Kaulig Racing driver, A.J. Allmendinger intentionally bumped into Riley Herbst’s No. 98 car on the Lap No 31 in the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. In a desperate attempt to find a better grip, Herbst switched to the top lane and tried to check Allmendinger.
However, rather than taking a defensive stance to avoid wrecking, Allmendinger got the #98 car loose contacting his rear bumper. Thus sending Herbst spinning into the wall, the damage on the SHR Ford Mustang was beyond repairs, resulting in an early elimination for Herbst from the race.
A.J. Allmendinger finishes inside top 5
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Despite being involved in an early tussle with Riley Herbst, the Kaulig Racing driver was able to churn out a solid result for his team. After a P35 finish at Darlington, Allmendinger was eyeing getting back to consistent top placing, and a P5 finish at Charlotte does bring more points in for the #16 team.
Herbst, meanwhile, didn’t mince his words in trying to call out Allmedinger’s action on the racetrack. “I passed him twice clearly, slid him, racing at Charlotte, it’s hot, passed him. Next week is Portland his favorite track? We’ll see what happens,” Herbert said in an interview via Pob Pockrass.
So it looks like Herbst is looking to retaliate. While it might look like Allmendinger was to blame for the whole incident, he was actually trying to keep hold of his top lane. Moreover, he could not just easily slide down left, as Herbst suggested, because he had Sam Mayer closing in on his back bumper. While he was aware of the outcome in case he did make contact with the #89 car.
So his intentions were rather clear in trying to wreck the race car that just made a pass on him. However, its hard to get to the root of the incident as Herbst himself got loose before contact was made. So, until Allmendinger clears the air surrounding the incident, he is seen as the villain. And this was enough for the fans to turn on him, who took to social media to share their unapologetic views.
Fans react to Allemdinger taker Herbst out of commission at Charlotte
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Having watched the blatant display of unwarranted aggression, fans quickly turned against Allmendinger and demanded his retirement from racing.
With just 31 laps in the race, the display of early aggression by the veteran driver wasn’t appreciated by the fans. “AJ can’t hang around anymore. Intentionally wrecking people”.
As it has happened with many other races, fans were unable to witness these tussles and accidents live as the broadcast had ongoing commercials. “THANKS BOB UNDER COMMERCIAL BREAK WOULDN’T KNOW”.
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Some fans even went as far ahead as to label Allmendinger as trash, for wrecking his Stewart–Haas Racing counterpart early in the race. “Allmendinger is such trash”.
Given that Riley Herbst is looking to repay the favor, it will be interesting to see what unfolds in the next Xfinity Series race in Portland.