LEBANON, Tenn. – Justin Allgaier improved his resume for “Father of the Year” on Saturday night, earning a second Gibson guitar trophy – one for each of his daughters – for his victory in the Tennessee Lottery 250 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Nashville Superspeedway.
Allgaier, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports, swept all the stages on his way to his third NASCAR Xfinity Series win of the year, his second at Nashville Superspeedway, and the 28th victory of his career, good for ninth all-time. Chevrolet has won 12 of the first 14 Xfinity Series races of the season – a Series first.
“There’s no cooler feeling than to win at a place like this,” said Allgaier in front of the grandstands with fireworks exploding behind the backstretch. “These fans are incredible. I really wanted to get a second guitar. [My daughters] can fight over one of them or both of them.”
By that point his daughters — Harper and Willow — and wife Ashley had run across the infield grass to join Dad at the start-finish line. Both children joined the defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion in the car as he guided it to Victory Lane, where his car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. waited to congratulate him.
“It was a really great run,” Earnhardt said. “Justin runs so good here. It’s no surprise to see him up there contending.”
Allgaier led a race-high 101 laps, including the final 48 circuits following a critical pass of Brandon Jones on the inside during the race’s final restart.
“JR Motorsports brought some incredible Chevrolets today,” Allgaier said. “That final restart was the key. Having clean air, and being out front … you have to make the most out of having good days. “This team never gives up. [My pit crew] deserves this more than anything. This [car] was on rails.”
Allgaier, the Xfinity Series points leader, beat rookie Connor Zilisch, his JR Motorsports teammate, to the checkered flag by 1.289 seconds. Sam Mayer was third, followed by Sheldon Creed in fourth and NASCAR Cup Series star Ross Chastain in fifth.
“[Justin] had the clean air at the end and I couldn’t quite get there,” said Zilisch, who led 18 laps. “Really good job by Justin there on that final restart.”
“Overall, we had a really solid day,” said Mayer. “Unfortunately, we didn’t execute on pit road and we got shuffled back on some restarts. Being disappointed in a third-place finish is good long term.”
Allgaier, 38, from Springfield, Illinois, averaged 111.006 mph around the 1.33-mile concrete oval, completing 188 laps in 2 hours, 15 minutes and 9 seconds. Six caution periods took up 39 laps while seven leaders exchanged the lead eight times.
Earlier Saturday, rookie William Sawalich, driving the No. 18 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, earned his second career pole, with a lap of 155.152 mph (30.86 seconds) during Wilson County Convention and Visitors Bureau Qualifying. Sawalich led 37 laps but finished 35th after losing engine power.
Among other notables, former NASCAR Cup Series drivers Aric Almirola and Harrison Burton finished sixth and 13th, respectively, while Jeffrey Earnhardt placed 20th.
At the end, everyone was looking up at Allgaier, who was soaking in the time with his loved ones — and maybe thinking about where to put the latest family trophy.
“To have my daughters and wife here — these are the moments that are really, really special,” Allgaier said.