Justin Allgaier takes rear damage after making contact with Riley Herbst and manages to finish the stage ?#Championship4 pic.twitter.com/OmWpzHz6tS
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) November 10, 2024
If Justin Allgaier is going to rebound to pick up his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, it’s going to take a miracle after a disastrous few laps at the end of Stage 2, and beginning of Stage 3 of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway.
In the closing laps of Stage 2, Allgaier received contact from Riley Herbst, which cut down his left rear tire. That dropped Allgaier from the top-five to 10th, but the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was able to mitigate disaster, and made it to the end of the Stage without needing to pit.
On the ensuing restart though, things completely fell apart.
Feeling stressed about losing spots due to the flat tire, Allgaier made a move on the restart, but he changed lanes before the start finish line, which led to a restart violation penalty.
As Allgaier was serving that penalty, he was busted for speeding on pit road, which compounded the issue, and caused Allgaier to lose a lap to the leaders.
Justin Allgaier's Championship hopes take a major hit after back-to-back penalties during restart. pic.twitter.com/lyQiXCfBLQ
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) November 10, 2024
As the race is drawing to a close, Allgaier is looking to get back on the lead lap, but even if he does, it’s going to take unprecedented circumstances for him to win a championship.