By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – In one of the most dramatic finishes of the season, JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier took the lead on the final lap of overtime and held off his former teammate Sam Mayer for the win – the ultimate dash for cash as it were in the Hard Rock Bet 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
For much of the day, it looked like former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson would answer his win in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race Friday night at the track with a victory on Saturday. He led a dominant 132 of the 201 laps and held a 15-second advantage on the field when a caution flag flew with eight laps remaining, bunching up the field for that final overtime re-start.
Larson chose the bottom lane for the re-start with second place Mayer opting to pull his No. 41 Haas Factory Team Ford directly behind Larson’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet instead of on the front row alongside him. Just as the green flag flew for that final two laps, Mayer’s car hit the rear of Larson’s and knocked Larson’s Chevrolet out of shape.
As that happened, the outside line of Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill and Allgaier zoomed forward with Hill taking the race lead. A lap later, Allgaier caught Hill and got around him for the victory – his first top-five in 16 previous Homestead races and the second straight win for the reigning series champion, matching a trophy-haul at Las Vegas last week.
Hill finished third after Mayer passed him as well on the last lap.
“Just a testament to this team,” the 39-year-old Allgaier said. “Honestly, it was looking like it was one those days that wasn’t our day. We got behind but were able to persevere and to get this Chevrolet to Victory Lane is special.
“I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.”
“I was actually bummed to see the caution flag come out but it worked out in my favorite.” Allgaier added. “I’m bummed I maybe got the [weekend] triple from Kyle [Larson] because I think he’s going to have a great shot at [winning] it tomorrow. But we were at the right place at the right time and I’m really proud of this race team.”
The final caution flag came for a spin by pole-winner, Joe Gibbs Racing Taylor Gray. At the time, only five drivers were on the lead lap.
The last series of pit stops proved pivotal to those pursuing Larson. Twelve cars came out on the lead lap eager to see what they could do in the closing sprint toward the checkered.
Larson, who won the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race on Friday night looked well on his way to try and join Kyle Busch as the only drivers in NASCAR history to sweep three national series race wins in one weekend. In fact, he showed up in South Florida for the NASCAR weekend fresh off a sprint car win earlier in the week.
The outcome was understandably a huge disappointment for Larson, the frustration evident on his face as he climbed out of his Chevrolet on pit lane after the race.
“I’ve lived through it a number of times here, obviously a bummer to have another Homestead race play out that way,” said Larson, who finished fourth.
“I can’t go when my rear tires are off the ground,” he said of the contact from Mayer’s car on the re-start. “I did everything I thought I could and the 41 just lagged back and slammed the [expletive] of me. Bummer, but cool to have had that big lead at the end.
“Loved to have gotten a win for everybody at the 17-car. They don’t get to race all the time so it’s good we can run up front. Got one more opportunity at this [in the 17-car] in a few weeks and see if we can get it done then.”
While the first half of Saturday’s race had all five of the day’s caution flags, Larson essentially put it in cruise control for the final 100 laps – and pulled a zip code ahead of Mayer who doggedly pursued all afternoon.
“I unfortunately got to his [Larson] bumper a little too early,” Mayer said of the contact with Larson on that final re-start. “He went really, really late in the box, just played games and that’s what you’ve got to do at this level to get the advantage. But he just waited really long and I wasn’t ready for him to wait that long.
“Anytime you’re finishing second you’re super bummed out but that’s a good day. We’re going to keep it going and try to get better.”
Not only did Allgaier get a trophy to take home, but he also won the first $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus check from series sponsor Xfinity. He, Mayer, third place finisher Hill, and 10th place finisher Jesse Love were all eligible for the extra pay based on their finishes last week at Las Vegas.
The second of the four Dash 4 Cash races is next Saturday at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway with Allgaier, Mayer, Hill and Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed – the fifth-place finisher eligible for the next $100,000 bonus. The top-finisher among the quartet will claim the cash.
Love, JGR’s Brandon Jones and rookies Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil rounded out the top-10.
Allgaier is now the first series driver with multiple wins in 2025 and takes a 29-point lead in the championship standings over Mayer.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to competition next Saturday evening with the Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway (5 p.m. ET on the CW Network, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Aric Almirola in the defending race winner in the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Hard Rock Bet 300
Homestead-Miami Speedway
Homestead, Florida
Saturday, March 22, 2025
1. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 201.
2. (6) Sam Mayer, Ford, 201.
3. (21) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 201.
4. (17) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 201.
5. (9) Sheldon Creed, Ford, 201.
6. (20) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 201.
7. (38) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 201.
8. (3) Nick Sanchez #, Chevrolet, 201.
9. (30) Daniel Dye #, Chevrolet, 201.
10. (14) Carson Kvapil #, Chevrolet, 201.
11. (12) Harrison Burton, Ford, 201.
12. (2) Connor Zilisch #, Chevrolet, 200.
13. (24) Dean Thompson #, Toyota, 200.
14. (19) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 200.
15. (23) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 200.
16. (7) Justin Bonsignore, Toyota, 200.
17. (18) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 200.
18. (25) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 200.
19. (11) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 200.
20. (28) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 200.
21. (15) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 199.
22. (8) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 199.
23. (1) Taylor Gray #, Toyota, 199.
24. (13) William Sawalich #, Toyota, 199.
25. (16) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 199.
26. (22) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 199.
27. (27) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 198.
28. (26) Brad Perez, Chevrolet, 198.
29. (35) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 198.
30. (29) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 198.
31. (37) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 197.
32. (36) Kris Wright, Chevrolet, 197.
33. (32) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 197.
34. (33) Leland Honeyman, Chevrolet, 196.
35. (34) Mason Maggio, Ford, 196.
36. (10) Matt DiBenedetto, Chevrolet, Electrical, 179.
37. (31) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, Electrical, 57.
38. (5) Christian Eckes #, Chevrolet, Engine, 16.