Dale Earnhardt Jr. critical of his driver Justin Allgaier for late Atlanta race decision

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had some criticism for his JR Motorsports wheelman in Justin Allgaier following his late-race decision during this past weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series’ race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Late in the Bennett Transportation & Logistics 250, Allgaier took the lead from Austin Hill, who had been dominating throughout the afternoon. However, he opted to stay on his line instead of solidifying Hill’s standing behind his Chevrolet, and it led to Hill re-taking the lead and winning the race.

During the latest episode of The Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt Jr. took some time to evaluate Allgaier’s decision-making, stating that he would’ve handled the situation a bit differently in he was behind the wheel.

“Hadn’t really had a chance to really talk about it because, and we will. I’m just not really sure how I want to approach that conversation,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “But [Allgaier] gets pushed out into the lead, and that was fortunate. Nobody had passed the No. 21 pretty much all day. He’s pushed into the lead with a few laps to go, and chose to stay low in front of his teammate. I think everybody felt the obvious thing was to — here you’ve got Austin Hill passed. Like, pull up in front of him.

“I thought, I’m sitting here screaming at the TV like, ‘All right, let’s go up the racetrack and get him.’ He’s more than likely going to have a run, and be trying to pass you back, one way or another down the front straightaway, but that was the move, I think. I’m sure Justin has a long explanation of why he chose differently. He had a couple comments in his post race. You know, he did have a teammate on the bottom.

“But I think in that scenario, at least the way I feel about it, in that scenario, I would have not been upset had he left his teammate.”

Alas, Earnhardt Jr. makes some salient points on the matter, and Allgaier certainly would’ve made a different decision if he could do it over again. The NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee cited the chance to put Hill in “dirty air at the end of the race,” believing it could’ve led to a win for JR Motorsports.

“You don’t know what that might do to him. That might be sort of neutralizing,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “… Justin committed to what he wanted to do. He did it and it didn’t work out, and he owned it. Still a decent day.”

Moving forward, will Earnhardt Jr. scold his veteran wheelman for the move? He’s not willing to completely disparage Allgaier, but he relayed that he’ll certainly let him know what he believes he should’ve done different at Atlanta, and how it could’ve led to a trip to Victory Lane.

“I’ll probably talk to him about that later in a few weeks, and just say, ‘Hey, I would’ve done X,’ and I don’t think there’s — there’s nothing to gain, I don’t think, about having a conversation,” Earnhardt Jr. stated. “Justin’s a veteran. I’m not going to educate him or teach him something that he doesn’t already know.

“I feel pretty good — I would just go tell him and say, ‘I wanted you to go high.’ I think that’s fair to say.”

All told, Justin Allgaier will learn and move on from the disappointment in Atlanta, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. obviously feels like one got away from JR Motorsports. Still, the wins will come for one of the best teams in the Xfinity Series, even if they were bested this past weekend.