LEBANON, Tenn. – Just call him the Music Man.
For the second year in a row and third time overall, Justin Allgaier has added another Gibson guitar to his collection following a win in Saturday’s Sports Illustrated Resorts 250 at Nashville Superspeedway.
The victory is the fourth of the season for Allgaier and the No. 7 JR Motorsports team as the grizzled veteran continues to hold onto the points lead in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
After starting the day in 17th place, Allgaier asserted himself as a force to be reckoned with the later the race progressed, staging a thrilling battle with defending series champion Jesse Love at the end of Stage 2 before the final showdown with young hotshot Brent Crews in the closing stages of the race.
Allgaier found himself running second behind Crews after the final round of pit stops, with a considerable gap to close between himself and Crews to be able to add another guitar to his collection, but the grizzled veteran would not be denied.
Lap after lap, he gained ground on Crews before being able to catch and pass him 20 laps to go and set sail with the lead.
Though Crews remained a constant sight in his rear-view mirror, Allgaier would not be denied, crossing the finish line 1.403 seconds ahead of his closest competitor to claim the win.
After a burnout on the frontstretch, Allgaier climbed from his Chevrolet on the frontstretch and paid homage to the late Kyle Busch with a victory bow to the cheering crowd.
.@J_Allgaier pays tribute to Kyle Busch after his win at Nashville ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8QVp5dPMug
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) May 31, 2026
“First of all, it’s been a rough couple of weeks. Thoughts and prayers to Samantha, Kyle, Brexton, and Lennix. It’s been an emotional couple of weeks. I wish my wife and kids and my mom and dad were here to celebrate,” Allgaier said.
“This team right here, they’re incredible…. To win in Nashville, you fans, this place is electric. I love coming here to Nashville.
“I saw Brent struggling after that green flag pit stop and we had a car that was capable of getting there. We struggled that one run and Andrew [Overstreet, crew chief] made some great calls and we put ourselves back in the game and were able to track him down and get the win.
“…Just really proud of this group. Thank God, man. Thank God we got the opportunity to do this.”
JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. added afterwards that Allgaier has been a valuable asset to his team for so long and even now as the decorated veteran he is, keeps getting better with age.
“Justin’s just incredible. Seems to get better and better with every race,” said Earnhardt. “We’ve raced with Justin for so long. I’ve always felt like Justin was steady, dependable, always uniquely one of our better cars, every single race and maybe what we underestimated him a little bit, been with him a long time and he just keeps surprising me with his ability and his patience and his tenacity behind the wheel.
“He is so great on restarts, always trying to gain spots and work hard on the track, and I know a lot of y’all have experienced how great he is outside the car and interviews and with his time and his patience and with partners and sponsors.
“He’s a team owner’s dream in regards of all of those things. So just very thankful. I just want to celebrate him because he’s meant a lot to the organization and we’re way better off because of him as a company.”
Crews and JGR teammate William Sawalich finished the night in second and third place, respectively, along with Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones rounding out the top-five finishers.
The remainder of the top-10 went to Corey Day, Carson Kvapil, Kyle Larson, Taylor Gray, and Sammy Smith.
After leading a race high 87 laps, Jesse Love finished the night in 16th place, having his strong run derailed by a pit road miscue in the final stage of the race.
The Xfinity Series is off next weekend, but will be back in action in two weeks’ time at Pocono Raceway with the running of the Miller Tech Battery 250.
Be the first to comment