Justin Allgaier Wins Lilly Diabetes 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Justin Allgaier grabbed the checkered flag in the rain-delayed NASCAR XFINITY Series on Monday afternoon at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The drivers did not have a chance to practice or even qualify due to constant rains since Friday. All on-track activities were canceled on Saturday when the green flag was supposed to drop at 2 p.m. ET at IMS.
Allgaier took the lead early in the Lilly Diabetes 250 but slipped back in the pack after Daniel Hemric led a few laps along with Tyler Reddick, John Hunter Nemechek and Chase Elliott on the day. Allgaier regained the lead after going side-by-side with Christopher Bell with 17 laps to go. He never gave up the lead as the race continued through the rest of the 100-lap race.
Three crash cautions occurred during the race. On lap 24, Ty Dillon got loose in turn three and collected Elliott Sadler in the incident. They left the race following that crash along with Austin Cindric who ran into the rear of Sadler. The No. 76 of Spencer Boyd drove through the grass to avoid the mess which extended the caution a few laps for clean-up.
The second caution was on lap 71 when Cole Custer’s car came down the racetrack and Brandon Jones was there and sent Custer off into the inside wall. Sharp driving by Ryan Reed and others made it only a single-car accident.
The last big caution of the race came in the final stage of the race when an aero-dynamic change in air turned Ryan Preece around and into a tire barrier. The red flag was displayed to let track crews reassemble the barrier before the competition continued.
All drivers involved in accidents were all released from the in-field care center with no major injuries.
The only other caution occurred on lap 10 which was a competition caution. A competition caution is usually called after a rain event so drivers and teams have the chance to look at tire wear and make necessary adjustments.
Tyler Reddick finished in second place after staying in the top of the running order for the day. He did lead three laps in the first stage.
Ryan Blaney had an ill-handling car to start the race. He was in the first position at the drop of the green flag, but a loose condition caused him to slip to ninth position where he stayed for a lot of the race. Two penalties throughout the race didn’t help as he was caught speeding and his team had an uncontrolled tire, but he and his team were able to make the right adjustments to get his car up to the third running spot – a move he made with a pass on Daniel Hemric with 10 laps to go. Third place is where he finished.
The NASCAR XFINITY Series will be on the road to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the last race of the regular season there on Saturday, Sept. 15 at 5 p.m. ET. The top 16 will move on to the playoff season.