NASCAR Xfinity Series

Justin Allgaier leads JR Motorsports 1–2 in Steakhouse Elite 200

3 Mins read
Credit: Sean Gardner/Getty Images

The NASCAR Xfinity SeriesSteakhouse Elite 200 at Darlington Raceway began with Dale Earnhardt Jr. leading parade laps in his father’s newly restored #8 Chevrolet Nova. When the race came to an end, Earnhardt was surely still a happy man as his JR Motorsports drivers Justin Allgaier and Josh Berry finished first and second.

A.J. Allmendinger and Austin Cindric started on the front row, and the former led until a wreck occurred on lap five as J.J. Yeley, Brandon Gdovic, and Joe Graf Jr. went three-wide before Yeley was turned into the wall. Gdovic’s day worsened when he wrecked in turn three on lap 14 for another caution. Two more yellows were waved in the first stage with a scheduled competition competition on lap 22 and Matt Mills ending the segment under yellow with his own accident.

Cindric and Noah Gragson—drivers who opted not to participate in Throwback Weekend by running a historical paint scheme—traded the lead throughout the first stage, and it was Cindric who came out on top. Gragson, Harrison Burton, Daniel Hemric, Tommy Joe Martins, Allmendinger, Myatt Snider, Allgaier, Ty Gibbs, and Michael Annett closed out the top ten.

Hemric dominated much of the second stage until the caution came out on lap 94 for Jesse Little and Jeffrey Earnhardt‘s wreck. Burton assumed the lead for the restart and held off Gragson to take his first stage win of the year. Allmendinger, Berry, Ryan Sieg, Jeb Burton, Annett, Allgaier, Cindric, and Brett Moffitt also received stage points.

The third stage opened with Gragson in front. Much like the first two, the leader enjoyed his time at the top before a wreck slowed the race to a caution: on lap 128, Graf turned Gray Gaulding on the backstretch, potentially as payback for a prior incident between the two at Martinsville that ended with a post-race fight. Damage from the entanglement resulted in Graf spinning shortly after the restart to produce another yellow flag.

The final ten laps would see Berry and Allgaier exchanging the lead. Allgaier held the spot until Ryan Vargas spun in turn two on lap 143 to set up overtime for the second time this weekend. After holding off Berry, Allgaier stormed off to his second win of the year.

Although Gragson initially placed fourth, which also granted him his third straight Dash 4 Cash win, he was disqualified after for suspension violations found in post-race inspection; in particular, his car broke Rule 20.14.c: “All suspension mounts and mounting hardware must not allow movement or realignment of any suspension and/or drivetrain component beyond normal rotation or suspension and/or drivetrain travel.” Gragson is the second national series driver to suffer a disqualification in 2021 after Tyler Reddick in March’s Xfinity race at Homestead.

With the DQ, Allmendinger became the new Dash 4 Cash winner as he was promoted to twelfth. Annett was moved up to sixth as JRM still placed three of four drivers in the top ten, while Jeremy Clements was elevated to fifth for his first top five of the year; Harrison Burton is now a top-ten finisher, and Alex Labbé is now classified in ninth as he scores his first top ten in 2021. Elsewhere in the top twenty, Ryan Ellis finished fifteenth in his maiden Xfinity start of the year, Ty Gibbs‘s streak of top fives in each of his first three career starts ends in seventeenth, and Tanner Berryhill wrapped up his first NASCAR start since 2018 in twentieth. Colby Howard and points leader Cindric crashed on the final lap, resulting in the latter’s first retirement of the year.

Race results

FinishStartNumberDriverTeamManufacturerLapsStatus
1167Justin AllgaierJR MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
2248Josh BerryJR MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
32219Brandon JonesJoe Gibbs RacingToyota148Running
4718Daniel HemricJoe Gibbs RacingToyota148Running
51251Jeremy ClementsJeremy Clements RacingChevrolet148Running
6201Michael AnnettJR MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
71302Brett MoffittOur MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
81139Ryan SiegRSS RacingFord148Running
92336Alex LabbéDGM RacingChevrolet148Running
10820Harrison BurtonJoe Gibbs RacingToyota148Running
11194Landon CassillJD MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
12116A.J. AllmendingerKaulig RacingChevrolet148Running
13411Justin HaleyKaulig RacingChevrolet148Running
141444Tommy Joe MartinsMartins MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
153399Ryan EllisB.J. McLeod MotorsportsToyota148Running
161761David StarrMBM MotorsportsToyota148Running
172954Ty GibbsJoe Gibbs RacingToyota148Running
18102Myatt SniderRichard Childress RacingChevrolet148Running
19310Jeb BurtonKaulig RacingChevrolet148Running
203623Tanner BerryhillOur MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
213517J.J. YeleySS-Green Light RacingChevrolet148Running
221566Timmy Hill*MBM MotorsportsFord148Running
23968Brandon BrownBrandonbilt MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
243974Bayley Currey*Mike Harmon RacingChevrolet148Running
253890B.J. McLeod*DGM RacingChevrolet148Running
26346Ryan VargasJD MotorsportsChevrolet148Running
27698Riley HerbstStewart-Haas RacingFord148Running
282515Colby HowardJD MotorsportsChevrolet147Accident
29222Austin CindricTeam PenskeFord147Accident
30280Jeffrey EarnhardtJD MotorsportsChevrolet146Running
313178Jesse LittleB.J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet146Running
322647Kyle WeathermanMike Harmon RacingChevrolet142Running
334013Matt JaskolMBM MotorsportsToyota142Running
341848Jade BufordBig Machine RacingChevrolet140Running
352726Brandon GdovicSam Hunt RacingToyota140Running
363007Joe Graf Jr.SS-Green Light RacingChevrolet132Accident
373752Gray GauldingJimmy Means RacingChevrolet107Accident
382192Josh WilliamsDGM RacingChevrolet48Suspension
39325Matt MillsB.J. McLeod MotorsportsChevrolet44Accident
4059Noah GragsonJR MotorsportsChevrolet148Running (DSQ)
Italics – Competing for Rookie of the Year
* – Ineligible for Xfinity points
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Justin is not an off-road racer, but he writes about it for The Checkered Flag.
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