Allgaier Goes Hail Hellmann's

Earns Trip to Championship 4

 

Justin Allgaier entered yesterday's #NASCAR Xfinity Event just under the 2023 Playoff Cutline with a -three. Nevertheless, many believed him to be a favorite to win his way into the final four at Martinsville. Remember, in 2019, the thirty-seven-year-old won the final race in the Round of Eight when it was held at Phoenix Raceway.

 

They left everything out on the track.@MartinsvilleSwy | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/LbgS4BkXy0

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 28, 2023

On the final restart of Saturday's Dead On Tools 250 at Martinsville Speedway,  Justin Allgaier went for broke. As chaos erupted around him, the Illinois native outdragged Sheldon Creed to the finish line by a scant 0.003 seconds to gain a spot in the Championship 4 for the sixth time in his career.

 

Allgaier, locked in a battle with Austin Hill and Cole Custer for the final points position into the final race, was in the right place at the right time as Hill and Creed tangled off Turn 4 coming to the checkered flag. Allgaier put his foot to the floor and nipped Creed at the line.

 

That gives JR Motorsports half the field for the Championship 4 with Allgaier and Sam Mayer. The other participants are John Hunter Nemechek and Custer, who was involved in the last-lap crash but advanced on points.

 

NEWS: Post-race inspection is complete at @MartinsvilleSwy.@J_Allgaier's win is official! 🏁 pic.twitter.com/kNBEQrcILr

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) October 29, 2023

The victory was Allgaier's 23rd in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition, his first at Martinsville and his second in this year's playoffs. It also puts him in sole possession of 11th place on the all-time NXS wins list.

 

“We’ve got a shot at going for a championship at Phoenix,” Allgaier told NBC Sports’ Dave Burns after the race. “My wife drove in today, my daughter’s last softball game was this afternoon. She said, ‘I got to watch the first win,’ and she decided to come here to be by my side. There’s nothing like it.

 

“This is an emotional one. I’ve wanted to win at Martinsville for a long time and, man, I’ve been on the other end of that too many times.”

 

JRM has now won four of the six NXS Playoff races this season.

 

With today’s results, JRM has now earned 500 top-five finishes in NASCAR Xfinity Series competition. The first came on Aug. 19, 2006, when Robby Gordon finished third @MISpeedway. pic.twitter.com/KzxHkLPK9M

— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) October 29, 2023

Teammate Josh Berry's fifth-place finish gives JRM 500 top-five finishes in NXS competition. The first of those came in 2006, when Robby Gordon finished third at Michigan International Speedway.

 

Berry rallied to fifth despite extensive damage to his Chevrolet, while Brandon Jones came home 16th and Mayer was posted 25th after retiring late in the race with crash damage.

 

Photos

 

 

source: JR Motorsports Media