Justin Allgaier’s horseshoe is more than just a good-luck charm
Justin Allgaier doesn’t consider himself superstitious, but as the saying goes, if it weren’t for bad luck, he wouldn’t have had any luck at all during the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.
That might seem incongruous for a driver who enters the series Playoffs as the top seed, with two victories and a series-best 14 stage wins.
But Allgaier’s season could have been exponentially better, had fate not intervened at the most inopportune times.
At Phoenix in March, Allgaier had a commanding lead before blowing a tire and crashing with fewer than five laps left. That set an ominous tone for the campaign.
In last Friday’s regular-season finale at Bristol, Allgaier felt he had the fastest car in the race, but on Lap 52, with the No. 7 Chevrolet leading, the Chevrolet of Austin Green bounced off the wall into Allgaier’s path and launched a chain of events that ruined his day.
The 30th-place finish at Bristol cost Allgaier the Regular Season Championship, erasing the 43-point lead he held entering the race.
During a NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoff Media Day Zoom conversation on Tuesday, Allgaier held up a driver’s helmet designed by his daughter Harper. It featured a golden horseshoe.
Rather than a symbol to change his luck, however, the design was a tribute to his grandfather, Harold “Bud” Allgaier, who was integral to the early stages of Justin’s racing career. Bud Allgaier passed away in 2006.
“I’m not superstitious by any stretch,” Allgaier said. “One thing that is funny is that this helmet was painted before Bristol, which I think is kind of hilarious, ‘cause all of the writing on the back and the horseshoes on the side definitely would not add up to Bristol, for sure.
“But one of the things I love about Harper is her attention to the past. My grandfather—my dad’s dad, Grandpa Bud—he always carried a horseshoe in his pocket, and he would carry my autograph cards… he would have me sign a handful of autograph cards, even as a younger kid, and he would carry them in his back pocket.
“He never met a stranger. If he was at a restaurant, if he was at a race—wherever he was at—he would pull those autograph cards out and give them to whoever he was sitting near and try to make as many Justin Allgaier fans as he could.”
After his grandfather died, Allgaier ran horseshoe stickers on his race cars, a bit of history his daughter reprised on the helmet.
“To have that and see it on a helmet really makes it special,” Allgaier said. “It’s definitely a cool ode to a family member who really thought those were special—and to bring me luck, by the way.”
Jesse Love is marshaling resources before Playoffs begin
Sunoco rookie Jesse Love plans to phone a friend before the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs begin with Saturday’s Kansas Lottery 300 at Kansas Speedway (4 p.m. ET on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
The friend? Fellow Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch, who leads all active full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers with 63 victories.
Before he joined RCR, Love didn’t know what to expect from his veteran elders like Busch, Austin Dillon and teammate Austin Hill, but he has found Busch in particular extremely accommodating in his willingness to pass on the knowledge he has gained over more than two decades.
Love already knows what a championship run is like. He won 10 of 20 races on the way to the ARCA Menards Series title last year. But he’s still an eager learner and a quick study.
“I still want to lean on some more people at RCR, especially Kyle,” Love said during Tuesday’s Playoff Media Day Zoom conference. “I want to give him a call in the next few days before we go to the first one (the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway), to (see if he can) give me a nugget or two to keep in the back of my head as we go through the Playoffs.”
Busch already has been helpful to the 19-yeare-old from Menlo Park, Calif.
“There have been times when he’s called me to help me out on something,” Love said. “Before I was even Xfinity racing, we went and did that testing at COTA (Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Tex.) in the WRL (World Racing League) series. He was really blunt and honest with me if I was doing something wrong.
“But I was really fast, and he was like, ‘Where are you missing it?’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about—I’m really fast.’ And he was like, ‘Well, you’re two-tenths (of a second) off in this corner compared to me last year…
“After he said that, I had a confused look on my face, he brought data over and brought people to show me the data and explain it to me, and that’s kind of been our relationship this whole year.”
Back-to-back titles would have special meaning to Cole Custer
Cole Custer can do something this year that no other NASCAR Xfinity Series driver can accomplish.
To state the obvious, as the reigning series champion, he alone can win back-to-back titles.
Surprisingly, perhaps, consecutive championships in the Xfinity Series are not uncommon. In the past three decades, five drivers have accomplished the feat: Randy LaJoie (1996-1997), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1998-1999), Martin Truex Jr. (2004-2005), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2011-2012) and Tyler Reddick (2018-2019, with two different teams).
“(Winning) back-to-back championships is something that’s definitely a statement,” Custer said. “It’s something that’s really cool to do. We have such a great opportunity to accomplish it this year, and you just don’t get that many once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like that.
“We want to put everything into it to try to make it happen.”
A second championship would carry special meaning to Custer and his Stewart-Haas Racing team, given that the organization will cease to exist after this season. Custer will return full-time to the NASCAR Cup Series with the reconstituted Haas Factory Team.
“These guys I’ve raced with in the Xfinity Series, this No. 00 team, have been unbelievable,” Custer said. “To do this with these guys and compete for another championship, and just to look back at the things we’ve accomplished, it really means a ton.
“I can’t thank them enough, and hopefully we can put this all together and end it out strong.”
Austin Hill looks to take next step in Xfinity Series Playoffs
In his first two full seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Austin Hill has come agonizingly close to qualifying for the Championship 4 finale at Phoenix Raceway.
In 2022, he was frozen out of the final four despite scoring top-10 finishes in all three of the Round of 8 races.
Last season, Hill got roughed up by then-Richard Childress Racing teammate Sheldon Creed on the final two overtime laps of the Round of 8 elimination race at Martinsville and lost the final Championship 4 spot on points to Cole Custer, who went on to win the title.
The difference this year might be Hill’s pit crew, which has performed superbly throughout the season.
“One area where we shine really bright is in the pit crew department,” Hill said. “Our pit crew is extremely good. They’re ranked number one right now throughout the season. They get me positions on the track each and every week.
“Even if we don’t have a car that can run in the top five, they put me there. Then I’ve got to get up on the wheel and keep it there. I think for us to go deep in these Playoffs, we’ve got to have our pit crew on point like they have been all year long.”
Practice means progress for Playoff driver Shane van Gisbergen
Just because Shane van Gisbergen is an acknowledged road course ace, don’t readily dismiss his chances to make a mark in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, which include one road course and six oval tracks.
The New Zealander has raced on three ovals that will appear in the Playoffs—Talladega (Round 1), Las Vegas (Round 2) and Phoenix (Championship 4).
On the three new tracks (Kansas, Homestead and Martinsville), he’ll use the same approach that has served him well in the regular season—spending the first half of a race getting the feel for the track and the second half trying to move forward.
“I’ve just been thinking that I want to race like I have been—keep doing my best, stay out of trouble and keep scoring points,” said van Gisbergen, who starts the Playoffs fifth in the standings, 10 points above the cut line on the strength of three road course victories and two stage wins.
“When it comes to that time, are you going to feel the pressure? How are you going to be under it? I don’t know the answer yet, but I’m looking forward to finding out.”
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