Justin Allgaier (7) puts on his helmet before a NASCAR Xfinity Series auto race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Saturday, June 6, 2020, in Hampton, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

HAMPTON, Ga. (AP) — A.J. Allmendinger finally won on an oval.

He might just retire.

Taking advantage of mistakes by the three leaders, the 38-year-old Californian cruised to victory by nearly 2 seconds over pole-sitter Noah Gragson in the Xfinity Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Saturday.

“Oh my god,” Allmendinger said as he climbed from his No. 16 Chevrolet. “I won on an oval.”

Indeed, he did.

Allmendinger, who first came to prominence in open-wheel racing, claimed a single victory during more than a decade in the top-level Cup series, and he had three previous Xfinity wins — all on road courses.

Now, he’s filled in a big hole on his resume.

“All I ever wanted to do was win on an oval,” said Allmendinger, who has only a part-time job in the Xfinity Series after losing his Cup ride after the 2018 season. “I have a lot of success in so many forms of racing.”

Allmendinger started 30th but quickly showed the strength of his car, spending much of the day running in the top 10.

Then, after the final caution of the day, the top three cars — Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Justin Allgaier — were all caught speeding on pit road.

That pushed Allmendinger into the top spot on the restart with 34 laps to go.

He held on the rest of the way.

“I still think that even if they had started in front of us, we could’ve beat them on a long run,” Allmendinger said. “But that clean air was definitely a big deal.”

He appeared to be a rising star after capturing five victories on road and street circuits in the now-defunct Champ Car series in 2006.

Allmendinger accepted a lucrative offer from Red Bull to move into NASCAR, but never fulfilled his promise in the oval-dominated series.

His career took another setback when he was suspended in 2012 after testing positive for a banned stimulant. Allmendinger did a few races in IndyCar and worked to rebuild his reputation, finally returning to a full-time ride in the Cup Series — even claiming his first victory at Watkins Glen.

Yet he never shook his reputation as a road-course ringer.

“Heck, I might just retire,” Allmendinger quipped. “I just wanted to win on a damn oval.”

Cindric had the strongest car early on, winning the first two stages. But his mistake heading into the pits knocked him back to a 16th-place finish.

Allgaier salvaged a sixth-place showing, while Briscoe settled for ninth.

Gragson crossed the line second but picked up a $100,000 bonus from the title sponsor.

He was closing the gap on Allmendinger in the closing laps, only to get hoodwinked by the more experienced driver.

Allmendinger gave the impression that his tires were fading, duping Gragson into making a furious run for the front.

Turns out, Allmendinger’s tires had more grip than he was letting on. Gragson didn’t have anything left at the end.

“I got beat by his experience,” the 21-year-old Gragson conceded. “He had the bait waiting there. I took it, and he reeled me in.”

—

NASCAR Xfinity Series EchoPark 250 Results

Saturday

At Atlanta Motor Speedway

Atlanta

Lap length: 1.54

(Start position in parentheses)

1. (30) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

2. (1) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

3. (4) Justin Haley, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

4. (2) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

5. (5) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 163. Running.

6. (3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

7. (11) Ross Chastai, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

8. (12) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 163. Running.

9. (9) Chase Briscoe, Ford, 163. Running.

10. (24) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

11. (21) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

12. (10) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

13. (20) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

14. (13) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

15. (34) Colby Howard, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

16. (8) Austin Cindric, Ford, 163. Running.

17. (6) Riley Herbst, Toyota, 163. Running.

18. (31) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 163. Running.

19. (32) Ronnie Bassett Jr., Chevrolet, 162. Running.

20. (14) Jesse Little, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

21. (16) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

22. (33) Tommy Joe Martins, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

23. (25) Mason Massey, Toyota, 162. Running.

24. (22) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

25. (17) BJ McLeod, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

26. (27) Joe Graf Jr, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

27. (15) Alex Labbe, Toyota, 162. Running.

28. (23) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 162. Running.

29. (35) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 161. Running.

30. (26) Matt Mills, Chevrolet, 161. Running.

31. (19) Vinnie Miller, Chevrolet, 156, Running.

32. (28) Joe Nemechek, Chevrolet, 129, Suspension.

33. (29) Timmy Hil, Toyota, 87, Alternator.

34. (18) Chad Finchum, Toyota, 50, Suspension.

35. (7) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 47, Engine.

36. (37) Stephen Leicht, Toyota, 8, Clutch.

37. (36) Kody Vanderwal, Chevrolet, 3, Engine.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 122.832 mph.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 2 Mins, 37 Secs.

Margin of Victory: 1.858 Seconds.

Caution Flags: 6 for 28 laps.

Lead Changes: 10 among 7 drivers.

Lap Leaders: N. Gragson 1-5; A. Cindric 6-17; J. Haley 18-25; A. Cindric 26-42; J. Allgaier 43; A. Cindric 44-82; C. Briscoe 83-98; M. Annett 99-101; C. Briscoe 102-125; N. Gragson 126; A. Allmendinger 127-163.

Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Austin Cindric 3 times for 68 laps; Chase Briscoe 2 times for 40 laps; AJ Allmendinger 1 time for 37 laps; Justin Haley 1 time for

Stage ‥1 Top Ten: 22, 10, 11, 7, 8, 9, 18, 98, 16, 20

Stage ‥2 Top Ten: 22, 98, 10, 8, 16, 9, 11, 7, 1, 20