NASCAR
Justin Allgaier Wins Hard Rock Bet 300 at Homestead After Larson Mistake
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Kyle Larson hardly ever put a wheel wrong Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Seeing a mammoth lead erased by a late caution, however, hungry competitors were alongside the No. 17 on an overtime restart. Failing to have a clean launch, Larson was slow to get up to speed, getting swallowed up by a pack of Xfinity Series regulars. Coming into today racing for $100,000, Justin Allgaier sealed this win with a clutch victory.
Despite starting 17th, Kyle Larson was a man on a mission from the drop of the green flag. It only took 26 laps for the No. 17 to take over. Alternate tire strategy saw Sammy Smith and both Sieg brothers get by him late in Stage 1.
Larson’s car did not fire off well to start Stage 2, but he took this win in the closing laps over Sam Mayer.
The final stage was where Larson put his Homestead mastery on full display. At one point, the 17 had gapped the field by 16 seconds, lapping up to sixth-place. This monster lead and dominant drive would only be halted by a caution inside of the final 10 laps.
On the ensuing restart Larson massively spun his tires and was hit from behind. This allowed Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier to each get by the 17. Both drivers were door-to-door at the white flag, with Allgaier getting the upper hand in turn two and cruising to a first Homestead triumph. Allgaier takes home the trophy and the first Dash4Cash bonus of 2025 in this showstopper win.
“Just a testament to this team,” Allgaier said. “God is good and today is one of those days where it wasn’t our day. We got behind and we were able to persevere. To get this Trademark Nitrogen, Brandt Professional Agriculture Chevrolet in victory lane is special. I said yesterday, if there’s anywhere I could win it would be here, because I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times. Thank you, all the fans that are here. My wife and daughters were supposed to come today, I love you. All of our partners, everybody at JR Motorsports, Hendrick engine shop, Hendrick chassis shop, Chevrolet, Hellman’s, Jarrett, Carolina Carports, Tufco, Off Axis Paint, Arai, K1, everybody, everyone that’s a part of this.”
“Jim Pohlman told me right there at the end, he said, ‘this is we got a shot at it’ and we did. I was actually bummed to see the caution come my out. But it worked on our favor so. I’m bummed that I maybe got the triple from Kyle (Larson) because I think he’s gonna have a great shot at it tomorrow. But we were in the right place at the right time and I’m really proud of this race team.”
“I forgot (Dash4Cash) was even a thing today after the way the race went. Huge thanks to Xfinity and Comcast for all I do for this sport. That last restart was as fast as Xfinity Mobile, but the rest of it wasn’t. Just so so much fun today and I love being a part of the sport and it’s it’s really cool when you have a day like today.”
Behind Allgaier were Sam Mayer and Austin Hill, while Kyle Larson backslid to fourth ahead of Sheldon Creed. The four top finishers other than Larson will compete for next week’s Dash4Cash check. Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye, and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top-10.
Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier notches another win, taking the last two victories back-to-back. Allgaier will go for a three-peat Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. The coveted Grandfather Clock trophy will be handed out to one lucky winner of the Marine Corps 250 (5 p.m. ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). If anyone can stop Allgaier, Aric Almirola is gunning for a third-straight Martinsville checkered flag.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to James Gilbert/Getty Images
