Talladega II Race Report

Justin Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Camaro, earned valuable points in the first two stages of Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. Unfortunately, engine trouble in the final stage brought an early end to Allgaier’s day and he was relegated to a 29^th-place finish. With one race left in the first round of the NXS Playoffs, the JR Motorsports driver sits seventh in points, 19 markers above the cutline to advance to the Round of 8.

Stage One Finish: 10^th

The Illinois native rolled off fourth for Saturday’s race and battled inside the top five for much of the first portion of the caution-free opening stage, finding teammate Michael Annett along the way. Allgaier steadily worked his way forward and was running in the sixth position with less than six laps to go. As the laps wound down, cars started making moves to try to get maximum stage points. Allgaier moved to the outside line with two laps to go, but wasn’t able to advance his position, taking the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage One in 10^th on lap 25.

Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for four tires and fuel for the BRANDT Camaro.

Stage Two Finish: 5^th

With some cars only taking two tires, Allgaier lined up 16^th for the start of Stage Two on lap 29 and instantly started making moves towards the front. By lap 34, he had powered his way to fifth and was running in that same position when the caution came out on lap 42.

The team opted to stay out under the caution, keeping Allgaier in the fifth position for the restart. As the field went to take the green flag, a wreck ensued and the race was placed under the red flag. Once the race was finally back underway, Allgaier continued to race inside the top 10 for the remainder of Stage Two, earning a fifth-place result and six coveted stage points.

Final Stage:

Under the stage-ending caution, there was a little bit of concern that the BRANDT Camaro was leaking fluid. The team made two stops, putting the car on jack stands to take a closer look under the No. 7 Chevy the second time around. Allgaier made it back out on the track, but had to start at the tail end of the field as a penalty for having too many crew members over the wall.

Undeterred, the veteran driver methodically worked his way forward using the draft. He was up to 18^th within 20 laps under green and was able to maneuver through the chaos when a multicar incident brought out the caution as many cars were trying make green-flag pit stops. Allgaier was in the eighth position at the time of the caution. When pit road opened, Burdett called Allgaier in for a fuel-only stop.

Allgaier restarted on the front row on lap 83 after the strategy call and remained inside the top 10 until the lane he was in lost momentum. He was scored in 18^th when a caution came out on lap 92. The day started taking a turn for the worse as spotter Eddie D’Hondt reported that there was smoke coming out of the BRANDT Camaro and Allgaier relayed that his gauges were going haywire. The team made the call to leave Allgaier out on the track in hopes that he could nurse the No. 7 Chevy to the finish. Alas, the BRANDT Camaro would not make it to the end as the engine expired after the restart and Allgaier was forced to go to the garage on lap 96.

The JR Motorsports driver was ultimately scored with a 29^th-place finish.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet

“I hate it for everyone on this BRANDT Professional Agriculture team. They brought a fast Camaro and, unfortunately, we just had engine trouble, which is very rare for us because the Hendrick engine department does such a fantastic job. We’ll head back and take a closer look at things. Thankfully we were able to get some stage points today and we’re still above the cutline for the Round of 8. We just need to head to the Roval and have a solid day and maximize stage points. We have a team capable of getting it done.”