Photo – Kena Krutsinger/Getty Images
Riverton, Illinois native Justin Allgaier has wanted to win at his home state track, Chicagoland Speedway since he started racing in NASCAR. He almost did it on Saturday afternoon, but settled for a third-place finish but knows he’s in the inaugural XFINITY Series Chase. The close of the Drive for Safety 300 brought some relief to Allgaier and now he’s ready to move on to Kentucky Speedway – the first race in the series’ Chase.
“You know, to come here to Chicagoland to be at my home race track to be with our sponsor Brandt, of course this is their home race track too. To have a new sponsor on my car, LetsTalkFood.com and to be my 200th start,” says Allgaier. “There are so many things going on this weekend. To be honest with you, I’m relieved that we’re here, and that we’re moving on and that we’re in the Chase.
“There’s been so much build up before the last race in the Chase. Now it’s time to focus on going to Kentucky and really firing on all eight cylinders and making sure we put ourselves in a good position there. We’ve got a great team, we showed good speed today, and put ourselves in position to maybe win the race. And that’s all the things we’re going to have to do week in and week out to be able to win a championship this year.”
Allgaier ran in the Sprint Cup Series for several years before returning to the XFINITY Series with JR Motorsports to run full-time and with the intention of winning a championship. Now reseeded third in the point standings heading into Kentucky, he has a good chance at going all the way. Will his Cup experience give him an advantage?
“I think, in having the experience at the Sprint Cup level, I’m definitely really happy with,” says Allgaier. “But that’s really not going to fix anything. At least it will help with knowing some of the heartburn that comes with what’s going on.
“The one thing that’s crazy is that every Chase that I’ve ever seen or watched or been a part of is always different. Every one of them is different… For us managing those first three races. making sure we make it to the second round, and putting ourselves in position to learn from those first three. I think if we can do that we’ll have a lot better shot at winning a championship in that final round
Of the three rounds in the XFINITY Series Chase, which one is the most challenging?
“I definitely think the second round…before we get to Homestead, kind of that last one to separate the final four,” says Allgaier. “I think that’s going to be the most challenging. The aggression level is going to be the highest. Managing those three are going to be a real big deal. I also think that probably Phoenix for me…is probably one of my best race tracks of the Chase schedule. So, I feel we’re going to have to manage Phoenix, but to show the speed that we had today. I’m really looking forward to the mile and a halves that we have on the schedule.”
Catch the first XFINITY Series Chase race, VisitMyrtleBeach.com 300 at Kentucky Speedway on September 24th. Coverage is on NBC Sports Network at 8 pm ET with radio coverage on PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.