NASCAR: A.J. Allmendinger on standby for Austin Dillon at Martinsville
By Asher Fair
A.J. Allmendinger is on standby for Austin Dillon for this Wednesday evening’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Richard Childress Racing Vice President of Competition Andy Petree confirmed during Monday evening’s edition of NASCAR Race Hub on Fox Sports 1 that A.J. Allmendinger is on standby for Austin Dillon for this Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville Speedway.
Austin and his wife Whitney are expecting a child, Ace RC Dillon, and should she go into labor when the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 is scheduled to take place, it would be Allmendinger behind the wheel of the #3 Chevrolet for this race.
Allmendinger hasn’t competed in a Cup Series race since the end of the 2018 season, his final season as a full-time driver in the sport, but he has been competing part-time in the Xfinity Series.
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He won this past Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway driving for Kaulig Racing to secure his first career NASCAR oval victory, and he has additional races on his schedule coming up in the near future.
The starting lineup for this Wednesday night’s 500-lap race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) oval in Ridgeway, Virginia was announced earlier tonight just after Petree made this confirmation, and it was determined by a random draw that was based on the owner standings.
Dillon and the #3 team drew the 22nd starting position. They sit in 14th place in the championship standings through the first 10 races of the season, 27 points above the playoff cut line.
Should Dillon need to miss this race, it is almost a sure thing that he would be granted a playoff waiver by NASCAR so that it would not cost him his playoff eligibility.
The 30-year-old Welcome, North Carolina native has not missed a race since he began competing full-time in the series behind the wheel of the #3 Chevrolet back in 2014.
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The Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday evening.