Allgaier Has Extra Time To Think About His Million Dollars Chances

Story By: NASCAR – DAYTONA BEACH, FL – Next week at Bristol Motor Speedway, the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash returns for its second installment of the 2017 program in the Fitzgerald Glider Kits 300 (April 22 at 1 p.m. ET on FS1, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Once again, $100,000 is up for grabs for contending drivers.

Justin Allgaier took home the first Dash 4 Cash win and monster payload ($100K) earlier this season at Phoenix International Raceway. What’s even more exciting is if Allgaier can win the NASCAR XFINITY Series Dash 4 Cash at the next three scheduled events (Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond International Raceway and Dover International Speedway) he will not only bring home a total of $400,000 in winnings, but XFINITY will also tack on an additional $600,000 to make Allgaier’s Dash 4 Cash win total a cool million dollars.

But, before Allgaier becomes a millionaire, he will need to win the next Dash 4 Cash at Bristol. Allgaier has made 12 starts at Bristol, posting his first career NASCAR XFINITY Series win (2010), five top fives, seven top 10s an average finish of 12.7. In his last four starts at Bristol he has finished in the top-10; including finishing runner-up last fall.

Sunoco Rookie William Byron Closing On Points Leader Elliott Sadler
JR Motorsports driver and current NASCAR XFINITY Series standings leader Elliott Sadler’s points lead took a hit last weekend when his teammate and Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidate William Byron closed the 17-point difference to just six points following Texas.

The 19-year old from Charlotte, North Carolina, is having a 2017 season worth paying attention to. In six starts, Byron has accumulated two top fives, five top 10s and a pole. He also leads the series in average finishing position with a 7.7.

Byron also holds the Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings lead over second-place, Richard Childress Racing’s Daniel Hemric (-24).

But that’s not all, Byron’s rookie season is already drawing comparisons to former NASCAR XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott’s (2014). Elliott became the first Sunoco Rookie to win the series title. While that is a long way out for Byron, his first six races are comparable to Elliott’s – who in his first six races also posted two top fives and five top 10s. Elliott did post a win and Byron is still looking for his first in the series, but even Elliott’s average finish (7.5) is close to Byron’s (7.7).

This will be Byron’s series track debut at Bristol next weekend; though he did make one start at BMS in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, finishing in the top five.

Roush Fenway Racing’s Stable Is Full Of Contenders
Roush Fenway Racing’s Ryan Reed (third) and Darrell Wallace Jr. (fourth) both moved up positions in the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings in their efforts to catch standings leader Elliott Sadler this past weekend at Texas. With six races in the books, both Reed and Wallace look poised to go deep in the playoffs for the title this season.

The RFR camp is off to a solid start. Ryan Reed and crew chief Phil Gould are clicking and sitting third in the series driver standings, just 42 points back from the standings lead. Not to mention, they kicked 2017 off with a big win down in sunny Daytona, locking themselves into the playoffs.

Darrell Wallace Jr. and crew chief Seth Barbour are also on a hot streak, finishing sixth in the last five consecutive races. If Wallace finishes sixth next weekend at Bristol, he will tie Jack Ingram for the series record lead in consecutive single finishing positions inside the top-10. Ingram finished second a series record six times in 1983.

On top of all that, Wallace (10.5) and Reed (10.8) have the third and fourth-best average finishing positons through the first six races this season.

Wallace is still looking for his first NASCAR XFINITY Series career win and Bristol could be the place he gets it. Bristol has hosted six NXS first-time winners: Justin Allgaier (2010), Martin Truex Jr. (2004), Jeff Fuller (1996), Bobby Labonte (1991), Rick Wilson (1989) and Phil Parsons (1982). Wallace has made four series starts at BMS posting an average finish of 14.0.

Three Sunoco Rookies Coming Off Season-Best Finishes
For Sunoco Rookie of the Year candidates Cole Custer (fifth), Matt Tifft (ninth) and Spencer Gallagher (14th), Texas Motor Speedway provided the stage for all three to post season-best finishes.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer posted his first top-five finish of the season this past weekend at Texas. Custer and crew chief Jeff Meendering have been working through a slow start to the season, but look to have found their groove. Through six races, the duo has posted two top 10s and an average finish of 19.8. Custer is currently 12th in points, right on the playoff bubble cutoff.

Another rookie coming off his best finish of the season is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Matt Tifft, who posted his first top-10 finish of 2017. Despite the slow start, he is ranked sixth in the series driver standings, 86 points back from the standings lead. Through six races, Tifft’s average finish is a 15.8.

Last but not least is GMS Racing’s Spencer Gallagher, who posted his first top-15 finish this past weekend at Texas. Much like Stewart-Haas Racing, GMS Racing is in its first full-time season in the NASCAR XFINITY Series. Gallagher is currently 17th in the driver standings, 34-points back from Cole Custer (12th) in the final playoff spot. Through the first six races, Gallagher has posted an average finish of 23.0.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Etc.:
Six Different Winners Through First Six Races: For the 11th time in NASCAR XFINITY Series history (since 1982), the first six races of the season has seen six different winners – Ryan Reed (Daytona), Kyle Busch (Atlanta), Joey Logano (Las Vegas), Justin Allgaier (Phoenix), Kyle Larson (Auto Club) and Erik Jones (Texas). The NASCAR XFINITY Series record for largest number of different winners in a single season is 18 – set back in 1988. Last season had 14 different winners.