Justin Allgaier put on a masterclass performance at Darlington Raceway, leading 119 of 147 laps to win the Xfinity Series race at the Track Too Tough to Tame. The 37-year-old veteran swept both stages and kept his No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet out front for the final 95 circuits to claim his first victory of the 2024 season.

Allgaier credited his experience at the egg-shaped oval in Darlington, South Carolina for helping him execute the dominating drive on Saturday. He held off Austin Hill and defending series champion Cole Custer for his third career Darlington win, tying him for fifth-most victories at the track with NASCAR legends Dale Earnhardt, Matt Kenseth and Geoff Bodine.

“I think having a little gray hair today really helped me out with those long green-flag runs,” said Allgaier. “Being able to know what’s worked in the past here.”

The only tense moments came on a pair of late restarts. First with 39 laps remaining after Hailie Deegan crashed, and then with 16 to go when Kyle Sieg spun. But Allgaier got outstanding restarts each time, quickly putting distance on Hill and the rest of the field.

The win was the 24th of Allgaier’s Xfinity career, tying him with his team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. for 21st on the all-time series wins list. His JR Motorsports teammate Sam Mayer finished fourth, with AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.

Hill took responsibility for settling for another runner-up finish at Darlington after coming up just short to Denny Hamlin here last September. The veteran struggled on restarts into Turn 1 all afternoon.

“I’ve just got to figure out what to do differently,” Hill admitted.

Cup Series regular William Byron had a difficult day, hitting the wall early and going three laps down after a bad pit stop. He ended up a disappointing 11th.

With the victory, Allgaier continues his stout recent stretch of winning at least once each season since 2016. The Xfinity Series takes next weekend off before returning to action at Charlotte on May 26th.