Allgaier leads JR Motorsports 1-2 in Darlington Xfinity race

It was Allgaier's 17th career NXS victory and his second at the iconic South Carolina race track. But it was far from easy.

After battery issues before the green flag, the team scrambled to replace it before the race began. He then had to start at the rear of the field, but was able to quickly charge to the front.

The race ended in a two-lap sprint where Allgaier, on fresher tires, was able to overtake AJ Allmendinger for the race win.

There were nine cautions during the event, including two stage breaks. Six different drivers led at least a lap and there were 13 lead changes.

Noah Gragson, Riley Herbst, John Hunter Nemechek and Sam Mayer rounded out the top-five. Landon Cassill, Brandon Jones, Allmendinger, Daniel Hemric, and Austin Hill filled out the rest of the top-ten.

Cla	#	Driver	Manufacturer	Laps	Time	Gap	Interval	Laps Led
1	7	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	147	1:51'58.823			76
2	9	Noah Gragson	Chevrolet	147	1:51'59.082	0.259	0.259	45
3	98	Riley Herbst	Ford	147	1:51'59.600	0.777	0.518
4	26	John Hunter Nemechek	Toyota	147	1:51'59.969	1.146	0.369
5	1	Sam Mayer	Chevrolet	147	1:52'01.798	2.975	1.829
6	10	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	147	1:52'01.877	3.054	0.079
7	19	Brandon Jones	Toyota	147	1:52'01.981	3.158	0.104
8	16	A.J. Allmendinger	Chevrolet	147	1:52'02.345	3.522	0.364	5
9	11	Daniel Hemric	Chevrolet	147	1:52'02.434	3.611	0.089
10	21	Austin Hill	Chevrolet	147	1:52'02.523	3.700	0.089
11	39	Ryan Sieg	Ford	147	1:52'02.915	4.092	0.392
12	34	Kyle Weatherman	Chevrolet	147	1:52'03.092	4.269	0.177
13	02	Brett Moffitt	Chevrolet	147	1:52'03.138	4.315	0.046
14	27	Jeb Burton	Chevrolet	147	1:52'03.765	4.942	0.627
15	23	Anthony Alfredo	Chevrolet	147	1:52'03.767	4.944	0.002
16	54	Ty Gibbs	Toyota	147	1:52'04.060	5.237	0.293	18
17	45	Tommy Joe Martins	Chevrolet	147	1:52'04.241	5.418	0.181
18	8	Josh Berry	Chevrolet	147	1:52'04.278	5.455	0.037
19	36	Alex Labbé	Chevrolet	147	1:52'04.551	5.728	0.273
20	99	Stefan Parsons	Chevrolet	147	1:52'04.757	5.934	0.206
21	6	Ryan Vargas	Chevrolet	147	1:52'04.998	6.175	0.241
22	91	Mason Massey	Chevrolet	147	1:52'05.099	6.276	0.101
23	4	Bayley Currey	Chevrolet	147	1:52'05.424	6.601	0.325
24	35	Patrick Emerling	Toyota	147	1:52'05.425	6.602	0.001
25	66	J.J. Yeley	Chevrolet	147	1:52'06.235	7.412	0.810
26	48	Tyler Reddick	Chevrolet	147	1:52'06.236	7.413	0.001	2
27	08	David Starr	Ford	147	1:52'06.887	8.064	0.651
28	44	Josh Bilicki	Chevrolet	147	1:52'07.264	8.441	0.377
29	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	147	1:52'07.265	8.442	0.001
30	18	Ryan Truex	Toyota	147	1:52'08.711	9.888	1.446
31	5	Matt Mills	Chevrolet	147	1:52'08.828	10.005	0.117	1
32	38	Kyle Sieg	Ford	147	1:52'11.003	12.180	2.175
33	13	Timmy Hill	Toyota	147	1:52'11.004	12.181	0.001
34	78	Josh Williams	Chevrolet	144	1:52'14.329	3 Laps	3 Laps
35	68	Brandon Brown	Chevrolet	142	1:52'18.587	5 Laps	2 Laps
36	07	Joe Jr.	Ford	135	1:38'14.344	12 Laps	7 Laps
37	31	Myatt Snider	Chevrolet	73	51'22.167	74 Laps	62 Laps
38	2	Sheldon Creed	Chevrolet	16	12'53.318	131 Laps	57 Laps

Stage 1

Gibbs led much of the early laps ahead of Gragson. Eventual race winner Allgaier rapidly fought his way through the field.

Timmy Hill brought out the first caution of the race, spinning off the nose of Bayley Currey. Reddick nearly lost a lap as his team was forced to repair some fender damage, but he managed to stay on the lead lap.

Dragon was able to snatch the lead from Gibbs on the restart, prevailing via the inside line. His time out front did not last long, however, as Gibbs reasserted his position at the front of the field.

Jeb Burton then slowed with an issue and spun trying to enter pit road, forcing another yellow.

The restart that followed was a replay of its predecessor as Gragson again prevailed from the inside line. Gibbs actually fell back to third for a time with Allmendinger making a brief challenge for the lead.

Gragson would win the stage ahead of Gibbs, Berry, Allgaier, and Herbst. Allmendinger fell back to sixth, followed by Sieg, Cassill, R. Truex, and Nemechek.

Stage 2

Allgaier, who made big gains in the opening stage, won the race off pit road and grabbed the race lead.

He remained in control after the restart, an impressive rally for the JR Motorsports driver after starting dead last. 

The next caution flew for Myatt Snider spinning down the track. Gragson continued to impress with his restart prowess, taking P1 from his teammate. Gibbs also found a way around Allgaier. 

Brandon Brown stalled on track, which caused the stage to end behind the pace car.

It was another stage win for Gragson. He led Gibbs, Allgaier, Nemechek, Reddick, Berry, Mayer, Allmendinger, R. Truex, and Herbst.

Stage 3

Allgaier’s pit road once again delivered him the race lead as he won the race off pit road for the second time during the race. He held on through the restart with just over 50 laps remaining in the event.

Gibbs began to drop further back as Nemechek powered around the outside of the JGR star.

With 27 laps to go, a debris caution reset the field for a sprint to the finish. The restart that followed was a game-changer as Josh Berry surged into the race lead.

Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. He was penalized by NASCAR for jumping the restart and had to come down pit road for a drive-through.

With 12 to go, a caution for Joe Graf Jr. put the field in a difficult position. Most chose to pit for fresh tires, but about eight drivers stayed out.

Reddick led the way, but lost the lead to Allmendinger on the restart with just seven laps to go. He then found the wall, forcing yet another caution.

Allgaier and Gragson had already found their way back into the top-five, leaving Allmendinger incredibly vulnerable on those older tires.

The race ended in a two-lap dash and Allgaier quickly jumped back into the lead. Gragson tried to close in, but he could not make up the ground needed to challenge his teammate.

At the back-end of the top-ten, Truex and Clements collided, crashing just before the finish line.