BRISTOL, Tenn. -- A win and another regular-season championship trophy were within the grasp of Justin Allgaier Friday night at Bristol. However, the night quickly turned sour as he missed out on both due to multiple unexpected issues.
"I got all the emotions," Allgaier said as race-winner Cole Custer celebrated in the background.
On paper, everything was set up for Allgaier to capture the regular-season championship. He had a 43-point lead over Custer entering Friday night's race at Bristol. He had one of the fastest cars in the field. Allgaier was also the defending winner at a track he says is his favorite.
The thing is, none of that mattered once the green flag waved. Allgaier's race went very, very wrong in a multitude of ways.
"It's frustrating, kind of knowing what we're up against tonight and having the best car at the beginning," Allgaier said on pit road.
The veteran driver was in the lead during stage 1 when lapped cars controlled by Austin Green and Parker Retzlaff got together. One of the cars slid down the track and ripped the rear bumper off of Allgaier's No. 7 Chevrolet. This forced him to give up the lead and make an unscheduled pit stop.
Allgaier worked his way back into the top 10 during stage 2, and it appeared that he would challenge for the lead once again. However, contact from Sheldon Creed sent him spinning into the inside SAFER barrier.
The issues continued with another spin for a flat tire and a penalty for dragging a reciprocating saw onto the track.
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Allgaier, who was already multiple laps down, continued to race but didn't have the speed he needed. The leaders continued to lap the No. 7 as Custer continued to erase the deficit. Allgaier ultimately finished 30th while Custer won the race, securing the regular-season championship in the process.
"Cole did a great job," Allgaier said. "He went on, he won the race. He did all the right things. He did what he needed to do tonight, and unfortunately, we did not."
This was not an outcome Custer expected, especially after a five-race stretch marred by three DNFs and a 21st-place finish. He did not see a realistic path to the regular-season championship before taking the green flag to start the race.
"I knew we needed some help," Custer said about overcoming the points deficit. "That's a good team, that (No. 7) team, and it would have been a really good race if they didn't have their -- whatever problems they had."
Losing the regular-season championship battle frustrated Allgaier, but it did not sink his championship dreams. He enters the postseason with more playoff points than Custer earned through two race wins and a staggering 14 stage wins.
Allgaier is 27 points above the initial cutline heading into the Round of 12. Custer is 21 points above the cutline.
The amount of points next to Allgaier's name doesn't erase the pain of Bristol. But it does provide some solace as he prepares for a round filled with tracks that favor the No. 7 team.
Next up is Kansas, a track where he has 10 top-10 finishes in 14 starts. After that are Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. JR Motorsports has strong superspeedway and road course programs, and Allgaier has multiple top-five finishes at both of these tracks.
Allgaier should be able to capitalize during the opening round of the playoffs. He just first has to take one final look at this missed opportunity before officially turning the page.
"I have a rule that once we get off the airplane and we get home, it's over, and we focus on the next one," Allgaier said. "...Our Monday morning meeting, we're gonna hash it out, and we're gonna figure out what we could have done a little bit better.
"But other than that, I mean, you can't worry about this one. We've got to go to Kansas and go be successful."