The Final Four drivers in Xfinity hail from different teams. One of them is Justin Allgaier, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet and holding a glittering resume. He added his 25th career Xfinity race victory in Michigan in August, also holding the record for the most top-ten finishes in the series – 281. Yet a team defect may haunt Allgaier as he tries to fetch his first championship under Dale Earnhardt Jr’s mentorship. Meanwhile, his JRM teammate seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

Ever since Brandon Jones joined the JR Motorsports bandwagon last year, things have been topsy-turvy in the team. The former Joe Gibbs Racing driver brought forth a bad habit – that of wrecking frequently and collecting his teammates. This is the only thing making Allgaier jittery about his Xfinity title aspirations.

A hot rod under Dale Earnhardt Jr’s umbrella

And then there were Four. Across NASCAR’s three series, tensions are soaring as the chosen playoff drivers mentally prepare for the final battle. Yet in the Xfinity series, the drivers were chilling in Dale Earnhardt Jr’s studio. They were so relaxed that they even shared their weaknesses with each other. In Dale Jr’s own team, there is a huge defect. Not only did Brandon Jones go winless in 2023, but he washed up against a slew of wrecks. In Daytona, Anthony Alfredo slid up to him in the pack and caused a multi-car wreck, and Jones wrecked his teammates in Bristol. That trend continued this year as well.

After 65 laps of relatively calm racing in the Talladega summer race, Parker Kligerman and Ryan Sieg collided. The former rammed into Brandon Jones, who in his turn collected JRM teammate Sam Mayer among others. This wild trend prompted AJ Allmendinger to slip a wish right in front of Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I just want you guys to race each other like you guys do at the superspeedways.” Justin Allgaier admitted that the wild habit stretched behind Jones. For instance, Noah Gragson intentionally wrecked Sage Karam in 2022. “If you ever want to call on JR Motorsports for race manipulation or taking team orders, just watch any race from the last 10 years that I’ve been here. I think we’ve wrecked each other more than any other racecar.” 

However, even Allgaier could not help but admit Jones’ faults that hurt all of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s drivers. “Daytona…I’m pretty sure Brandon Jones…wrecked all four of us in one shot.” Then Allmendinger playfully addressed Jones: “Brandon, just if you’re listening to this when you’re next to the old 7 on the restart, you’re not his teammate next year, just remember that.” Then the Kaulig Racing driver said he enjoyed JRM’s special defect. “That’s what I’m gonna actually miss most about Xfinity when I go back to Cup next year. Like, leading the superspeedways…’Hey, you got all Junior cars lined up behind you.’ I’m like, ‘Don’t worry, they’re gonna crash. It’s all good.'”

Despite Dale Earnhardt Jr’s team weakness, the championship hopes look solid this time.

Allgaier leading the way

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Among the four championship-eligible drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s stud is the most seasoned. Justin Allgaier, a 38-year-old Illinois native, holds two Phoenix wins in the No. 7 Chevy (2017 and 2019). This season he clinched a pair of victories in Darlington and Michigan along with 19 top-ten finishes. Allgaier also boasts 705 laps led, his second-highest total in the last four years, with a race still remaining. He will make his seventh appearance in the Championship 4 Round and third in a row. However, in a 25-win, 15-year career in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, he will be racing for his first-ever title. And the confidence associated with that ambition is off the charts.

During the Championship 4 Media Day in Phoenix, Justin Allgaier exuded positivity. “[Crew chief] Jim Pohlman told me two weeks ago, ‘We’re going to go win Phoenix, it’s just a matter of whether you race for a championship or not. If we’re going to raise a trophy, I’d rather it be the big one rather than the little one.’ He’s very confident in that, and to have your leader of your group that confident kind of exudes confidence through everybody.” He added,

Allgaier reflected on his numerous close calls in the Championship 4 and how it has shaped his mindset going into his seventh attempt at securing the big one, saying, “I come to this weekend, and I think being here as many times as I have and it’s not worked out, you get this sense of peace of like, ‘I’ve been here before and not been able to accomplish it.’ So, with a different mindset, we’ll see what happens.”

Evidently, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s team strength may be enough to match its weakness. Let us see if Justin Allgaier can set out to achieve his team’s soaring ambition and get himself a well-deserved title.