Getty Justin Allgaier (right) is keeping perspective entering the playoffs.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs begin at Texas Motor Speedway. Justin Allgaier has plans to battle for the championship, but he’s not letting this hunt for the trophy define him.
The JR Motorsports driver provided insight ahead of the trip to Texas Motor Speedway. He explained that the organization could realistically put all four cars in the championship four based on the speed during the 2022 season. He then explained that while he wants to win a championship, it won’t affect his level of contentment.
“I’ve watched people that should’ve won championship after championship that never did and I watched people that I say, ‘they’ll never win a championship,’ and they won multiple,” Allgaier said. “When it’s all said and done, a championship is not going to define my career. If my career ended today, I’m perfectly happy with where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and what I’ve seen.”
Allgaier Enters the Playoffs in a Solid Position
GettyJustin Allgaier has several bonus points entering the playoffs.
All four JR Motorsports drivers — Noah Gragson, Allgaier, Josh Berry, and Sam Mayer — are in the playoffs. The driver of the No. 9 sits in the best spot with six wins, a series-high 13 stage wins, and 51 points.
Allgaier is also in a strong position. He locked up three wins and eight stage wins during the regular season, which helped him secure 33 points entering the playoffs. This puts him third in the standings behind Gragson and Joe Gibbs Racing’s Ty Gibbs.
The driver of the No. 7 Chevrolet now heads toward three tracks where he has some strong performances. Though he hasn’t reached Victory Lane at Texas Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, and the Charlotte Roval.
Allgaier has four career top-five finishes at Talladega Superspeedway, a run that includes a third-place finish during the 2021 playoffs. He also has five top-fives at Texas Motor Speedway, including three straight in 2021 and 2022.
The lack of a win at the Roval is understandable. Only two drivers have won Xfinity Series races at the road course. Chase Briscoe won the inaugural race in 2018 and then AJ Allmendinger captured the last three wins.
Allgaier Has Plans for a Return in 2023
If Allgaier wins the first championship of his career, it will add to a resume that already includes 19 career wins and 4,696 laps led. If not, it won’t change how he feels about his NASCAR career.
The 2022 season will not be Allgaier’s last in NASCAR. He explained during the race weekend in Kansas that he fully plans on making his return for another year of competition.
The Xfinity Series and JR Motorsports will likely continue to be Allgaier’s home for another season. Though he said that he would like to make some Cup Series starts in the Next Gen car while taking care of some unfinished business.
“Obviously, the Xfinity Series schedule is awesome,” Allgaier explained. “Love this series. The goal is to be back here. Obviously, I’d love to do some Cup racing, whether that’s full-time or part-time. Who knows what that looks like? I’d love to get back in the Cup car, especially now with the Next Gen car. It seems like they… the parity is, obviously, a lot closer.
“It would be fun, and I still feel like there’s some things that I have, I’d like to finish on the Cup side. But on the other side of it, I have such a great team, and we’re capable of going to the race track week in and week out and battling for wins. It’s hard to want to walk away from that.”
Neither Allgaier nor JR Motorsports have confirmed his return to the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro for the 2023 season with a press release. This is not a surprise considering that they did not announce his 2022 plans until mid-September 2021.