Posted on by Zack Albert

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — NASCAR officials disqualified the second-finishing Kaulig Racing No. 10 Chevrolet of AJ Allmendinger for a technical violation after Saturday’s Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen International.

Allmendinger had led a race-high 24 of 82 laps in the Zippo 200, crossing the finish line 1.168 seconds behind first-time winner Austin Cindric on the 2.45-mile course. But his Kaulig Racing entry was found to be too low on both the right-rear and left-rear corners in post-race inspection, dropping Allmendinger to a last-place result in the 37-car field.

RELATED: Official race results

Xfinity Series director Wayne Auton said that the No. 10 car was inspected for damage in post-race inspection. He also added that the Matt Kaulig-owned organization has until noon ET Monday to file an appeal.

Allmendinger, a former regular in the Monster Energy Series, has returned to NASCAR competition this season on a partial schedule in the Xfinity Series. Both of his starts thus far, however, have resulted in disqualifications. Officials threw out Allmendinger’s apparent third-place finish at Daytona International Speedway in July, demoting him to last place.

Auton said that the Kaulig team’s second offense would not necessarily result in a stiffer penalty.

“No, we’ll obviously talk about it, but whenever you get DQ-d, I think that’s a pretty big penalty in itself,” Auton said. “So we consider this race closed now. The other cars have passed inspection.”

There is no minimum height requirement in the Monster Energy Series, but the Xfinity Series and Gander Outdoors Truck Series have a ride-height rule.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Opportunity knocked for Austin Cindric after a mechanical failure knocked Kyle Busch out of Saturday’s Zippo 200 at Watkins Glen International. 

And after Cindric and road course ace AJ Allmendinger traded knocks on the final two laps of the NASCAR Xfinity Series race, Cindric—on fresher tires—emerged the winner for the first time in his career.

Following post-race inspection, Allmendinger’s No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet was disqualified for a rear height violation, dropping Allmendinger to last place in the running order. But fans left the track with the memory of an intense battle over the closing laps.

RELATED: No. 10 car disqualified at Watkins Glen | Race results

When NASCAR called the sixth caution on Lap 69 of 82, Brian Wilson, crew chief on Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford, made a courageous call that later proved decisive. Wilson brought Cindric from the lead to pit road for fresh tires, dropping the 20-year-old driver to ninth in the running order for a restart on Lap 73.

An immediate caution for a pile-up in Turn 1 left Cindric in sixth for the next restart on Lap 76. When Christopher Bell was knocked sideways in Turn 2, and Justin Allgaier and Tyler Reddick lost momentum while fighting for the second spot, Cindric charged around the outside into second place and chased Allmendinger.

It took three laps for Cindric to trim Allmendinger’s advantage from 1.714 seconds to .521 seconds, and from that point, the game was on. On Lap 81, Cindric nudged Allmendinger up the track in the carousel and took the lead. Allmendinger returned the favor approaching Turn 7 and regained the top spot as Cindric was forced wide.

But Allmendinger entered Turn 7 too wide and Cindric drove back underneath to lead Lap 81. On the final circuit he pulled away to win by 1.168 seconds and clinched a spot in the Xfinity Series Playoffs.

Cindric and Wilson had discussed the possibility of a late pit stop before the race.

“I’ve been on the other side of it,” Cindric said. “(Bell) had been pretty good all day, so it was going to be hard to hold him off depending on which lane he had on the restart.”

The only thing that went wrong was Cindric’s celebratory burnout. But it was helpful that pole winner Kyle Busch had critical issues during the race itself.

“I was kind of bummed,” Cindric said. “I broke the clutch out of it trying to do a burnout, so my guys are going to have to do a little extra work and I’ll have to buy them an even bigger dinner. We talked before the weekend, and we knew something would have to go wrong with (Kyle Busch), but I’m so blessed to be able to be here.”

After winning the first stage and pitting thereafter, Busch had just passed Ryan Blaney for the lead entering the inner loop when the upper control arm on the left front of his No. 18 Toyota broke. Busch retired from the race and opened the door for Cindric.

With the Allmendinger disqualification, Bell inherited the runner-up spot, followed by Allgaier, who traded hard knocks with Ross Chastain, eliminating Chastain from the race after hard contact with the barrier in the carousel. Blaney and Reddick ran fourth and fifth.

WATCH: Allgaier, Chastain tangle | Chastain mum after wreck

Posted on by Zack Albert

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race didn’t even get through the first of three stages before the battle of bumpers and words between Ross Chastain and Justin Allgaier escalated to a thermometer-bursting height at Watkins Glen International.

Chastain, one of the hottest drivers in NASCAR’s three national tours, was short-circuited by retaliation from Allgaier, who drove on to a third-place finish in the Zippo 200. Chastain exited after completing just 19 of the 82 laps, coming home in 33rd place.

Allgaier’s JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet spun and made contact with the retaining wall near the bus-stop chicane after receiving a shove from Chastain’s No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet on Lap 14 of the Zippo 200. Allgaier continued, then gave Chastain a solid bump in return six laps later, sending his car careening into the Turn 5 barrier on the final lap of Stage 1.

RELATED: Official race results

Allgaier owned up to the purpose behind his payback bump, explaining that previous altercations with Chastain had built up his anger level.

“We’ve had a rocky relationship over our racing career,” said Allgaier, who recovered to lead 13 laps in the final stage. “Unfortunately, I’ve been on the receiving end a number of times of him running into me, and he flat wrecked me in the bus stop back there. At some point, you just get to a point of where you’re tired of getting run into, and so I ran back into him. I had no intention of putting him in the wall. I wanted to spin him out, for sure. I wanted him to kind of have the same feeling that I had a few laps before whenever he spun me out, and I did it in a position where there was nobody else around us and made sure that if it was going to be a crash that it was just going to be the two of us.

“I hate it for Johnny (Davis) and the 4 team because obviously with the budget that they’re on, they don’t need to be wrecking race cars, but on the flip side of it, he knew what he was doing when he got into the bus stop and wrecked me on purpose, and then even when I caught him back, he slowed way, way down and he knew that I was mad at him. You can’t race like that and not have something come of it.”

Chastain issued a fiery reaction back to his crew over the team’s communications immediately after the incident, saying he would find Allgaier at a later time. After a trip to the infield care center for a mandatory check-up, Chastain was more measured with his words.

“Well no, you don’t expect to get wrecked like that at a NASCAR national series event,” Chastain said. “Just racing hard and mistakes on all sides, but I’m glad that my nine-point safety harness did its job because I hit the wall a ton.”

Pressed for if Allgaier’s aggression crossed a boundary, Chastain demurred. “I don’t know. I better keep my opinions to myself on that.”

Posted on by Zack Albert

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. — One week removed from a Bubba Wallace gesture that touched off a testy post-race conversation at Pocono Raceway, Daniel Suarez’s arrival in New York’s Finger Lakes region was greeted with talk about another finger with a ripple effect.

RELATED: Full schedule for Watkins Glen

Suarez was in a jocular mood Saturday between Monster Energy Series practices at the 2.45-mile road course in Watkins Glen, saying that he and Wallace remain friends after their late-race aggression last Sunday, Wallace’s middle finger flip and their chippy discussion that followed. That pit-road chat spilled over to social media early in the week, but Suarez said he doesn’t expect to see any gestures again.

“He won’t. I guarantee you that,” Suarez said with a smile. “We are good friends but sometimes he drives a little bit over his head on the race track, and he’s been in wrecks a couple of times. He’s been a little bit too aggressive with myself or different situations. I don’t get to race him very often, but when I do, he’s a little bit too aggressive, which is OK.

“I don’t have a problem, but sometimes you can cross the line and you can get mad and things happen.”

Wallace explained the intent behind his gesture during a Tuesday appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway, saying that he meant it in a playful manner. “I do it to guys I like and I can race around,” Wallace said, mentioning Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. as fellow drivers that he’s similarly saluted.

MORE: Wallace’s side of Pocono dust-up

On Saturday, Suarez repeated his mantra that those gestures equal fighting words. He also wasn’t buying the “all in good fun” explanation.

“He said he was playing, but I’m not dumb. I know he wasn’t,” Suarez said. “That was his excuse, but that’s OK with everybody. We move on and we focus on the next one.”

But which part of the interaction stirred the most anger: the close-quarters racing or the gesture?

“The way that he raced, I know him. That’s the way that he does things,” Suarez said. “I think that sometimes he’s smart, sometimes he’s not. The way that he did things and then flipped me, and then I got even more mad when he said that he was joking when I knew perfectly he wasn’t. It’s all good. It’s in the past. We’re friends. We have known each other for a long time. There is always that extra confidence in us, we know that we can fight and we can be good the next day. I get fired up pretty quick when it comes to that kind of stuff, as you guys can see.”

Suarez discarded the notion that his perilous spot in the NASCAR playoff picture may have fueled his irritation. The 27-year-old driver for Stewart-Haas Racing is still looking for his first premier-series win and sits 18th in the standings, just outside of the provisional postseason field.

“That thing that, ‘Hey, Daniel is getting pressure’ or ‘the tempers are getting into his head,’ but that has nothing to do with it,” Suarez said. “I can be leading the championship and I will get fired up as good as I get fired up right now. That’s just myself. I’ve been like this since I can remember.”

Posted on by Staff Report

Defending race winner Chase Elliott recorded the fastest practice lap in the final 50-minute session at Watkins Glen International, moving his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet around the track at 126.901 mph on Saturday afternoon.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch also cracked the top five in the session, with Truex racing his No. 19 Toyota 125.418 mph for second-fastest and Busch moving his No. 18 Toyota 125.074 mph for fifth-fastest.

RELATED: Sort through 5- and 10-lap averages | Final practice results

Matt DiBenedetto, who led for most of the practice until a late-run surge, was third-fastest in his  No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Toyota at 125.391 mph.

Michael McDowell was fourth in the session after his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford went around the 2.45-mile road course 125.259 mph.

The Monster Energy Series returns to the track at 6:40 p.m. ET for Busch Pole Qualifying (NBCSN/NBC Sports App) to determine the starting order for Sunday’s GoBowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

FIRST PRACTICE
Alex Bowman snuck in the fastest first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice lap just as the 50-minute session was concluding at Watkins Glen International on Saturday, wheeling his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet around the 2.45-mile road course at 125.888 mph.

Bowman, who made the final lap in qualifying trim, edged out Kyle Busch for the fastest time. Busch recorded a fast lap of 125.786 mph in his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on Saturday morning, just ahead of teammate Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 JGR Toyota at 125.643 mph.

RELATED: First practice results

Defending race winner Chase Elliott was fourth-fastest at 125.623 mph in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, while Kyle Larson rounded out the top five in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet at 125.568 mph in the practice session in advance of Sunday’s GoBowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

The caution came out briefly when Matt Tifft spun his No. 36 Ford coming out of the carousel about seven minutes into the 50-minute session, and Elliott had to maneuver quickly to the left to avoid wrecking. Neither car made impact with anything, but Tifft brought his car to the garage before returning to the track.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

Stewart Friesen punched his golden ticket into the 2019 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series Playoffs with his first career victory in Thursday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby.

That’s bad news for the rest of the competition with just one race remaining in the regular season.

RELATED: Friesen wins at Eldora | Race results | Playoff standings

Six drivers are now locked into the eight-driver postseason before the Corrigan Oil 200 on Aug. 10 at Michigan International Speedway (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriuxXM NASCAR Radio) — race winners Friesen, Austin Hill, Johnny Sauter, Ross Chastain, Brett Moffitt and Tyler Ankrum.

Although two playoffs spots are technically available, ThorSport Racing’s Grant Enfinger is set to clinch his first Gander Trucks Regular Season Championship by just starting next Saturday’s finale, and currently holds a 52-point lead over Matt Crafton. That gives Enfinger the seventh slot before the race turns one lap old.

What bodes well for Crafton is how it’s mathematically impossible for the No. 88 ThorSport Racing driver to be caught on points, as he’s ahead by 63 points on teammate Ben Rhodes, who sits fifth in the standings. Friesen and Moffitt (third and fourth in the standings, respectively) are already locked into the postseason with race wins.

A run-in with Tyler Dippel in Thursday’s showdown at Eldora Speedway shuffled Rhodes back to a 14th-place finishing position after he showed promise for a top-10 run the majority of the night. Now forced into a must-win scenario to make the playoffs, Rhodes let his frustrations be known after another tough race.

“Daytona we got wrecked, Kentucky we got wrecked, here (Eldora) we got wrecked, engine blew at Chicago, transmission issue at Texas, I mean I can go on with this list,” a frustrated Rhodes said outside his hauler Thursday night. “Things out of our control are taking us out of the playoffs.”

“I’m just sad that people can eliminate you that quick,” he added.

Behind Rhodes in the standings are Harrison Burton, Todd Gilliland and Sheldon Creed, drivers who are all faced with the same situation — win or miss the big dance. With a postseason bid on the line, those drivers will be in desperation mode until the very end Saturday in the Irish Hills.

Posted on by Chase Wilhelm

ROSSBURG, Ohio — As fireworks ignited on the backstretch moments after Thursday night’s Eldora Dirt Derby, a heated exchange between Ben Rhodes and Tyler Dippel provided a different kind of fiery display.

After climbing out of a heavily damaged No. 99 ThorSport Racing Ford, Rhodes immediately ran toward Dippel’s No. 02 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet, reaching into the cockpit before a NASCAR official and crew members separated them.

The altercation stemmed from an incident after the final restart with two laps remaining in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series showdown at Eldora Speedway. Dippel slid into Rhodes coming off of Turn 2, sending him into the outside fence. The pair traded paint and sheet metal on the cool down lap before it came to a head.

RELATED: Race results | Series standings | Friesen wins Eldora Dirt Derby

Dippel didn’t mince words regarding his stance on the conflict.

“It was green-white-checkered, it was time to go,” Dippel said after his eighth-place finish. “That’s all it was, it was time to go. He came up after me before I could even get out of the truck. Probably the only way he could do anything because he probably weighs 140 pounds soaking wet.

“He’s a (expletive),” Dippel added. “That’s pretty much just it. He complains about pretty much everyone every week. It’s probably going to be cool to see a person like him miss the playoffs in really good equipment.”

For Rhodes, it wasn’t just Dippel he was frustrated with in the 150-lap feature.

“It was multiple guys on the track,” Rhodes said. “It’s just sad because nobody races with respect on the race track anymore. I didn’t touch a soul all night unless they were wrecking around me and I had to somehow touch them to get away from the wreck. Other than that, I didn’t touch a soul. I raced everyone with respect and the way that I wanted to be raced. We’re racing for a championship and there’s just guys that come here and just clean you out.”

Rhodes also noted Sheldon Creed, driver of the No. 2 GMS Racing Chevrolet, roughed him up in Turn 2, resulting in significant damage to the left side of Rhodes’ machine.

“The 2 didn’t even try to make the corner,” Rhodes said. “Put me in the fence and hit me so hard my mirror was pointed toward the sky … the inside mirror … that’s how hard he hit me. Then the 02 did the exact same thing. It’s just bad racing. I don’t know how to fix that with the guys. Nobody has respect on the track and I don’t know what to do to change it.”

“It’s honestly been building for a few years,” he added. “I’ve seen it get a little worse each year, then this year I just don’t know why it is the way it is. It’s been building for a while and the cup is kind of running over. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I know I got cleaned out on the track several times today.”

This year’s regular season, which concludes for the Gander Trucks next week at Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 10, has been a trying one for Rhodes. While he has five top fives and nine top-10 finishes, six finishes of 14th or worse put Rhodes in a must-win position as he sits 63 points below the playoff cutline following the 14th-place result at Eldora.

“I hate it for my guys,” Rhodes said. “… Things out of our control are taking us out of the playoffs.”

Posted on by Holly Cain

First at last.

Canadian Stewart Friesen held off Sheldon Creed by .728 seconds in the Eldora Dirt Derby at Eldora Speedway to earn his first career NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory Thursday night.

It was a typical Eldora night of close racing, hot tempers and high drama on the Rossburg, Ohio, half-miler. Friesen, the driver of the No. 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Chevrolet took the lead on Lap 94 of the 150-lap race and held off the field despite multiple caution periods and restarts – before prevailing in a two-lap shootout to the checkered flag.

RELATED: Official Eldora results | Complete at-track gallery

Championship points leader Grant Enfinger finished third, followed by Mike Marlar and Todd Gilliland in order. Defending Eldora winner Chase Briscoe, who led a race-high 94 laps, finished seventh. Briscoe and Friesen were the only two race leaders.

“Oh man, thank you to all the race fans that stuck with us,” Friesen said in Victory Lane. “Today, this is the day. This is the week. Thanks to everybody. This is meant to be. We needed to get it done on the dirt. Thanks to everyone. What a special event.”

The race certainly had its share of excitement.

Briscoe, last week’s NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at Iowa Speedway, won both the first and second stages but was then caught up in multiple incidents. He managed to keep his truck racing to take a hard-earned top-10 finish.

For many of the usual frontrunners, the unique Eldora challenge presented new obstacles. It was the dirt debut for several full-time drivers, including three-race winner Ross Chastain, who ran impressively among the top five early in the race, spun out on his own after the Stage 2 restart but rallied to a 12th-place finish.

Sunoco Rookie Harrison Burton was running eighth when he spun and brought out the fourth caution flag of the night and then was collected in another multi-truck accident. He eventually had to retire his No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota and suffer a 31st-place finish in the 32-truck field.

As for Friesen, who had been a symbol of “coming so close” to victory, this was finally his career highlight night. He has six runner-up finishes in the last three seasons, including two earlier this year. A last-place finish last weekend at Pocono Raceway had really put him in championship peril, dropping him to last among the current eight eligible drivers. Instead, with Thursday’s win, he has an automatic berth to contend for the title.

The series moves to Michigan International Speedway for the regular-season finale next Saturday.

Posted on by Staff Report

Here are the qualifying results from Eldora Speedway prior to Thursday night’s Eldora Dirty Derby.

Qualifying Race 1: RESULTS

Finishing spot Truck # Driver
1 27 Chase Briscoe
2 13 Johnny Sauter
3 18 Harrison Burton
4 8 Colt Gilliam
5 44 Jeffrey Abbey
6 22 Austin Wayne Self
7 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb

Qualifying Race 2: RESULTS

Finishing spot Truck # Driver
1 88 Matt Crafton
2 02 Tyler Dippel
3 45 Ross Chastain
4 51 Christian Eckes
5 20 Landon Huffman
6 17 Tyler Ankrum
7 74 Darwin Peters Jr.

Qualifying Race 3: RESULTS

Finishing spot Truck # Driver
1 24 Brett Moffitt
2 4 Todd Gilliland
3 3 Carson Hocevar
4 03 Jake Griffin
5 33 Mike Marlar
6 32 Devin Dodson

Qualifying Race 4: RESULTS

Finishing spot Truck # Driver
1 52 Stewart Friesen
2 99 Ben Rhodes
3 80 Justin Shipley
4 16 Austin Hill
5 38 Mark Smith
6 6 Norm Benning

Qualifying Race 5: RESULTS

Finishing spot Truck # Driver
1 54 Kyle Strickler
2 2 Sheldon Creed
3 98 Grant Enfinger
4 12 Gus Dean
5 08 Tim Ward
6 34 Mason Massey IV

 Last Chance Race: RESULTS

All seven of the Last Chance Race drivers made the field, but the Last Chance Race determined their starting spots.

Starting spot Truck # Driver
1 17 Tyler Ankrum
2 6 Norm Benning
3 34 Mason Massey IV
4 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb
5 74 Darwin Peters Jr.
6 32 Devin Dodson
7 22 Austin Wayne Self

 

 

HOW ELDORA RACE LINEUP IS DETERMINED
STARTING SPOT/DRIVER
 HOW DETERMINED
1. Chase Briscoe Top finisher in Qualifying Race #1
2. Matt Crafton Top finisher in Qualifying Race #2
3. Brett Moffitt Top finisher in Qualifying Race #3
4. Stewart Friesen Top finisher in Qualifying Race #4
5. Kyle Strickler Top finisher in Qualifying Race #5
6. Johnny Sauter Second finisher in Qualifying Race #1
7. Tyler Dippel Second finisher in Qualifying Race #2
8. Todd Gilliland Second finisher in Qualifying Race #3
9. Ben Rhodes Second finisher in Qualifying Race #4
10. Sheldon Creed Second finisher in Qualifying Race #5
11. Harrison Burton Third finisher in Qualifying Race #1
12. Ross Chastain Third finisher in Qualifying Race #2
13. Carson Hocevar Third finisher in Qualifying Race #3
14. Justin Shipley Third finisher in Qualifying Race #4
15. Grant Enfinger Third finisher in Qualifying Race #5
16. Colt Gilliam Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
17. Christian Eckes Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
18. Jake Griffin Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
19. Austin Hill Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
20. Gus Dean Fourth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
21. Jeffrey Abbey Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #1
22. Landon Huffman Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #2
23. Mike Marlar Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #3
24. Mark Smith Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #4
25. Tim Ward Fifth finisher in Qualifying Race #5
26. Tyler Ankrum Top finisher in Last Chance
27. Norm Benning Second finisher in Last Chance
28. Mason Massey IV Owner points
29. Jennifer Jo Cobb Owner points
30. Darwin Peters Jr. Owner points
31. Devin Dodson Owner points
32. Austin Wayne Self Owner points
Posted on by Holly Cain

The first of four upcoming road course events for the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Saturday’s Zippo 200 at The Glen (3 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is always a must-see event pitting series championship contenders against Cup regulars and quite often against road course ringers just competing for the chance to win at the historic track.

MORE: Full Watkins Glen schedule | Entry list

Team Penske’s Joey Logano has won three of the last four races, but won’t be competing this weekend. Instead his Monster Energy Series teammate Ryan Blaney – who won last year’s inaugural ROVAL Cup Series race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway infield road course – will drive the No. 12 Team Penske Ford. Kyle Busch, who won this race in 2017, is entered for Joe Gibbs Racing, as is Cup rookie Ryan Preece, who will drive for JR Motorsports.

The current three top Xfinity series championship contenders certainly would like to stop the run of Cup winners, however experience at the track is not in their favor. Points leader Tyler Reddick has only one start at Watkins Glen – an 11th place finish last year. Both Christopher Bell and Cole Custer – in second and third place in the championship standings – are averaging a 9.0 average finish at Watkins Glen also in limited starts.

Reddick has never finished in the top five on any NASCAR road course race. Last year, Bell was fifth at the Charlotte ROVAL and Custer was fourth at Road America. Custer’s best road course finish was a very dramatic runner-up showing to John Hunter Nemechek at the 2016 Bowmanville, Ontario NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race.

Justin Allgaier, who is ranked fourth in the championship standings, is still looking for his first win of the season after a career-best five wins in 2018. And the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet is a favorite on any road course. He has finished top-10 in the last five races at The Glen. Allgaier won two of the four road course races last year – at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and Road America.

Austin Cindric, who is ranked fifth in the championship, is another driver bringing well-earned road course skills to the series. The driver of the No. 22 Team Penske Ford won the pole position at both Mid-Ohio and the Charlotte ROVAL races last year and finished runner-up at Mid-Ohio and third at the ROVAL.