During his NASCAR career, Justin Allgaier has realized the Xfinity Series is where he is happiest. He’s still chasing the championship, too. Allgaier has come close, but not been able to finally punch his ticket into history.
Driving for JR Motorsports, the Xfinity Series is a big deal. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a two-time champion. He has molded drivers into Cup Series talents and earned championships as an owner.
Justin Allgaier has tried the Cup Series stuff. He knows that Xfinity is where he wants to be, where he feels most comfortable. This year with AJ Allmendinger returning, Shane van Gisbergen entering the series, and young drivers having another year under their belt, the field is wide open.
For Allgaier, he sees the competition has only gotten more difficult. That doesn’t change the goal, though.
“I feel like this is the most competitive group of cars that we’ve seen in a long time,” Allgaier said, via NASCAR.com. “I look down the list and I’m like, you can be first or 20th in points pretty easily. And, you know, I look at the drivers that I feel like are capable of winning races. And I’m like, man, we have 15 or 20 guys every week that I legitimately feel like have the opportunity to win races.”
Cole Custer, the reigning champion is coming back for more. Justin Allgaier’s own teammates Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones, and Sam Mayer could all win races and compete for a championship. Then you have Kaulig, JGR, RCR, Stewart-Haas, and more. Even teams like Jordan Anderson Racing are on the rise.
As Justin Allgaier begins another new season, he hopes that 2024 is his year. In his career, Allgaier has finished 3rd overall four times. He has finished runner-up in the Xfinity Series twice, both coming in the last four seasons.
2023 felt like Justin Allgaier’s year, it wasn’t
The thing is, Allgaier has had dominant seasons in the Xfinity Series. He has won multiple races in six of his eight seasons with JR Motorsports. Yet, he just can’t get over the hump. Like the Mark Martin of Xfinity, Allgaier has struggled to finish the job.
Last season looked like it was the year for the No. 7 car. Three straight to-3 finishes to start the year, 15 total on the season. He won at Charlotte, Daytona-2, Bristol, and Martinsville. Two of those wins were playoff wins. Yet, he still couldn’t come out on top at Phoenix.
There really isn’t a secret formula. You can’t pinpoint one thing that Allgaier has done wrong. He just hasn’t been able to get it done. Even when he has all of the momentum he could ask for, things don’t go his way in the final race of the year.
After years of trying is 2024 the season where Justin Allgaier gets his championship? He sure hopes so.
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