JTG Daugherty Racing have become a force in the NASCAR Cup Series restrictor plate races. Will this continue to be the case?
In NASCAR Cup Series restrictor plate races, it is not unusual to see drivers running up at the front who do not usually run up at the front in non-restrictor plate races. Two of those drivers are JTG Daugherty Racing’s A.J. Allmendinger and Chris Buescher.
However, in restrictor plate races themselves, it is becoming more and more common to see Allmendinger and Buescher running up at the front, as JTG Daugherty Racing have become a force to be reckoned with in restrictor plate races, especially in the last two seasons since they signed Buescher following his rookie season with Front Row Motorsports.
Both drivers finished this past Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in the top five, with Allmendinger finishing in third place and Buescher finishing in fifth. JTG Daugherty Racing were the only team with two drivers to finish in the top five, and no other team had two drivers finish in the top eight.
In the Daytona 500, the season opener at Daytona in mid-February, JTG Daugherty Racing were one of three teams with two drivers to finish in the top 10. Buescher finished in fifth place and Allmendinger finished in 10th.
Allmendinger is currently the only driver in the Cup Series field who has finished each of the last four races at Daytona in the top 10, as he finished in third and eighth place, respectively, in the two races there last season as well.
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Aside of Allmendinger, Buescher is currently one of only two drivers in the Cup Series field who has finished each of the last three races at Daytona in the top 10, as he finished in 10th place in the second race at the track last year. He is also the only driver who has finished both of the last two races at the track in the top five.
The only other driver aside of the JTG Daugherty Racing teammates who has finished each of the last three races at Daytona in the top 10 is Richard Childress Racing’s Ryan Newman, who finished in eighth place in both races at the track this season and fifth in the second race at the track last season.
While JTG Daugherty Racing have not had the success at Talladega Superspeedway that they have had at Daytona, they have still had solid speed at the track and cannot be overlooked in races that are held thee because of their recent success in restrictor plate races.
Unfortunately, Allmendinger has failed to finish each of the three races at Talladega since the start of last season, and Buescher hasn’t finished higher than 11th place at the track in his three races there since signing with the team. However, he also hasn’t finished lower than 17th, and he has managed to finish two of the three races there.
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When will a JTG Daugherty Racing driver win a NASCAR Cup Series restrictor plate race? Will A.J. Allmendinger or Chris Buescher win the fourth and final restrictor plate race of the 2018 season at Talladega Superspeedway in mid-October during the round of 12 of the playoffs?