ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — Unfazed by the recent social media debate as to the Hall-of-Fame-worthiness of his NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series career, Justin Allgaier just keeps on winning.
On Saturday at Rockingham Speedway, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet will try for his third straight checkered flag — and fourth this season — in the North Carolina Education Lottery 250 Presented by Black’s Tire.
It’s no exaggeration to say Allgaier has dominated the series this year. He’s the only driver to have scored points in every stage of every race, and the 105 stage points he has accumulated are the most a driver has ever scored through the first seven races of a season.
Allgaier has won at least one race for 10 straight years, a series record. Last Saturday’s victory at Martinsville Speedway was the 31st of his career, tying him for sixth all-time with “Iron Man” Jack Ingram—a NASCAR Hall of Famer, by the way.
On the strength of his three wins, Allgaier tops the series standings by a gargantuan 92 points over second-place Jesse Love, the defending O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion.
The 39-year-old driver nicknamed “Little Gator” has enjoyed his fastest start to a season despite losing crew chief Jim Pohlman to Kyle Busch’s NASCAR Cup Series car at Richard Childress Racing. Pohlman led Allgaier to nine victories and the 2024 series championship in three years on the pit box.
New crew chief Andrew Overstreet deserves full credit for filling the void. The seamless nature of the transition has surprised team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“We changed a lot of folks, and all our teams got better,” Earnhardt said at Martinsville, after Allgaier won the fifth straight race for the JR Motorsports organization. “I wasn’t even sure that that was even possible and achievable…
“I believe in Overstreet, because I put him in that position, but, shoot, I don’t think anybody would have guessed they would have won these races and run as well as they are. I’m happy for Justin. He deserves it.
“When Jim was leaving, we were worried about Justin’s ability to be out there and us being able to give him the cars that we know he deserves.”
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If Allgaier comes to “The Rock” on a wave of success, Love arrives seeking redemption. The driver of the No. 2 Richard Childress Racing won last year’s Rockingham event, only to have his car disqualified for a rear suspension infraction—failure to maintain complete contact between all mating surfaces of the truck trailing arm and the U-bolt saddle.
JR Motorsports’ Sammy Smith was the beneficiary of Love’s disqualification, picking up his third career victory in the series. Smith finished third last Saturday at Martinsville behind Allgaier and rookie Corey Day.
Ryan Sieg led a race-high 77 laps last year in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series’ return to Rockingham after a 21-year hiatus. Sieg finished 18th in the No. 39 Ford. This year, he is driving a Chevrolet.
The race is also noteworthy as the series debut of social media influencer Cleetus McFarland, who turned approximately 250 laps in a test at Rockingham and has spent considerable time in the simulator preparing for the event.
“What I’m looking forward to the most is getting past the first 10 laps, getting comfortable and leaning on support from the (Richard Childress Racing) guys,” McFarland said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of pressure coming into the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series for the first time. I’ve been given so much data, so I’m excited to apply that, see where my improvements stand and how competitive I am.
“I had a lot of fun driving the car during the test, and I hope to make the Tommy’s Express Car Wash team happy by doing a good job, staying out of the way and enjoy racing.”
