Race Report: Daytona II

Justin Allgaier and the Vannoy Construction team overcame damage from a mid-race wreck to lead laps in Friday night’s Firecracker 250 at Daytona International Speedway. However, the No. 7 Camaro was turned in the final laps, leaving Allgaier with an 17^th-place finish.

The Illinois native qualified 12^th for the 100-lap event, and was able to quickly maneuver his way inside the top-10 once the race was underway. Running in seventh when the first caution of the day came out on lap 9, he relayed to his team that the Vannoy Construction Camaro was good and was only free in the tri-oval.

Staying out, he restarted in seventh and used the draft to work his way to second, with the top three cars running single file. Just two laps later he was shuffled to the middle and dropped back to seventh. Staying with the main pack, he moved to the bottom and then was back in the top line when a wreck brought out a caution on lap 23. Allgaier restarted in eighth and was running in seventh when the green-and-white checkered flag waved to end the first stage on lap 30.

Under the stage-ending caution, Allgaier talked to the team about an issue he was having the with brake pedal. The team opted to take the time to diagnose and begin repairs under the yellow after a normal pit stop for four tires, fuel and adjustments. After two pit stops total, Allgaier rejoined the field, starting Stage Two towards the back of the pack on lap 35. By lap 43, the JR Motorsports driver had rejoined the top 10. Soon after, a multi-car wreck ensued and the No. 7 Camaro suffered damage to the nose. The team called Allgaier to pit road to survey and repair the damage before bringing him down a second time for four tires, fuel and to finalize the repairs.

Once again restarting near the back of the pack, Allgaier made quick work of the field, coming back to end Stage Two in the fifth position on lap 60. Allgaier radioed to the team under the yellow that the No. 7 Camaro was still in pretty good shape. Opting for a fuel-only stop, the driver of the No. 7 won the race off pit road, setting himself up to start the final stage from the point position.

Allgaier chose the outside line to begin the final stage on lap 61 and was side-by-side with teammate Noah Gragson as the two battled for the lead. Allgaier took the spot, but the No. 16 of Ross Chastain was able to work his way around to take the race lead. Allgaier was shuffled to second, but was able to get back up to Ross to continue to battle for the top spot before the top four cars went single file. When the caution came out on lap 73, Allgaier was in the second position. With a majority of cars staying out, Allgaier and Chastain restarted in the front row and continued their battle. Allgaier held point at first, but Chastain eventually retook the lead.

Less than 10 laps later, a multi-car incident brought the race to a halt, with the red flag lasting nearly 18 minutes. Once the red flag was lifted, Allgaier lined up fifth for the restart with 10 laps to go. He was battling for position when the No. 7 Chevy was turned. Allgaier was able to avoid contact with the inside wall and came to pit road under green-flag conditions for four fresh tires. Stuck one lap down, Allgaier was limited in the ground he could make up as the remainder of the race went caution-free.

When the checkered flag waved, Allgaier was scored with an 17^th-place finish.

Chastain won the race and was followed by Justin Haley and AJ Allmendinger, with Christopher Bell and Austin Cindric rounding out the top five.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Vannoy Construction team

“Man, we had a fast Vannoy Construction Camaro. We got involved in that wreck early and had some minor damage, but we were still able to lead laps after that and be competitive. It’s unfortunate that we were turned in the final laps and weren’t able to get the finish we deserved. I’m so proud of this team though. They’ve been working so hard. We’ll regroup and get ready for Kentucky, a place where we’ve been strong in recent years.”