NASCAR
Reigning Xfinity Champion Justin Allgaier Takes First Win of Year at Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Losing in heartbreaking fashion a week ago, the odds were in Justin Allgaier’s favor at Las Vegas. The No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet quickly found the lead and firmly established himself as class of the field. Much like Phoenix last week, however, Allgaier did see a late challenger emerge. This time the 7 remained out front, though, taking the first win of his title defense season.
Stage 1 was an opening statement by JR Motorsports. After sweeping the front row in qualifying, their four cars were very stout early on. Justin Allgaier soon took the lead after starting sixth, and drove off to an eight-second lead by the first green-checkered flag.
Stage 2 saw more of the same, but with Aric Almirola in command. Thanks to Allgaier’s team opting to remove tape, the 19 had optimal track position he held for all of this segment. This marked the first Xfinity Series Stage win for a Toyota in 2025.
Allgaier only retook command with around 70 laps left, getting by rookie teammate Connor Zilisch. The closing laps for Allgaier were anything but an easy drive, though, with a hard-charging Almirola on his tail. The No. 19 Toyota got to within feet of retaking the top spot, but never could quite motor around the 7. After Almirola washed up coming to the white flag, Allgaier had just enough breathing room for a stress-free final lap.
“It feels amazing” Allgaier said about closing out a second-straight dominant Saturday. “This whole team, I just cannot say enough. The fans here, thank you, I hope we put on a great show for you. Aric and I were going at it, hats off to him, he raced a heck of a race. Just so proud of everyone on this Jarrett Camaro.”
“To see the speed we had since we unloaded off the truck, I was really sad with a sixth-place qualifying effort. To be able to get here, have the Jarrett folks here is special. Can’t have everyone here though, Rick Brandt was here last night, he took us to the Eagles concert, that was absolutely amazing. All of our partners, Chevrolet, the Hendrick Engine and Chassis shops, every man and woman that works at JR Motorsports, I just cannot say thank you enough and how proud I am of all we have here. It’s been special, and God is good.”
“I got my whole family here, Mike Jarrett’s here too. It’s the first time we’ve been to victory lane with him. I know I’ve been lucky enough to win a lot of races in my career, and this one means a lot. I feel like we’ve been so close, and last week was right there and we battled with Aric. Hats off to all the fans at home, Xfinity, Xfinity Mobile, everyone that’s part of The CW. Thank all you guys, it’s been a great time. Look forward to seeing the Cup race tomorrow.”
“Today the word of the day was discipline. Not missing the bottom, Aric had a fast car and we kind of flip-flopped back and forth there a few times. I got lucky, actually, after the pit cycle, I was able to get by him with some lapped traffic. That was really the difference maker for the race. Just so proud of this team. I know I keep saying that but there’s so many people that touch these racecars. To have the cars we did, to qualify one-two-three-six, I’m really proud of the effort.”
Nearly twelve seconds off the lead duo in a distant third was previous points leader Jesse Love. His teammate Austin Hill and Sam Mayer rounded out the top-five. Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Connor Zilisch, and Sheldon Creed were the top-10.
Allgaier had never won at Las Vegas before today, and he has the chance to fill another checkbox next week. Driver 7 has never earned a top-five at Homestead-Miami Speedway, striking out in 16 starts. The Hard Rock Bet 300 goes green at 4 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Allgaier and the rest of the Xfinity field will have to beat Kyle Larson though, who’s running all three races next weekend.
Written by Peter Stratta
Be sure to follow us on Twitter/X
Be sure to follow the writer on Twitter/X
Photo Credits to Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
