INDIANAPOLIS – Despite an aerodynamic package that was meant to disadvantage the leading car, Justin Allgaier proved that the front of the field was the place to be in Monday morning’s rain-delayed NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Allgaier charged past race leader Chase Elliott on the final restart of the race with 17 laps to go, getting a huge shove in the draft from JR Motorsports teammate Tyler Reddick, then held every advance Reddick made at bay over the closing stages en route to his fifth win of the year and third in the last five races.
Though Reddick tried to gather a run together heading for turn three on the final lap, Allgaier crossed the finish line in front by a scant .092 of a second, the closest finish in Xfinity Series history at IMS.
Allgaier was particularly emotional during his victory celebrations, having traveled regularly from his Riverton, Ill., home to Indianapolis in his younger years.
“I used to come here all the time. I sat in the grandstands for so many Indy 500s and up in turn one for … I don’t even know how many Brickyard 400s,” noted Allgaier. “This one is for my dad. At the Brickyard Crossing over there, he drove me up there every night in the winter so I could take classes and so I could be the best driver I could be, not only in the car but outside of the car.
“That’s about a three and a half hour drive and he drove me here every Wednesday night. Our Dove Men + Care car was awesome. To win at the Brickyard means so much, to put a Camaro in victory lane and to see these bricks … this is special.”
Allgaier has doubled his career win haul in the Xfinity Series this season, adding five wins to the five he previously had for a total of 10. He also extended his regular-season points lead.
Postponed two days due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon that lingered over the Midwestern United States, the Lilly Diabetes 250 featured passing and side-by-side racing throughout the field for much of the 100-lap distance.
Arguably the moment of the race came on the final lap of the first stage, when the leaders stormed off turn four to the green-checkered flag and fanned out four-wide at the start-finish line, in shades of the 2013 Indy Lights Freedom 100.
Allgaier led the field into turn three and appeared to have the measure of the frontrunners, but as they came off turn four, first Cole Custer and then John Hunter Nemechek and Ryan Preece got runs to draft up and make a challenge for the stage win.
Nemechek dove to the far inside lane and the shorter distance paid off, as he edged out Preece by .013 of a second at the Yard of Bricks, followed by Custer and Allgaier. The top four were covered by .036 of a second at the line.
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