Justin Allgaier wins sixth race, clinches No. 1 Chase seed
- Last updated: July 12, 2026 | 11:00
In a nearly four-hour race ending in double overtime, it was still a familiar name ultimately hoisting the trophy -- with the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series championship leader Justin Allgaier making a last lap pass to claim his sixth win of the season in Saturday night's Focused Health 250 at Atlanta's EchoPark Speedway.
Just after taking the white flag signaling one lap to go, race leader Brennan Poole and defending race winner Nick Sanchez collided in a final frantic charge to the checkered flag. As their cars went into the outside wall at the 1.5-miler, Allgaier's No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet motored by below with his JRM teammate Carson Kvapil giving chase in hopes of claiming his first ever win.
But the 2024 series champion Allgaier was too good at just the right time, holding off Kvapil by a slight .139-second to secure a personal high single- season six-win tally and formally earn the 2026 regular season championship.
Their work also put the JR Motorsports team within one top 10 of equaling a record 79 consecutive race streak of having one team car finish in the top 10. Roush Fenway Keselowski currently holds the mark.
"This team, I'm so proud of everyone here at Junior Motorsports,'' a rather emotional Allgaier said immediately after the checkered flag. "Great Chevrolets today. I knew at the end, there would be some guys close on fuel. You just never give up ... That's what this team is all about."
All the storylines provided a fitting ending to a long, thrilling night of competition that included a track record 13 caution flags and four red flags -- nearly a half hour of stoppage in just red flag time. There were 11 different race leaders and 19 lead changes -- including nine lead changes in just the final 70 laps of the 172-lap race.
Five caution periods including two red flags in just the last 11 laps were indicative of the stop-and-go ending to the night that never really saw any consistent long runs in the closing laps. A huge 11-car accident near the front on a restart with 11 to go in regulation eliminated some of the evening's best cars, including Allgaier's teammate Sammy Smith, who led a race best 34 laps in the No. 8 JRM Chevy and reigning series champion Jesse Love's No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevy.
"Definitely disappointing,'' Love said, adding, "It was going to be a tough mountain to climb with all the JRM cars doing a really fabulous job working together so it was going to be tough.
"I could hear my amazing spotter's voice that we were going to tear some stuff up and we sure did.
"Overall, honestly not a terrible points day, we got some good stage points, so try to do our best Tony Stewart in the Chase and win some races,'' he added of NASCAR Hall of Famer Stewart's amazing five-win run in the playoffs to win the 2011 championship despite being winless in the regular season.
"We've got some really good speed and our team is clicking really well,'' Love said. "Shame what happened tonight, but your going to land on that side of it sometimes on this style of race tracks.''
Love's RCR teammate, five-time Atlanta winner Austin Hill, also looked to have a good day -- moving forward amidst all the crashes. The Georgia native was making a run at the trophy with three laps remaining when he was involved in a seven-car melee bringing out the final red flag and eliminating yet another group of legitimate contenders including JR Motorsports' Rajah Caruth who led 18 laps and was among the top-five all night.
In the end, Viking Motorsports' Parker Retzlaff, Joe Gibbs Racing's William Sawalich and Viking driver Anthony Alfredo survived the action-packed final laps and rallied to complete the top five on the scorecard.
Garrett Smithley, Brandon Jones, Kyle Sieg, Caruth and Jeremy Clements rounded out the top 10.
The race definitely impacted the points standings with only three races remaining now to set the 12-driver championship field. Allgaier extended his lead to a massive 240-point edge on the winless Love atop the standings.
On the other side, Brent Crews and Taylor Gray -- both eliminated in crashes -- are ranked 11th and 12th in points. Gray holds only a 17-point advantage on Caruth and a 21-point edge on William Sawalich as the series moves into a rare off-weekend.
Teams return to action Saturday, July 25, with the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (4 p.m. ET, The CW, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Connor Zilisch is the defending race winner.
Reuters