Devon HenryRight place, right time, and another win under the lights for one of the greatest NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series drivers of all time at Phoenix Raceway. Justin Allgaier waited until the closing moments of Saturday’s GOVX 200 to strike, leading only the final 11 laps to push him to the top of the championship standings in the NASCAR O’Reilly Series.
Defending Series Champion, Jesse Love, dominated the day after winning the championship at Phoenix Raceway in November, leading a reace-high 114 of 200 laps. A string of green flag runs allowed Love to control much of the race for Richard Childress Racing but a pair of late race cautions erased Love’s lead and allowed Allgaier to contend for the lead after slow pit stops to open the race.
With just 15 laps to go, Allgaier and Love battled door-to-door in a tense fight for the lead. Allgaier made a bold move around the outside lane, using momentum to surge past Love and take control. Once in front, he held steady over the final laps, crossing the finish line 0.449 seconds ahead to secure his third career win at the one-mile Arizona oval. The victory also extends one of the greatest streaks in series history, the tenth straight season where Allgaier won a race.
Behind the top two, Carson Kvapil finished third after leading 22 laps earlier in the race for JR Motorsports. Haas Factory Teammates Sheldon Creed and Sam Mayer rounded out the top five.
With his first victory of the season, Allgaier now leads Love by three points in the championship standings as the series heads to Las Vegas Motor Speedway next Saturday where Allgaier also claimed the checkered flag last season.
Arizona native and Grand Canyon University graduate, Nathan Byrd, drove the Youngs Motorsports No. 42 machine to a 31st place finish in his fourth career NASCAR O’Reilly Series start.
Phoenix Raceway’s historic NASCAR/INDYCAR doubleheader weekend concludes with tomorrow’s Straight Talk 500 for the NASCAR Cup Seires at 12:30 pm MST. Get your tickets while you still can at phoenixraceway.com.
