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XFINITY: Justin Allgaier Redeems Himself with Dominant Nashville Win
Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

After spending 202 laps out front over the last two NASCAR Xfinity Series events at Texas and Charlotte, Justin Allgaier has used Saturday’s Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville Superspeedway as some much-needed redemption.

The defending series champion was not to be denied on Saturday, making a bold three-wide move for the race-lead on the final restart of the evening, which came with 48 laps remaining in the 250-mile contest.

From there, Allgaier was tasked with defending the lead against 18-year-old phenom Connor Zilisch, who is also a teammate at JR Motorsports, and although the two drivers spent the first 30 laps of the run separated by a quarter-second or less, the series veteran was able to keep the lead.

RACE RESULTS: 2025 NXS Tennessee Lottery 250 at Nashville

Despite a couple of surges from the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet, Allgaier was able to hold onto the victory, his third of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series campaign and the 28th of his career in the second-tier series.

Allgaier paced the field for a race-high 101 laps around the 1.33-mile intermediate track in Lebanon, Tennessee, marking the fifth event this season in which the Riverton, Illinois-native has led more than 99 laps – having now scored the victory in only two of those five.

“These guys right here, they deserve this more than anything,” Allgaier said after the race. “I screwed them over last week by making a pit call. Had equally as good of a car, but this Hellmann’s Chevrolet was absolutely on rails.”

After his third victory of the season, Allgaier now holds an incredible 92-point margin over second place in standings Austin Hill. The 38-year-old driver has been the model of consistency in 2025, scoring 10 top-five finishes in the first 14 races of the season – matching the number that he had in his championship season in 2024.

Connor Zilisch, for the second straight week, came up one spot short of collecting his first NASCAR National Series victory on an oval. Zilisch spent several laps battling it out one-on-one with teammate Allgaier but fell just short.

Haas Factory Team teammates Sam Mayer and Sheldon Creed ran third and fourth on the evening, after some strong runs, while Ross Chastain, winner of last weekend’s NASCAR Cup Series event at Charlotte Motor Speedway, rounded out the top five.

Aric Almirola finished in sixth-place, after a hard-fought battle with Ross Chastain in the closing laps of the event for a top five. Austin Hill and teammate Jesse Love were engaged in a late-race battle for seventh and eighth, while Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil, both rookie drivers, rounded out the top-10.

Polesitter William Sawalich got the night started off strong, leading the race’s first 37 laps, but when the field attempted to flip the first stage, the driver of the No. 18 Toyota GR Supra got trapped in traffic, falling outside the top-10. The two-time ARCA East champion would recover to battle for a top-10 before spinning out, and eventually having engine problems, leaving him to finish 35th.

Leaving Nashville, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has a week off until their next event, a return to Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, where Daniel Suarez will take on the series regulars of the second-tier series at his home racetrack, on Saturday, June 14.

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This article first appeared on Racing America on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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