In his seventh appearance in the NASCAR Xfinity Championship 4, Justin Allgaier won his first series title this season.

It wasn’t easy. Allgaier had to overcome two penalties in the championship race. A caution with less than 50 laps left in the season, put Allgaier back on the lead lap and on the path to that long-sought championship.

That’s kind of how Allgaier’s season was this year. Little came easy.

CREW CHIEF: Jim Pohlman

TEAM: JR Motorsports

WINS: 2 (Darlington, Michigan)

LAPS LED: 709

TOP 5s: 10

TOP 10s: 20

STARTS FROM POLE: 0

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Perseverance. So much went wrong, yet this team fought through the struggles to win the championship. Allgaier scored five consecutive top 10s at the end of the playoffs, including three top fives in that span. Allgaier entered the final race in the first round of the playoffs seven points below the cutline but scored 18 stage points and finished seventh to advance. Caution at Lap 156 of the 200-lap finale put him back on the lead lap after serving two penalties just past the halfway point at Phoenix, setting up to win the championship.

WHAT WENT WRONG: He failed to finish six races. He had five finishes of 25th or worse in the first 15 races of the season. Allgaier opened the first round of the playoffs by finishing 36th at Kansas and 25th at Talladega, putting him in jeopardy of being eliminated at the Charlotte Roval. In the championship race, Allgaier was penalized for a restart violation and then speeding on pit road as he served his restart penalty.

ALLGAIER SAID: “When I first started in NASCAR, I thought I was ready to win a championship. I thought I was ready to compete at a high level. As you get older, and especially having the kids and seeing them grow up … I don’t know if I would have enjoyed the moment as much then as I do now. It’s been absolutely amazing to watch (daughters Harper and Willow) enjoy it.”

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2025: Allgaier is back with JR Motorsports and will look to win back-to-back titles and become only the fourth driver since 2000 to do so in the Xfinity Series.