Written by Bailey Defoor
Lucky number seven, Justin Allgaier wins the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Championship with a second-placed finish from 37th on the grid in his seventh try at the prize.
As it unfolded
William Sawalich started on pole, and championship contenders were scattered in the pack. Austin Hil started in fifth, Cole Custer in seventh, AJ Allmendinger in ninth, and Allgaier in 37th.
Allgaier had to start in his backup car after a crash in practice led to substantial damage to his car. He was also sidelined from qualifying, which explains his low starting position.
Sawalich lost the lead going into the second turn of the opening laps to Riley Herbst, and Allgaier gained six positions in the first two laps.
Drivers drove through green flag racing, and Allgaier worked into the top ten by lap 28.
On lap 41, just before the end of the stage, Custer started having engine trouble, and Allgaier passed him
Stage 1 Results:
No. 98 - Riley Herbst
No. 81 - Chandler Smith
No. 18 - Sheldon Creed
No. 21 - Austin Hill [PLAYOFFS]
No. 1 - Sam Mayer
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier [PLAYOFFS]
No. 00 - Cole Custer [PLAYOFFS]
No. 19 - Williams Sawalich
No. 20 - Aric Almirola
No. 2 - Jesse Love
After a round of pitstops, Herbst and Hill lead the field on lap 55. Custer started in third but passed Herbst and Hill from the outside.
Allgaier also had a stellar start, picking up four places in the opening laps.
It did not take long for Herbst to overtake Custer again at lap 62.
The following lap had a caution as Anthony Alfredo was squeezed against the wall by Stefan Parsons. Alfredo got away with minimal damage, but Parsons lost control and spun around, hitting Greg Van Alst in the process.
Herbst led the field back to green flag racing on lap 75 from the outside with Custer on the inside.
The next caution came on the same lap as Chandler Smith slid backward across the track. He was able to keep the car running and continued on with the race.
Another cycle of pitstops was triggered by this caution, with Herbst dropping and Allmendinger jumping into the top 3.
The green flag flew on lap 82 as Sheldon Creed led Jesse Love and Allmendinger.
Allmendinger did not have the best start, as Allgaier and Custer passed him quickly.
In the finishing laps of Stage 2, Allgaier complained about his tyres being dangerously worn and slowed down to avoid damaging his car.
Stage 2 Results:
No. 98 - Riley Herbst
No. 18 - Sheldon Creed
No. 20 - Aric Almirola
No. 2 - Jesse Love
No. 00 - Cole Custer [PLAYOFFS]
No. 88 - Connor Zilisch
No. 16 - AJ Allmendinger [PLAYOFFS]
No. 1 - Sam Mayer
No. 19 - William Sawalich
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier [PLAYOFFS]
Most of the drivers pit after the stage, and they went back to green flag racing on lap 101. Herbst led with Aric Almirola behind, who had a bad start. Custer and Sam Mayer quickly passed Almirola.
Allgaier was penalized for a restart violation when he got out of line before the restart line. He had to serve a drive-through penalty, but while serving the penalty, we went too fast in pit road. He had to serve another drive-through penalty and came out a lap down.
Lap 147 began a series of green flag pit stops with Herbst diving in, and Custer taking the lead.
A caution came out on lap 154 as Alfredo crashed into the wall and had to retire the car.
Herbst and Custer led the pack to the green flag again on lap 163, and Custer had a bad restart. Jesse Love and Connor Zilisch got past, dropping Custer to fourth.
Lap 169 saw all four championship contenders in the top 10. Custer had moved up to third while Allgaier, Hill, and Allmendinger were in battles for eighth, ninth, and tenth, respectively.
In a fight between Custer, Zilisch, and Allgaier, Zilisch goes loose and allows Allgaier through. Allgaier passed Custer and became the highest running of the championship four on lap 195.
Another caution was thrown on lap 197 as Leland Honeyman spun around but kept the car out of the wall, sending the race into overtime. The championship four all pit for tyres, but Hill had no fresh ones available.
Still, Hill came out of the pits first after only changing two tyres, and led the field to the green flag, followed by Love and Herbst. Hill’s tyres could not keep up with the fresh ones behind as Love took the lead and Allgaier passed Hill and Custer.
Before the front runners could take the white flag, another caution was thrown as Parker Retzlaff crashed into a wall.
The final restart saw Love and Allgaier on the front row with Herbst just behind. Allgaier had slight contact on Love, but kept in front until Herbst snatched the win in the last corner.
Provisional Results:
No. 98 - Riley Herbst (Stewart-Haas Racing)
No. 7 - Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) [Championship Winner]
No. 20 - Aric Almirola (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 88 - Connor Zilisch (JR Motorsports)
No. 81 - Chandler Smith (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 2 - Jesse Love (Richard Childress Racing)
No. 18 - Sheldon Creed (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 00 - Cole Custer (Stewart-Haas Racing) [Eliminated]
No. 16 - AJ Allmendinger (Kaulig Racing) [Eliminated]
No. 21 - Austin Hill (Richard Childress Racing) [Eliminated]
No. 1 - Sam Mayer (JR Motorsports)
No. 97 - Shane Van Gisbergen (Kaulig Racing)
No. 19 - William Sawalich (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 48 - Parker Kligerman (Big Machine Racing)
No. 8 - Sammy Smith (JR Motorsports)
No. 27 - Jeb Burton (Jordan Anderson Racing)
No. 10 - Daniel Dye (Kaulig Racing)
No. 9 - Brandon Jones (JR Motorsports)
No. 15 - Dylan Lupton (AM Racing)
No. 51 - Jeremy Clements (Jeremy Clements Racing)
No. 91 - Josh Bilinki (Joe Gibbs Racing)
No. 29 - Blaine Perkins (RSS Racing)
No. 28 - Ryan Sieg (RSS Racing)
No. 44 - Brennen Poole (Alpha Prime Racing)
No. 43 - Ryan Ellis (Alpha Prime Racing)
No. 38 - Matt DiBenedetto (RSS Racing)
No. 35- Joey Gase (Joey Gase Motorsports)
No. 07 - Patrick Emerling (SS Green Light Racing) -1 lap
No. 39 - Kyle Sieg (RSS Racing) -1 lap
No. 53 - Garrett Smithley (Alpha Prime Racing) -1 lap
No. 42 - Leland Honeyman Jr (Young’s Motorsports) -3 laps
No. 92 - Dawson Cram (DGM Racing) -5 laps
No. 11 - Josh Williams (Kaulig Racing) -9 laps
No. 31 - Parker Retzlaff (Jordan Anderson Racing) [DNF]
No. 26 - Jeffrey Earnheardt (Sam Hunt Racing) [DNF]
No. 5 - Anthony Alfredo (Our Motorsports) [DNF]
No. 14 - Greg Van Alst (SS-Greenlight Racing) [DNF]
No. 45 - Stefan Parsons (Alpha Prime Racing) [DNF]
Comments