Allgaier Captures Fifth Victory of the Season at Historic Indy

Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 Dove Men+Care team got to kiss the bricks on Monday afternoon after winning the Lilly Diabetes 250 at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.The Illinois native led 41 laps en route to his fifth NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the 2018 season and his third victory in the last five races. Allgaier now leads the NXS point standings by 49 markers with one race remaining in the regular season.

Rain washed out the weekend, forcing teams to start the race on Monday with no track time. Allgaier rolled off the grid in second with the field set by owner points. From the drop of the green flag, Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevy was fast. He took over the lead on the first lap and was still running point when the competition caution came out on lap 10. Crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for four tires and fuel. He restarted in fourth on lap 15 and worked his way to the top spot before the completion of the lap. The No. 3 of Ty Dillon battled him for the lead, but Allgaier was ultimately able to get back by before another caution came out. He restarted from the lead on lap 23 and was still out front when another yellow flag came out, setting up a one-lap shootout for Stage One. The stage win came down to a four-wide battle as they crossed the line, with Allgaier taking the green-and-white checkered flag in fourth.

At the end of Stage One, the 32-year-old driver came to pit road for four tires and fuel. Allgaier took the green for Stage Two on lap 36 from the 15^th position due to teams being on varying pit strategies. By lap 40 he had re-entered the top 10 and worked his way up to seventh by lap 51. With three circuits remaining in Stage Two, some cars opted to pit, allowing Allgaier to move to fourth. He knocked off one more spot to finish Stage Two in third.

The team called Allgaier to pit road under the caution for fuel and four fresh Goodyear tires, setting him up with a fifth-place starting position for the final stage. He was up to second behind the No. 23 of Chase Elliott when the caution came out on lap 72. Staying out, Allgaier restarted in second on lap 79 but a vicious wreck brought out the caution yet again. The driver of the No. 7 was in the third position for the restart on lap 84, but quickly maneuvered his way back to the lead. Allgaier was able to stay out front in the closing laps to earned his 10th career NXS victory. He was followed by his teammate Tyler Reddick, with Ryan Blaney, Elliott and Daniel Hemric rounding out the top five.

This was Allgaier’s first win at Indianapolis and the second straight victory for JR Motorsports at the legendary facility.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Dove Men+Care team

“I’ve been fortunate enough to win at some of the most awesome racetracks across the country. Never in a million years did I think, growing up and sitting in the grandstands here, that winning at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was a possibility. To be able to do that, to be able to have had the day that we had, with no practice. These guys do a fantastic job of being able to provide a race car that when you roll it off the truck you just know that it’s going to be fast. Hats off to the guys.... This race team is nothing short of fantastic and whether we go to Las Vegas next week and clinch the regular-season championship or go to Homestead and win the championship, what we’ve been able to accomplish this year as a team is incredible.”