"Those laps just felt like a blur": AJ Allmendinger recaps holding off William Byron during the final laps of the NASCAR Cup race at Charlotte

Kaulig Racing driver AJ Allmendinger spoiled the playoff party as he took his third NASCAR Cup Series victory in the Round of 12 elimination race at the Charlotte Roval last Sunday, October 8.

Allmendinger's route to the checkered flag wasn't an easy one as he had to fend off Ty Gibbs, Kyle Busch and William Byron on multiple restarts in the final stage. The #16 Chevy driver aced almost every restart keeping veteran driver Busch and Byron at bay to reach the victory lane.

In a post-race interview with PRN, AJ Allmendinger revealed that he was worried about holding off William Byron in the final restart, as the #24 Chevy driver appeared to be quicker of the two.

"Those laps just felt like a blur, I was trying to focus on not making a mistake. I knew William [Byron], he may be the best right now and we know how fast the #24 car is. So it was just about trying to not make any mistakes in those last 8-10 laps," Allmendinger said.

"I made a couple of small ones, but I would really say the last five to six laps that was about as perfect as I could be."

Allmendinger leads Byron

AJ Allmendinger heaped praises on rookie Ty Gibbs, who stole the lead on a restart but later relinquished it on the same lap. Allmendinger spoke about the modified restart zone and how his battles with Gibbs helped him adapt to the new layout.

"The restart zone was unique, I'll say that, the first one there leading Ty [Gibbs] did a great job and beat me into Turn 1. I thought 'Ok', and fortunately I was able to get my nose back under him and get the lead back but it taught me something on the restart."

The #16 Kaulig driver kept his calm in the final laps of the race to take the checkered flag ahead of William Byron, with Kyle Busch finishing third and Ty Gibbs scoring his career-best result with a fourth-place finish.

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Emotions ran high for AJ Allmendinger in the post-race interview

AJ Allmendinger couldn't hold back his tears in the front stretch interview as he capped off the wayward season for Kaulig Racing with a well-deserved trip to the victory lane.

“This is why you do it. This is the only reason you do it,” the 41-year-old said. “You fight. All the blood, sweat, tears, everybody at Kaulig Racing has just been such – I wouldn’t say a down year, but up-and-down year. It’s our second year in the Cup Series.”

AJ Allmendinger and the #16 team had spent weeks preparing for the weekend at the Charlotte Roval, as it was their last effort to win a race this season.

Although Allmendinger's future in the Cup Series is still unclear, his ever-improving road course record ought to make the negotiations faster.