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Justin Allgaier emerged triumphant at the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Daytona International Speedway on a Friday night (August 25), clinching his first victory in 26 attempts at the renowned track.
Despite having secured second place at Daytona twice before and leading on the final lap during the season opener in February, the 37-year-old racer seemed destined for yet another runner-up finish.
However, Justin Allgaier managed to stave off Sheldon Creed by an incredibly slim margin of 0.005 seconds, thanks to his adept handling of several late-race crashes that prompted two overtime restarts and an additional 10 laps.
Here are some Twitter reactions following Justin Allgaier's win:
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This outcome marked the fourth-closest finish ever recorded in the history of the second-tier series. Justin Allgaier secured a victory for JR Motorsports, with team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. celebrating in victory lane.
However, it was a relatively novel accomplishment for Justin Allgaier, who hadn't clinched a win in four Cup Series starts at Daytona.
This win marked Allgaier's second triumph of the season and the 21st of his career. The victory placed him in the third position overall, trailing John Hunter Nemechek and Austin Hill with only three regular-season races left.
The third-place position in the race was claimed by Daniel Hemric and he followed by Parker Kligerman and Cole Custer. Austin Hill finished in 23rd place, coming in five spots ahead of John Hunter Nemechek.
According to ESPN, Justin Allgaier said following the race:
"I've been coming to this place for a long time, I wanted to win here so bad and we've been so close. We did all we needed to do. This is Daytona. This is one of the most iconic places in the world, and I'm just so happy to be here."
Late-race collision alters dynamics at Daytona Xfinity Series Race
Hill and Trevor Bayne appeared to have a firm grip on the race in the later stages, but their actions triggered a chaotic multi-car collision when they came into contact with Chandler Smith after a restart with only two laps remaining.
While Bayne was leading, Hill attempted an outside pass that resulted in contact between the two. This caused them to lose control and wobble in front of the rest of the field, initiating a sequence of events that culminated in multiple cars being wrecked.
The race began to intensify around the midway point. The challenge of racing three-wide at nearly 190 mph proved overwhelming for drivers in the second-tier series.
Anthony Alfredo drifted slightly towards the upper part of the track, leading to contact with Brandon Jones. Jones subsequently spun out and crashed into Brett Moffitt.
Their cars turned back across the track, collecting several other competitors in the process. Connor Mosack seemed to bear the brunt of the impact.
The series will shift to the Darlington Raceway next Saturday. In 2022, Noah Gragson secured victory in the event, marking the first of his four consecutive wins as a former JR Motorsports driver.
