Justin Allgaier during NASCAR Xfinity Series qualifying for the Wawa 250 from Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Grady Lundberg | The Podium Finish)
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — JR Motorsports has been a dominant force to be reckoned with throughout the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, as they have now picked up their 14th win under the control of Parker Kligerman, who filled in for the injured Connor Zilisch.
However, the defending series champion and lead horse in the JRM camp was not exactly pleased with the results that came out of last night’s Wawa 2025 from Daytona International Speedway.
From the drop of the green flag, Justin Allgaier put his No. 7 machine out front battling for the lead, showing the race-winning pace that he had at Daytona earlier in the year. The lowest Allgaier ran was 13th around the midway point in the 100-lap event, and he did not relinquish a spot inside the top 10 for rest of the evening.
The No. 7 yet again had the speed to contend for a victory on the 2025 campaign, but the execution end of the spectrum has been lackluster for the Allgaier and his team.
In the spring Echo Park Speedway race, Allgaier finished runner-up right behind superspeedway phenom Austin Hill. At Phoenix earlier in the season, Allgaier led 130 laps but ended up finishing fifth in a wild finish between Aric Almirola and Alex Bowman. About a month ago, the No. 7 led 37 laps at Indianapolis Motor Speedway before getting involved in a wreck that ended their chance at kissing the bricks.
It is safe to say that coming down to crunch time and winning has been a challenge for one of the best full-time Xfinity drivers of the past decade.
Justin Allgaier (bottom middle) battling with Sheldon Creed (top middle) for position in the Wawa 250 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo: Grady Lundberg | The Podium Finish)
When the overtime restart came to fruition, Kligerman paced the field in his No. 88 machine while Allgaier and their teammate Sammy Smith were all clustered together. RCR teammates Austin Hill and Jesse Love lined up nose-to-nose, but a poor restart from that camp allowed the JRM cars to fill in the holes and line up in first, second and third with a couple laps remaining in the race.
Allgaier and Smith ran side by side for two straight laps, allowing Kligerman to block their runs and cruise to victory, giving JRM its first 1-2-3 sweep in a race since the fall Las Vegas race in 2024. The win for the driver behind the wheel of the No. 88 had a special meaning behind it. Winning last night was a form of redemption for Kligerman after his Henderson Motorsports team in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series was disqualified at Daytona in February.
“It’s cool because at the end of the day, Parker and I have actually probably had a better relationship since we don’t race together, but we’re a lot the same,” said Allgaier in his post-race comments. “We’ve talked a lot, and we’ve had a lot of good conversations. Tonight was different in the fact that JR Motorsports fire suit that he’s wearing, and the effort that I know that team’s put in. We’re all pushing hard to make our company finish one, two, three, four every week.”
The veteran driver out of Spaulding, Indiana, was happy to close out a special moment for JR Motorsports, but winning is all that matters for Allgaier and his No. 7 team when they know Connor Zilisch will be fighting them for a chance at back-to-back championships.
The Xfinity Series will head back to the twists and turns of Oregon at Portland International Raceway next weekend, where Allgaier will look for his fourth checkered flag on the 2025 campaign.
