Justin Allgaier Back In Xfinity Playoffs After Iowa Victory
Justin Allgaier wins at Iowa |
Matt Sullivan/Getty Images |
The green flag would soon wave, but before Justin Allgaier went elbows up, he draped his arms around his four-year old daughter, Harper Grace.
The tender embrace painted a poignant Father's Day image moments before the outset of the hotly-contested eighth annual Iowa 250 presented by Enogen at the .875-mile Iowa Speedway.
But another stirring photo op developed two and a half hours later, as dad exulted amid strands of confetti in Victory Lane — and this time the triumph came with vital playoff-sealing points attached.
"Our (No. 7) BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet was fast," said Allgaier, who won last month at Dover, but didn't accrue playoff points because of a post-race inspection penalty. "Incredible. We're in the middle of corn fields — how could you not enjoy this? … Doing it on Father's Day, it was really cool having my daughter here."
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"] Allgaier dominated the field despite intense and near-constant challenges from hard-charging Christopher Bell, who came from the rear at the start of the race to finish second. He also notched his second win of the season — but first one that counts, playoffs-wise.
Bell settled for second but overcame a slew of adversity while nearly pulling off the win. He started 39th because his No. 20 Rheem Toyota did not pass pre-qualifying inspection.
"Man, I just needed to be in front of him," Bell said. "Our (car) was really good. … I just didn't have enough to clear him. He could just kind of ride ride that outside there, outside my door, just keep me pinned down. But we had a really good Rheem Camry, just unfortunately not good enough to get by him."
Allgaier also shook off recent encounters with bad luck — and the fence — to win stage one. The Xfinity Series veteran powered his car between pole sitter Austin Cindric and the lapped car of Alex Labbe to win the opening 60-lapper. Cindric, who earlier earned his first career pole, had led the first 58 laps of the stage before Allgaier made his daring three-wide maneuver.
Bell surged to sixth in 60 laps.
As Bell ascended, series points leader Elliott Sadler struggled for the second straight week. A cut tire forced him to pit with a handful of laps to go in the first stage. That mishap relegated him to the back of the pack. He finished 28th and maintains a four-point lead over Cole Custer in the standings.
Daniel Hemric finished third, with Custer and Brandon Jones completing the top five.
Justin Allgaier led a race-high 182 laps in Sunday's victory |
Robert Laberge/Getty Images |
Allgaier claimed the second stage playoff point, as well — doubling his season total of stage wins to four.
Bell finally took the top position with 70 to go, but Allgaier immediately regained it and maintained a slim advantage as the final stage eclipsed the midway point.
"Hopefully we put on a good show for the fans," Bell said. "We were side-by-side for half the race."
Bell later nearly completed another pass of Allgaier, but a caution for debris halted his momentum.
All of the top five cars steered onto pit road for four fresh tires and fuel.
After the restart, Allgaier again wheeled to the top spot, with Bell in tow.
Allgaier faced another restart with less than 20 laps to go, but remained calm — and in front.
Elbows up. Hugging the steering wheel. Until he could finally hug his daughter again after raising his arms in Victory Lane.
"Unbelievable," Allgaier said. "First of all, all glory to God, man. We had a great car today. These guys did a fantastic job. I can't thank everybody at JR Motorsports enough."
RACE RESULTS
Finish | Start | # | Driver | Sponsor/Make | Laps | Led | Points | Status |
1 | 11 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet | 250 | 182 | 60 | Running |
2 | 39 | 20 | Christopher Bell # | Rheem Toyota | 250 | 2 | 48 | Running |
3 | 2 | 21 | Daniel Hemric | South Point Hotel & Casino Chevrolet | 250 | 2 | 51 | Running |
4 | 5 | 0 | Cole Custer | Haas Automation Ford | 250 | 6 | 46 | Running |
5 | 3 | 19 | Brandon Jones | XYO Networks Toyota | 250 | 0 | 44 | Running |
6 | 9 | 18 | Riley Herbst(i) | Advance Auto Parts Toyota | 250 | 0 | 0 | Running |
7 | 17 | 60 | Ty Majeski | Ford Ford | 250 | 0 | 32 | Running |
8 | 7 | 9 | Tyler Reddick # | BurgerFi Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 33 | Running |
9 | 12 | 2 | Matt Tifft | Wastebits Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 28 | Running |
10 | 8 | 61 | Kaz Grala # | NETTTS Ford | 250 | 0 | 27 | Running |
11 | 1 | 22 | Austin Cindric # | Fitzgerald Glider Kits Ford | 250 | 58 | 41 | Running |
12 | 13 | 23 | Justin Haley(i) | FOE Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 0 | Running |
13 | 10 | 5 | Michael Annett | Northland Oil Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 24 | Running |
14 | 6 | 11 | Ryan Truex | Phantom Fireworks Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 23 | Running |
15 | 15 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 28 | Running |
16 | 14 | 3 | Shane Lee | Childress Vineyards Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 22 | Running |
17 | 40 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Drive Down A1C Lilly Diabetes Ford | 250 | 0 | 21 | Running |
18 | 21 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 250 | 0 | 19 | Running |
19 | 16 | 4 | Ross Chastain | Georgia Watermelon Association Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | 18 | Running |
20 | 19 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | RepairableVehicles.com Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | 17 | Running |
21 | 27 | 35 | Joey Gase | Iowa Donor Network Chevrolet | 249 | 0 | 16 | Running |
22 | 26 | 76 | Spencer Boyd # | Grunt Style Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | 15 | Running |
23 | 18 | 36 | Alex Labbe # | Can-Am/Wholey/Cyclops Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | 14 | Running |
24 | 23 | 52 | David Starr | DAI/Circletrack Chevrolet | 247 | 0 | 13 | Running |
25 | 20 | 0 | Garrett Smithley | Chevrolet | 244 | 0 | 12 | Running |
26 | 29 | 40 | Chad Finchum # | Smithbilt Homes Toyota | 244 | 0 | 11 | Running |
27 | 32 | 8 | Blake Jones | Tennessee XXX Moonshine Chevrolet | 243 | 0 | 10 | Running |
28 | 4 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial Chevrolet | 239 | 0 | 9 | Running |
29 | 22 | 15 | BJ McLeod | Chevrolet | 239 | 0 | 8 | Running |
30 | 28 | 55 | Brandon Hightower | Allgayer/Premier Recycling Toyota | 220 | 0 | 7 | Accident |
31 | 36 | 1 | Vinnie Miller # | JAS Expedited Trucking Chevrolet | 205 | 0 | 6 | Overheating |
32 | 25 | 78 | Tommy Joe Martins | Riessen Construction Chevrolet | 201 | 0 | 5 | Running |
33 | 38 | 66 | Stan Mullis | TLC Resorts/LasVegas.net Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | 4 | Running |
34 | 33 | 90 | Josh Williams | Sleep Well Chevrolet | 134 | 0 | 3 | Electrical |
35 | 24 | 38 | Jeff Green | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 131 | 0 | 2 | Driveshaft |
36 | 34 | 45 | Josh Bilicki # | Prevagen Toyota | 95 | 0 | 1 | Fuel Pump |
37 | 35 | 13 | Timmy Hill | OCR Gaz Bar Toyota | 75 | 0 | 1 | Brakes |
38 | 37 | 74 | Mike Harmon | Horizon Transport Chevrolet | 31 | 0 | 1 | Rear Gear |
39 | 30 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | Visone RV Chevrolet | 28 | 0 | 1 | Brakes |
40 | 31 | 93 | JJ Yeley | RSS Racing Chevrolet | 21 | 0 | 1 | Vibration |
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