Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier snatched an unexpected victory in Saturday’s Hard Rock Bet 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, capitalizing on late-race chaos to claim both the win and the $100,000 Dash4Cash bonus.

The dramatic finish came after Kyle Larson had dominated the race, leading 132 of 200 laps and building a commanding 15-second lead. However, a caution with just eight laps remaining erased Larson’s advantage and set up a NASCAR Overtime finish that would completely reshape the race outcome.

On the final restart, disaster struck for Larson when Sam Mayer, running second, made contact with the back of Larson’s No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet. The miscue occurred when Larson waited until late in the restart zone to accelerate, catching Mayer off guard.

“He went really, really late in the [restart] box just playing games,” Mayer explained afterward. “Like, that’s what you’ve got to do at this level to get the advantage, but he just waited really long, and I wasn’t kind of ready for him to wait that long. I was giddy to get going.”

The contact sent Larson sideways, effectively blocking the inside lane and allowing both Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier to surge past on the outside. Allgaier, seizing the moment, quickly moved to the outside of Hill to grab the lead and secure his 27th career NASCAR Xfinity Series victory.

“Today was one of those days where it wasn’t our day, we got behind and we were able to persevere to get this Trademark Nitrogen / BRANDT Fresh Agriculture Chevrolet in Victory Lane, it’s special,” Allgaier said in his post-race interview. “[I said] yesterday, if there was anywhere I could win it would be here because I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.”

The victory was particularly satisfying for Allgaier, who had overcome a pit road penalty at Lap 48 that had significantly set back his track position earlier in the race. Despite the setback, he managed to lead 21 laps throughout the event.

Mayer recovered to finish second in his Audibel Ford Mustang, scoring another strong result for Haas Factory Team. Austin Hill, who briefly held the lead in overtime, came home third, while the dejected Larson settled for fourth after his dominant performance was undone in the final moments.

Sheldon Creed completed the top five, with Jesse Love, Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye, and Carson Kvapil rounding out the top ten.

With the victory, Allgaier extended his points lead to 29 over Sam Mayer in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings. Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Sheldon Creed currently occupy the remaining top-five positions in the championship battle.

The NASCAR Xfinity Series continues next weekend at Martinsville Speedway on Saturday, March 29, with coverage beginning at 4:30 PM ET on The CW, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images