NASCAR
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, Justin Allgaier, felt poorly about causing the final ‘Big One’ of the night in the United Rentals 300.
The 38-year-old driver made a move coming to the white flag, not realizing he wasn’t clear. The contact caused Allgaier’s No. 7 BRANDT Chevrolet to turn in front of the field, collecting numerous cars and ultimately ending the race. Allgaier’s car briefly ended up underneath the rear end of Josh Williams’ No. 11 machine before coming to a rest.
“Causing the last wreck was not how I wanted our night to end,” Allgaier said after being released from the infield care center at Daytona International Speedway. “The outside row we were in kind of stacked up and…I don’t know, I ran into the back of Jeb (Burton) and hedged the middle. Unfortunately, I think the No. 32 was coming with a big run and I was just too late.
“I’ll own the mistake,” Allgaier continued. “I feel bad for everybody torn up at the end. As someone who’s been around this sport a long time and worked on a lot of race cars, the last thing you want to do is tear up a bunch of equipment, especially coming to the white. I’ll own it.”
Allgaier also mentioned an incident that led the race into overtime. With two laps to go, Allgaier received a big push and closed quickly on teammate Connor Zilisch. Simultaneously, Zilisch was blocked by Cole Custer, jamming him in the middle of the two. Allgaier, with no choice, bumped his teammate, sending him spinning into the outside wall.
“When you’re connected to the guy in front of you and then the guy behind hits you, you’re at the mercy of how it affects that front car,” Allgaier said about the incident. “Unfortunately, it sent the No. 88 around. As a teammate, my heart drops. Regardless of whether it’s your fault or not, when you and a teammate crash it’s really frustrating.”
Despite a tough night, Allgaier will need to reset ahead of tomorrow’s Daytona 500. He rolls off 19th in the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. This is the first time JR Motorsports will compete in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Written by Noah Lewis
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Photo Credit Sean Gardner/Getty Images for NASCARMedia
