In his seventh appearance in the NASCAR Xfinity Championship 4, Justin Allgaier won his first series title this season.
It wasn’t easy. Allgaier had to overcome two penalties during the championship race. A caution with less than 50 laps remaining in the season put Allgaier back in the lead and on the path to that much sought-after championship.
That’s kind of how Allgaier’s season went this year. Things have become easy.
Long: ‘Overwhelmed’ Harper Allgaier sheds tears of joy after father wins NASCAR Xfinity title
Justin Allgaier won his first NASCAR Xfinity Series championship in his seventh title chase.
CREW CHIEF: Jim Pohlman
TEAM: JR Motorsports
VICTORY: 2 (Darlington, Michigan)
LED TOWERS: 709
TOP 5: 10
TOP 10: 20
DEPARTURE FROM THE POLE: 0
WHAT WENT WELL: Perseverance. So many things went wrong, but this team fought to win the championship. Allgaier scored five straight top-10 finishes at the end of the playoffs, including three top-five finishes during that span. Allgaier entered the final race in the first round of the playoffs seven points below the cutoff line, but scored 18 stage points and finished seventh to advance. The caution on lap 156 of the 200-lap feature put him back on the lead lap after serving two penalties just after the halfway point at Phoenix, setting himself up to win the championship.
WHAT WAS NOT: He failed to complete six races. He finished 25th or lower five times in the first 15 races of the season. Allgaier opened the first round of the playoffs by finishing 36th at Kansas and 25th at Talladega, putting him in danger of elimination at the Charlotte Roval. In the championship race, Allgaier was penalized for a restart infraction and then for speeding on pit road while serving his restart penalty.
ALLGAIER SAID: “When I started in NASCAR, I thought I was ready to win a championship. I thought I was ready to compete at a high level. As I get older, and especially as I have children and see them grow up… I don’t know if I would have appreciated that moment as much then as I do now. It was absolutely amazing to see (daughters Harper and Willow) enjoying it.
WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025: Allgaier is back with JR Motorsports and will look to win back-to-back titles and become just the fourth driver since 2000 to do so in the Xfinity Series.
