Race Report: Dover II

Justin Allgaier and the BRANDT Professional Agriculture team finished third in Saturday’s Bar Harbor 200 at Dover International Speedway, solidifying their spot in the Round of 8 for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Allgaier enters the next round as the second seed, just five points outside the lead.

Allgaier started the 200-lap race from the third position and relayed to the team early in the run that the BRANDT Chevy was tight through the center of the turns. He powered through the tough-handling condition for the remainder of Stage One to take the green-and-white checkered flag in that same third spot. Under the stage-ending caution the team made a fast stop for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment, allowing Allgaier to gain a position for the start of Stage Two.

Taking the green flag for the second stage from the second position, Allgaier got a good run on the No. 21 of Daniel Hemric to take over the lead on lap 52. Spotter Eddie D’Hondt radioed to the driver of the No. 7 Chevy that he was setting a good pace. Allgaier reported that he was still experiencing a tight-handling condition, and soon after, there was a new battle for the lead with Hemric retaking the top spot on lap 75. When Stage Two ended on lap 90, Allgaier was scored in the third position. Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier down for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment.

The JR Motorsports driver was in third to start the final stage on lap 97 and worked his way to second just two circuits later. Allgaier radioed that the adjustment hadn’t helped the handling of the BRANDT Chevrolet, but he continued to race inside the top five. He was running in third when a caution came out for an incident on the track on lap 161. The team took this opportunity to make their final stop of the race, calling Allgaier to pit road for four tires, fuel and another wedge adjustment.

He restarted in the seventh position on lap 171 and wasted no time advancing his position, moving up to fourth before another caution occurred on lap 178. During the final restart on lap 184, he maneuvered his way to third and remained there until the checkered flag waved. The 32-year-old driver’s third-place finish marked his third consecutive top-three effort at the Monster Mile.

Christopher Bell won the NXS event and was followed by Cole Custer, Allgaier, Ryan Preece and Spencer Gallagher to round out the top five.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team

“I’m glad to be advancing to the Round of 8. This first round for us was really challenging to say the least. I’m really proud of everyone at JR Motorsports. Our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro was good today. We weren’t quite good enough to go up there and battle for a win, but we did what we needed to do and got the points that we needed. Now we can focus on these next three races and I think we’ve got a good shot at them.”