JOLIET, Illinois – Heading into the inaugural NASCAR XFINITY Series Chase, there are two teams who are clear favorites.
Joe Gibbs Racing with drivers Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez and JR Motorsports with Elliott Sadler and Justin Allgaier.
Both teams and all four drivers had stellar runs in Saturday’s Drive for Safety 300 at Chicagoland Speedway, but Justin Allgaier’s 11th top-five finish of 2016 means more than just another tally on the performance chart.
Allgaier carrying a unique sponsorship from LetsTalkFood.com found himself fifth when the checkered flag flew behind four-time race winner Erik Jones and teammate Elliott Sadler who finished third and championship contender Daniel Suarez tucked in fourth. At times, Allgaier appeared to have a car that could at least hang with Sprint Cup invader Kyle Busch at times, but a late race restart shuffled him out of contention.
It wasn’t all bad for 2011 XFINITY Chicagoland winner.
Growing up two hours south from Chicagoland Speedway, the influx of supporters for Allgaier and his JR Motorsports is initially overwhelming, but with over 400 friends, family and sponsors present, the presence is motivation for the 30-year-old to continue to peak with the seven-race chance on the horizon.
On Saturday, Allgaier mounted his 11th top-five and 21st top-10 in 26 races and finished the regular season third in the championship standings. After being reseeded for next weekend’s opening round of the XFINITY Chase, Allgaier will fire off fifth in the XFINITY standings, 12 points behind leader Erik Jones.
In his return to full-time XFINITY Series racing in three years and always subjective to criticism driving for Sprint Cup driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Allgaier has certainly made his transition back to XFINITY memorable.
No, the former ARCA Racing Series champion hasn’t won a race, but the personable driver has certainly boasted a model of consistency alongside Sadler also in his year at JRM.
And even if that consistency continues, that could be the recipe that stirs up the results good enough to carry Allgaier to the Championship four at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November, where from there – a win is the stamp of approval to hoist JR Motorsports their second championship trophy in two years.
Follow Chris Knight on Twitter @Knighter01.
