Race Report: Talladega

Justin Allgaier had a strong Hellmann’s / Walmart Fight Hunger Spark Change Chevy in Saturday’s MoneyLion 300 at Talladega Superspeedway, but a multi-car incident took him out of the race with less than 10 laps to go. The JR Motorsports driver was scored with a 28^th-place finish and currently sits fifth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings.

Allgaier rolled off the grid 11^th for the NXS race and was running in the 10^th position when the first caution flag of the day came out on lap 8. Crew chief Jason Burdett called the driver of the No. 7 to pit road for fuel and adjustments. He restarted just outside of the top 15 and worked his way back inside the top 10 to finish Stage One in sixth on lap 25.

The team opted to stay out under the stage-ending caution and Allgaier took the green flag for Stage Two in the top spot on lap 32. He slid up to the top line behind his JRM teammate Noah Gragson into the second position as the lead pack of cars went single file for much of the stage. When the green-and-white checkered flag waved on lap 50, Allgaier was scored with the runner-up spot, collecting valuable stage points for the second time of the day.

When pit road opened, Allgaier came down for four tires and fuel. He was in the ninth position to start the final stage on lap 55. The 32-year-old driver moved up to the top line on lap 62 as much of the field went back to single-file racing. The caution flag came out once again on lap 66 and the team made another stop for fuel only.

He restarted in seventh on lap 72 and lost some positions as he was stuck on the bottom without much drafting help. When a spot opened up in the top line, Allgaier made his way up to join the preferred lane. He decided to move back to the bottom lane and a few others followed, giving the bottom some momentum. Others followed suit and Allgaier led the group forward until he was side-by-side with the leader on lap 83. He took over the race lead on lap 85 and was still out front when another caution flag waved on lap 85.

Under the yellow, Burdett told Allgaier to save fuel. He restarted in the lead, but the No. 98 got out ahead of him, taking over the top spot. Just a few laps later, a multi-car wreck ensued and Allgaier was collected in the chaos. His Chevy only suffered minor damage and he was able to make it to pit road for repairs. He restarted in 23^rd and made his way to 20^th before another caution came out on lap 103.

Allgaier was in 20^th when the field went back to green with seven laps to go and was powering back towards the front when he got caught up in another big wreck, bringing an early end to his day. The driver of the No. 7 was scored with a 28^th-place finish.

Tyler Reddick won the race and was followed by Gray Gaulding and Christopher Bell, with Chase Briscoe and Austin Cindric rounding out the top five.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Hellmann’s / Walmart Fight Hunger Spark Change team

“That was an unfortunate way to end our day. Everybody at JR Motorsports has been working hard and it’s been a tough week with Miss Brenda passing away. We wanted to go to Victory Lane for her as much as anything today. We had a great Hellmann’s / Walmart Fight Hunger Spark Change Chevy. I’m just disappointed we don’t have anything to show for it.”