A.J. Allmendinger got his 2018 racing season started with a podium finish in his team’s class in the Rolex 24 at Daytona over the weekend.
Competing for Michael Shank Racing, Allmendinger and his three teammates finished second in the GTD class.
The No. 83 Michael Shank Racing Acura NSX GT3 was driven by Katherine Legge, Alvaro Parente, Trent Hindman and Allmendinger.
The team placed 22nd overall in the race that began Saturday afternoon.
Allmendinger, who competes for JTG Daugherty Racing in the Cup Series, extended his mark of leading every Rolex 24 he’s raced in during his overnight stent. He led 25 laps for the GTD class. Allmendinger has competed in the race 12 times. He was an overall winner in 2012.
“This might be the most tired I’ve ever been,” Allmendinger said. “It probably was not a wise call on my part not to run an air hose to my helmet. But this Acura NSX GT3 has been fun to drive. I love Michael Shank and I love this race team. The spotters especially, (Mike) Sweeney and Ben (Waddell), it was a team effort. That last stint, I was starting to get the chills inside the car. But this is what the Rolex 24 is all about: the last four hours you give everything you’ve got.”
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Allmendinger wasn’t the only NASCAR driver taking part in the endurance race.
Austin Cindric, who will compete for Roush Fenway Racing in the Xfinity Series, contributed to a sixth place in the Prototype class for JDC-Miller Motorsports.
Brendan Gaughan was part of a 42nd overall finish for BAR1 Motorsports. Driving a Multimatic/Riley LMP2, the team finished 14th in the Prototype class.
Xfinity drivers Ty Majeski and Cole Custer, competing with Scott Maxwell, placed third in the Grand Sport class for the Multimatic Race team in the four-hour Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race on Friday.
“It was a really fun race,” Custer said in a team release. “Doing the driver swaps, we weren’t perfect, but we were able to do them pretty quickly. It was a really strange but fun thing to do. I’m really glad Ford Performance is helping us get some more experience with road course stuff. It was a great race.”
Cindric and Chase Briscoe also competed in the race, but were relegated to a 22nd-place finish after a mechanical failure.
