Justin Allgaier continues string of top fives, efforts to third-place finish
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Justin Allgaier's third-place finish in Saturday afternoon's Xfinity Series race at Darlington was not one without adversity, but with it, he continues a streak of top-five finishes that spans five races with two victories slotted in the middle.
On top of the current run of top fives, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet also ties NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin for the most consecutive top 10 finishes at the 'Lady in Black' at nine.
Advertisement
RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Darlington
It is a run of finishes that Allgaier solely attributes to the grit and determination of his No. 7 crew.
'Listen, this team, everybody at JR Motorsports, everybody on our Brandt Chevrolet has given me the opportunity to do that,' Allgaier said after the race. 'These cars are fun to drive. They do an amazing job, you know?'
But as aforementioned, the result was not achieved without a battle. What started as a day in a great position to potentially grab win number three for the Chevrolet organization quickly went south after winning Stage 2 as a pit-stop error mired the No. 7 car back in mid-pack.
Advertisement
'Listen, we win as a team, we lose as a team,' Allgaier continued. 'You know, the pit-road deal. It's hard when you have those moments, but when you watch the guys rally, it's because they understand, and they want to be successful, just like this race team is. We want those top fives. You want those wins. And, you know, I think that the best example I can give you is last year in Phoenix. You know, we were down, but we were never out, and we came back and we rallied.'
In that Phoenix race mentioned by Allgaier, he came from nearly two laps down to win the Xfinity Series title, a race that netted him the first driver's championship of his career.
It is that race and the adversity that came along with it that JR Motorsports co-owner and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. attributes to the early success for Allgaier in 2025. The pressure is off of the 38-year-old, allowing him to go out each week and chase victories.
'I mean, that's classic Justin Allgaier,' Earnhardt said post-race at Darlington. 'He's always going to give you everything, you know, everything you can, every lap. That's what he did today and we got the best result we could get.
Advertisement
'He's got a lot of pressure off since he won his championship, so he can really just kind of focus on winning races and not really the whole big picture of the season, like he's had to. You know obviously, he knows his chances of winning a championship are whittling away, and so to be able to get that done now, he could just go back to focusing on week after week, race after race, and you can see he's just not making the mistakes we typically see him make in high-pressure situations. Because he's not, you know, he's not trying as hard. He's kind of dialed it back. He's racing smarter, being smoother, not feeling like he's got to, you know, make it happen every single lap.'
It's that mentality and focus that keeps the Springfield, Illinois native proud of the effort and resilience put in by his team despite falling short on Saturday.
'I'm proud of the effort that we're putting in,' Allgaier said. 'If I'd have come out of here 10th or 15th, yeah, I'd have probably been a little more upset. But to come out of here third and lead as many laps as we did, the points day that we had. I mean, just a great day. Yes, you want to win, but it's hard to be sad with third and a great point.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Chicago Sky Make Major Announcement on Wednesday
Chicago Sky Make Major Announcement on Wednesday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Sky have struggled to start the WNBA season, working under first-year head coach Tyler Marsh. Marsh has led the Sky to a 2-6 record, having lost back-to-back games to the Indiana Fever and the New York Liberty. Advertisement Amid the disappointing season for the Sky, they dealt some exciting news to fans, which could soften the blow of their record for a short while. Chicago officially announced that they will be retiring Allie Quigley's No. 14. They will put the jersey in the rafters on July 9. "See you soon 14," posted the official social media account of the Chicago Sky. "The Chicago Sky will retire Allie Quigley's jersey on July 9, 2025." Upon the release of the news, Quigley took to social media, sharing her thoughts on an incredible career with the Chicago Sky. "It's not easy saying goodbye to basketball, but I feel so lucky to have been able to play in the WNBA and live out my dream," Quigley said. "To be able to play in Chicago for my hometown team?!? It doesn't get any better, all I can say is thank you." Allie Quigley recently retired from the WNBA after playing 15 seasons, 10 of which came with the Chicago Sky. Advertisement During her WNBA career, Quigley helped lead the Sky to the WNBA title in 2021. She was also formally honored with her success, having been named a two-time Sixth Woman of the Year and a three-time All-Star. Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images During her 15-year WNBA career, Allie Quigley posted 10.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. The former Chicago Sky star will be honored for her career when the team plays the Dallas Wings at 8 p.m. ET. Related: Caitlin Clark Turns Heads with Major Announcement on Monday Related: LSU's Kim Mulkey Reacts to Major Flau'jae Johnson Announcement on Monday This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 11, 2025, where it first appeared.
CBS News
7 hours ago
- CBS News
Luzardo returns to form with 10 strikeouts and Philadelphia Phillies bats come alive to end prolonged slumps
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. admired Kyle Schwarber's shot deep into the right-field seats —"that's a bomb!" — and got a thrill when Nick Castellanos came inches away from his own solo homer. Castellanos settled for a triple, showing that in baseball — unlike in Stenhouse's day job in NASCAR — good things happen when a long drive ends with a smack off the wall. Alec Bohm also went deep and teamed with Schwarber and Castellanos to contribute three of the Phillies' five extra-base hits in a win the team can only hope revived an offense that's been punchless this month. Another encouraging sign? Jesús Luzardo put two disastrous starts behind him and struck out 10 in six innings to lead the Phillies past the Chicago Cubs 7-2 on Wednesday. The Phillies had lost nine of 10 games overall headed into the Cubs' series and suffered the double whammy of losing first baseman Bryce Harper to wrist soreness and starter Aaron Nola adding a stress reaction in one of his right ribs. They returned home and split the first two games of the three-game set against the Cubs in underwhelming fashion: Of their 26 hits in two games, 23 were singles. Schwarber hit his 21st homer, a Monster Mile — Stenhouse attended to promote the July 20 NASCAR race at Dover Motor Speedway — and Bohm added four RBIs to help the Phillies win the series. Schwarber is averaging one home run for every 10.94 at-bats during June in his career, which ranks third in MLB history with at least 600 at-bats behind Babe Ruth (10.64 AB/HR) and Mark McGwire (10.80 AB/HR). Luzardo handled the rest. The left-hander was an early season success story in his first season since he was acquired from Miami in what looked like the heist of the winter. He struck out 11 in his Phillies' debut and followed in his second start with seven scoreless innings. Luzardo struck out a combined 20 batters in consecutive starts in late May as the Phillies surged to the lead in the NL. Luzardo's next two starts were somehow about as bad as it gets — he was rocked for 12 runs in 3 1/3 innings that skyrocketed his ERA from 2.15 to 3.58 and he gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his last outing in Toronto. Luzardo insisted he was healthy and still hit the high 90s with his fastball, forcing him to study game film with a bit of a detective's eye to find out why his season soured. He came to the conclusion that he must have been tipping his pitches. How about a tip of the cap from Phillies fans instead? "There's a lot of things we tinkered with," Luzardo said. "The biggest thing was attention to detail, attention to where we want to go, pitch selection that comes from me." Luzardo fanned two batters in the first inning to get the gem of a start going. He didn't walk a batter in six innings and allowed his only run with the Phillies up 4-0. Luzardo gave up consecutive singles to open the second inning before he struck out the side. "He studies himself and he wants to address what he's doing wrong," Schwarber said. "That's the impressive thing about him. We were all excited to watch him get out there on the mound today and see what was going to happen. Never a third time." Max Lazar worked two innings of relief and Michael Mercado tossed a scoreless ninth for the Phillies. Luzardo recorded his fourth double-digit strikeout game in his 15th start of the season, the first Phillies pitcher with four or more double-digit strikeout games in their first 15 starts with the team since Steve Carlton had five in 1972. Yes, the Hall of Famer with the 10-foot statue outside Citizens Bank Park. Not all stats, of course, are usually measured against Hall of Famers. Luzardo was the first Phillies left-hander with at least 10 strikeouts and no walks in a game since Drew Smyly struck out 10 in 2019 at Washington. Up next, an off day and a home weekend series against a Blue Jays team that outscored the Phillies 11-2 in consecutive losses last weekend. Schwarber was willing to bet the past two weeks were just a blip in a long season for a playoff-tested team rather than the start of a summer swoon. "We know what we have," Schwarber said. "We've been in a little rut and we're finding our way out of it. We know that if we do what we need to do, we're know that we're not going to be losing many games overall."
Newsweek
7 hours ago
- Newsweek
Tributes Pour In For NASCAR Legend Travis Carter After Death at 75
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. In sad news ahead of the NASCAR Cup Mexico City, it has been confirmed that Travis Carter, NASCAR team owner and founder of Travis Carter Enterprises, has died at the age of 75. After staying in a hospice towards the end of his life, Carter died on June 10, 2025. NASCAR issued the following statement: "From his early days atop the pit box to his years as a respected team owner, Travis Carter embodied the competitive spirit, integrity, and passion that define NASCAR. NASCAR extends its heartfelt condolences and prayers to his family and many friends." Carter became crew chief for Benny Parsons, a NASCAR Hall of Famer, and put a championship win under his belt with the team. NASCAR car owner Johnny Hayes, left, talks with Skoal Bandit team crew chief Travis Carter prior to the start of the 1983 Daytona 500 stock car race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida.... NASCAR car owner Johnny Hayes, left, talks with Skoal Bandit team crew chief Travis Carter prior to the start of the 1983 Daytona 500 stock car race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. MoreIn 1990, the North Carolina native put his own car and team into a race. A number of NASCAR personalities and stakeholders have shared their condolences. Rick Mast posted to X: "In 1989 Travis Carter, while in a desperate situation trying to save his team, took a chance on an unproven, unpolished rookie race car driver at @DAYTONA. He was rewarded with running up front, leading, and a 6th place finish. (Could've won had we gambled on fuel like Darrell did). This race propelled me into the spotlight and reaffirmed Travis's place in our sport. That man took a chance on me because he 'saw something.' Travis was a visionary and was hailed with the upmost [sic] respect in our industry. RIP dear friend. 'It's ah dupping'" ESPN writer Ryan McGee posted: "Godspeed Travis Carter. He used to greet me with 'Hey, Cousin McGee' because I was from Rockingham, NC and he was from Ellerbe, NC and 'that's close enough.' What a NASCAR legend and what a damn nice guy." Brett Griffin also added to the tributes: "RIP Travis Carter. Got to see him a lot over the last few years at basketball games. His son Matt coached Bode for several seasons. Great family. Glad I snagged this pic of him last year to send to a buddy of mine." Brian Keselowski said his goodbyes: "Just heard about Travis Carter passing away. If you didn't know him, you missed out on a great guy. When we first moved to NC in 2010 we rented a shop from him. He was so happy for us when we made Daytona in 2011, I'll never forget it. Rest easy my friend."
