Justin Allgaier notches photo-finish overtime win in Xfinity Series race at Daytona
Justin Allgaier took the checkered flag in Friday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway, outlasting Sheldon Creed in a photo-finish.
Allgaier finished 0.005 seconds ahead of Creed on the final lap of overtime, tied for the fourth shortest margin of victory in Xfinity Series history.
“This team, I just can’t say enough … Everybody at @JRMotorsports,” Allgaier said after the race, via Performance Racing Network. “To come through the adversity we had to come through, I wasn’t sure we’d have something at the end.”
The win is Allgaier’s second of the 2023 season and 21st of his Xfinity Series career. With just two regular season races remaining until the playoffs begin, Allgaier has positioned himself third in the projected standings behind only John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Hill.
“I’ve been coming to this place a long time,” said Allgaier, who notched his first-career victory at a superspeedway. “I’ve wanted to win here so bad, and we’ve been so close. We had an oversight yesterday when we got to the track and put a car through inspection that wasn’t where we wanted to roll it through inspection, and, unfortunately, that cost us a pass-through. The team never quit, never gave up, and we rallied. Obviously we put ourselves in good position.”
Creed, Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman and Cole Custer rounded out the top-five at Daytona.
Race for final playoff spot takes shape after Justin Allgaier’s victory
The race for the 12th and final playoff spot shifted dramatically Friday, with Riley Herbst, who entered the race occupying the final spot, finishing 24th. Herbst had a wheel issue early on which caused his left-front tire to blow and significantly damaged his No. 98 Ford. Kligerman, who sat three points behind Herbst in the standings prior to the race, now holds a 20-point advantage heading into Darlington next weekend.
“I’m proud of the Big Machine Racing team,” Kligerman said, via Frontstretch. “We had a fast Spiked Light Coolers Chevy once again putting it in the top five. It comes down to that race and the 7 is in the best position. I got the 2 that doesn’t want me to win, the 11 that doesn’t want me to win, the 00 on the last lap, I’m trying to back up to him thinking, ‘Why won’t he back up to me, come up to my bumper?’ and then I’m like ‘Ugh, he’s the 98’s teammate.’ This was the worst position I could possibly be in. So, I just felt like a lone duck.”