Going into the penultimate Xfinity race of the season, a lot was on the line for the many aiming for a Championship 4 spot. Contrasting the situation in the Cup Series, just one of the four spots was filled in Xfinity. With three remaining spots to be fought between seven drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s driver at JR Motorsports, Justin Allgaier took home one of them, in some fashion.

With chaos breaking out behind him as he crossed the chequered flag, it led to the blundered hopes of Richard Childress’s drivers, Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill. Coming out of victory lane, Allgaier voiced his thoughts on why he would take no part in the final-lap blame game.

The JR Motorsports star relieves himself of blame, discussing the actions of Sheldon Creed

Heading to Martinsville, Sam Mayer had affirmed his seat for Phoenix, and John Hunter Nemechek was very much in a soft corner. This essentially meant that Justin Allgaier and Austin Hill had a great chance at taking up the other two spots. But for Sheldon Creed, it was a must-win situation. With Sammy Smith dominating much of the race, it appeared as though he might be up for the win. However, the drama that led to the finish was just getting warmed up. A wreck broke out with 7 laps remaining and opened up the gap wide for Hill, Allgaier, and Creed, amongst others.

As the final restart played, a series of traded blows fell through across the cars of Creed, Hill, and Allgaier, each protecting their own interests. A late mistake, courtesy of Creed, caused a huge pileup and collected the cars that were behind them. Falling prey to this was the #21 Camaro of Hill, also that of Richard Childress. With the competition down, the JR Motorsports driver chuckled to victory by half a car length.

Talking to SiriusXM in the aftermath, he relieved himself of any blame. He said about the chain of incidents, “Until that last restart when I chose the top, [I thought] ‘I’m probably gonna get wrecked right here,’ but you had to take that position and I had to go for it. And then you know with Sheldon and Austin getting together, I don’t wanna win races like that. It wasn’t even my doing. But I am gonna be honest with you, I leave here tonight knowing that I raced everybody as clean as I possibly could.”

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The bad blood between Richard Childress’s drivers turns out to be a boon for Justin Allgaier

The mess of a race had a roughly half-an-hour stoppage for the 15th caution. A two-lap overtime following, the final restart cast the teammates, Austin Hill and Sheldon Creed, alongside each other. With both now needing a win to proceed to Phoenix, there was no doubt that either would give up their spots. As fate would have it, the feud between these two drivers gave Allgaier an opportunity of a lifetime.

With Creed slamming into Hill, the #21 Camaro shot into the wall. Hill out of the way, Allgaier who was behind him, pulled into his spot and got the better of Creed by a narrow 0.032 seconds. After his elimination came regardless of the P2, Creed said, “He’s going to be mad, but it’s for a championship four spot and I’m going to fight for my guys until the end.” Hill, on the other hand, was just pleased that he would not have to spend another year with Creed. He said, “Pretty excited for him to go to his next adventure … and I don’t have to put up with him no more.”

While official news has not come out yet, Creed is expected to be joining Joe Gibbs Racing in 2024. His stint with Richard Childress Racing, though much-hyped, never really lived up to expectations. Hopefully, he will find better luck at his next destination. Allgaier though, will be joining Sam Mayer, Cole Custer, and John-Hunter Nemechek to form the field at Phoenix.

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