Sunday, July 24, 2016

Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) Race Report
from #nascar Lilly Diabetes 200

Yes, Kyle Busch started on pole and won to dominate the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indy. However, for NASCAR Race Mom, Justin Allgaier’s last lap pass around Elliott Sadler to win the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 bonus was the most exciting moment of the race. Congratulations to Allgaier and team.

Allgaier, who had qualified for all four of the Dash4Cash Races - wins the last one 


Justin Allgaier (JR Motorsports) Race Report from #nascar Lilly Diabetes 200
  • 18 of 33: Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
  • Track Specs: 2.5-mile oval / (60 Laps Main)
  • Weather: Sunny, 92 degrees
  • Race Winner: Kyle Busch
  • Allgaier’s Finish: 5th
Justin Allgaier really wanted to win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday, and if he couldn't take the top spot, winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Dash4Cash would be a close second. He drove his BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet Camaro to a strong fifth-place finish in the Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indy, and in the process out-dueled JRM teammate Elliott Sadler to earn the $100,000 Xfinity Dash4Cash bonus in the final few laps.

Allgaier finished third in the second 20-lap heat race to earn the sixth starting spot in the 60-lap main for all the money, battling a tight car for most of the 20 laps before settling in behind Erik Jones and Kevin Harvick. For the main event, the car was going to have to be adjusted. Allgaier, who had qualified for all four of the Dash4Cash events this season, knew the main was going to be a stern test of his driving and his team.

He and the team were up to it. Starting sixth, Allgaier settled into a JRM freight train with teammates Harvick and Sadler, the trio clicking off laps in the top 10. After 25 laps, Allgaier was still looking for grip on the blazing hot Indy oval, but maintaining pace. He pitted for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment soon after, on lap 28, and went right back to the top 10. It stayed that way until 17 laps to go, when fellow Dash4Cash contender Jones pitted after slapping the wall. That put Allgaier in sixth, with only point leader Daniel Suarez ahead of him in the running order for the Dash4Cash payout.

With 12 laps remaining, Allgaier came down pit road for four fresh tires and gas to the end, exiting fifth and seeing Suarez just two spots ahead for the restart with seven laps remaining. Suarez and Jones tangled briefly, giving Allgaier a hole, and he took it, but Sadler was right there too. The final caution flag came out on lap 56 for a two-car accident, and that set up the final overtime duel to the finish between Sadler and Allgaier.

When the green flag waved, Allgaier got under Sadler when the latter was battling with Kyle Larson and completed the pass, holding on for the fifth-place finish and the big $100,000 check from Xfinity for the Dash4Cash.

Kyle Busch won the race, followed by Harvick, Paul Menard, Larson and Allgaier. With the top-five finish, his seventh of the season to go with 14 top-10 results, Allgaier jumped two spots in the driver standings to fourth, 66 behind the leader.

"I really, really wanted to win today, but this (the Dash4Cash) was second on the list. Racing a teammate for $100,000 is not an ideal situation, but to get that run and pass him like we did, and to have two JRM cars in the top five and all three in the top six shows how strong an organization we have. Even though we didn’t get in Victory Lane, it's a huge win for all of us. This is a huge feather in our cap, and everybody back at the shop is going to get some enjoyment out of this. I'm really proud of my BRANDT Professional Agriculture guys, and…I've been trying to win this check since the inception of this program." Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team

No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture
Chevrolet Camaro Justin Allgaier

  • Start - 6th
  • Finish - 5th
  • Laps Completed (Led) - 63 of 63 (0)
  • Points (Bonus) - 36 (0)
  • Standings (from leader) - 4th (-66)
  • Status - Running

Team Release




"Under that last caution, I was thinking, 'Hey I'm racing a teammate' and that changes the game," Allgaier said. "Just knowing he was a teammate and had the same stuff I did, how do you force the pass? I was fortunate. We got behind him coming off Turn 4. ... It was the only time today I went through Turn 4 perfectly and was able to get next to him and then pass him.

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