Justin Allgaier has snapped the winless streak at JR Motorsports with victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The driver of the #7 Chevrolet Camaro broke through for his first win at the intermediate track, 20th overall in his Xfinity Series career, after winning a different type of race.
Unlike the Coca-Cola 600 earlier in the night, the Xfinity Series race went caution-free for the final 60-plus laps. Allgaier didn’t have to worry about holding off any other drivers on hectic restarts. Instead, he had to focus on conserving his fuel during a long, green-flag run.
There were numerous questions about Allgaier’s ability to achieve this goal, especially as several other drivers headed down pit road for fuel with fewer than 20 laps remaining.
However, Allgaier kept going while runner-up John Hunter Nemechek dropped further back while trying to conserve fuel in his #20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra. Allgaier was able to save just enough that he crossed the finish line more than eight seconds ahead. He then celebrated with a massive burnout.
“The guys standing behind me right here, I can’t even begin to tell you the emotions today,” Allgaier told PRN after the win. “I just don’t know. I didn’t know how much to save and just got lucky we had enough.”
Secure your spot today.
This win put Allgaier in the playoffs. It also helped JR Motorsports turn the corner in a frustrating season. The Xfinity Series organization won 15 races during the 2022 season split between its full-time drivers and a guest, Kyle Larson.
The first 11 races of the 2023 season played out in a different manner. The four drivers went winless while dealing with on-track incidents, mistakes on pit road, and other setbacks. Allgaier changed this trend with his performance in the rain-delayed event.
The Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway began on the morning of May 29, two days after its original time. At that point, it was supposed to be the appetizer for the Coca-Cola 600 on a packed Memorial Day, but rainfall at the Concord track brought out the caution on Lap 47.
NASCAR had the goal of getting the race started again so that the drivers could potentially reach halfway, which would make it official. If the rain began to fall once again, the driver in the lead would be the winner.
This plan did not play out as the rain continued to fall. NASCAR ultimately made the decision to postpone the Xfinity Series race to immediately after the Coca-Cola 600. This meant that the drivers were climbing back into their cars at around 21:30 local/11:30 AEST to complete more than half of the race.
Ty Gibbs was the story early at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He won Stage 1 in the morning, and then he went and completed 398 of the 400 laps in the Coca-Cola 600 while driving his #54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry.
Once the Cup Series race ended, Gibbs then immediately climbed back into the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota GR Supra for the rest of the Xfinity Series race. He and Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley were the two drivers pulling double duty, so they both had to recover as much as possible in the few minutes between races.
Gibbs immediately began contending in the #19 JGR Toyota once the Xfinity Series race restarted. He won Stage 2 while reaching 49 total laps led, and he created conversations about how he would be the name to watch during the final stage.
The situation changed as Gibbs fell further back during the final run to the checkered flag, but he was still able to turn in a fifth-place finish. He capped off his marathon day more than 12 hours after it began with the 27th top-five of his Xfinity Series career.
Get the latest NASCAR news, stats, and US racing coverage at Speedcafe US
Discussion about this post