AJ Allmendinger wins, why is Kaulig Racing waiting? Bubba "growing up", Brad K proud of progress

As expected, there were tears at the conclusion of Sunday’s Round-of-12 cutoff race at the Charlotte Roval.

But they came from the winner.

Four drivers — Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Ross Chastain — bowed gracefully out of the playoff battle. But AJ Allmendinger stole the show and then stole the headlines with a sobbing postrace interview.

“Because you don’t know when you’re going to do it again,” Allmendinger managed. “My mom and dad, all my family and friends, those people see how much anguish and how much I put it on my shoulders when we’re struggling. It just means the world. I hate crying right now but it’s a frickin' Cup race, man.”

SPEED FREAKS: Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace exit playoffs, are you surprised?

Allmendinger went on to praise team owner Matt Kaulig and Kaulig Racing president Chris Rice, who lauded Allmendinger’s commitment and selflessness to the organization.

“This guy has meant the world to me, meant the world to our team, and that's how I feel,” Kaulig summarized.

So … What’s the hold-up?

The elephant in the media room was addressed in a question pointed at all three: “Will AJ Allmendinger be racing full-time in the Cup Series next year?”

Kaulig offered only, “Wait for the announcement.”

Why are we waiting?

Allmendinger is a fan favorite. He has the respect of his peers, as evidenced by other interviews.

“(Allmendinger) is a great road racer, I call him Mr. Roval, he wins here all the time,” Busch said. “He’s super good here, knows how to do this, so, they earned it today for sure.”

And though he’s repeatedly said he’d do whatever is needed by the company, he has expressed the preference to return to Cup and did so again Sunday.

"Matt and Chris are some of my best friends and they've done so much for me and I'm always going to lean towards whatever direction they want to go. Of course I want to stay here, I feel like I belong in Cup," Allmendinger said. At the end of the day it's their call. That we will worry about as it gets close to the end of the year."

“It is a clear-cut decision, we just haven't announced it yet,” Rice offered.

Hey Chris, there’s no time like the present. Ya know, like maybe after a win?

Let’s go through the gears.

First gear: Bubba Wallace eliminated despite good weekend showing

After flashing career-best speed in practice and qualifying (fourth), Wallace couldn’t quite pull it off and was eliminated after a spirited playoff effort.

And on his 30^th birthday no less.

He certainly showed some of that added maturity in advancing this far and he talked about it on Sunday.

“Ten years ago I’d be ready to punch something, so, I guess that’s maturing and growing up,” he said. “It was a great effort from everybody. We did not take ourselves out of it. We did everything we could. It’s childish to be pissed off about that, right?”

Second gear: Brad Keselowski out as a driver, in as an owner

Wallace’s tone was echoed by Busch, Chastain and Keselowski, though the latter certainly had a little more reason for optimism.

Chris Buescher, the second car in the Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing stable, made it through to the Round of 8 and though Keselowski missed out as a driver, he’s still alive for a championship as an owner.

“I mean, really happy for Chris,” Keselowski said. “Never happy when you don’t advance but if you look at where we were a year ago to where we are today, it’s night and day and we want to make the same jump next year."

"There’s a level of patience that comes with that and building a team and a company and there’s a lot of great things we’re doing.”

Third gear: Josh Bilicki awaits 'half-ass apology'

Josh Bilicki was on his way to a solid day until being slammed into the wall by Corey LaJoie.

The incident came after LaJoie was exiting the pits and seemed to overdrive one of the infield corners, leaving Bilicki with nowhere to go. Bilicki was none too pleased.

“I don’t know if he overdrove but, typical Corey," Bilicki said. "He’s going to apologize with some half-ass apology. Whatever.”

No word on whether or not that half-ass apology was ever delivered.

Fourth gear: Las Vegas trends

Joey Logano leads all active drivers with an average finish of 9.9 at Las Vegas and his three wins are tied with Brad Keselowski for the most. Logano won this event last year en route to a second championship.

NASCAR final 8 playoff standings

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: AJ Allmendinger rolls, awaits Kaulig NASCAR decision; Wallace matures