NASCAR

NASCAR Xfinity Series Fans Respond To Justin Allgaier Cashing In With The LiUNA! Win At Las Vegas Motor Speedway

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By
Jeff Hawkins
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Jeff Hawkins Sports Editor

Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry, in both print and digital media. He joined the Sportscasting team in 2021 following a decade of freelancing. He spent his early career as a reporter for various newspapers in Illinois, New York, Florida, North Carolina, and Michigan, with a particular emphasis as a beat reporter for the Chicago Blackhawks. Jeff earned his bachelor's degree in journalism from Oakland University. Over the course of his career he earned several sports writing awards, including two national awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors for column writing and news reporting. One of the five prized columns included a commentary on NASCAR's increasing corporate influences, particularly in northern racetracks — commentary which you might find Jeff building on as part of the Motorsports writing team at Sportscasting now.  

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Published15 Mar 2025

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xfinity justin allgaier crosses lv finish line (1)

With last Saturday’s finish fresh in his mind, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier anticipated something would go wrong late in Saturday’s The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The defending circuit champion dominated at Phoenix Raceway, but a late caution helped detour a trip to Victory Lane. 

As Allgaier pulled away from the field late at the 1.5-mile intermediate track, he braced for a speed bump. It didn’t appear. 

Allgaier overcame a situation on Lap 48 where he exited pit row in seventh place after pulling tape and qualified for the postseason. Aric Almirola, who benefited from the late accident last Saturday, challenged for the lead throughout Stage 3 but fell short of back-to-back wins. 

“The word of the day was discipline,” Allgaier told CW. “Aric and I were going at it. This one means a lot.” 

The victory handed JR Motorsports its 90th win as an organization.

X (Twitter) users responded to Allgaier and his teammates earning two top-10 finishes and four top-20s… 

Pre-race politics question: Would potential tariffs make this concept too financially risky? … 

Starting the engines, Penn & Teller style … 

Xfinity Series drivers saw green in Las Vegas and Parker Retzlaff soon saw red with a Lap 1 crash. William Sawalich hit the Turn 2 wall, forcing Retzlaff to spin out … 

On Lap 8, Josh Williams started to experience problems. First he spun out form P19 and collided with Ryan Sieg, but the field remained green. Thirteen laps later, Williams started to complain about breathing problems. He radioed in for a replacement driver and Ty Dillon took over on Lap 47 … 

Dominating the first stage, Allgaier earned the 10 points by finishing 8.3 seconds ahead of Almirola, the winner last weekend at Phoenix. The rest of the field finished at least 10 seconds behind … 

Almirola clinched the Stage 2 victory, while Jesse Love executed a strong run. He rallied from a tire violation to earn one stage point …

Approaching the start-finish line on Lap 100, rookie Connor Zilisch claimed the lead over Almirola on a veteran-like move on the outside … 

Allgaier earned his 26th career win, extending his streak of capturing at least one race to nine straight seasons. This tied him with Kyle Busch and Mark Martin for the all-time mark …