Justin Allgaier takes blame for major wreck at Daytona 500, explains what he saw

A huge wreck at the Daytona 500 collected 20 drivers, ruining the day for plenty of drivers. Justin Allgaier, who was leading the race at the time of the wreck, was one of them.

And he actually took the blame for the big crash. It stemmed from contact with Denny Hamlin, but Allgaier seemed to believe he misjudged things.

He explained in an interview on the FOX Sports broadcast. Here goes:

“Unfortunately I’m going to take 100% responsibility for that one,” Allgaier said. “I hate it for everybody that got caught up in it. It just really stinks.

“I got to the top there and I really, I watched the run coming on the top with Denny. I don’t know. I thought he was going to push. I felt like the lane was closed up just enough that he wouldn’t try to go out there. When I realized he was going to go out there it was just too late. Once we kind of, the air got on the right rear spoiler it kept me turning to the right.”

Hamlin had received a push from Ryan Blaney and eyed a small hole between the outside wall and Justin Allgaier. He couldn’t quite squeeze in there as Allgaier stayed where he was or potentially even moved slightly to bock Hamlin.

The result was that Allgaier went spinning, taking much of the field with him. Cars skittered into the infield and pinballed across the track.

Otherwise, it was an excellent day for Justin Allgaier. Racing for JR Motorsports as an open entry in the Daytona 500, he even pushed his way forward into the lead.

“I felt like our No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet was incredible all day,” he said. “This whole team have done a phenomenal job of building a racecar that we felt like could come here and not only run up front but lead laps.”

Bottom line: It was a tough ending for Justin Allgaier. He even had a tow truck mishap on his way to the garage. Ultimately, his day ended up done.

But he vowed to learn from the experience going forward. And he was thankful for the opportunity.

“I hate it for everybody that got caught up in it, because it wasn’t what we wanted,” Justin Allgaier said. “But hats off to Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, everybody at JR Motorsports for this opportunity to have Traveller Whiskey back, have Chris Stapleton here. It was great to be out front and lead the Daytona 500. All of our partners, the Hendrick engine shop, we had big power today and that was really what it came down to.

“We’ll go back, I’ll regroup. I’ll watch this video back a lot and really try to figure out what I could have done better. I hate it that everybody got torn up, like I said, but I’m going to take a lot of solace that we had a fast racecar and we were going to the front.”