Race Report: Texas

Justin Allgaier and the Cessna team came back from a mid-race spin to score a 12th-place finish in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. The JR Motorsports driver now sits sixth in the NXS point standings, 64 markers outside of the lead.

The Illinois native qualified fourth for the 200-lap race and was up to third in a hurry. He was running in second when he reported that the Cessna Chevy was a little tight through the center of the turns and had really good balance overall. Later in the stage, the No. 7 Chevy started to get a little tighter through Turns 1 and 2 and that allowed the No. 18 of Kyle Busch to get by him. When the green-and-white checkered flag waved on lap 45, Allgaier was scored in the third position. Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for four tires, fuel and a track-bar adjustment.

He took the green for Stage Two in the fifth spot and was in sixth when the caution came out shortly after for an incident in Turn 4. Back underway, the 32-year-old driver gained positions, moving into third on lap 64. He was running in second when the fifth caution flag of the race waved on lap 80 and reported to the team that the Cessna Camaro was still tight through the center of the turns. Allgaier came to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment. Restarting in seventh with less than 10 laps to go in Stage Two, Allgaier was shuffled back and finished the stage in 14th. Under the caution to end Stage Two, Allgaier relayed that the last adjustment made the Cessna Chevy unstable.

When the green flag dropped for the final stage on lap 99, Allgaier was in 11th. He continued his forward momentum, moving into seventh on lap 102. Just a few laps later, he reported that the No. 7 was still lacking rear stability. He slipped back to eighth, but moved his way up to sixth on lap 119. Allgaier was battling for position when he got loose and spun into the infield grass with 75 laps to go. The Cessna Camaro sustained minimal damage and the team put four fresh tires on and reversed the previous air-pressure adjustment when the field came to pit road under the caution

Back under green, Allgaier moved from 15th up to 10th before another yellow flag waved on lap 133. He restarted in ninth and began to surge forward, making his way to fourth on lap 144 and was still in the same position late in the race. With most of the field needing make another pit stop to make it the rest of the way on fuel, Allgaier was about to hit pit road when a caution came out on lap 189. Getting the chance to pit under the yellow flag, the team opted to take four tires along with fuel. Allgaier restarted in seventh on lap 195 and after brushing the wall while trying to make his way back toward the front, he ultimately took the checkered flag in the 12th position.

Busch won the race and was followed by Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell, with Chase Briscoe and JRM driver Jeb Burton rounding out the top five.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Cessna team

“We had a great Cessna Chevy today and I thought we were going to come home with a top-five finish after coming back from that spin, but it just didn’t work out in the end. I’m really looking forward to getting to Bristol next week. It’s unfortunate that we won’t be competing for the Xfinity Series Dash for Cash, but hopefully we can be there at the end and battle for a win.”

No. 7 Cessna Camaro

Start 4th
Finish 12th
Laps Completed (Led) 200 of 200
Points (Bonus) 33
Point Standings (from leader) 6th (-64)
Status Running

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