LONG POND, Pa. — Early on in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Pocono Raceway, it became clear that Justin Allgaier had one of the cars to beat.
Starting third, Allgaier caught Sheldon Creed shortly after a restart on lap 7 and cruised to a stage victory by more than four seconds. After several near victories at The Tricky Triangle, it seemed like Saturday could finally be the day Allgaier parked his JR Motorsports Chevrolet in victory lane.
But moments after USA Network visited with him on the radio during the stage break, the 38-year-old got hit with race-altering news: an equipment interference penalty. Although subtle, a crew member reached into another pit box to catch a tire.
That penalty put him and his No. 7 team behind the rest of the afternoon, ultimately resulting in a second-place finish.
“I just felt like, unfortunately, we had the best car all day,” a dejected Allgaier said moments after climbing from his car. “Just really stinks to come out of here second. I’ve led so many laps here, and I feel like this is the same result every time — just not able to go to victory lane.
“It’s gonna sting for a while.”
Though he got behind on lap 22, Allgaier clawed back. He drove back inside the top 10 at the end of Stage Two, recording a stage point and re-entering contention.
Most cars, including Allgaier, pitted for service during the lap 40 stage break. Shortly after the restart, several cars, including two Alpha Prime Racing entries, got caught up in a wreck toward the back and brought out a caution.
Allgaier, along with Sammy Smith, Anthony Alfredo and Brandon Jones elected to pit again, with Allgaier taking fuel only. That put him in a position to make it to the end, but he’d have to save fuel.
Ultimately, the Riverton, Ill., native had enough juice, but he didn’t have enough tires. Most other teams made their final stops under green, which seemingly set Allgaier up well if it remained green the rest of the way.
Instead, three cautions came out over the final 20 circuits, playing to the advantage of Cole Custer. Coming to a restart with four laps to go, Allgaier’s crew chief, Jim Pohlman, believed an extra cycle on Custer’s tires might even even the playing field.
In his heart, Allgaier knew it wouldn’t — and he was right. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver prevailed for his first victory of the season, while Allgaier settled for a runner-up.
“(Pohlman) was pretty confident of it, and I just knew when we were saving fuel there, how much I had to burn the tires up to kind of let the car coast,” Allgaier said. “It’s so hard when you’re in those situations.
“Looking back on it now, I wish I would have done it a little bit different in the exit of (turn) one on that last restart … William (Byron) gave me a great push on that last restart. Just so hard to keep the right front on it on a long run like that.”
Allgaier sits second in points, trailing Custer by 51 for the series lead ahead of Indianapolis Motor Speedway — the final race before the three-week Olympic break.