NASCAR Cup Series

Allmendinger on early Chase exit: 'We gave it everything we had'

Published Sep. 28, 2014 5:46 p.m. ET

foxsports

When AJ Allmendinger made the 16-driver Chase field, few figured the JTG Daugherty Racing driver had a shot at the title, much less advancing into the Contender 12 round after Dover.

Yet when the checkered flag fell on Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Raceway, Allmendinger was just two points out of 12th, secured by Kasey Kahne. Just missing out on the next round of the Chase, Allmendinger walked back to his hauler frustrated with the day's results.

Struggling for much of the race with the handle of the car, Allmendinger fell a lap down multiple times, fought for the free pass and finished the in the 23rd spot, two laps down. Kahne overcame a loose wheel and dropping four laps down at one point to finish three spots ahead of Allmendinger in 20th.

"We never really hit on it," Allmendinger told FOXSports.com. "We would just go back and forth between tight and loose, we could never get into the race track really. So, we were just fighting it all day. That's all we had. We gave it everything we had, it just wasn't good enough."

Allmendinger won his way into the Chase by scoring the victory at Watkins Glen International, and was considered an underdog heading into the first round. Despite making an early exit, Allmendinger said he refushes to let himself be disappointed with the team's performance.

"I said at the beginning of the Chase, no matter what happened in the Chase we've got to be proud of what we accomplished," he said. "To win a race our first year together as a small single-car team, it's a big deal. Honestly, it's disappointing to not move on, but we've got to look at is as we have seven races to go and the way this Chase format works, we could still get as high as fifth in the points. So, it's not the end-all, it doesn't mean the season's over.

"We know we've got to keep getting better. It didn't matter if we made it and were running 23rd anyway. We've got to get better than that. We've got have seven races to go work on it and finish as high as we can in the points."

VIDEO: AJ Allmendinger talks about his frustrating day at Dover