Justin Allgaier chasing consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series titles under little pressure

There may not be a driver in the penultimate round of the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs feeling less pressure than Justin Allgaier. 

Justin Allgaier is building a legendary Xfinity Series career

Allgaier, 39, is less than a year removed from winning his first Xfinity Series championship after 16 years of trying. In his title defense season, the 28-time Xfinity Series winner has once again looked every bit the Xfinity Series legend he’ll one day go down as, winning thrice this season and easily advancing to the Round of 8.  

Since the Xfinity Series instituted the NASCAR playoff format in 2016, Allgaier has made the postseason in all 10 years. In all 10 of those seasons, he’s never been eliminated in the first round. 

His inclusion in the Championship 4 this season would be no surprise. In nine seasons of Xfinity Series playoff racing, Allgaier has made the Championship 4 an astounding seven times — more than any other driver in any of NASCAR’s top-three series. 

Justin Allgaier has excellent chance to repeat

Perhaps most importantly, Allgaier already has a title under his belt. He and the No. 7 team know exactly what it takes to bring home the hardware, and he also doesn’t have the pressure of potentially going another year without winning the big prize. 

But even Allgaier can’t afford to put the cart before the horse. If he is to win his second consecutive Xfinity Series championship, he must first get to the Championship 4. Going into the opening race of the Round of 8, he’s 24 points above the cut line. 

The round begins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 11. Perhaps no driver in Xfinity Series history has been as good at LVMS as Allgaier, who won at the 1.5-mile track in March and has 19 top-10 finishes and 12 top-fives in 22 Las Vegas starts. 

A win at Las Vegas would take a substantial amount of pressure off Allgaier’s shoulders at Talladega Superspeedway on Oct 18. JR Motorsports Chevrolets are always fast at superspeedways, but Lady Luck has rarely shined on Allgaier at the 2.66-mile behemoth. In 19 Talladega starts, Allgaier is yet to win and has only eight top-10 finishes, though he did finish fourth at Talladega on April 27. 

Martinsville is the final race of the Round of 8, and similar to Las Vegas, there may not be a better driver in Xfinity Series history at the half-mile paperclip than Allgaier. He only has one victory at the track (fall 2023) but has nine top-10 efforts in 10 starts, including seven top-five finishes. 

Talladega certainly has the potential to upend Allgaier’s dreams of winning consecutive championships, but if he runs like he usually does at either Las Vegas or Martinsville, he has an excellent opportunity to make it to Phoenix and become only the eighth driver in Xfinity Series history to win back-to-back championships.