Crunch time for Allmendinger; playoff berth at stake at WGI

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) — AJ Allmendinger isn't exactly sure how it happened. More than a month later he's still beating himself up over it, though.

"I just missed a shift," Allmendinger said Friday at Watkins Glen International. "It's something I've never really done before. It's still on my mind, for sure."

That critical mistake happened in late June at Sonoma, one of two road courses NASCAR's Cup series competes on every year, and it hurt. Allmendinger, one of the top road racers in NASCAR, led qualifying after the first round and ended up fifth behind Kyle Larson, then won the first stage of the race. The missed shift came about a third of the way through the 110-lap event and blew the engine on Allmendinger's No.