“You don’t ever know the peaks without having the valleys,” Justin Allgaier strongly said before going to Las Vegas. After finishing 17th or worse in five of the past six races, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Xfinity Series mentee was determined to dazzle. Charlotte was his turning point, as Allgaier finished 7th and ousted Shane van Gisbergen from the playoff grid. However, Allgaier’s ‘valley’ experience extended in the face of a Kaulig Racing speedster.

After a long season of race upsets and a 29-race winless streak, AJ Allmendinger struck gold in Sin City. He celebrated both his boss’ birthday and the season’s first victory. More importantly, he locked himself into the Championship 4 race, casting a shadow of doubt on Allgaier’s dream.

Justin Allgaier becomes alert about the coveted title

Well, technically, Justin Allgaier is in a good place right now. He holds the first rank in points, holding a 32-point advantage over the elimination line. Yet he could not help but gaze at his opponent’s success. AJ Allmendinger led a race-best 102 of the 201 laps in his No. 16, as he clinched his 18th career Xfinity victory. He held off a hard-charging Ryan Sieg, overpowering him in the closing laps and getting the best of the field on a final restart at the 1.5-miler with two laps remaining. Eventually, Allmendinger beat Sieg by a mere 0.156 seconds to the finish line.

So even after scoring more stage points than anybody else, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s mentee conceded superiority to AJ Allmendinger. Justin Allgaier poured praises on the Kaulig Racing team: “AJ and the 16 team did a great job. I mean, they haven’t really had that kind of speed all year, and to come out here and to execute like they did, that’s a statement.” He added a 6-word cautious alert: “We’re gonna have to be mindful of that moving forward.” Further, “And you know, hopefully, we can race others around us and keep digging on the points. It’d be nice to win Homestead and lock yourself in and don’t have to worry about it.”

In the meantime, Justin Allgaier looked quite disheartened that he could not clinch his season’s third victory. He dejectedly admitted defeat, while swearing to do better: “Just wish I was standing over there on Victory Lane. Until I have about 80 points going into the next round, I’m not going to be satisfied.” Allgaier acknowledged his team’s solid effort: “This team has worked really hard, and we gave a lot of points away over those six weeks that we were really bad. And I’m proud of the effort. I’m proud of the drive we had today. I’m proud of all the things we did right.”

And the No. 7 JR Motorsports team had to get a lot of things right for the podium finish in Las Vegas.

Allgaier crossed mountains of trouble

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Dale Earnhardt Jr had occasions to celebrate in Xfinity this year – Justin Allgaier won twice this season, with the most recent victory being at Michigan two months ago. However, the troubles set in from Atlanta – Allgaier had a five-race stretch of 25th place finishes or worse. Although he recovered from that icky bit in Charlotte, Las Vegas held challenges for him. In stage 1, he came to pit road with just a handful of laps remaining in the opening stanza, setting Allgaier to restart 16th.  In three laps, Allgaier stormed to second to collect nine stage points before winning Stage 2.

Then in the final stage, Justin Allgaier somehow avoided overheating his engine when the grille of his Chevrolet was covered by debris. So after finishing 3rd, Allgaier had nothing but praise for his hardworking team. “Proud of the team, proud of the effort. I mean, to rebound after the six weeks we’ve had or whatever and to come here and to have the day like we had. We executed all day. We did all the right things, and ultimately we’ll walk out of here with a solid finish. Good points day. Just wish I was standing over there in Victory Lane.”

Evidently, Dale Jr’s mentee is giving a tough fight for the title this year. Although Allmendinger has appeared as a thorn in his side, Justin Allgaier has a solid chance.