It’s been a long time coming for Justin Allgaier, sitting on a grueling winless streak of 34 races, which in that period included five finishes in the runner-up position, including last weekend at Dover.
However, at the site of his last victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, the Riverton, Illinois-native was able to silence all of the doubters with a win in Saturday’s Mahindra ROXOR 200 at Darlington Raceway.
Allgaier, who was originally scheduled to start third, faced some adversity prior to the start of the race, as the team discovered an issue with the battery on the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro.
Luckily, JR Motorsports was able to diagnose and fix the issue before the race began, allowing the Xfinity Series veteran to start the race, albeit at the rear of the field. He didn’t stay there long though, moving into the top-five by the end of the race’s first stage.
After hovering inside the top-three for the majority of the remainder of the race, a caution for Joe Graf Jr. inside the final 15 laps, would set up a strategy play, which would see the race leaders at the time restarting at the tail-end of the top-10.
Another late-race caution for Tyler Reddick – driving for Big Machine Racing — would put Allgaier and Gragson in an optimal position to battle for the victory, as the No. 7 broke away on a two-lap dash to lock down his first win of 2022.
Noah Gragson finished a quarter-second behind Allgaier in second, with Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek, and Sam Mayer rounding out the top five.
Landon Cassill, Brandon Jones, AJ Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, and Austin Hill rounded out the top-10, as the race finished under caution due to a multi-car incident on the final lap.
Jeremy Clements and Ryan Truex – both poised for top-10 runs entering turn three on the final lap — got involved in an accident in front of the field, costing them precious spots and points. The pair would finish 29th and 30th, respectively.
Exiting Darlington, AJ Allmendinger – who has started the season with 11 consecutive top-10 results — continues to hold a commanding points lead over Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs. The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action at Texas Motor Speedway after a much-needed off-week.
