Allgaier can fulfill first-year goals with big second half

Justin Allgaier set some lofty goals for his first season in the Nationwide Series, and they're within his reach moving into its second half Friday with the Dollar General 300 at Chicagoland Speedway.

Allgaier leads the rookie of the year standings and is sixth in the points. He has three top-fives and eight top-10s in 17 races this season.

"My first goal was to win rookie of the year," said Allgaier, 23. "I really want to do that. We want to win a race, and we want to finish in the top 10 in the points. We've definitely had some races where we've run well, and we've also had some races where I could have driven better and the team could have been better. The more races we get, the more we understand each other. All in all, it's been great so far, but we have a long way to go."

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Penske Racing signed Allgaier, of Riverton, Ill., last fall. He made his Nationwide debut at Lowe's Motor Speedway, finishing 34th, and won the ARCA championship with a victory in the season finale in Toledo, Ohio, on the same weekend. It was Allgaier's sixth win of the year.

"It was a great weekend," Allgaier said. "To have that [championship] banner behind you and to have such a great boss as Roger Penske, that's pretty awesome."

Allgaier leads Brendan Gaughan by six points in the rookie race, which is determined by best finishes among the rookies in 17 races. And he's 102 points ahead of 11th-place Michael McDowell in the overall points standings. Probably the most difficult of Allgaier's goals is winning a race.

"I'm definitely getting better," Allgaier said. "We've broken the top-10 barrier pretty much every week. We've got to get everything better, and hopefully we'll win a race this season. I'm learning how to make the car better week to week."

Allgaier's best shot may be at returning to the seven tracks he has run in the first half of the season.

"I'm building a database from all those tracks we've been to, and hopefully the second time around I can use it," he said.

Kyle Busch won last year at the 1.5-mile track in Joliet, Ill., leading 101 of 200 laps. Busch has two wins and three second places in the past five races and has built a 172-point lead on second-place Carl Edwards going into the 18th of 35 races.

In addition to Busch and Edwards, Cup regulars Ryan Newman, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, Brian Vickers, Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard are entered at Chicagoland.

THREE TO WATCH

Jeff Burton, No. 29: There should be little surprise Burton is in a Nationwide car for the first time since May: In six races at Chicagoland, he has finished third five times and eighth once.

Kevin Harvick, No. 33: Harvick has two Nationwide wins at Chicagoland to go with his two in the Cup Series. Harvick has a win and five top-fives in 10 Nationwide races this season.

Carl Edwards, No. 60: After finishing in the top five in his first two races at Chicagoland, Edwards has finished 20th and 16th. The way Busch is driving right now, Edwards can ill-afford another top 20.

TRACK CHATTER

Greg Biffle: "Chicago is really kind of a straight-forward mile and a half. It drives like it has more banking than it does. It drives like it's got quite a bit of bank. ... You have to have a good aero package -- and track position is really important -- good pit stops and you've got to be in the front at the end, obviously."

Ryan Newman: "I look forward to it because of the 18-degree banking and the fact that it is kind of unique. Chicago is really a big circle. It is rewarding if you are good in the corners, because even the back straightaway has a kink in it. You have to carry a lot of momentum there."