DARLINGTON, South Carolina — Justin Allgaier used a dominating performance to claim his first Xfinity race of the season and the third of his career at Darlington Raceway.
Allgaier led 119 of 147 laps, sweeping both stages as he finished ahead of Austin Hill and defending series champion Cole Custer.
Allgaier moved past Hill early in the second stage and never gave up the lead, staying in front for the final 95 laps, AP reported.
“I think having a little gray hair really helped me out, though, with those long green-flag runs,” said Allgaier, 37. “Being able to know what’s worked in the past here.”
Only two of the five cautions in the race were for accidents – and they proved to be Allgaier’s trickiest moments of the race.
The first came with 39 laps to go after Hailie Deegan wrecked and the other came with 16 laps left when Kyle Sieg spun out.
Allgaier sped off from the field both times and cruised to his 24th career Xfinity victory to equal the total of JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Allgaier also moved up in Darlington history, his three wins here tying for fifth with the late Dale Earnhardt, Matt Kenseth and Geoff Bodine.
Allgaier’s teammate Sam Mayer finished fourth as AJ Allmendinger came fifth.
Hill, who was runner-up to Denny Hamlin in last September’s Xfinity race at Darlington, blamed himself for another second-place showing.
“I just couldn’t get into Turn 1 on restarts like I really needed to all day and I think a lot of it’s just me,” Hill said. “I’ve just got to figure out what to do differently.”
Three-time Cup Series winner William Byron was the biggest name in the field and figured to contend at a track where several from the sports’ top series have won before. But Byron’s chance ended when he hit the wall early in the race.
A bad pit stop left him three laps down less than 15 laps in, and he ended up finishing 11th.
“I just wanted (spotter) Eddie (D’Hondt) call ‘White flag,’” said Allgaier, who had led laps in seven of 10 events this season without winning. “We’ve had such a heck of a year. We’ve led a ton of laps, and we haven’t been able to do it…
“I think having a little gray hair today helped me out, though. Those long green-flag runs, and being able to know what’s worked in the past here… I didn’t know if the day would come when I’d be able to match Dale Jr. Not only is he a great boss but a really good mentor.
“To come here and be able to tie him, to be able to take over the all-time top 10s, man, there’s nothing better.”
Hill, who led six laps to Allgaier’s 119 of 147, blamed himself for not being able to challenge his fellow Chevrolet driver for the victory.
“I just couldn’t get into Turn 1 on restarts like I really needed to all day,” said the driver of the No. 21 Richard Childress Racing Camaro. “It was just me. I’ve just got to figure out what to do differently getting into Turn 1.
“I did really well with my launches. That’s something that I struggled with here where I’d buzz the tires late in the zone. Didn’t do that all day—I felt pretty good about my restarts—but I would get down into (Turn) 1 and I’d get tight…
“More than anything, I’ve just got to do a better job inside the race car. I thought we were just as good as the 7 all day. Congrats to those guys. We were just that little bit off today, and I think most of it was me.”
Polesitter Cole Custer recovered from a disastrous pit stop under an early competition caution to finish third, followed by Sam Mayer and Aric Almirola.
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