CHARLOTTE, N.C. — To say that Justin Allgaier was the runaway winner of top seeding for the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase would be a significant understatement.
A six-time winner this season, Allgaier held a 229-point lead over JR Motorsports teammate Carson Kvapil in second place before the reset for the Chase.
Entering the first of nine Chase events at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Allgaier now leads Kvapil by 25 points under the new format this year, but the loss of his huge advantage hasn’t diminished the confidence of the 2024 series champion.
“I feel like we’ve done a really good job,” Allgaier said. “We’ve executed in races that in years past I probably wouldn’t have. More wins than I’ve had in a single season—all those things kind of play into it.
“I feel good about even only having a 25-point lead. I still feel good about it, but even at the same time, I think there was one race that we lost 60 or 65 points to the guys up front… So we have to go out there and execute.”
Allgaier’s stiffest competition may come from his own shop. Kvapil took charge at the end of the season, picking up his first two career wins back-to-back at Indianapolis and Iowa. Sammy Smith and Rajah Caruth also made the Chase for JRM.
“I’d be hard-pressed to say that they’re not (the strongest opposition),” Allgaier said. “I do think there are plenty of drivers, teams, combinations that have made speed at the end of this year, that have come on. Arguably, the 1 (Kvapil) has done the best job of that. So that’s within our four walls.
“But I think every organization has their strengths. Now there are organizations that don’t have all their cars in (the Chase). We’re in a situation where we have to put our four best race cars on the track every week. It’s not one. It’s not two. It’s all four of us, right?
“I look at the last couple years, and we’ve only had to do that for one race (under the Championship 4 format). Now we’re putting all four into the Chase, and we’re going to have to run all season like that. It does put more of a strain on our shop, but there’s no team that I would rather have the opportunity to go and try to battle it out with, so I think we’ll be in great shape.”
Allgaier recorded three of his six victories this season at tracks that appear in the Chase—Darlington, Phoenix and Martinsville. Accordingly, he’s elated about the roster of tracks that comprise the nine-race body of work in the Chase.
“We have great race tracks,” Allgaier acknowledged. “When I look at the schedule, I’m like, man, you couldn’t have asked for better race tracks for the 7 car, as far as what the (Chase) looks like. I’m excited for that.”
