Ryan Newman’s promise of retribution against A.J. Allmendinger spiced up their wreck late in Sunday’s Pocono 400.
But the dustup also features another intriguing layer.
Newman’s Richard Childress Racing team has a technical alliance with Allmendinger’s JTG Daugherty Racing, which has received chassis, technical support and engines from RCR (and its ECR engine shop) since the beginning of the 2014 season.
Last year, Allmendinger and Newman each made the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the only title-eligible Chevrolets that featured RCR connections.
In a series of tweets late Sunday night, Allmendinger acknowledged the RCR alliance while taking the blame for Newman’s crash.
Hard racing. Got loose and wrecked the 31. I would never intentionally do it. What RCR does for our team is hard to put into words...
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) June 8, 2015
With that said I will always try and get everything I can my @NASCAR47 team and all our sponsors. I apologize for the incident and result
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) June 8, 2015
My fault but will never apologize for trying to get everything for my @NASCAR47 team.Critics will be haters and that is the world we live in
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) June 8, 2015
Allmendinger also congratulated Pocono Raceway winner Martin Truex Jr., whose Furniture Row Racing team also uses the same engines and engineering support as RCR’s Chevrolets.
And congrats to @MartinTruex_Jr and the @FR78Racing team. Well deserved win. Been so fast all year. They earned it.
— AJ Allmendinger (@AJDinger) June 8, 2015