Justin Allgaier Secures First 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Win After Disastrous Daytona Weekend

Illustration for article titled Justin Allgaier Secures First 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series Win After Disastrous Daytona Weekend

Photo: Hunter Martin (Getty Images)

Justin Allgaier had his hands full at the first of two races at Dover International Speedway. Not only did he have to hold off the incredibly dominant Austin Cindric, but he was also looking to make up for last week’s disappointing outing at the Daytona road course.

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While Cindric and Noah Gragson looked promising during the first two stages, Allgaier took the lead on lap 76 and never looked back, leading 120 of the race’s 200 laps. He won both the second stage and the race itself.

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“These last 18-24 months have been crazy. I’m just proud of these guys and the ‘never give up’ attitude they’ve got. This team is incredible,” Allgaier said as he climbed out of the car in Victory Lane.

He also didn’t miss a chance to thank AJ Allmendinger: “This is the power of social media. I got blasted last week, so I guess I need to thank AJ for giving me the drive and determination, and all the haters on social media, because that’s definitely what’s given me some fire.”

If you’re a little behind on all the NASCAR drama, Allgaier and Allmendinger made contact while the former was fighting for third place at the Daytona International Speedway road course. After the race, the two had some heated words to exchange:

Much of the social media heat came from the fact that Allmendinger owned up to the mistake, but Allgaier kept arguing and ended up throwing himself under the bus by saying, “I make a lot of mistakes.”

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Allgaier definitely needed a win to help recover from a tough weekend. This is his first race win of a difficult 2020 season. His last race win was at the 2019 Desert Diamond West Valley Casino 200 in November.