Justin Allgaier

Although he faded down the stretch and failed to race for the championship at Homestead, Allgaier is coming of an incredible season in many respects. He set career-best marks with five wins and 17 Top-5 finishes last year. Only some late-season inconsistency in the playoffs would prevent Allgaier from racing for the championship. The JR Motorsports veteran returns for a ninth season of Xfinity Series racing and he will once again pilot the JRM No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro. It will be hard for the 32-year-old to top his numbers from last season, but we expect Allgaier to come very close and stay relevant in the championship picture once again.

Allgaier has really found his place racing in the Xfinity Series. The seven-season veteran nabbed a career-best two victories in 2017, and collected 17 Top-10 finishes en route to finishing third in the driver standings. It was the third consecutive season of racing that led to a Top-5 points finish for Little Gator. While the championship still seems tantalizingly out of reach, we can't count him and the No. 7 team out. The 31-year-old has reached the 240-start plateau and Allgaier's now becoming one of the more seasoned drivers in the series. He has the ability to win races and challenge for championship. With returning crew chief Jason Burdett at his side, Allgaier will remain among the top tier of driver in the Xfinity Series this season.

Allgaier had easily his best season to-date in the Xfinity Series in 2016. The 30-year-old veteran posted career-best marks in Top 5's with 13 and Top 10's with 27. The performance allowed him to participate in the final, four-driver championship round of the Chase at Homestead. Allgaier would come up short of the championship, but he would serve notice that he'll be a contender to win the title going forward. The JRM driver returns to the No. 7 Chevrolet team this season and it appears he'll be teamed with crew chief Jason Burdett once again. While Allgaier lacks the speed and skill to win multiple races, he does have the consistency in his driving skill to rack up bunces of Top-10 finishes. We expect him to collect many in 2017.

Allgaier moves back to the Xfinity Series after a brief, two-season cup of coffee in the Sprint Cup Series. This young driver struggled at NASCAR’s top level with a small race team, but he should rebound nicely with JRM in 2016. Allgaier takes over the strong No. 7 Chevrolet that Regan Smith piloted the last three years. Over that span Smith claimed five wins and 71 Top-10 finishes and had driver standings finishes of third-, second- and fourth-place. This has been a championship-contending team under Smith’s watch. We don’t expect Allgaier to elevate to that level of performance right away. Instead he’ll need a little time to develop chemistry with his new crew chief and team. However, a one-win, 18-to-20 Top-10 finish campaign is not out of the question.

Allgaier was a bit of a disappointment in 2012. Despite one victory and 19 Top-10 finishes, he fell to a disappointing sixth in the final driver standings. The No. 31 Turner Chevrolet was expected to challenge for the championship, but they did not in what was a very competitive field of teams last year. Allgaier returns and will be paired with new crew chief Scott Zipadelli. It could take the two some time to develop chemistry and the relationship to get the most out of Allgaier’s abilities. While the jury is out until that happens, it’s pretty safe to assume a similar performance for the 26-year-old Illinois native. Allgaier is at the leading edge of the tier “B” drivers in this series and poised to move into the “A” tier if the right things can happen.