ATLANTA — A.J. Allmendinger won a NASCAR oval race for the first time in his long career.
Taking advantage of mistakes by the three leaders, the 38-year-old Californian cruised to victory by nearly two seconds over pole-sitter Noah Gragson in the Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Allmendinger claimed a single victory during more than a decade in the top-level Cup series, and he had three previous Xfinity wins, all of them on road courses.
Now, he’s filled in a big hole on his resume. Pole-sitter Noah Gragson took the runner-up spot, followed by Justin Haley.
