It all came down to overtime at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Saturday, March 22, as Justin Allgaier swiped a NASCAR Xfinity Series win away from the dominant NASCAR Cup Series interloper Kyle Larson in the Rock Bet 300.
Allgaier ran solidly in the top 10 for most of the day, finishing sixth in stage one and eighth in stage two while leading 21 laps in the race.
While Allgaier was in the mix with the top cars of the day, Larson was by far the dominant racer, pacing 132 laps only for victory to be snatched from him on a late overtime restart due to Taylor Gray spinning with eight to go.
Allgaier prevailed by holding off Sam Mayer and Austin Hill, who finished second and third, respectively.
Larson ended up finishing fourth, with Sheldon Creed rounding out the top five.
The Winners
Allgaier continues his hot streak early in the season after he won at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last week and nearly scored the victory at Phoenix Raceway two weeks prior. The defending Xfinity champion is putting up a great title defense so far in 2025.
Haas Factory Team was strong once again this week, as Mayer finished second and Creed scored fifth. The duo builds on an outstanding early season for the rebranded Stewart-Haas Racing, as Mayer sits second in driver standings and Creed is fifth.
Richard Childress Racing also had a good race for its duo of drivers, as Hill nearly claimed the victory himself and Jesse Love brought the No. 2 home sixth, an impressive day for two drivers who started 21st and 20th, respectively.
Brandon Jones continues his rebound in 2025 in his first season back with Joe Gibbs Racing after a rough two-year stint with JR Motorsports. Jones finished seventh and earned his third consecutive top 10.
Carson Kvapil finished 10th after struggling early on with a drive-through penalty on the opening lap of the race. Kvapil and the No. 1 team battled through the adversity to earn a top 10.
Speaking of adversity, Josh Williams finished 19th while still battling the lingering effects of pneumonia. Williams had to step out of the car last week at Vegas and could not finish the race. Kaulig Racing had Cup driver Ty Dillon on standby again this week, but Williams pushed through and finished in the top 20.
The Losers
Cup regular Larson comes to these Xfinity races to win, and while he came close, he ultimately fell short and finished fourth. While these races are great practice for Larson, he walks away without a win despite being the dominant driver.
As a result, Larson loses his chance at becoming the second driver in NASCAR history to sweep an entire weekend in all three series, a feat that Kyle Busch has accomplished twice at Bristol Motor Speedway. Larson was able to win the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Friday night (March 22) but fell short today in the Xfinity Series and will set his sights on the Cup race tomorrow.
Sammy Smith won stage one in an impressive multi-car battle, just for it all to result in a 21st-place finish. The culprit? Smith suffered a flat right-front tire with 20 laps to go and had to pit and lose out on the finish he deserved.
Polesitter Taylor Gray had a day to forget after that first career pole, as he did not pick up any stage points and spun late in the race, which sent the race to overtime. He ultimately finished 23rd, while Gray’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate William Sawalich finished right behind Gray in 24th. Sawalich was looking to rebound after crashing on the opening lap of last week’s race at Vegas.
Fuel for Thought
Haas is emerging as a dark horse team that may be flying under the radar. While many have their eyes on JRM, JGR and/or RCR, don’t count out the two-car team.
Mayer recorded his second runner-up finish of the season today and his third top-three finish, while Creed recorded his third top 10.
Haas may not be at the very top of the mountain in Xfinity yet, but it is pushing its way there, with two drivers performing at very high levels — and along the way, the organization is nixing any fears that its shift from Stewart-Haas Racing would hamper its performance in the series.
Paint Scheme of the Race
DGM Racing evoked the feeling of Miami Vice on Ryan Ellis‘ No. 71 with sponsorship from Classic Collision. Ellis finished 20th.
Caribbean breeze in the air, we’re in MIA this weekend! Our #71 & #91 @dgmracingfl x @JIMS__official Chevrolet Camaros race the NASCAR Xfinity Series homestead Miami Speedway race today on CW Network. Let’s go Ryan Ellis & Myatt Snider! 🏁 #DGMxJIM #NASCAR #MIAMI #TeamChevy pic.twitter.com/RjFmRLvYy6
— Jesse Iwuji Motorsports (@JIMS__official) March 22, 2025
Where to Next?
On Saturday, March 29, the Xfinity Series heads to Martinsville, Va., for some short-track racing at NASCAR’s shortest track. The Xfinity Series last raced at Martinsville on Nov. 2, 2024, and Aric Almirola won the race.
Coverage begins at 5 p.m. ET, and the race will broadcast on The CW.
Logan Kendall joined the Frontstretch team in 2025 as the Tuesday News Writer and fills in other roles as needed. He resides in the Finger Lakes region of New York and spends his free time writing as a hobby creatively and is a self published author.
Logan can be found on X @LoganKendall48