Notes: Allmendinger a threat for first Cup victory

A.J. Allmendinger was an early surprise threat to win his first career Cup race. He led a whopping 143 laps -- behind only winner Jimmie Johnson -- until a cut rear tire forced an early pit stop and dropped him a lap down (watch video).

Allmendinger rebounded in the No. 43 Ford and pulled off a strong 10th-place finish Sunday.

"It was fun to lead," he said. "No wonder Jimmie is smiling so much. It's actually a lot of fun to lead. The car was dialed in and just a stupid 5-cent washer got inside the tire. I'm not sure when."

He has only one top-five finish and led only 33 laps this season. But he got hot down the stretch and scored a top-10 at Richmond and followed that with a 12th-place finish last week at New Hampshire.

Allmendinger is 21st in the points standings.

"I think we're getting there," he said. "Can we go out and win one? We've got to keep getting better. We've got to be consistent inside the top 10. [Sunday] was a big day for that."

Allmendinger has never really been a serious threat to find Victory Lane, leading only 186 career laps in 108 races.

Dover down

Dover Motorsports president Denis McGlynn told drivers in the pre-race meeting not to be "self-conscious" about declining TV ratings and attendance. It was hard for them to miss all the empty seats Sunday at Dover.

The speedway has plenty of fans to target as entire sections were closed off and there was plenty of light in the turns. NASCAR estimated the crowd at 88,000. The track holds about 135,000 and it only looked slightly more than half full. McGlynn acknowledged before the race attendance would be light.

"It's going to be up slightly from May, but we're going to have a lot of empty seats," he said.

He was right, but he's not alone. NASCAR has seen attendance and ratings dip this season. McGlynn said he was working on ticket packages for Dover's two NASCAR weekends next season that targeted the "lapsed fan."

McGlynn plans nine family sections scattered around the stands for next year's races. No smoking, no drinking and $10 tickets for kids under 14.

"We're trying to make it an offer that an older guy can't refuse," he said. "Now he's got no excuse not to bring his kids and grandkids out there."

McGlynn would still like to expand the garage area, one of the smallest on the circuit, making it easier for teams to work and allow fans a more comfortable experience. He talked about building a platform overlooking the garage that would give fans a birds-eye view of the area.

"I think we can get that done just as soon as the economy improves," McGlynn said.

The $1 million was safe Sunday

Chase drivers Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle were trying to give away $1 million Sunday to their respective small business owner finalists as part of an Office Depot small business promotion. To do so, one of the drivers had to win the race.

Neither came close. Stewart went two laps down early, thanks to a pit road speeding penalty. Biffle was trapped two laps down when Roush Fenway Racing teammate Matt Kenseth blew a tire and caused a caution right after Biffle had made a green-flag stop 15 laps before the halfway point (watch video).

"We were running on the lead lap, and I thought I had a top-10 car," Biffle said. "It's unfortunate. That probably right there was probably our Chase hopes. We're not out of it, but those two finishes (19th Sunday and 17th last week at New Hampshire) are not the way to start the Chase off."

Stewart came home 21st.

Sporting News Wire Service contributed to this report.