A stunning turn of events led to Justin Allgaier achieving multiple goals Saturday evening at Homestead-Miami Speedway. One of the biggest was tying Jeff Burton on the all-time Xfinity Series wins list.
Allgaier took advantage of overtime contact between Sam Mayer and Kyle Larson, who had the dominant car at the 1.5-mile track. He and Austin Hill passed the other two competitors and began to battle for the win.
It was Allgaier who ultimately took the lead and went on to win his 27th career Xfinity Series race. This moved him into a tie with Burton for ninth place on the Xfinity wins list. Allgaier is now only two wins behind Matt Kenseth (29) and three behind Joey Logano (30).
"I was actually bummed to see the caution flag come out but it worked out in my favorite," Allgaier told CW Sports after the race. "I'm bummed I maybe got the (weekend) triple from Kyle because I think he's going to have a great shot at (winning the Cup race) tomorrow.
"But we were at the right place at the right time and I'm really proud of this race team."
The win was more significant than simply moving him into a tie with the driver-turned-NBC Sports analyst. It also marked the first time that Allgaier posted a top-five finish at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
He entered the weekend with 16 career starts at the 1.5-mile track and a career-best finish of sixth in 2016. He surpassed this mark by winning for the first time at Homestead and leading a career-high 21 laps.
The third goal the veteran driver checked off on Saturday evening was financially significant to him and his team. He crossed the line ahead of Mayer, Hill, and Jesse Love, so he won the Dash 4 Cash.
This secured the $100,000 bonus and locked Allgaier into the next round of the program. He will now race for another $100,000 prize next weekend at Martinsville while facing off against Hill, Mayer, and Sheldon Creed.