The drama continues at Daytona International Speedway. Reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier found himself in the middle of controversy, not once but twice at the 2025 United Rentals 250. The JR Motorsports star attempted to make a bold move to get to the inside with just nine laps to go, despite traffic making the move of going three-wide a risky maneuver. The decision proved to be a bad one, as it initiated a chain reaction that caused a multi-car wreck.
To make matters worse, the veteran racer was involved in his teammate Connor Zilisch’s wreck as well. It’s fair to say that JR Motorsports hasn’t had the best start in their Xfinity Series season opener going by the events at the ‘World Center of Racing’.
Justin Allgaier cut a frustrated figure at the season-opener
Justin Bonsignore paid the price for Justin Allgaier’s actions. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver came down slightly and got turned off the nose of the No. 7 into Sammy Smith. As a result, both Anthony Alfredo and Bonsignore spun off the track, effectively ending their hopes of winning the season-opener. Sammy Smith was also caught up in the Turn 4 incident but escaped the wreck relatively unscathed.
After the incident, Justin Allgaier was told, “Man you checked up and gave him an opportunity but he moved down.” In turn, the 38-year-old veteran racer expressed his frustration towards Carson Kvapil, going on to say, “Just frustrating getting hung out. I was gonna cram it up the middle and try something. Like, am I doing something wrong?”
As for Justin Allgaier, the No. 7 Chevy driver was involved in yet another on-track incident. As the race inched closer towards the end, three Xfinity Series rookies were in a good position to finish in the season opener. However, with just two laps to go, an on-track incident effectively ended any hopes for Connor Zilisch, William Sawalich, and Christian Eckes. The race went into overtime, but for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team, the damage was already done.
HUGE HIT FOR CONNOR ZILISCH!@AlwaysRaceDay pic.twitter.com/gwG9sUiVHG
— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) February 16, 2025
The reigning Xfinity Series winner was helping his JR Motorsports teammate move forward by providing support from the rear, but Sheldon Creed unexpectedly slowed down on the track, forcing Zilisch to crash hard into the outside wall and take several more hits from the incoming traffic before the danger had finally subsided. From running in the top five with just 15 laps to go, the 18-year-old racer ended the race 27th in the driver’s standing because of bad luck. Allgaier didn’t fare as per expectations either, as he was forced to settle for a 7th-place result in the season-opener.
Connor Zilisch impressed despite a bittersweet finish
Expectations were high from Connor Zilisch. The 18-year-old phenom has had quite a start to his NASCAR career after winning his debut race in the Xfinity Series at Watkins Glen. Naturally, all eyes were on the JR Motorsports racer going into the season opener, and he didn’t disappoint. While the North Carolina native has already built a reputation on road courses, his performance on the 2.5-mile oval was particularly impressive.
The young racer drove with maturity beyond his years at Daytona International Speedway, attempting moves that more experienced drivers would not be bold enough to do. Despite qualifying for the race in 20th place, the No. 88 Chevy driver quickly climbed up the grid and was in contention for the race win with less than two laps to go before being at the receiving end of the incident involving his teammate Justin Allgaier and Haas Factory Team’s Sheldon Creed.
Watching Zilisch and Jesse Love dominate at Daytona International Speedway highlighted that the future of NASCAR is in good hands. JR Motorsports’ newest full-time recruit can take plenty of positives from his performance in the season-opener, and Justin Allgaier helping his rookie teammate before the situation got out of control was heartwarming. However, NASCAR can be a brutal sport and unfortunately, Connor Zilisch seems to have learned it the hard way at the 2025 United Rentals 250.
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