Justin Allgaier wins NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Michigan International Speedway

BROOKLYN, Mich. (WLNS) – Justin Allgaier was in first place with only two laps to go when a rain shower caused a delay and restart at the Cabo Wabo 250 on Saturday night. Allgaier held off the pack after the restart to secure his first career victory at Michigan International Speedway.

This was the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race in four weeks and the threat of rain hovered over the event from the beginning. There was a short delay early in the race before blue skies returned and stuck around right up until the races most climactic moments, when the rain came down once again and dampened the finish.

The cars were all brought to a halt on pit road on lap 123 of 125. Allgaier was in first place when the race was halted, followed by Sheldon Creed and Sammy Smith.

Allgaier said after the race he initially thought race officials would decide to end the race at that point. Instead, they elected to wait out the passing shower and finish the final two laps.

Allgaier separated himself a little bit from the group on the restart, and when a big wreck behind the leaders forced a caution on the last lap, he came down the home stretch with his first MIS victory secured.

“We did push pace on some of the guys,” he said of his team’s strategy. “We knew that they were saving [fuel] for awhile and then once they realized the weather was coming they started to kind of push again, but luckily we were already able to get clear. I think that was the difference maker. If we weren’t clear when the caution came out I think we would have had a tough time being able to hold out for the win but the strategy worked out. We were able to do all the right things and at the end of the day, there’s a lot of ifs and buts but I think we did everything today executed right and it just made today that much more fun.”

In the wreck on the final lap, Kyle Sieg’s No. 28 car went up and over. It was a scary scene but he was able to get out of the car under his own power.

Creed, who was the pole winner after Friday’s qualifying, finished the race in an all-too-familiar second place. He has never won an Xfinity Series race but this was his 11th second-place finish, setting a new record for runner-up finishes by a driver without a win.

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