
“He’s a hard-charging competitor and he’s as passionate as anybody out there, unfortunately, two Daytona races with great cars and we haven’t been able to bring the finish home,” said Loomis.
In February, at Daytona International Speedway, Allmendinger led seven laps, but finished 32nd after brushing fenders with four-time series champion Jeff Gordon.
This time, to avoid hitting Kyle Busch and spun into the infield, Allmendinger swerved. Early in the race, Busch overcame a loose wheel, later wrecked when he turned into Juan Pablo Montoya. Of the race, his accident set off the loudest ovation.
“I didn’t turn right to wreck myself. Why would I do that? That’s dumb. We had the fastest car out there. Another year here in Daytona being the fastest car,” said Busch.
Allmendinger, after his 36th-place finish, may have felt the same way.
Loomis said, “We’ll be back, it’s unfortunate for AJ. He’s such a fierce competitor. I can’t describe how bad that guy wants to win and he will win. It’s just a matter of when”.
