Justin Allgaier had to race at New Hampshire on his wife’s birthday. And it wasn’t an easy race for him either. After early contact with Julia Landauer, making her Xfinity Series debut, he fought his way to the front where he had to outrun a dogged Landon Cassil, hunting for his first win. But it was Allgaier who prevailed and stood in victory lane, scoring his third win of the season.
“If I can’t be with my wife on her birthday the best thing to do is take home a trophy to her,” Allgaier said. “Just proud of the team,” he added.
It was a challenge for his JR Motorsports team, going against the fast Toyotas of Joe Gibbs Racing, though. “We finished second here last year to [a Toyota] and I told these guys I really wanted to win here,” said Allgaier.
His team owner echoed those thoughts. “At the start of this race, I told everybody, the Gibbs guys, I felt like were still the cars to beat here,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. But: “We outlasted them today. It was a bit of an attrition race.”
Second place Trevor Bayne offered his congratulations to Allgaier, but said: “I’m just so ready to win one of these things and we’re knocking on the door so much. We just want to win.” He said the biggest things his car lacked were “some short run speed for sure and track position,” because “once we got pinned back, these restarts were just nuts. Four and five wide, missing shifts, it’s really hard to fight back.”
Landon Cassil and Noah Gragson crossed the line in third and fourth respectively, but both were disqualified in post-race inspection. Cassil’s Kaulig Chevrolet was found to be too low in the rear, while Gragson JR Motorsports Chevrolet was too low in the front. That moved Brandon Brown into third, a season-best finish for the driver and his family team.
Points-leaders Ty Gibbs and AJ Allmendinger both had trouble. Gibbs suffered a mechanical problem in the second stage which removed any chance of being competitive and relegating him to 21st. Allmendinger was involved in a crash, forcing his team to make extensive repairs. He finished just ahead of Gibbs in 20th. Those finishes shake up the points standings, with Allgaier passing Gibbs for second, trailing Allmendinger by just sixteen points.
The Xfinity Series returns for the Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway (Saturday, 5 p.m. ET, USA Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Photos: NASCAR at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sat. July 16, 2022
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – 28th Annual Crayon 200
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Loudon, New Hampshire
Saturday, July 16, 2022
1. (3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 200.
2. (6) Trevor Bayne, Toyota, 200.
3. (19) Brandon Brown, Chevrolet, 200.
4. (21) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 200.
5. (18) Sheldon Creed #, Chevrolet, 200.
6. (17) Ty Dillon(i), Chevrolet, 200.
7. (15) Austin Hill #, Chevrolet, 200.
8. (20) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 200.
9. (30) Mason Massey, Chevrolet, 200.
10. (24) Bayley Currey, Chevrolet, 200.
11. (31) David Starr, Ford, 200.
12. (26) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 200.
13. (33) CJ McLaughlin, Ford, 200.
14. (14) Brett Moffitt, Chevrolet, 200.
15. (12) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (28) Patrick Emerling, Toyota, 200.
17. (34) Howie Disavino III, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (22) Derek Griffith, Toyota, 198.
19. (36) Ryan Vargas, Chevrolet, 198.
20. (7) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 197.
21. (4) Ty Gibbs, Toyota, 196.
22. (35) Matt Mills(i), Chevrolet, 192.
23. (38) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 190.
24. (29) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, Electrical, 189.
25. (37) Akinori Ogata(i), Toyota, Engine, 169.
26. (10) William Byron(i), Chevrolet, Electrical, 163.
27. (27) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, Accident, 143.
28. (8) Brandon Jones, Toyota, Accident, 142.
29. (16) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, Accident, 138.
30. (13) Riley Herbst, Ford, Accident, 133.
31. (1) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, Accident, 127.
32. (11) Ryan Sieg, Ford, Accident, 124.
33. (23) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, Accident, 124.
34. (25) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, Accident, 124.
35. (2) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, Accident, 105.
36. (32) Julia Landauer, Chevrolet, Accident, 90.
37. (5) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 200.
38. (9) Noah Gragson, Chevrolet, 200.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 86.24 mph.
Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 27 Mins, 13 Secs. Margin of Victory: 3.869 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 9 for 56 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 10 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hemric 1-5;T. Bayne 6-22;T. Gibbs 23-37;R. Sieg 38-47;T. Gibbs 48-81;W. Byron(i) 82-103;L. Cassill 104-111;J. Berry 112-122;L. Cassill 123-127;B. Brown 128-139;S. Creed # 140-149;L. Cassill 150-151;J. Allgaier 152-179;L. Cassill 180-181;J. Allgaier 182-200.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Ty Gibbs 2 times for 49 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 47 laps; William Byron(i) 1 time for 22 laps; Landon Cassill 4 times for 17 laps; Trevor Bayne 1 time for 17 laps; Brandon Brown 1 time for 12 laps; Josh Berry 1 time for 11 laps; Sheldon Creed # 1 time for 10 laps; Ryan Sieg 1 time for 10 laps; Daniel Hemric 1 time for 5 laps.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 39,54,16,88,68,18,23,11,7,98
Stage #2 Top Ten: 88,54,16,18,11,7,8,98,39,2
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