During the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Bristol Motor Speedway, AJ Allmendinger won the regular-season title. However, the final couple of laps witnessed a crazy battle between Allmendinger and Austin Cindric. Although Cindric would be disappointed to lose out, he acknowledged his rival.

With a couple of laps to go, Cindric led the pack, with Allmendinger right on his tail. Hoping to capitalize on any mistake was third-placed Justin Allgaier. The #16 driver dove down the inside of his rival, and the two of them clipped each other. Sniffing blood in the water, Allgaier took advantage and made it three-wide across the line to start the last lap.

Heading into the first turn, the #16 driver allowed Austin Cindric and Justin Allgaier to overtake him. The latter two then went side-by-side and collided, and Allmendinger got alongside them. He surged ahead, as Riley Herbst also got in on the action. Cindric then made his move for the lead, but ended up tagging the race leader.

Austin Cindric was slightly disappointed to lose

“I thought we had a great battle all season long up to this point, so congratulations to Kaulig and AJ,” said Cindric.

“Those guys didn’t want us to win really bad, and I hate that it completely destroyed our Ford Mustang. That’s all I’ve got, man. It looks like the 7 (Allgaier) just got loose there (in spinning Mayer), and AJ obviously just drove straight through us. You’ll have that in green-white-checkered racing.”

In the end, poor old Austin Cindric could not repeat his 2020 regular-season title triumph. However, he knows that now comes the real battle for the Xfinity Series championship. So, the Top 12 drivers have seven races to prove themselves and try and win the 2021 title.

Without a doubt, Cindric will want to make up for losing the regular-season crown. However, the likes of Allmendinger and Allgaier will not make it easy for him.

READ MORE: How Did Austin Cindric Land a Seat at Team Penske and Replace Brad Keselowski?