Allgaier Breaks Through with Darlington Victory, JRM’s Third Straight Triumph

JR Motorsports | 5/7/2022

Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Bass Pro Shops Black Rifle Coffee Darlington Raceway Hellmann's Josh Berry Justin Allgaier News Noah Gragson Race Report Sam Mayer Throwback Tire Pros TrueTimber XFINITY Series

Justin Allgaier dominated Saturday’s race at Darlington Raceway, winning his first race of 2022 and the 17th of his career. Noah Gragson and Sam Mayer added two additional top fives to the team's tally.

Race Results 

Race 11 of 33: Mahindra ROXOR 200 at Darlington Raceway
Track Specs: 1.366-mile oval / 147 laps
Race Winner: Justin Allgaier       

Allgaier's Finish: 1st
Gragson's Finish: 2nd 
Mayer's Finish: 5th 
Berry's Finish: 18th


Justin Allgaier

Justin Allgaier, driver of the throwback No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet, earned the 17th victory of his NASCAR Xfinity Series career on Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway in dominating fashion, leading four times for a race-high 76 laps before capturing his first win of the 2022 season. With today’s victory, Allgaier has now won in six consecutive seasons for JR Motorsports and has secured his place in the NXS Playoffs. Additionally, today’s capturing of the checkered flag marks the third consecutive win for JRM dating back to Talladega Superspeedway last month.

Race Rundown

  • Allgaier was forced to take the green flag for the 147-lap event from the rear of the field after a battery issue following the command to start engines forced the JRM driver to the back of the pack.
     
  • Undeterred by starting at the rear, Allgaier rapidly ascended up the leaderboard, needing just 26 laps to enter the top 10 for the first time. The driver of the throwback Hellmann’s Chevrolet’s climb didn’t stop there, as Allgaier entered the top five on lap 34 and remained there for the final 11 laps of Stage One to take the green-and-white checkered in fourth on lap 45. The stage-ending result earned Allgaier and the No. 7 team seven valuable stage points to begin the day.
     
  • Following the Stage One result, crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier in for four fresh tires and fuel. A strong stop by the Hellmann’s crew sent Allgaier back out with the race lead ahead of the start of Stage Two on lap 51.
     
  • Once out front, Allgaier set sail, as the Illinois native maintained the top spot through a lap-74 caution period. Then, on the ensuing restart, Allgaier battled wheel-to-wheel with JRM teammate Noah Gragson before ultimately settling in to the third position for the final eight laps of Stage Two. Although sliding to third, the strong stage result earned Allgaier an additional eight points on the afternoon.
     
  • Another strong pit stop by the Hellmann’s crew prior to the start of the third and final stage sent Allgaier back out with the race lead ahead of the lap-94 restart.
     
  • Now back out front, Allgaier again looked to distance himself from the field, as the JRM driver would hold on to the race lead for the 39 laps that followed before a lap-135 caution period shuffled up the running order.
     
  • With a variety of pit strategies playing out amongst the front runners, Burdett made the call to bring the driver of the throwback Hellmann’s Chevrolet back to pit road for one last set of fresh tires and fuel.
     
  • Restarting from the seventh position on lap-140, Allgaier went on the attack and charged back up to second before the caution flag was again displayed on lap-141, setting up a two-lap-shootout to the finish.
     
  • Lining up on the outside of the front row for the final restart of the day, Allgaier quickly broke out with the race lead as the field exited Turn 2 and held on to the top spot ahead of teammate Gragson for the final two laps to secure his first checkered flag of the season and his second overall at the “Track Too Tough To Tame.”
     
  • With the win, Allgaier has now locked his way in to the NXS Playoffs.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 Hellmann’s Chevrolet team

“What a day. I can’t thank Jason (Burdett, crew chief) and everyone on this JR Motorsports team enough. We had an unbelievable Hellmann’s Camaro today with an awesome throwback paint scheme and it just feels great to be able to get back to Victory Lane. Today just shows how this team never gives up, from the battery issue at the start, to fighting back through the field, and to ultimately ending up here in Victory Lane. I just can’t say enough about this group and everyone back at JRM. Three straight wins for the organization is unbelievable and I’m just happy to be able to be the guy to bring home the checkered flag today.”


Noah Gragson

Noah Gragson swept both stages on Saturday at Darlington Raceway in the Mahindra ROXOR 200 for NASCAR Xfinity Series cars and nearly ran down JR Motorsports teammate Justin Allgaier for the race victory on the final green-white-checkered restart to earn a runner-up finish. The Nevada native, already qualified for the NXS playoffs by virtue of two victories, led 45 laps on the way to his third straight top-four finish and gained ground in the points, trailing the leader by just 25 after 11 races. With his finish, Gragson kept intact his streak of never having finished worse than eighth in six NXS starts on the 1.366-mile oval.

Race Rundown

  • Gragson qualified fourth-fastest for the 200-lap run around NASCAR’s first superspeedway and was soon on the move once the green flag waved. Gragson took the lead on lap 14 in a duel with polesitter Ty Gibbs. Three laps later, Gibbs moved back to the lead for five laps. Gragson, battling a loose condition, regrouped and took the top spot back at lap 23, holding it for the rest of the 45-lap Stage One to earn 10 valuable stage points and another playoff point for the Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber Camo/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet team.
     
  • On the ensuing pit stop, crew chief Luke Lambert called for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to help his loose handling condition. Returning to the track in second position, Gragson resumed his battle with Gibbs and teammate Justin Allgaier.
     
  • As Stage Two wore on toward its lap-90 conclusion, Gragson passed Gibbs for second and set out after Allgaier, finally catching him for the lead at lap 79. Once again, Gragson used the top groove to stretch his advantage and drove under the green-and-white checkered flag in first place to take Stage Two. It was the sixth straight stage win for a JRM driver, and added another 10 points to Gragson’s total for the day.
     
  • Under caution, Gragson told Lambert his car was building to the loose side as he ran, and the veteran crew chief dialed up some changes for the Stage Two stop. On pit road, Gragson took four tires and fuel with chassis and air-pressure adjustments to help tighten up Gragson’s Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Chevrolet for the final segment.
     
  • Choosing the bottom line for the restart, Gragson once again chased Allgaier for the lead. Allgaier’s favored groove was on the bottom lane, while Gragson worked the top side. A caution flag waved at lap 122, and Gragson again came to pit road with the rest of the leaders for another set of tires and fuel to the finish. Several cars stayed out, and that put Gragson sixth for the restart.
     
  • When racing resumed, Gragson moved quickly through the cars that stayed out, reaching third place in just two laps. He rode there until lap 137, when the caution waved yet again for debris. With a set of tires still in the pits and just 10 laps remaining in the race, Lambert called his driver to pit road to put them on, with an air-pressure adjustment added for the short run as well as a splash of fuel to maintain his handling.
     
  • Starting ninth. Gragson again raced toward the front of the pack and was third when the final caution flag of the day waved at lap 143 for a crash in Turn 2. That set up the final green-white-checkered restart.
     
  • Choosing the top lane for the restart behind Allgaier, Gragson followed his teammate to the front and harried Allgaier, but fell 0.259 seconds short at the checkered flag. The runner-up finish—his third of the season--netted Gragson 55 points on the day, gaining 18 points on leader AJ Allmendinger to stay second, just 25 points off the lead after 11 races.
     
  • Over the opening third of the season, Gragson has earned two victories, eight top-five and eight top-10 finishes.

Noah Gragson, driver No. 9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber®/Black Rifle Coffee Company Chevrolet team

“First, I want to congratulate Justin (Allgaier) and the whole No. 7 team. I’m really proud of the effort by everyone on this Bass Pro Shops team, Luke Lambert and the boys. We were fast in practice yesterday but it didn’t really have the feel that I really wanted in it. We kept persevering. Hendrick Engines were awesome today, a 1-2 finish for JRM again. Justin ran the bottom and I ran the top, and I thought we were going to have the top rolling on him, but just came up a little bit short. Two stage wins...it’s a lot of hard work and preparation and it’s really showing up for us on the track. Not only is it three wins in a row for JRM, it is three straight here at Darlington. It’s fun when the whole shop is running on all cylinders. Thanks to Johnny Morris and all the people at Bass Pro Shops, Rusty and TrueTimber and all the guys at Black Rifle Coffee.”


Sam Mayer

Sam Mayer and the No. 1 Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team brought home their fifth top five in the last six races by way of a fifth-place finish in Saturday’s Mahindra Roxor 200 at Darlington Raceway for the NASCAR Xfinity Series. After battling through the first two stages at the track “too tough to tame,” Mayer found himself in 18th for the final restart and managed to pick up 13 spots over the last three laps of competition to score the finish.

Race Rundown

  • Mayer started seventh after weather cancelled yesterday’s qualifying session. Early on in the opening run, Mayer diagnosed a free condition on the No. 1 Camaro. But as the laps clicked off, the car became looser and Mayer fell to 17th by the conclusion of Stage One.
     
  • The team used the stage-ending caution to bring Mayer to pit road for four tires and fuel. Interim crew chief Andrew Overstreet also called for a big swing on adjustment to tighten up the chassis for Mayer.
     
  • Mayer took the Stage Two restart in 14th. Back up to speed, Mayer commented the car was the most comfortable it had been all day. The 18-year-old laid down solid lap times and managed to climb to seventh by the end of Stage Two.
     
  • With the Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions pit crew earning Mayer an additional spot on pit road with a quick stop, the No. 1 was shown in sixth for the opening laps of the final stage.
     
  • The crew had Mayer’s ride dialed in for the final stage, and it showed. With strong lap times, he raced inside the top five for the bulk of the stage.
     
  • A caution flag with 10 laps remaining brought the front runners to pit road with a number of slower cars electing to take track position and stay out on old tires. Mayer and the stronger cars in the field restarted mid pack, but with fresh rubber. Mayer lined up in 17th for the restart.
     
  • Mired in traffic, Mayer kept his composure and his fenders clean through the closing laps until the field slowed for a final caution that left him 18th with three laps remaining.
     
  • Mayer worked his way inside the top 10 over those final few circuits and managed to avoid a multi-car crash coming off of Turn 4 on the white-flag lap to secure a fifth-place finish.

Sam Mayer Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions Chevrolet team

“It was definitely a learning day for me. Running up front with those guys in the final stage and being able to learn the different ways to drive this track was really informative. I was lost through those first two stages. But then as the last stage came around, we got the car really dialed in. It was really good and pretty spot on there at the end. Being 18th with like three to go, I don’t know what happened for us to have time to get inside the top five. But we did. And I’m really proud of this Accelerate Professional Talent Solutions team. Our goal is to keep this streak going.”


Josh Berry

Josh Berry, driver of the No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet, overcame a restart infraction late in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Xfinity Series event at Darlington Raceway to finish in the 18th position. Falling one lap down as a result of the penalty, Berry received the free pass with less than 15 laps remaining and battled through the field to earn a hard-fought 18th-place finish.

Race Rundown

  • Berry and the No. 8 Tire Pros team started from the second position for the 200-mile event after Friday evening’s qualifying session was rained out and the lineup was set by NASCAR’s rulebook.
     
  • The driver of the No. 8 Camaro settled into the third position throughout two yellow flag stints in Stage One en route to a third-place finish. The stage result earned Berry eight points to begin the afternoon.
     
  • Pitting for four tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment during the stage break, Berry restarted from the inside of row two, behind teammate Noah Gragson. Berry battled for position inside the top five for the ensuing run that followed.
     
  • Fighting hard throughout the remainder of Stage Two, Berry ultimately settled in to the sixth position and held steady there until the green-and-white checkered was displayed on lap-90 to earn an additional five stage points.
     
  • Running inside the top five during the opening laps of the final stage, a lap-120 caution gave the Tire Pros team an opportunity to put four fresh tires and improve the handling on the No. 8 Chevrolet. Exiting the pits in the second position, Berry restarted under race leader and teammate Justin Allgaier.
     
  • Unfortunately, Berry was black-flagged following the restart for accelerating before the leader and was forced to serve a pass-through penalty, resulting in the 31-year-old losing one lap in the process.
     
  • The No. 8 received the free pass during a lap-136 caution period and used the opportunity to pit for four fresh tires, fuel and a chassis adjustment to loosen the car up for the seven-lap dash to the finish.
     
  • Restarting from the rear, Berry raced into the 24th position before a lap-141 caution bunched the field back together. Restarting from the top of row 10 for the green-white-checkered finish, Berry improved six positions before the end and was credited with an 18th-place finish.

Josh Berry, driver No. 8 Tire Pros Chevrolet team

“This Tire Pros Chevrolet was really fast today and the pit crew did what they needed to do to get us track position there late. The restart there at the end really cost this team a shot at the win but we will regroup and take this off week to prepare for Texas.”

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XFINITY Series Schedule

  • March 30 01:30 PM ET
    ToyotaCare 250Richmond Raceway
  • April 6 07:30 PM ET
    NXS Spring Race at MartinsvilleMartinsville Speedway
  • April 13 01:30 PM ET
    Andy’s Frozen Custard 300Texas Motor Speedway
  • April 20 04:00 PM ET
    Ag-Pro 300Talladega Superspeedway
  • April 27 01:30 PM ET
    A-GAME 200Dover International Speedway

XFINITY Series Standings

After Dead On Tools 250

Martinsville Speedway | 10/28/2023
Results are not available.