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A NASCAR Cup Series<\/a> playoff contender has suffered a big blow in his hunt for a spot in the postseason later this month.
<\/b><\/p>\n \nAJ Allmendinger<\/a> is still in shot of making the postseason, but will need a win this weekend at Richmond or next weekend at Daytona after dropping just out of points contention.
<\/p>\n \nNASCAR HEADLINES:<\/b> Denny Hamlin reveals painful injury as veteran racer withdraws from Richmond race<\/a>
<\/p>\n \nThe Dinger put in a brilliant lap on Friday evening at Richmond to qualify high up in the field, setting him up to start third behind playoff rival Ryan Preece and Tyler Reddick.
<\/p>\n \nHowever, he went into that session already hamstrung for the weekend, with his car failing tech inspection twice before practice and passing only on a third run through.
<\/p>\n \nNASCAR Results:<\/b> Cup Series star gets massive playoff boost as champ falters<\/a>
<\/p>\n AJ Allmendinger punished for tech issues<\/p>\n \nAllmendinger’s car chief Jaron Antley has been ejected because of the infraction, and his team has lost pit stall selection for Saturday evening’s race.
<\/p>\n \nThe 43-year-old, who has won three Cup Series races, is currently 20th in the playoff picture, 129 points below the elimination line set by Chris Buescher<\/a>.
<\/p>\n \nAllmendinger’s third place start for Saturday’s race at Richmond gives him as good a chance as he’s had all year to win and in but, in a race which could become complex on tire strategies and fuel, he will feel the loss of his car chief.
<\/p>\n \nThe Cup Series action on USA and NBC Sports will start at 7:30pm ET on Saturday night.
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