Race Report: Charlotte Roval

Justin Allgaier and the Vannoy Construction team finished 15^th in the Drive for the Cure 200 after a mid-race incident caused damage to the No. 7 Camaro, hindering the team’s chances of contending for the win. Allgaier now sits seventh in the NASCAR Xfinity Series point standings, 11 markers ahead of the cutoff line with one race left to go in the Round of 12.

The Illinois native rolled off the grid in 12^th for the inaugural race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. He was up to eighth on the first lap and when the caution flag waved on the next circuit, he relayed that the Vannoy Construction Chevy was lacking forward drive with the current set of tires. Restarting in eighth, he dropped back to 10^th amidst the chaos, but was able to gain a position back and remained there until the green-and-white checkered flag waved for the end of Stage One. The ninth-place stage result was enough to earn Allgaier two stage points. Under the stage-ending caution Allgaier reported that in addition to lacking forward drive, the Vannoy Construction Chevy was also a little tight through the NASCAR Turns.

When the green flag was shown for Stage Two on lap 18, Allgaier was just outside the top 10. By lap 25, he was up to the 10^th spot and as the stage was winding down the team opted to call Allgaier to pit road for four tires and fuel. Back out on track, Allgaier was navigating his way through traffic when his No. 7 Camaro was sent spinning after the No. 22 of Austin Cindric made contact. The No. 39 of Ryan Sieg had nowhere to go and slammed into the left side of the Vannoy Construction Chevy. Allgaier’s car suffered damage, but he was able to continue on to finish Stage Two in 23^rd.

During the caution for the end of Stage Two, the team talked with Allgaier trying to determine the severity the damage to the left-rear wheel. The team ultimately opted to stay out and Allgaier started the final stage in the ninth position on lap 34. He worked his way up to seventh before a quick caution came out just one lap into the stage. He restarted in seventh on lap 37 and was up to sixth in a hurry, but reported that he had no left-rear grip. When another yellow flag waved on lap 41, Allgaier was running in the seventh position. The team decided to bring Allgaier to pit road for four fresh tires to see if it would improve the handling of the Vannoy Construction Camaro. He restarted deep in the field, but with determination Allgaier maneuvered his way to 12^th by lap 46. However, the damage to the No. 7 Camaro ultimately kept Allgaier from racing further through the field and he took the checkered flag in 15^th.

Chase Briscoe earned his first-career NXS victory and was followed by Justin Marks, Austin Cindric, Ryan Preece and Christopher Bell to round out the top five.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Vannoy Construction team

“We had a pretty good Vannoy Chevy but that hit we got to the left-rear wheel really hurt our car. That was probably the hardest part. We were struggling to keep pace at the end there, no matter what we did. We knew the wheel was bent, so there wasn’t much we could do. Today we just tried to get as many points as we could. Now we need to head to Dover and have a good race. It’s a place that’s been good for us.”