Race Report: Michigan

Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team climbed their way to a ninth-place finish in Saturday’s rain-shortened LTi Printing 250 at Michigan International Speedway. The effort marks the BRANDT team’s eighth top-10 finish of the season.

Rain was the theme of the weekend as it washed out qualifying and delayed the green-flag by three hours. The field was set according to the NASCAR rulebook and Allgaier rolled off in ninth position. Even from the outset the team faced an uphill battle as they were forced to the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments.

Once the green flag waved, Allgaier quickly went to work, gaining 12 positions in the opening three laps. With passing at a premium due to a new aero package, the field fell single file before breaking apart into smaller packs. Allgaier climbed to 23^rd with a tight condition by the race’s first caution flag and took the opportunity to visit pit road for a two-tire stop which netted the BRANDT team several positions. With a handful of competitors staying out, the No. 7 restarted 23^rd. Allgaier would improve to 17^th to finish out Stage One.

The team cycled to fifth under the stage-ending caution as other cars which stayed out earlier came down pit road. After being stuck in the unprefered line following the Stage Two restart, Allgaier undulated among the top 10 but found the 10^th spot when a caution came out with a few laps remaining in the second stage. Crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for four tires and fuel, and with others again opting not to pit, Allgaier lined up in 22^nd. He maintained the position to conclude Stage Two.

The BRANDT Chevrolet took off for the final stage in 19^th, racing hard among a tight and aggressive pack ramped up the threat of rain. Allgaier steered clear of the chaos and methodically climbed back to the 10^th spot with 46 laps remaining. As the rain moved in, Allgaier snagged one final position just before the race was officially cut short by 34 laps.

Austin Dillon took the victory and was followed to the line by Daniel Hemric, Cole Custer, Ryan Reed and Paul Menard.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team

“We had good speed in our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet and I have to thank all the guys on this 7 team for their hard work all weekend. I think we saw what everyone expected out of this new package we raced today. The top lane was everything and it was definitely a little crazy out there at times. Passing was a big challenge for everyone. If you got out of a line, there was no guarantee you’d get a good enough run to pull a slide job on the guy in front of you and complete the pass. Still, we’ll take a solid top 10 and move on to Iowa next week.”