Justin Allgaier overcame an early penalty in the Hard Rock Bet 300 and executed a flawless overtime restart to claim both the race win and the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash bonus at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, March 22.
Allgaier’s second consecutive victory marks the 27th of his career and his first at the track.
He held off Sam Mayer and Austin Hill, who finished runner-up and third, respectively.
Kyle Larson finished a disappointing fourth after dominating much of the race, and his bid to sweep all three of the weekend’s NASCAR races at the track came to an early end. Sheldon Creed crossed the line fifth to end his solid day, while Jesse Love finished as the last of the Dash 4 Cash contenders in sixth.
After starting shotgun on the field, Brandon Jones rebounded to finish seventh, followed by Nick Sanchez in eighth, Daniel Dye in ninth and Carson Kvapil rounding out the top 10.
Allgaier spent much of the final stage running fourth behind Larson, Mayer and Hill before a caution for polesitter Taylor Gray with eight laps remaining turned the finish upside down.
Lining up fourth as the second car in the outside lane, Allgaier was able to scoot past Larson and Mayer, who didn’t launch well on the inside, before making the winning pass on Hill on the final lap.
“It’s just a testament to this team,” Allgaier told The CW. “I always say God is good, and today was one of those days where it wasn’t our day. We got behind but were able to persevere. … I told you yesterday, if there was anywhere I could win, it would be here because I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.
“I was actually bummed to see the caution come out, but it worked out in our favor. I’m bummed that I got the triple from Kyle because I think he’s gonna have a great shot at it tomorrow, but we were at the right place at the right time, and I’m really proud of this race team.”
While the final caution and ensuing restart proved fortuitous for Allgaier, it was heartbreaking for Larson. After leading 132 laps on the day and building up a lead of more than 15 seconds in the closing stages, Larson’s poor launch on the overtime restart, caused in part by contact with Mayer, saw a sure win slip away.
While Allgaier scored the victory, it was Larson who stole the show with his dominant performance before the untimely late caution. After starting 17th, Larson charged into the top five in just eight laps. As Larson got to the front, an intense battle unfolded as he, Mayer and Allgaier proceeded to swap the lead among themselves several times as the laps wound down in stage one.
A caution with only eight laps remaining in stage one opened the door for several teams to pit for tires and make a run at stage points. While frontrunners like Larson stayed out to hold their track position, risk-takers like Leland Honeyman Jr., Kyle Sieg and Sammy Smith opted for fresh tires to try to steal the stage.
The gamble paid off in the short term for those who made it, as each driver sniffed the lead coming to the stage end. In the end, Smith was able to slip past Sieg on the final lap of the stage to claim stage one.
The start of stage two saw several new players at the front, as names like Love and Hill emerged toward the top of the leaderboard. Love’s short run prowess propelled him to the lead and also allowed him to set the fastest lap of the race out front.
As the run wore on, Mayer and Larson chased down and disposed of Love to battle for the lead between themselves. While Mayer held the lead for a solid portion of the run, Larson was able to best Mayer through lapped traffic and reclaim the lead before pulling away to win stage two.
With both the fastest car and the best track position to start stage three, Larson operated in cruise control for much of the race’s closing stages before it all unraveled.
Xfinity Homestead Results
After the chaotic ending and exciting racing at Homestead, the NASCAR Xfinity Series returns next Saturday, March 29, from Martinsville Speedway, with coverage beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
