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Justin Allgaier wins at Phoenix.
Justin Allgaier proved he can still be a contender in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. Amid his 16th full-time season in the series, the 39-year-old added another win to his resume.
Under the night sky in the desert, Allgaier wheeled his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet to victory on Saturday night in the GOVX 250 at Phoenix Raceway. It was Allgaier’s 29th career win, his third at Phoenix, and his first of the 2026 season.
Justin Allgaier came from sixth on the final restart to win at Phoenix
The race came down to a restart with 15 laps remaining. In a battle between two Haas Factory Team cars, Sheldon Creed escaped with the lead over teammate Sam Mayer.
Two laps later, Creed scuffed the wall on the frontstretch, allowing Jesse Love to gain control. However, it was short-lived as Allgaier pushed past Love for the lead with 10 laps to go.
From there, Allgaier fended off the defending O’Reilly Auto Parts Series champion to secure the win. Love placed second, followed by Carson Kvapil in third, Creed in fourth, and Mayer rounded out the top five.
Pole sitter Taylor Gray led the opening 10 laps of the race before Love gained control on lap 11. Love led up until Sammy Smith overtook him with five laps remaining in stage one. Smith won the stage, followed by Love in second and Kvapil in third.
Love assumed the lead after a round of pit stops and proceeded to lead every lap of stage two. Love placed first, followed by Kvapil in second and William Byron in third.
Love led the field back to green to begin the final stage. After a lengthy battle, Kvapil powered his No. 1 car past Love’s No. 2 machine for the lead with 61 laps to go.
A few laps later, Creed took over the second position from Love. Then, the driver of the No. 00 cycled to the front after a round of green flag pit stops, pitting three laps before Kvapil to gain the advantage.
The first caution for an incident came out with 36 laps to go after Lavar Scott spun out on the backstretch.
On the subsequent restart, Sam Mayer restarted fourth and shot a three-wide gap between Creed and Kvapil for the lead. The driver of the No. 41 retained the lead until a four-car crash with 26 laps remaining set up the final restart.
Justin Allgaier on winning at Phoenix: ‘This is our house’
Ahead of this season, Andrew Overstreet took over as the crew chief of the No. 7 JR Motorsports car. Prior to Phoenix, Allgaier’s new race caller had a message for his driver.
“He’s been telling me all week, ‘This is our house, and we’re going to go take it,’” Allgaier said.
Allgaier won his first O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race back in 2010 at Bristol. Since then, the 2024 series champion hasn’t gotten tired of winning yet.
“Never gets old winning. Especially the first for me here in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with the new name, so hat’s off to them for being a part of this great sport. We’ve got a lot of momentum and this next part of the summer is really fun for us,” Allgaier said.
Allgaier takes over the points lead with the victory after four races in 2026. Following him is Love in second (-3), Austin Hill in third (-5), Kvapil in fourth (-38), and Creed in fifth (-41).
John Breeden John Breeden is a NASCAR contributor at Heavy Sports. He has five years of sports journalism experience. He graduated from James Madison University in May of 2022 with a degree in media arts and design. John is also a sports reporter for the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Previously, John was a sports writer for JMU’s The Breeze and a NASCAR content writer for Sportskeeda. More about John Breeden
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