Justin Allgaier’s Championship 4 weekend at Phoenix Raceway began with a crash and a frustrated slam of the hand on a toolbox.
How it ended, however, was with a smokey burnout and the hoist of a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship trophy.
On Friday, Allgaier was involved in a practice crash which forced his JR Motorsports team to shift to its backup car. Once in the garage, a typically reserved Allgaier let out his frustrations on one of the team’s toolboxes with a few slams to the top of the box with his right hand.
“You know, I’ve never fought a toolbox before,” Allgaier said. “I’ve fought a lot of things, I never fought a toolbox before. That was a first for me. I don’t know who won to be honest with you.
“I think the toolbox won. The emotions have gone just haywire.”
He’d wind up starting at the rear of the field in 37th. While Allgaier charged inside the top 10 by the end of Stage One, another setback was on the way.
With two laps to go in the second stage, Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevrolet dramatically slowed with a cut left-rear tire. To add insult to injury, Allgaier was nabbed by NASCAR for a restart violation to begin Stage Three, which was followed by perhaps the nail in the coffin —a pit road speed penalty.
That dropped Allgaier to nearly two laps down.
“I was ready to pull down pit road, to be honest with you, and just park the car in the pit stall and get out,” Allgaier said. “If it could go wrong this weekend, it went wrong, and the team never gave up.
“I could tell the disappointment in their voices, they went radio silent for a while and I could tell the disappointment in their voices. And that’s a hard spot to be in as a driver.”
The team’s saving grace was a caution with 44 laps to go, allowing Allgaier to get back on the lead lap, which brought an emphatic fistpump inside the cockpit.
Game on.
From there, Allgaier charged up the leaderboard with force as he reached third-place with six laps to go, ahead of fellow playoff driver Cole Custer. However, a caution forced overtime, making for another restart.
One more caution flew before the white flag, forcing a second and final overtime where Allgaier jumped out front.
While he’d concede the victory to Riley Herbst in the final pair of corners, it was enough to secure his first career Xfinity Series title after 14 years of trying.
He was able to celebrate with his entire family.
“Having all of them here tonight and to celebrate and to be a part of it is like — there are no words,” Allgaier beamed. “My in-laws were here and I had, I don’t know how many people here. Campbell probably would know. I feel like it was 100. People just kept showing up to get pictures and I was like, ‘I forgot they were here.’ I forgot they were here, too. Then obviously the Brandts had tons of people outside. Just really, really special.
“This is something for me that again, my wife is the reason why I’m still doing this and my kids are the reason that I want to show them the resiliency of just never quit.”
Allgaier’s never-quit mentality lifted him through the highest of highs and lowest of lows in his career, which started 15 years ago.
Now at 38 years old after achieving a lifelong dream, Allgaier is more ready than ever to keep gunning for more in February at Daytona (Fla.) Int’l Speedway.
“A couple of months ago I signed a new two-year contract. And to be honest with you, tonight it makes me ready to go to Daytona,” Allgaier said. “I know that sounds crazy. I know we’ve got an offseason. I’m getting shoulder surgery in a couple days. I’ve got a lot going on.
“But I truly am ready to go to Daytona. I’m ready to keep this journey going. I don’t know what it looks like. I may never make another Final 4 in my career. I’m OK with that.”