Justin Allgaier wins on fumes: The STP 300 Nationwide Review

by Troy J. on Jun 6, 2011 12:31 AM EDT in NASCAR Nationwide Series

Justin Allgaier gets down on the apron as he runs out of fuel crossing the start/finish line after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series STP 300 on Saturday at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill. Credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images for NASCAR via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com

What a finish to an otherwise subpar race! With 35 to go, we had a great battle for first between Carl Edwards and Elliott Sadler. Sadler just would not give up the lead but everyone in the race, and I mean everyone, was low on fuel. While Edwards and Sadler were going at it, Justin Allgaier was quietly passing cars and putting up top laps.

With 7 to go, Elliott Sadler had a tire going down and had to pit leaving the fight for the win down to just Edwards and Allgaier. After the white flag it looked like Edwards was going to bring it home, but it wasn't to be as he ran out of gas on the last turn. As Edwards shook his car back and forth, trying to pick up some extra fuel in the bottom of his tank, Allgaier almost rearended him. Justin fortunately shot to the inside and passed Carl, before running out of gas himself. Justin Allgaier picked up his second career Nationwide win, and his first at his home track of Chicagoland.

Results and more after the Jump!

Fin	Str	Car	Driver	Team	Laps	Status
1	13	31	Justin Allgaier	Brandt Chevy	200	Running
2	4	60	Carl Edwards(i)	Fastenal Ford	200	Running
3	31	16	Trevor Bayne	Avnet / BMA Ford	200	Running
4	1	88	Aric Almirola	TaxSlayer.com Chevy	200	Running
5	14	38	Jason Leffler	Great Clips Chevy	200	Running
6	7	32	Reed Sorenson	Dollar General Chevy	200	Running
7	15	09	Kenny Wallace	Family Farmers Toyota	200	Running
8	17	18	Kelly Bires	Heil Heating Toyota	200	Running
9	11	62	Michael Annett	Pilot Travel Centers Toyota	200	Running
10	16	7	Danica Patrick	Tissot / GoDaddy.com Chevy	199	Running
11	2	2	Elliott Sadler	OneMain Financial Chevy	199	Running
12	10	66	Steve Wallace	5-hour Energy Toyota	199	Running
13	18	33	Kevin Harvick(i)	Rheem Chevy	199	Running
14	3	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	RickyvsTrevor.com Ford	199	Running
15	25	15	Timmy Hill #	Lilly Trucking of VA Ford	199	Running
16	22	01	Mike Wallace	Cowboys and Aliens Chevy	199	Running
17	8	11	Brian Scott	Sandvik Toyota	199	Running
18	27	14	Eric McClure	Hefty BlackOut Chevy	199	Running
19	19	70	Scott Wimmer	ForeTravel Motorcoach Chevy	198	Running
20	9	99	Ryan Truex #	Pastrana Waltrip Racing Toyota	198	Running
21	29	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota	198	Running
22	12	19	Mike Bliss	TriStar Motorsports Chevy	196	Running
23	24	28	Derrike Cope	Jay Robinson Inc. Chevy	196	Running
24	26	40	Charles Lewandoski #	Key Motorsports Chevy	196	Running
25	28	89	Morgan Shepherd	Victory in Jesus Racing Chevy	196	Running
26	21	39	Josh Wise	Cajun Industries Ford	195	Running
27	20	81	Blake Koch #	Daystar.com Dodge	194	Running
28	38	52	Kevin Lepage	Just Rite Acoustics Chevy	193	Running
29	23	51	Jeremy Clements	Gerber Collision & Glass Chevy	186	Running
30	6	22	Brad Keselowski(i)	Discount Tire Dodge	139	Engine
31	41	41	Carl Long	Lilly Trucking of VA Ford	79	Steering Box
32	30	23	Robert Richardson Jr.	North Texas Pipe Dodge	64	Electrical
33	5	30	Mikey Kile	Sears Auto Center Chevy	62	Engine
34	37	79	Tim Andrews	2nd Chance Motorsports Ford	29	Start and Park
35	32	49	Dennis Setzer	Jay Robinson Inc. Chevy	24	Start and Park
36	35	13	Rick Crawford(i)	DriverMale.com Ford	22	Start and Park
37	36	68	Matt Carter	Fleur-de-lis Farms Chevy	18	Start and Park
38	42	75	Johnny Chapman	Lilly Trucking of VA Ford	15	Start and Park
39	40	74	Mike Harmon	Riverwalk Cafe Chevy	6	Start and Park
40	33	44	Jeff Green	Pro Motor Chevy	3	Start and Park
41	34	46	Chase Miller	Key Motorsports Chevy	3	Start and Park
42	39	55	Brett Rowe	Imperial Bedding Chevy	3	Start and Park

Danica Patrick matched her top 10 in Indy. My guess is that she makes the switch next year to full time Nationwide Driver. She seems to be better at Stock Cars.

Trevor Bayne had a great return, I still cannot see him going winless this year.

The top three in points are seperated by just 6 points.

After running out of gas, Elliott Sadler slipped to second, while our new points leader is once again Reed Sorenson. Here's the best battle in Nascar:

Pos	Car #	Driver	Make	Points	Wins
1	32	Reed Sorenson	Chevy	488	0
2	2	Elliott Sadler	Chevy	486	0
3	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	482	1
4	31	Justin Allgaier	Chevy	477	1
5	88	Aric Almirola	Chevy	442	0
6	38	Jason Leffler	Chevy	437	0
7	09	Kenny Wallace	Toyota	417	0
8	66	Steve Wallace	Toyota	385	0
9	11	Brian Scott	Toyota	366	0
10	62	Michael Annett	Toyota	346	0

After the #20 had to withdraw and with a bad run by Kelly Bires, neither Joe Gibbs cars lead the Owner's standings. It's now Carl Edwards' #60 team. The #32 team has moved up to third behind the #18. Here's the fight:

Pos	Car #	Driver	Points
1	60	Carl Edwards	524
2	18	Kelly Bires	518
3	32	Reed Sorenson	509
4	20	Denny Hamlin	496
5	33	Kevin Harvick	490
6	2	Elliott Sadler	486
7	6	Ricky Stenhouse	482
8	31	Justin Allgaier	477
9	22	Brad Keselowski	446
10	38	Jason Leffler	446

With two teams in the top 30 not locked in due to missing one race, things are pretty stagnent in the locked in battle. Here's the fight for the top 30 (now 32) in owner points:

Pos	Car #	Driver	Points
30	28	Derrike Cope	244
31	23	Robert Richardson	230
32	40	Charles Lewandowski	205
33	52	Kevin Lepage	194
34	41	Carl Long	149
35	12	Sam Hornish	138

Nationwide now has an off week, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check back to Nascar Ranting and Raving this week. Come back, and come back often. Enjoy!

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Comments

LOL, Kelly Bires Had A Bad Run?

He lead a couple of laps under green and finished 8th. Sure it isn’t what a Cup driver might have been able to do with it, but comparing a driver who’s trying to make it and has been bounced around for a while now to a Cup driver really isn’t fair. There’s nothing “bad” about a top 10.

Not saying I don’t understand what you are saying though, the #18 lost 7 points to #60. Great article nonetheless!

by UnderdogFan89 on Jun 6, 2011 1:17 PM EDT reply actions

Oops

Last time i looked Bires was back in 20th, don’t know how he got up to 8th. Sorry. It was a great run, but Edwards’ had a better one, that’s why he now leads the owners points. Good catch.

Nationwide Writer for SBNation's Nascar Ranting & Raving (www.4ever3blog.com)
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Now on Twitter: @RockstarTroy

by Troy J. on Jun 7, 2011 9:40 AM EDT up reply actions