Is it finally Justin Allgaier's year to win elusive Xfinity Series championship?

In 13 full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series seasons, Justin Allgaier has never finished worse than seventh in points. 

That streak of consistency has culminated in 25 race wins, nine playoff appearances and six trips to the Championship Four. 

With numbers like that, surely a championship — if not multiple — would've befallen the 38-year-old from Spaulding, Illinois. 

Unfortunately, like Denny Hamlin, Allgaier greatness and consistency have been overshadowed and usurped by the fact that no championship trophy resides in his trophy case, despite his best efforts. 

The best news for Allgaier is that he might've already gotten his heartbreak for the season out of the way. Allgaier entered Friday's regular season finale at Bristol as the points leader, but a 30th place finish and a win by second-place Cole Custer led Custer to the regular-season championship, robbing Allgaier of five extra playoff points. 

Still, the No. 7 team enters Saturday's playoff opener at Kansas as the leader of the 12 playoff participants, 27 points above the Round of 12 cut line. 

Kansas, Talladega and the Charlotte Roval are all challenging tracks, but history is on Allgaier's side — he's never been eliminated in the first round of the Xfinity Series playoffs. 

The Round of 8 is comprised of Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville, three tracks that play to Allgaier's strengths. 

That leaves the Xfinity Series championship race at Phoenix as the ultimate goal for the playoff field, and the chance for Allgaier to finally break through and earn his first title. 

Allgaier has made the Championship Four four times over the last five seasons, finishing second to Custer in the 2023 championship. 

This year, however, may be different. Allgaier has accumulated 14 stage wins, — eight more than Chandler Smith, who ranks second — scored 297 stage points and led 649 laps. Finishing races has been a slight issue for Allgaier, as he only has 15 top-10's and two race wins, but the speed is clearly there. 

If the No. 7 team can finish races strong, there's no reason why Allgaier can't win his first championship this season.