Saturday‘s NASCAR O‘Reilly Auto Parts Series MillerTech Battery 250 at Pocono Raceway featured a race-record 18 lead changes and a race-record 10 cautions — including a seven-minute red flag period — but in the end, it was a very familiar scene in Victory Lane: championship leader Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 JR Motorsports team celebrating an inspired drive.
Allgaier led a race-best 35 of the 100 laps, ultimately taking the lead for good on a restart with two laps remaining. Haas Factory Team teammates Sam Mayer — who was Allgaier‘s greatest challenge on the day — and Sheldon Creed created a three-wide push for the lead on the final restart, but ultimately slid backward as Allgaier‘s JRM teammate William Byron was able to push Allgaier‘s No. 7 Chevrolet forward and help him create a gap on the field.
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The advantage was all Allgaier needed to race off to a 0.607-second win over Joe Gibbs Racing‘s Brent Crews, who passed Byron on the last corner of the final lap for second place.
RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Pocono
The victory was the 2024 series champion‘s first at the historic 2.5-mile, triangle-shaped track, giving him wins now at 21 different venues. And it marked the fifth win of the year for Allgaier, tying his previous season-high win total.
“First of all, I‘ve got to say thank you to William Byron because without his shove at the end of the race, it was probably game over,” Allgaier said before thanking the fans for filling the grandstands.
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“This season has been special with [crew chief] Andrew Overstreet and this whole No. 7 team and this pit crew right here,” he said, adding with a grin, “We‘re going to go celebrate this one for sure.”
Slowed by all the caution flags — four in the opening 25-lap stage alone — the early part of the race never allowed one driver to establish a rhythm and set the pace among all the starting and stopping.
Polesitter Taylor Gray led 24 laps and won the opening stage, and Crews claimed the Stage 2 win. But the final half of the race became a duel between Allgaier and Mayer, who led 14 laps and exchanged the lead with Allgaier frequently in the closing laps — sometimes on the same lap. They started side-by-side out front on the three final restarts, and Mayer looked like his No. 41 HFT Chevrolet would at least keep Allgaier honest. In the end, Mayer and Creed finished fourth and fifth.
“It was either the double zero [Creed] was trying to make a block, or just a push gone wrong a little bit,” Mayer said of the unsuccessful three-wide move on that last restart. “Just really unfortunate circumstance. We actually had a really good launch.
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“At the end of these races, you‘re not going to not take a run, so I don‘t blame my teammate for pulling out of line like that, but obviously it put me in a bad spot,” Mayer continued. “The middle [lane] was OK if I had people with me. … Obviously today we executed really, really well, so lots to be proud about, but obviously I‘m very devastated right now because I just want a shot at it and don‘t feel like I‘ve gotten a really true shot at it when the white flag flew.
“We were close today, executed really good and I‘m really proud of everybody. One day it‘s going to be my turn, and I can‘t wait.”
MORE: Mayer, Creed lament missed Pocono opportunity
Incredibly, Allgaier‘s effort — the 33rd victory of his career — now puts him 250 points ahead of second place, Richard Childress Racing driver Jesse Love, in the series championship standings with seven regular-season races remaining. Love only completed a single lap after being collected in the first of 10 yellow-flag incidents on the day.
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“Just frustrated, obviously. Thought our Camaro was going to be good today,” Love said, adding, “Only got one lap to feel it out, but I was happy with that one corner. Wish we had gotten a few more.”
Anthony Alfredo, Rajah Caruth, Brandon Jones, the defending Pocono race winner Connor Zilisch and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top 10.
Jeremy Clements led a lap and finished 16th on a historic day for his career and the series. The 41-year-old South Carolinian tied Kenny Wallace for the most starts in O‘Reilly Auto Parts Series history at 547. Wallace set the record in 2011 and last raced in 2015. Clements will claim the mark for himself when he takes next week‘s green flag at San Diego.
The series heads to Southern California for next Saturday‘s inaugural United Rentals Driven to Serve 250 (5 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Naval Base Coronado in San Diego.
Note: Inspection was completed in the O‘Reilly Auto Parts Series garage with no issues, confirming Allgaier as the winner.
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