Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier punched his ticket to the 2025 NASCAR Playoffs with a commanding performance in Saturday’s The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 38-year-old Riverton, Illinois native showcased his veteran prowess, leading a race-high 102 of 200 laps en route to his 26th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

The win places Allgaier firmly in tenth place on the all-time Xfinity Series wins list, just one victory shy of Jeff Burton’s ninth-place total. Allgaier’s JR Motorsports Chevrolet displayed exceptional pace throughout the event, particularly excelling during short-to-medium runs where he built leads of over eight seconds at one point during the race’s first stage.

“It feels amazing, this whole team – I cannot say enough, the fans that are here, I hope we put on a good show for you,” an elated Allgaier said in Victory Lane. “Aric [Almirola] and I were going at it, hats off to him he raced a heck of a race and just so proud of everybody on this Jarrett Camaro. To see the speed, we had off the truck, I was really sad about the sixth-place qualifying effort, and to be able to get here.”

Despite Allgaier’s dominance for much of the afternoon, the final laps featured a thrilling duel with part-time competitor Aric Almirola. The driver of the No. 19 YoungLife Toyota GR Supra displayed superior long-run speed, mounting a late-race charge that tested Allgaier’s defensive abilities. Ultimately, Allgaier held off the challenge, crossing the finish line 1.067 seconds ahead of Almirola.

For Almirola, the runner-up finish marked his third top-three result in just three Xfinity Series starts this season. Despite competing in only a partial schedule, Almirola sits an impressive sixth in the series standings.

Jesse Love rounded out the podium, finishing third but a distant 11.871 seconds behind the leading duo. This marks Love’s second top-five finish of the season, with his other coming in his victory at the season-opener at Daytona.

Austin Hill recovered from an earlier loose wheel to claim fourth position, narrowly edging Sam Mayer who collected his third top-five finish of the season. Brandon Jones (sixth), Ryan Sieg (seventh), Harrison Burton (eighth), Connor Zilisch (ninth), and Sheldon Creed (tenth) completed the top ten finishers.

The 300-mile event featured minimal caution periods, with the only on-track incident occurring on the opening lap involving William Sawalich and Parker Retzlaff. While Retzlaff managed to recover and finish 21st, Sawalich was forced to retire from the event, finishing last in the field.

Saturday’s race served as the qualifier for next weekend’s Dash4Cash event at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Justin Allgaier, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Sam Mayer will compete for a $100,000 bonus when the series heads to South Florida on Saturday, March 22nd. Race coverage begins at 3:30 PM ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images