Justin Allgaier will have to go to a backup car for Saturday's Xfinity Series race on the streets of Chicago (3:30 p.m. ET on NBC) after an unexpected incident involving a fellow driver.
Allgaier lost control and slammed into the tire barrier in Turn 4 with around 35 minutes remaining in the practice session. He remained up against the wall as NASCAR threw the caution flag. Several drivers navigated past Allgaier but Alon Day came into the corner at speed and slammed into the No. 7 Chevrolet.
WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED?!
Justin Allgaier crashed and Alon Day hit him while he was stopped nearly 30 seconds later! #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/WN8lF32QUB
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 6, 2024
This contact destroyed the rear and right side of Allgaier's Chevrolet. It also destroyed the right side of Day's No. 45 Chevrolet. This was a significant incident for Allgaier, who previously only had some damage to the front left side of his car. He was able to drive back to the hauler, but the team knew they would have to pull out the backup car.
Day, for comparison, had to qualify for Saturday's race on speed. He told NBC Sports after exiting the infield care center that he "couldn't hear anything" from his spotter before hitting the No. 7. Day also told NBC Sports that he didn't think the team had a backup car for him, meaning he would be one of five drivers to miss the afternoon race.
"Street racing = Low visibility, bad comms," Alpha Prime Racing President Tommy Joe Martins posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "Spotter can't see cars til late entry to (Turn) 4.
"Alon making his first laps at speed. No lights, no flags. Spotters call caution but the driver hears it 1/2 the time. I was spotting T11. Hard to hear. Gutted for (Alon Day). He deserved more."
Multiple other drivers had issues during Saturday morning's 50-minute practice session on the streets of Chicago. Sheldon Creed tagged the wall and slightly damaged his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Kenko Miura spun multiple times in the Joey Gase Motorsports Toyota.
Sage Karam joined Allgaier on the list of drivers who had to go to a backup car for Saturday's race. He crashed in Turn 6 and significantly damaged the Sam Hunt Racing Toyota. Karam had to climb from the car as there was too much damage to continue.
The last on-track incident occurred after NASCAR extended the practice session by three minutes. Daniel Suarez spun around after mentioning brake issues, and he hit the tire barriers. Suarez appeared to avoid major damage.