On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series raced at Circuit of the Americas. The field uses the 2.3-mile layout at the Austin, Texas track.
It was the hottest race of the 2026 season so far.
AJ Allmendinger lost his cooling shirt during the race. The shirt is designed to pump cold water through tubs and drastically cool the body.
The driver stated over the radio that he wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to finish the race. But, he did.
After the checkered flag, Allmendinger pulled to the pit lane and climbed from his car. He went right to the ground.
The safety team was on the scene in a hurry. They placed him on a stretcher and wheeled him to the infield care center.
View a photo from the scene below.
The driver was alert as he was being pushed to the care center at the track. He was speaking to the medical team.
Allmendinger wasn’t the only driver struggling.
Kyle Larson also suffered from a failing cooling suit. However, he appeared to be okay after the finish of the race.
Alex Bowman was unable to finish the race due to not feeling well. He pulled to the garage during stage three and reserve driver Myatt Snider climbed into the seat.
Bowman was also taken to the care center after he climbed from the car.
Roughly 30 minutes later, NASCAR and teams provided the following updates:
NASCAR stated, “AJ Allmendinger has been evaluated and released from the infield care center.”
Hendrick Motorsports posted, “Alex was seen and released from infield care.”
Next week, NASCAR is heading to Phoenix, Arizona.
NASCAR Race Results: COTA (March 1, 2026)
AJ Allmendinger being helped onto a stretcher pic.twitter.com/ayKUvL74oH
AJ Allmendinger | Circuit of the Americas | NASCAR
Categories
Tags