JR Motorsports star driver Justin Allgaier’s bid to win the Xfinity Series Chicago Street race took a huge blow during the practice sessions. Alon Day, driving the Alpha Prime Racing No. 45 ride, rammed into Allgaier’s No. 7 Chevy under caution. Day was running in his first National Series race this weekend since 2018 and was going full speed on the corner while wrecking into the Allgaier’s car.

Allgaier had hit the tire barrier while trying to make a quick turn. He did try to get his race car back running, trying to avoid getting hit by the oncoming traffic. Although multiple race cars slowed down on the corner where Allgaier was stuck, but Alon Day seemingly had no whereabouts of the incident. Clearly, there was a lack of communication between the driver and his spotter; this accident could’ve been avoided.

The impact of the contact was pretty damaging to both race cars. Day shredded the entire side panel of the No. 7 Chevy while sustaining huge damage to his ride hitting the wall. Allgaier managed to drive to the pit lane, while Day’s car had to be towed by the track crew. Unfortunately, the JRM star will now have to resort to his backup car, and this is a big blow to his chances to compete for a win.

As far as Alan Day is concerned, he does not have a backup car and will have to depart without competing in today’s race. Fans certainly weren’t impressed to see one of the star drivers being subjected to such an incident. One that could have been avoided by Day’s spotter and NASCAR officials themselves.

Fans react to Justin Allgaier’s miserable start to the Chicago Race weekend

This was a 50-minute practice session, allowing the drivers to get accustomed to a unique and tricky street circuit in Chicago. NASCAR certainly would have expected a few crashes and incidents owing to the difficulty, but looking at Allgaier’s crash, their preparedness and control over the race are under serious scrutiny. “Are there officials and/or spotters at practice? Unacceptable.”

There was also confusion regarding the caution flag, as most of the cars that passed No. 7 were almost at full speed. “I’ve been watching replays, 45 hit him, but almost every car before him was a full speed also , was the caution never called or the spotters blind?? All the cars just missed him was at full speed it looked to me wth!!”

Some fans didn’t mince their words in calling out Alon Day and his lack of talent in trying to compete in NASCAR events. “What an idiot,” a fan wrote via a GIF. Meanwhile, this fan demanded that NASCAR should not allow amateur drivers to compete in the races: “Quit letting these freaking bums get nascar license man.”

Usually, the race officials are quick on the trigger to flag a caution, even on a minor incident during the race; at times, these calls have been controversial. But, during this incident, there was no clarity on their part, and they certainly made a huge blunder. “@NASCAR took forever to throw that caution. Whoever the race director is should be looking for a new job.”

One fan tore into NASCAR’s ambitious plans to organize a street race and suggested they should turn their attention to racetracks that deserve to be on the schedule. “This is what happens when you setup a temporary track without caution lights around the track; there are lots of other facilities that deserve races instead of hacking together a track. Corporate greed is ruining racing.”

It’s far from the ideal start for Justin Allgaier and his team were looking for. But they are not out of contention just yet. Thanks to a backup car, the driver and the team will be able to compete.