AVONDALE, Ariz. — Saturday night, under the bright lights of the Phoenix Raceway, Justin Allgaier finally found the peak of the mountain he has climbed so long.
Justin Allgaier is a NASCAR Xfinity Series champion.
MORE: Allgaier wins title | Champ race recap
Every bit of his journey to the 2024 title was Allgaier-esque, too. The tribulation. The bad luck. The close calls. But what, too, is Allgaier-esque is his sheer perseverance in the face of every obstacle set before him.
The weekend alone was a microcosm of it all — a crash in practice that relegated him to a backup car; starting from the rear in the secondary vehicle; a restart violation that sent his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to pit road to serve a pass-through-penalty; a speeding penalty while atoning for the prior infraction.
In prior years, each would be a sign of his impending doom and demise, hills too tall for Allgaier to climb like those in his previous six Championship 4 appearances. Heck, Allgaier read all those signs mid-race.
“I was ready to pull down pit road, to be honest with you, and just park the car in the pit stall and get out,” Allgaier said. “If it could go wrong this weekend, it went wrong, and the team never gave up. I could tell the disappointment in their voices, they went radio silent for a while, and I could tell the disappointment in their voices. And that’s a hard spot to be in as a driver.
“Six times before me, I’ve come in here, and I’ve said we did a great job, and we executed the night well, and we built a great race car. And I’ve walked out of here as second, third, fourth and not had an opportunity to bring a championship back to the men and women at JR Motorsports. This 7 team right now is just different.”
That, in large part, is credited to crew chief Jim Pohlman, who Allgaier and team co-owners Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. showered with praise after showering him with champagne.
At the end of the 2022 campaign, JR Motorsports collectively determined it was time to shake up the No. 7 team, which won 16 races across seven seasons together from 2016-2022 with Allgaier and crew chief Jason Burdett. In those seven years, they reached the Championship 4 five times. So when Allgaier was presented with the decision to part ways with Burdett …
“Justin was not entirely sure about that choice,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “But Jim was his pick. I didn’t really know Jim, so I leaned on Justin to be sure about that decision. My gosh, he nailed it. Jim has made us better and made our entire company better. He makes his car fast. That drives everybody forward. He has a relationship with Justin that sort of polished or altered some of the rawness and some of the unpolished imperfections that Justin has in his game.
“I think the missing ingredient to Justin might be Jim.”
Because Pohlman kept Allgaier mentally engaged all weekend, the No. 7 Chevrolet had a chance to win the 2024 championship all the way through the checkered flag.
Allgaier’s disappointment in a Saturday practice crash — caused by the misfortunate of another competitor’s mechanical failure — turned to rare fury in the garage, leading to Allgaier’s fists slamming upon the team’s toolbox.
“To see the look on his face when he got out of that race car,” Pohlman said, “it was disappointment for me because he knew how hard his team had worked on that car, how much effort we had put into it. And it was like you lost your first child when he got out of the car, looking at me like: ‘I am sorry I wrecked your race car.’
“I had to go into damage control and really kind of rein him back in, like, hey, it’s OK. We’re here. We’ve got another car, and we’ll get to work on it. We’ll figure it out.”
And so they did. Within 30 minutes of crashing into the Turn 1 wall in his primary car, Allgaier was back on the track in his backup — a car that quickly proved it was ready for the task at hand.
From the rear of the field Saturday, Allgaier stormed into 11th place after 20 laps and to sixth by Lap 40. By Lap 75, Allgaier was fighting Cole Custer for the championship lead.
“Jim Pohlman and his leadership is amazing,” Allgaier said. “And these 7 guys, I cannot begin to stress to you how out of the trenches they dig, and tonight is a great example of that.”
Pohlman had to lead a little harder once the final stage began. Allgaier pulled out of line early on the restart, incurring a penalty that required him to pass through pit road. Insult to injury came when he sped while serving that penalty.
Frustrated and off the lead lap, Pohlman worked strategy perfectly to their favor — with a touch of good fortune for Allgaier instead of the usual bad luck that’s haunted him.
Pohlman kept Allgaier on the track longer to get the No. 7 Chevrolet back onto the lead lap during the final green-flag pit cycle, hoping for a caution to fall their way. They got it with 45 laps to go when Anthony Alfredo suffered a flat tire and contacted the outside wall to trigger the yellow flag.
“Christmas in November,” Allgaier said.
Suddenly, Allgaier was back in the game all over again. And after a couple of heart-wrenching overtime attempts, all that scratching, clawing and fighting proved fruitful with a championship trophy.
For every molehill, hurdle, obstacle and mountain placed in front of Allgaier, the Illinois native refused to throw in the towel even when the thought crossed his own mind.
That comes as no surprise to his parents, Dorothy and Mike Allgaier, who were soaking in every possible moment with their son at the championship stage Saturday night. Perseverance? That’s an Allgaier thing.
“It’s hard to even believe it,” Mike Allgaier told NASCAR.com. “It’s just been a special night. Things didn’t go our way, and then they did. And I don’t know what to say, other than thank you God and thank you to this team. They’re great people, great people to be around, and obviously very sharp.
“One minute you got tears because you’re sad; next minute you got tears because you’re so happy. Great, great, great day.”
WATCH: Final laps from Saturday’s finale
On Oct. 18, a day before the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Allgaier said his ultimate goal was to win a championship — not for himself but for outgoing NASCAR Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton. Auton’s presence has been a constant in the NASCAR garage for over three decades, but Saturday marked his farewell, his final event in the control tower.
He and Allgaier share a close bond. So it was only fitting that in Allgaier’s seventh appearance in the Championship 4, after 14 years of trying, Auton was the one to hand him the Xfinity Series championship trophy.
“He started at 16 years old with me in the trucks,” Auton told NASCAR.com, “and we’ve been through a lot. And I always wanted to see him get a championship. I don’t pull for people in the garage area; that’s not my job. I love every one of these drivers. I wanted all four of those guys plus the 20 car to win a championship. But somebody’s got to win it.
“And for that kid up there — I call him a kid — for that kid up there to finally get one of these things after so many shots at it. And for Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kelly Earnhardt Miller, LW (Miller, senior vice president of motorsports at JRM), Mike Bumgarner that runs this Xfinity program for them. I mean, the list just goes on and on.”
NASCAR’s chief operations officer Steve O’Donnell insisted Auton deliver the champion his trophy on the championship stage regardless of who won the title. That it was Allgaier made the moment sweeter for all involved.
“Wayne is somebody special,” Allgaier said. “And I’m gonna be honest with you: Wayne has given me a lot in this sport, and I wanted nothing more than to than to be able to send him off and to celebrate a championship with Wayne on the stage. It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but when we get that banquet, I told him, ‘I want to get you on stage. I want to embarrass you,’ and that’s my goal.
“His family was here tonight, and Wayne got emotional yesterday when we did our Championship 4 meeting because he truly cares about this sport and the people that are in this sport, and that was really special to me. And so it was really, really cool to be able to send him off that way.”
MORE: Celebrating Auton’s storied career
Allgaier recently signed a two-year extension to remain in the No. 7 Chevrolet through 2026, with longtime sponsor Brandt along for the ride. The elation and congratulations from so many encapsulates how highly those around Allgaier think of him, including Aric Almirola, Cole Custer and Austin Hill — all of whom were fighting Allgaier for some part of an Xfinity title Saturday night.
“He deserves this so much,” Earnhardt Miller told NASCAR.com. “His family, the Brandt family, has been behind him for a long time, and I’m just glad it happened because I don’t know how many more years he’s gonna race, but I’m just glad it finally happened for him.”
Even Ryan Blaney, the 2023 Cup champion and a member of this year’s Championship 4, swung by to congratulate the new Xfinity champ after his own midweek premonition.
“Justin’s a great guy and he’s been a huge staple in the Xfinity Series for a long time and just been super close,” Blaney told NASCAR.com. “He had to overcome a lot tonight. It obviously wasn’t looking good for a while, and he got back in the fight. I saw him on media day Thursday, and I was like, ‘I think you’re gonna do it, man.’ So I really just wanted to tell him, ‘I told you so.’ It’s cool when good guys like that can do it.”
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