Justin Allgaier Scores “Weirdest” Xfinity Dash 4 Cash Win of Career

Finishing 13th sure doesn’t sound like the result of a NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash 4 Cash winner, does it?

But Justin Allgaier came home in that spot on Saturday (April 1) at Richmond Raceway and claimed the $100,000, finishing ahead of competitors Sam Mayer (17th), Sammy Smith (19th) and Daniel Hemric (24th). It was Allgaier’s fifth overall Dash 4 Cash win in his career and first since 2018. The series veteran also claimed the prize at Richmond in 2017.

He called it the “weirdest” Dash 4 Cash win of his career, given that he finished more than a third of the way back in the field.

“It is a big deal,” Allgaier said, “not only to myself to be that guy, but to also give that money back into the race team and help make these racecars better and better every week. I’ve changed my approach, I would say, to the Dash 4 Cash of being more excited when you have the opportunity to go for it and we have the opportunity to win it.”

Practice and qualifying were both rained out, giving Allgaier the pole based on NASCAR metrics. He quickly fell to fifth by lap 10 and out of the top 10 entirely by the lap-35 competition caution. He then made his way back and made a call to come to pit road with less than 50 laps remaining.

Allgaier was making up significant time with the laps winding down, but a series of cautions put an end to any chance the No. 7 had of carving his way back to the top five. He ended up 13th, but it was good enough.

“We made good strides in the balance, but we weren’t the best car,” Allgaier said. “I think, for us, the way green-flag runs have been going, we thought it was probably going to stay green until the end and everybody was going to have to come [and pit]. And getting that second, second-and-a-half that we were getting on the fresh tires, I felt like would have netted us — probably — to the lead.

“At that point, you just try to hang on to it. […] I’m gonna be honest with you, nerves were up a little bit at the end there, especially with those guys having tires and Sam getting the lucky dog with two cautions to go and then Sammy [Smith] getting it on the last caution.”

Smith was mired back after a strategy call to save a set of tires dropped both he and Joe Gibbs Racing teammate John Hunter Nemechek like rocks through the field after the competition caution as they were the only two cars to attempt to make it…