Justin Allgaier Shockingly Reveals Why He Received Death Threats After Winning the 2018 Xfinity Series Race at Indianapolis
Like any other NASCAR driver, Justin Allgaier has at some point drawn the ire from one of his fellow competitors for an on-track incident. However, it’s never escalated to the point where another driver has threatened to kill him.
Unbelievably, the same cannot be said about fans following Allgaier’s 2018 Xfinity Series win at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In a preview of this weekend’s races on the famed track, the JR Motorsports driver shockingly revealed why he received death threats following his victory and explained why it won’t ever happen to him again.
Justin Allgaier wins 2018 Xfinity Series race at Indianapolis
Justin Allgaier was a solid Xfinity Series driver heading into the 2018 season. Up until that point, he had earned five wins in seven seasons, including his first multi-win year in 2017 with victories at Phoenix and Chicago.
In 2018, Allgaier cranked it up a notch and had a breakout year. That season he had already won four times at Dover, Iowa, Mid-Ohio, and Road America, heading into the showcase race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
At the world-famous facility with just a few laps remaining, Allgaier battled with his teammate, rookie Tyler Reddick for the lead. On the final lap, Reddick had a good run on the No. 7 car, but Allgaier managed to hold him off and claim victory on the prestigious track.
Justin Allgaier received death threats for burnout over bricks
After the race, Justin Allgaier collected the checkered flag, revved up the engine, and immediately turned to his right and began a burnout on the symbolic start-checkered line over the famous bricks. It was a move that drew the ire of some fans.
“I did make a big mistake postrace,” Allgaier told reporters this week. “That was in my burnout celebrations, I did go over the bricks. What’s really interesting about it is I didn’t even know that I went over the bricks because of the way the front straightaway is shaped and kind of where I was at, where I thought I was at with the smoke going on. I actually didn’t even realize that I went over the bricks. And to be honest with you, I would have never gone over the bricks. It’s not something that I would have done or would have liked to have done. It just happened in the moment, and I didn’t even realize it.
“I will tell you, though, you will get death threats if you do a burnout over the bricks. That is a real thing. So if I think I have a lot of respect and passion for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, there are people that have more passion for the race track than I do, I can promise you. But if I’m lucky enough to win again this year at the road course, there will not be a burnout over the bricks I can assure you of that.”
Kyle Busch and others have done it before
Justin Allgaier may have been the first to receive death threats, or at least the first to acknowledge it publicly, but he’s not the first one to celebrate on the bricks, which date to the track’s opening in 1909 (this strip has been present since the first complete paving in October 1961).
Three years before Allgaier made the fateful mistake, Kyle Busch did the same thing after winning the Xfinity Series race. Upset fans responded on social media. Busch received the message loud and clear.
The next day Busch pulled off the double and won the Cup Series event. After the race, he grabbed the checkered flag and drove the No. 18 car past the bricks. No burnout.
“I just didn’t want to hear (the complaints), so I did my own deal and took my own sort of victory lap and gave the bow to the crowd later when there was a bunch of fans and Kyle Busch fans that were sticking around at the end,” Busch said after the race.
Jimmie Johnson committed the no-no in 2012 after winning the Brickyard 400, and reportedly did the most damage to the track’s centerpiece, which required the replacement of several bricks.
Don’t expect it to happen this year. But if it does, you can expect some fans will be ready to share their displeasure in the scariest of ways.
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