Check out those American flags in Victory Lane. Awesome is all I can conjure.

So funny story.  I went to Super Bowl Village in Indianapolis (where I frequent every other weekend now) with my awesomely fantastic boyfriend on Sunday.

Was anything there racing related? Ummm…no.

However, we did decide to partake in a fantastic meal (thank you again, sweetness) at Weber Grill Restaurant in downtown after all of our football festivities.  

Did I also mention we saw the Patriots motorcade as we left the city?  Totally did.

So we’re standing waiting for our table (which ended up being like forever and a half) and guess what was on the television in the bar? 

Oh yeah, the last seven minutes in the 50th running of the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.  It was meant to be.

So in case any of you haven’t been keeping up with our love for The Dinger here at Lipstick and Lugnuts let us refresh your memory:  he’s pumped for 2012.

We actually told you about A.J. before 2011 even ended back in November when we featured him as our Spotlight driver of the week.  Why?  Because we love him so.

Then we featured him again in December when he landed the ride of a lifetime with Penske Racing to pilot the No. 22 Dodge when Kurt Busch failed to maintain control of his life by going berserko on poor Dr. Jerry Punch.

See?  It was meant to be.  Things happen for a reason and all of this happened to A.J. for a reason as well.  Plus he has a rockin’ hot bod and I’ll say that at every chance an opportunity presents itself.

Oh yeah.  Did I mention that IndyCar driver Justin Wilson was one of A.J.’s Rolex teammates for the weekend? 

Justin was another driver that found “redemption” in 2012 by landing a new ride as well after breaking his back in 2011 which caused him to sit out for about a million years.

And we also featured him in a driver profile before anybody else did so we rock.  The end.

So perhaps this team that won yesterday’s very elusive Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona was a team of second chances perhaps?  I think it’s rather fitting.

But this isn’t Dinger’s first time driving for Michael Shank’s racing who notched their very first Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona victory yesterday.  It’s actually Dinger’s seventh time driving for him but it’s the first time A.J.’s won a race in six years and needless to say he was thrilled:

It’s the biggest win I’ve ever had…But just because I’ve won this doesn’t change my goals to win in (Sprint) Cup. It is confidence, though. (A.J. Allmendinger via FoxSports)

They outraced a very heavily-favorited team that consisted of Chip Ganassi’s very best drivers:  current IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray.  Ganassi’s team ended up finishing fourth.

However, it was A.J. Allmendinger who was behind the wheel when the checkers dropped and finished ahead of Starworks Motorsports by 5.198 seconds for the victory.

I couldn’t be happier and more excited for the upcoming 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.  The Rolex 24 is always the “unofficial” precursor to the events that will take place in the upcoming weeks but there’s nobody I’d rather see in Victory Lane at Daytona than A.J. Allmendinger right now.

…and Tony Stewart of course.