Fighting through a multitude of adversity makes the blessings on the other side so much sweeter.
It seemed anything that could go wrong for Justin Allgaier this weekend did go wrong at Phoenix Raceway. From sliding in oil and hitting the wall in practice to getting penalized twice and going a lap down, the No. 7 JR Motorsports driver did not have things going his way.
Until, that is, Anthony Alfredo hit the wall unexpectedly.
The caution midway through Saturday’s (Nov. 9) final stage meant Allgaier could get back on the lead lap. From there, the push to the front was on; once he reached the top 10, no other championship contender could hold Allgaier off with his fresher tires and exceptional long-run speed.
But just when it looked like the title was in the bag, Allgaier coming back to pass all challengers, adversity struck again with an overtime caution that allowed Championship 4 contenders to sneak back in front on pit road.
On the first overtime restart, Allgaier was lined up behind Austin Hill and Cole Custer. He snuck past them to get into second before the caution flag waved again.
Then, on the final restart, Allgaier muscled his way to the front. Once he was sure to be well clear of the other title-contending drivers, he didn’t fight too hard with Riley Herbst for the lead. As a result, Allgaier won the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship at Phoenix Raceway while Herbst won the race.
Custer, AJ Allmendinger and Hill finished second through fourth, respectively, in the standings.
Winners
After seven times of being in the Championship 4, Allgaier somehow found a way to get it done in 2024. It was a very emotional win for his team and family.
What’s interesting about this season is Allgaier had the worst average finish in his full-time Xfinity career. Granted, it was only 13.5, so it wasn’t too far off the mark from previous years.
Allgaier had six crashes this year and a rough stretch from the fall Atlanta Motor Speedway race through Talladega Superspeedway. His best result in that span was a 17th at Watkins Glen International.
Yet the team never gave up, and Allgaier finished the year with five straight top 10s, including three top fives. It’s a testament to the grit and determination the veteran and his team had to come out on top.
Herbst, meanwhile, was the class of the field, leading 167 laps en route to his second victory of the year. It was certainly his best performance of the season,…
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