JR Motorsports’ driver Justin Allgaier has put up some impressive finishes at Charlotte Motor Speedway over the course of his career and was finally able to take to the checkered flag on Monday, bringing his numbers up to one win, six top fives, 12 top 10s and 160 laps led in his 21 starts at the 1.5-mile track.
The win marked his first of the season and the 20th in his NASCAR Xfinity Series career. It was also uncharacteristically the first win of the season for JR Motorsports. The victory also secures him into the Playoffs later this season, for a series leading eighth time in his career (2023, ‘22, ’21, ’20, ’19, ’18, ’17, ’16).
Allgaier will look to keep the momentum going at Portland International Raceway, a track that served him well last season. In the inaugural Xfinity Series race at the Portland road course last year, the 36-year-old driver put up a top-five finish (fifth).
Although there has only been one road course on the NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule this season thus far (COTA), Allgaier has proved he hasn’t lost his road course racing touch as he posted a fifth-place finish in Austin.
Here is a look at Allgaier’s stats on other road courses coming up on the Xfinity Series circuit this season:
Road America: 11 starts – One win (2018), two top fives, five top 10s.
Indianapolis RC: Three starts – one top five, two top 10s.
Watkins Glen: 11 starts – four top fives, seven top 10s.
Charlotte Roval: Five starts – Two top fives, three top 10s.
Back to the Northwest: Portland International Raceway is up next
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading back to Portland International Raceway for the Pacific Office Automation 147 on Saturday, June 3 at 4:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. This will be the second time the Xfinity Series heads to the 1.967-mile road course. The inaugural event last season saw road course ringer AJ Allmendinger snag the victory by 2.879 seconds after working his way up from the 10th starting position.
Allmendinger won’t be in the field this time around but the inaugural pole sitter, Anthony Alfredo, will be back in hopes of leading the field in the Pacific Office Automation 147 once again.
Last year’s runner-up on the Portland road course, Myatt Snider, will also be back to give the track another go. He’ll be behind the wheel of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for his second start of the season with the team. He made his first start with the JGR organization at the season-opener in Daytona, where he posted a fifth-place finish.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill, who placed third in last year’s inaugural race, will be competing on Saturday as well. With three wins already under his belt this season (Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta), he’s hungry for a fourth. If he pulls off the victory, it’ll be his first road course win in the Xfinity Series.
Although the No. 21 Chevrolet driver, Hill, had some engine trouble earlier this season at COTA and ultimately finished 37th, he’s proved his skill on road courses. Last season, he posted a runner-up finish at COTA, a fourth-place finish at Road America, and a ninth-place finish at Indy RC.
Drivers will kick off their weekend with practice at 11:30 p.m. ET followed by qualifying at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 3. Practice will not be broadcast but qualifying will be shown on FS1.
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Pacific Office Automation 147
The Place: Portland International Raceway
The Date: Saturday, June 3
The Time: 4:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,376,231
TV: FS1, 4 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 147.75 miles (75 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 25),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 50), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 75)
Road course racin’ with a twist
The NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading to Portland International Raceway to make some left and right turns but pit stops may look a tad bit different:
GENERAL PROCEDURE RULES
- The field will be frozen at the time of caution
- All caution periods will be Quickie Yellows (when Pit Road has opened, ALL cars may pit)
- Fuel may only be added during the stage breaks
- Tires may be changed at any time during the event
STAGE BREAK PIT STOPS
- Stage breaks will consist of a THREE-minute break
- NASCAR Officials will announce the start of the THREE-minute break after the last vehicle has stopped in their pit stall
- No crew members on pit road until all cars are stopped and NASCAR has announced the start of the break
- Fuel may not be added, and tires may not be changed at the same time
- Tires must be changed first, then fuel may be added
- The lap in which pit road is open during the stage breaks will not count
- Teams that elect not to pit will stop behind the caution vehicle until the conclusion of the break
GREEN FLAG PIT STOPS
- Green flag pit stops, where tires are changed, must not be completed faster than the minimum time allotted from yellow line to yellow line: 60 seconds minimum
- In the event of flat tire(s) under green flag: If the tire(s) are visually flat when the vehicle enters pit road, the team may elect to change the flat tire(s) only and not be subject to the minimum time on pit road
RESTART LINE-UP (During stage breaks and all caution periods)
- Lead lap Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Lead lap Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Lap(s) down Cars that did not pit (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Lap(s) down Cars that pitted (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
- Free Pass, Wave Around, and Penalty Cars (Using Freeze the Field at Time of Caution)
PIT STOP PENALTIES
- Restart Tail End:
- Pit crew members on the hot side of pit wall before the THREE-minute break has started
- Servicing the vehicle after the THREE-minute break has ended
- Vehicles not in the correct restart position when the one to go is given at Turn 8
- Pass-Through:
- Not meeting the green flag minimum time limit on pit road
PIT CREW / PIT EQUIPMENT
- The Pit Crew Members will consist of:
- Road crew roster positions
- Five (5) Crew Members to service and fuel the vehicle (excluding the stage breaks)
- One (1) Driver Assist Crew Member to clean the windshield and assist the driver
- All pit crew safety equipment is required during any pit stops (excluding the stage breaks)
- Any compressed air-driven pneumatic pit gun or battery-operated electric pit gun may be used.
NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.
Xfinity Sunoco Rookie of the Year update – The NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year competitors now have 12 races under their belts as they gear up for their series debuts at Portland International Raceway.
Kaulig Racing’s Chandler Smith continues to lead the competition with one win (Richmond), four top fives, five top 10s and 374 points. Earlier this season at COTA, he posted a 12th-place finish.
Not far behind is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Sammy Smith, who has racked up one win (Phoenix), three top fives, five top 10s and 350 points. He posted a fourth-place finish earlier this season at COTA’s road course.
Jordan Anderson Racing’s Parker Retzlaff has posted one top five and three top 10s this season, accumulating 243 points. He finished 17th at COTA earlier this season.
Closing out the competition is Blaine Perkins with 66 points.
Double dipping in Portland – A few NASCAR Xfinity Series regulars will be pulling double duty this weekend at Portland International Raceway and running in the ARCA Menards Series West’s Portland 112 on Friday, June 2.
Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Cole Custer and Riley Herbst will be amongst the list of drivers. Custer is set to pilot a second entry from High Point Racing while Herbst will drive an entry fielded by Jerry Pitts.
Kyle Sieg is also slated to join in on the double duty fun behind the wheel of the No. 46 for Lowden-Jackson Motorsports and Parker Retzlaff will get behind the wheel of the No. 02 for Young’s Motorsports.
