AJ Allmendinger, Cole Custer have intense discussion after Heat Race wreck at Bowman Gray

The final Heat Race of the night at Bowman Gray Stadium got intense on the track. AJ Allmendinger and Cole Custer got into one another. Both Allmendinger and Custer are back in the Cup Series after spending time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

AJ Allmendinger got into the side of Cole Custer and pinched him into the wall in Turn 3. It ended up not being a good deal for either driver. The contact between them was made worse when the 41 car slammed into the wall and bounced the 16 off and around.

Afterward, Allmendinger and Custer talked it out. It didn’t appear to be anything too serious. The Kaulig Racing driver said he got tight. Custer said it isn’t a problem until it becomes a problem.

Here is a video from Noah Lewis of TSJSports.

“I got tight…,” – @AJDinger to @ColeCuster.

Custer lets him know he’s not going to worry about it unless it keeps happening. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/oT0NcedJFu

— Noah Lewis (@Noah_Lewis1) February 2, 2025

These are two drivers who will have to work things out in the Last Chance Qualifier. Neither of them advanced to the Sunday race in the Heat Race. Top-5 drivers from each Heat advanced. Two drivers will advance from the LCQ. Then the driver who had the most points in 2024 but failed to qualify will be the 23rd driver in the field.

Looks like it will be an uphill battle for both Dinger and Stone Cole. Last season they were battling for an Xfinity Series championship, now they are both in the thick of the Cup Series.

These two may run into each other multiple times this season. They will likely be vying for the same top-25 spot in the standings all year.

AJ Allmendinger back in the Cup Series for 2025

After spending a season in the Xfinity Series for Kaulig Racing, AJ Allmendinger is back for 2025 in the Cup Series. That is a good thing. Allmendinger is a Cup Series-level driver. While I love him in the Xfinity Series, it’s great to have him at the top level of NASCAR.

There is no one who celebrates more than Allmendinger when they win. There are few who are harder on themselves when they make a mistake. One of the success stories of an open-wheel racer to stock car racers, Allmendinger is great for the sport.

The quarter-mile track at Bowman Gray does not play to Allmendinger’s strengths. That is fine. He will do his best in the Last Chance Qualifier. Dinger finished P7 in the Heat Race after the wreck. Custer was P9, dead last.

AJ Allmendinger is back! He’s just as aggressive as ever. Even on a track where he isn’t at his best, the Dinger is always giving it his all.