Massive wreck in Xfinity Series practice collects championship drivers at Phoenix

The NASCAR Xfinity Series championship may have just taken a massive turn for the worst for two drivers in particular. Justin Allgaier and Aric Almirola were both involved in a huge wreck that collected multiple cars.

Brennan Poole’s No. 44 started to blow up and dump fluid on the track. That’s when Justin Allgaier and Aric Almirola, championship drivers, slammed into the wall.

Allgaier is racing for the driver and owner’s championship. Almirola is racing only for the owner’s. This is going to have massive implications for Allgaier who has spent years chasing an Xfinity Series title.

Trouble strikes early for a #Championship4 driver!@J_Allgaier is involved in an incident during the opening moments of practice.

📺: @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/2PLan94tHI

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) November 8, 2024

Justin Allgaier was furious after he got out of the car. His team has gone to a backup already and the primary car will not be used. This also means that Allgaier will not make a qualifying lap. It will take one hell of a drive on Saturday to win the Xfinity Series championship now.

The same thing goes for Aric Almirola. He is seeking the owner’s championship for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has two wins in the playoffs. Now he will have to put up one of his best performances of the season to reach his ultimate goal tomorrow night.

Let’s not forget about Brandon Jones. He is not in the Championship 4, but talk about bad luck. He has not had a great season and ended up getting his car destroyed in this process. A huge wreck with massive implications on the race.

NASCAR Xfinity Series championship gets shaken up

Austin Hill, Cole Custer, and AJ Allmendinger are not mad at all about what just went down. Custer is not in the owner’s championship, but is in for the driver’s. As for Hill and Allmendinger, they are glad that Almirola will have a hard time spoiling their championship run.

There is a situation where we get a different race winner, driver’s champion, and owner’s champion on Saturday night. No one wants to see a competitor take a hard wrekc, but it won’t hurt their chances at winning the big trophy.

I think Phoenix is shaping up to be a battle between Custer and Allmendinger. Hill might have a fast car, but I have to see him win on a 1-mil track to really believe in his abilities.

Prior to the wreck, Allgaier led all the Xfinity Series championship drivers. Jesse Love is the only driver faster than Allgaier in practice with 28 minutes to go in the session. Should be an interesting qualifying session as well.