AJ Allmendinger earns back-to-back top-5 finishes at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. — AJ Allmendinger is the only driver with top-5 finishes in both Gen 7 NASCAR Cup Series races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Allmendinger earned that achievement with a fifth-place finish Sunday. It is his fourth top-5 finish of 2023, a career-high mark in a single season.

Sans drafting tracks and road courses, this was also Allmendinger’s first top-5 finish since finishing third at Homestead-Miami last year.

This all comes two weeks after he won at the Charlotte Roval.

The 41-year-old driver qualified 25th for Sunday’s 4EVER 400. Allmendinger didn’t need much time to get through the field, placing 11th in stage one. 

Allmendinger worked through a tight race car in the first two stages. Then, midway through stage three, he reported the car was too free.

After finding the right balance on the final pit stop, Allmendinger restarted ninth with 25 laps to go. With seven laps to go, he was up to fifth and dueling William Byron for fourth, before conceding the spot.

“The track was tricky but we got some more clean air and I was able to make some moves,” Allmendinger said. “I thought maybe we were one of the fastest cars there at the end, but overall just a really solid day. It’s always great when you can get a top-five finish.” 

Homestead has served Allmendinger well over his Cup Series career. The road course ace has three top-5 finishes at the track, making it tied with Daytona for the most top-5s.

Homestead is his second-best track (minimum five starts) in terms of average finish (15.5 in 12 starts; 8.8 in 12 starts at Watkins Glen).

AJ Allmendinger and the NASCAR Cup Series now head to Martinsville for the Xfinity 500 Round of 8 cutoff race. The green flag flies just after 2 p.m. ET.