Justin Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett tried everything.
Under caution on Lap 172 of 200 in Saturday’s Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway, Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for his last set of sticker tires.
Even on fresh rubber, Allgaier couldn’t catch race leader Austin Cindric, as the drivers battled for position and the NASCAR Xfinity Series championship.
When title contender Chase Briscoe spun on Lap 198 to cause the final caution and set up a two-lap overtime, Allgaier stayed on track and inherited the lead while Cindric came to pit road for new tires. When the cars lined up for the final restart, Cindric was right behind Allgaier in the outside lane.
Allgaier’s lead was short-lived. With better tires, Cindric quickly charged to the front as Allgaier fell to fifth at the finish but salvaged second in the final series standings.
“First of all, hats off to Austin and the whole Team Penske group,” Allgaier said. “They’ve been strong competitors all year. To have the race they did tonight, they were obviously the best car, and they deserved to win.
“Proud of our guys, proud of everybody at JR Motorsports. We had a shot at it at the end. When it’s all said and done, that’s all you can really ask for.”
Allgaier knew his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet was in trouble when he and Ross Chastain were the only lead-lap cars to stay on the track during the final yellow.
“I knew that (Cindric was) going to be good on tires,” Allgaier said. “I was hoping to see a few more cars in my rear-view mirror when we took the green… We didn’t have the speed at the end. We were off a little bit all night.”
Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.
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