LAS VEGAS — Justin Allgaier’s top-five finish Saturday was his first in a long time. Chandler Smith’s was par for the course in recent weeks.
Ultimately, the duo left Las Vegas Motor Speedway both ahead of the provisional elimination line in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs with only two races separating them from a shot at the 2024 championship.
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Allgaier, driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, took the checkered flag third to collect his first top five since winning at Michigan International Speedway in August. The veteran led 42 laps and was a threat most of the afternoon — a much-needed turnaround after finishing 17th or worse in five of the past six races. But there was still a sting in his voice as he watched AJ Allmendinger clinch his spot into the Championship 4 with a Vegas victory.
“Proud of the team, proud of the effort,” Allgaier said. “I mean, to rebound after the six weeks we’ve had or whatever and to come here and to have the day like we had. We executed all day. We did all the right things, and ultimately we’ll walk out of here with a solid finish. Good points day. Just wish I was standing over there in Victory Lane.”
No one scored more stage points Saturday than Allgaier, who overcame adversity in the final stage to avoid overheating his engine when the grille of his Chevrolet was covered by debris. A decision by crew chief Jim Pohlman in Stage 1 also brought Allgaier to pit road with just a handful of laps remaining in the opening stanza, setting Allgaier to restart 16th. In three laps, Allgaier stormed to second to collect nine stage points before winning Stage 2.
Still, second in points with a 32-point advantage to the elimination line isn’t quite comfortable enough yet for the 38-year-old racer.
“Until I have about 80 points going into the next round, I’m not going to be satisfied,” Allgaier said. “This team has worked really hard, and we gave a lot of points away over those six weeks that we were really bad. And I’m proud of the effort. I’m proud of the drive we had today. I’m proud of all the things we did right. I’m excited for Homestead because I think some of the things we’ve been working on, obviously, we feel like (at) Homestead will be a big benefit.”
Smith, driver of the No. 81 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, held strong for a fourth-place finish, a remarkable seventh consecutive top-five run for the second-year driver. But a lack of stage points in the first stage leaves the 22-year-old fourth in the playoff standings, just eight points above the provisional divider.
“Definitely a mixed bag of emotions,” Smith said. “Start of the day was very rough. We weren’t great. Was able to come in Stage 1 and get it drivable, and then we just progressively made it a little bit better all day. But we were never where we needed to be. We weren’t even close to where we were in the spring race balance-wise or speed-wise. So got a little work to do, but we came away with another top-five finish. That’s good. So, yeah, I can’t complain too much.”
A caution at Lap 195 for Sammy Smith’s stalled No. 8 JR Motorsports Chevrolet sent the race to overtime with Chandler Smith slotted fourth. Race leader Allmendinger took the inside lane of the front row with Ryan Sieg to his right. Smith placed his Toyota in the outside lane for the restart with all eyes set on surging Sieg to the lead. A Sieg win would have prevented either Allmendinger or Allgaier from locking into the title round at Phoenix.
“It was my best interest to push the 28 (Sieg) out to the lead honestly, so that’s what the goal was,” Smith said. “I knew we weren’t capable of winning the race. The only way we were is if I was able to pull something out of the hat, and my launch was horrible. So once we got out the restart zone and my launch wasn’t that great, all my interest was, ‘I’ve got to get the 28 back at least clear the 7 (Allgaier) so we can go after the 16. So we definitely maximized our day.”
Allmendinger, on the other hand, will have far less stress in the next two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville Speedway with all eyes set on Phoenix. That isn’t the case yet for Allgaier or Smith.
“AJ and the 16 team did a great job,” Allgaier said. “I mean, they haven’t really had that kind of speed all year, and to come out here and to execute like they did, that’s a statement. So we’re gonna have to be mindful of that moving forward. And you know, hopefully we can race others around us and keep digging on the points. It’d be nice to win Homestead and lock yourself in and don’t have to worry about it.”