NASCAR CUP SERIES: VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD

August 15, 2021

A.J. Allmendinger

Press Conference

An Interview with:

Q. When you think about what this moment means for AJ Allmendinger, he's going to take a moment to soak it in. An open wheel driver for much of his career, he came here, almost won the Indy 500 for Roger Penske. That fell short, but today he finally gets his Brickyard win. Probably had no idea it would come in a Cup race on the road course, but he'll take it. The fans know his history with open wheel at this racetrack, and I would argue knowing AJ there's no racetrack that means more to him than this one. AJ, could there be a more significant place for you to get a win?

A.J. ALLMENDINGER: No. Oh, my gosh, I was so mad yesterday. I wanted to win so bad. I mean, this is unbelievable. In my wildest dreams I could never imagine the way that just played out.

Matt Kaulig, I don't even know what he's doing right now. He can't -- he's almost in tears. Chris Rice, the Hyperice Chevy was so good. We had to fight hard. Robin Miller, I saw him this morning, this one is for you, baby. We love you, Robin, everything that you do. In memory of Bob Jenkins. Baby, I love you so much. Mom and Dad, all my friends and family, oh, my God. We just won at Indy.

Hey, Shank, I just wanted to be like you, baby. I just wanted to be like you.

Q. His good friend Michael Shank won the Indy 500 this year with Helio Castroneves. Is there a way to describe the chaotic race that was today?

A.J. ALLMENDINGER: No, I mean, it was survival of the fittest. We probably had like an eighth-, tenth-place car, sped on pit road. I thought we were going to finish 12th to 15th, and then those restarts were just insane. It's great when you have a car owner that just says, Go get me trophies. He doesn't care if that thing is torn up. Chevy, ECR horsepower, RCR, everybody that allows us to do that, all of our sponsors on the Xfinity side of it, we just won at Indy. What's up! Thank you everybody for coming out. Let's go!