Justin Allgaier dominated the majority of the 2025 GOVX 200. However, despite his superb performance at Phoenix Raceway, the JR Motorsports driver failed to capitalize on his chances at the 1-mile oval and was derailed in overtime from winning at the same track where he lifted his championship trophy last year. The green-white-checkers set up a dramatic finish, featuring Dale Jr’s racer alongside Hendrick Motorsports’ Cup Series star and two Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.

At the end, it was Aric Almirola who triumphed at ‘The Desert Oddball’. The veteran racer squeezed Alex Bowman up the track to narrowly secure his first win of the season. However, the move didn’t go down well with fans, many of whom were disappointed at the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s actions.

Aric Almirola justifies his actions at Phoenix Raceway

For the second time in four weeks, a last-lap pass decided the winner of an Xfinity Series race. Aric Almirola has seen both sides of the coin after missing out on a triumph at Atlanta Motor Speedway after Hill secured his third consecutive win at the track. This time around, the 40-year-old was going to leave nothing to chance, and he made a last-ditch pass attempt during overtime while Alex Bowman was in the lead. The gamble worked, as he slid up the line and pushed the Hendrick Motorsports driver into the wall before going past the checkered flag.

Sharing his thoughts about how the race ended, Aric Almirola candidly said in the post-race interview, “I just knew I needed to get from there to here first. I knew I was going to use him up a little bit, but trying to win the race. You know, I feel like it was warranted. I didn’t think I did anything overly egregious. I just throttled up, and I knew it was going to be a drag race to the start-finish line. Just so proud of all of the guys on this team.”

In the end, only 0.045 seconds separated the two drivers as Almirola went on to win his seventh Xfinity Series race of his career. Understandably, the move didn’t go down well with Alex Bowman, who went on to say, “I would’ve hoped that he would’ve given me a lane on exit, but he just exited like I wasn’t there. Which, he was better than us for sure, but [I was] just trying to capitalize on that last restart and trying to win the race, and got shoved in the fence and the race car is destroyed.”

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The incident between Bowman and Almirola was eerily similar to the one Brent Crews made on Brenden ‘Butterbean’ Queen to secure an overtime win in the ARCA Menards Series. Even though the NASCAR world was not too happy with either of these two overtime incidents, the reality is that history is written by the victors. Despite leading just 25 laps at Phoenix Raceway, Almirola has secured his first win of the season, a result he will take with both hands, irrespective of the circumstances leading up to it.

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Fans are infuriated by Almirola’s actions

As expected, it didn’t take long for NASCAR fans to share their thoughts about the ending at Phoenix Raceway. Aric Almirola pushing Alex Bowman into the wall was sure to raise some eyebrows, but it seems like the majority of the fanbase united to call out the veteran Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Reflecting on the last-lap pass, a fan wrote on X, “He won by driving him into the wall! Aric can only win when he is racing with young guns he is twice the age. He could have racing him clean but then he wouldn’t have won. CHEAP. Plus the CW coverage s-cks.” Another motorsports enthusiast echoed that sentiment, going on to say, “Only way Almirola can win. Has been, never was.”

At the age of 40, Almirola is in the twilight of his NASCAR career. After retiring from a full-time role in the Cup Series, the Florida native has been a part-time Xfinity Series driver with Joe Gibbs Racing for the last two years. Going by his vast experience, an X user was surprised by the racer’s actions at Phoenix Raceway and wrote, “Man I hate Almirola. Just walled him didn’t give him any room at all. You expect that from the young guys but not the veterans. Guess he has to stay relevant somehow.” Despite Bowman being on the verge of a win, the No. 19 Toyota’s last-lap pass prompted another fan to write, “I wouldn’t be proud of that win if I was Almirola.”

CBS Sports journalist Steven Taranto described the last-lap pass as “Aric Almirola squeezes Alex Bowman off the final corner.” Questioning his choice of words, a motorsports fan couldn’t help but say, “Squeezes? More like takes out! Embarrassing @Aric_Almirola.” It’s clear that many fans are unhappy about the Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s actions at the 2025 GOVX 200, but with NASCAR deeming the move legal, did the 40-year-old truly do wrong at Phoenix Raceway? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!