Justin Allgaier spoiled Kyle Larson’s bid for a triple-header weekend sweep at Homestead-Miami Speedway and cashed in on a big payday by notching a thrilling overtime victory in the Hard Rock Bet 300 on Saturday, March 22.
The reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion led five times for 21 of 201 over-scheduled laps. He started in fourth place and raced upfront in the early stages, leading 20 of the first 45 laps. He claimed a top-six result following the first stage period. Then, after being sent to the rear of the field due to driving through too many pit stalls during the stage break period, Allgaier would rally to finish eighth following the second stage period, and he would proceed to march back up into the top five throughout the final stage period.
Then, while racing in fourth place with eight laps remaining, an opportunity presented itself to Allgaier when pole-sitter Taylor Gray spun through the frontstretch and placed a hold on Kyle Larson’s double-digit advantage and the road to a second victory of the weekend. After pitting and restarting in the top five, Allgaier pushed Hill ahead of Larson for the lead before Allgaier challenged Hill for the top spot during the penultimate lap. After drag-racing with Hill through the frontstretch to start the final lap, Allgaier muscled ahead of Hill with the lead. He then fended off the field through a final circuit to snatch his second consecutive victory in recent weeks and notch the first Dash 4 Cash bonus of the 2025 campaign.
With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup on Saturday, rookie Taylor Gray notched his first Xfinity career pole position with a pole-winning lap at 163.320 mph in 33.064 seconds. Joining him on the front row was rookie Connor Zilisch, who clocked in his best qualifying lap at 162.930 mph in 33.143 seconds.
Prior to the event, Josh Williams dropped to the rear of the field due to a driver change after Ty Dillon qualified in Williams’ entry as Williams was battling illness. Brandon Jones also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments made to his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota entry. Kyle Sieg would also start at the rear of the field due to an at-track inspection penalty.
When the green flag waved and the event commenced, pole-sitter Taylor Gray muscled ahead with the lead from the inside lane entering the first two turns. As Gray proceeded to lead through the backstretch, Connor Zilisch battled and fended off rookie Nick Sanchez for second place before rookie Christian Eckes, Sanchez, Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer all fanned out and battled for third place in front of Ryan Sieg entering Turns 3 and 4. Amid the battles, Gray led the first lap.
Over the next four laps, Gray maintained a steady lead over a hard-charging Allgaier while Sam Mayer, Zilisch and Justin Bonsignore were racing in the top five. By then, rookie Carson Kvapil served a drive-through penalty through pit road due to a start violation while Kyle Larson, who started in 17th place, carved his way up into the top-10 mark.
Then on the sixth lap, Allgaier dueled and overtook Gray for the lead through the frontstretch and entering the first turn. Two laps later, Gray would challenge Allgaier to reclaim the lead entering the backstretch, but Allgaier fended off Gray’s attempt through the backstretch. With Allgaier leading by three-tenths of a second over Gray at the Lap 10 mark, Mayer continued to race in third place while Larson was up into fourth place ahead of Zilisch.
On Lap 15, Eckes, who was running eighth, had smoke billowing underneath his No. 16 Campers Inn Chevrolet Camaro entry entering the backstretch. Despite Eckes’ quick action in pulling his entry below the track, the event’s first caution flew. At the time of caution, Allgaier was leading Mayer, Larson, Gray, and Sheldon Creed while Zilisch, Ryan Sieg, Austin Hill, Sanchez, and Harrison Burton were in the top 10.
During the caution period, some including Myatt Snider and those racing at the rear of the field pitted while the rest led by Allgaier remained on the track.
The start of the following restart period on Lap 23 featured Allgaier fending off Larson as the field fanned out exiting the frontstretch and entering the first two turns. The field continued to fan out through the backstretch as Allgaier proceeded to lead the following lap over Larson and Mayer. With Zilisch and Ryan Sieg racing for fourth, Mayer then tried to make his move beneath Larson and Allgaier for the lead entering Turn 3, but he slid up entering the turn. This allowed Larson to get underneath and duel with Allgaier to lead at the Lap 25 mark while Mayer slipped to third place. After dueling with Allgaier, Larson muscled his No. 17 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead with the lead. In the process, Mayer slid in front of Allgaier through the first two turns to take second place.
Then on Lap 29, the caution returned due to Kris Wright spinning from the top to the bottom in Turn 4. During the caution period, some including Corey Heim, Myatt Snider, Mason Maggio and Kyle Sieg pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on track.
With the event restarting on Lap 33, Larson muscled ahead from the inside lane entering the first two turns. Larson would proceed to fend off Allgaier through the backstretch before he dueled with him through the frontstretch and before the ensuing lap.
On Lap 34, Larson muscled ahead of Allgaier entering the backstretch and he used the outside wall to fend off Allgaier before the frontstretch to lead the next lap. As Larson and Allgaier continued to battle, Mayer closed in from third place while Hill and Creed trailed in the top five. By Lap 37, Kyle Sieg, who pitted during the previous caution, muscled up to fifth place while Larson led by half a second over Allgaier.
Then on Lap 36, trouble ensued as Justin Bonsignore, who was racing in the top 15, slipped sideways while trying to race underneath teammate Gray and Harrison Burton before he spun from the top to the bottom of the track in Turn 4. With the caution flying, Bonsignore managed to continue without sustaining any significant damage to his No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Supra entry. During the caution period, some including Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Sammy Smith and Kvapil pitted while the rest led by Larson remained on the track.
With the event restarting with four laps remaining in the first stage period, Larson rocketed ahead from the inside lane ahead of Allgaier and Mayer while the field fanned out entering the first two turns. Larson would proceed to lead through the backstretch before Allgaier made another run beneath Larson and dueled with him through the frontstretch. As they dueled, Leland Honeyman, Mayer and Kyle Sieg joined the battle. For the following lap, however, Larson used the outside lane to muscle back ahead. Allgaier would try to close in entering Turn 3, but he slid up and it allowed both Mayer and Sieg to close in on Larson for the lead.
With two laps remaining in the first stage period, Kyle Sieg made a move beneath Mayer and Larson through the first two turns to assume lead. Sieg would proceed to pull away over the next lap and Sammy Smith, who pitted, assumed second from Larson while Allgaier and Mayer pursued.
When the first stage period concluded on Lap 45, Sammy Smith overtook Kyle Sieg exiting backstretch and muscled away to claim his first stage victory of the 2025 campaign. Kyle Sieg finished second ahead of Ryan Sieg, Larson and Mayer while Allgaier, Leland Honeyman, Creed, Love and Austin Hill were scored in the top 10, respectively.
During the first stage break, a majority of the field led by Sammy Smith pitted while the rest led by Harrison Burton and including Kvapil, Blaine Perkins, Kris Wright, Parker Retzlaff and Bonsignore remained on the track. Following the pit stops, Sammy Smith exited first ahead of Larson, Allgaier, Love, Mayer, Sanchez, Hill, Zilisch, Kyle Sieg and Honeyman, respectively. Amid the pit stops, Allgaier was penalized and sent to the rear of the field for driving through too many pit stalls before entering his.
The second stage period started on Lap 53 as Harrison Burton and Kvapil occupied the front row. At the start, the field scattered and fanned out. Kvapil dueled and muscled ahead of Burton to assume the lead entering the backstretch. With Kvapil leading, Love and Larson navigated into the top three before drawing even with Kvapil through the frontstretch. Both Love and Larson used the inside lane and fresh tires to storm ahead. They were followed by Mayer while Kvapil slipped to fourth in front of Sammy Smith and Hill. Back at the front, Love muscled ahead to lead the Lap 55 mark.
On Lap 58, Mayer overtook Love entering the first two turns. Mayer proceeded to lead by half a second over Love by Lap 60 before Larson overtook the latter for second. Behind, Hill and Sammy Smith were in the top five ahead of Zilisch, Bonsignore, Creed, Kvapil and Sanchez. Behind, Harrison Burton, Gray, Kyle Sieg, Retzlaff and Brandon Jones were racing in the top 15. Meanwhile, Allgaier, who was trying to rally from his pit road penalty, was mired back in 22nd place.
By Lap 65, Mayer continued to lead by four-tenths of a second over Larson. Love trailed by more than two seconds in third. At the time when Mayer was leading, Hill and Zilisch trailed in the top five. Mayer led by three-tenths of a second over Larson on Lap 70 and by a tenth of a second at Lap 75. Larson continued to gain more ground on Mayer. As Larson attempted to gain runs through the turns, Mayer used the straightaways and muscle ahead with a reasonable gap.
Just past the Lap 80 mark and with the leaders mired in lapped traffic, Larson, who spent the last several laps trimming Mayer’s lead, got underneath Mayer through the backstretch on Lap 80. Larson then used the inside through Turns 3 and 4 to move into the lead in front of Mayer. Despite approaching more lapped traffic, Larson retained the lead by seven-tenths over Mayer. Creed, Hill and Zilisch completed the top five.
When the second stage period concluded on Lap 90, Larson captured the stage victory over Mayer. Creed, Hill, Zilisch, Sanchez, Love, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Brandon Jones would settle in the top 10, respectively.
During the stage break, the lead lap field led by Larson returned to pit road for service. Following the pit stops, Larson exited pit road first. Hill, Mayer, Zilisch, Love, Creed, Jones, Allgaier, Sammy Smith and Sanchez followed in the top 10.
With 104 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Larson and Hill occupied the front row. At the start, Larson continued flexing his restart muscles by muscling away entering the first two turns. Larson would proceed to lead over Mayer and Love while Hill dropped to fourth place. Amid the on-track pressure, Larson led the following lap. Despite pressure from Mayer, Larson continued to lead with 100 laps left. By then, all four Dash 4 Cash competitors were racing in the top six as Mayer, Love, Hill and Allgaier were racing second, third, fourth and sixth, respectively.
Down to the final 90 laps of the event, Larson was leading by more than a second over Mayer while Love, Hill and Allgaier were racing in the top five. Behind, Nick Sanchez occupied sixth place ahead of Creed, Gray, Zilisch and Jones while Sammy Smith, Bonsignore, Harrison Burton, rookie Daniel Dye, Matt DiBenedetto, Josh Williams, Kvapil, Parker Retzlaff, Anthony Alfredo and rookie 2Dean Thompson occupied the top-20 spots.
Fifteen laps later, Larson extended his lead to three seconds over Mayer while Hill, Allgaier and Love were in the top five. Two laps earlier, Bonsignore pitted due to sustaining a flat right-front and right-side damage to his entry. Another 15 laps later, Larson continued to increase his advantage as he was leading by five seconds over Mayer as Hill, Allgaier and Creed were in the top five. Earlier, Allgaier scraped the wall exiting the backstretch, but he continued under race pace and without drawing a caution.
Shortly after, green flag pit stops commenced as Sammy Smith pitted his No. 8 Allstate Peterbilt Group Chevrolet Camaro entry. More names including Gray, Kvapil, Jones, Creed, Love, Mayer and Hill would pit over the next five laps before Larson pitted from the lead with 54 laps remaining. Allgaier would also follow Larson to pit for service. With nearly the entire field having made a pit stop, Larson cycled back into the lead after Connor Zilisch pitted with 52 laps remaining. Larson proceeded to lead by four seconds over Mayer with 50 laps remaining. Behind, Hill, Love and Allgaier were in the top five.
With 40 laps remaining, Larson retained the lead by three seconds over Mayer. Hill, Allgaier and Love trailed by double digits in the top-five mark. As the laps dwindled, Creed, Jones, Sanchez, Gray and Kvapil were mired in the top 10. Larson led by five seconds over Mayer with 35 laps remaining. Fifteen laps later, Larson extended his lead to 11 seconds over Mayer. Hill continued to race in third place despite trailing by 19 seconds while Allgaier, Creed and Love trailed by within 30 seconds. Shortly after, Sammy Smith made an unscheduled pit stop due to a flat right front to his entry. Amid Smith’s late-race issue, the race remained green.
Entering the final 10 laps of the event, Larson, who weaved through a bevy of lapped traffic earlier, was leading by 14 seconds over Mayer. Behind, Hill and Allgaier trailed by within 24 seconds, Creed trailed by 32 seconds and Love followed suit in sixth place by 34 seconds.
Then with eight laps remaining, the caution flew when Taylor Gray made contact with the outside wall and spun his No. 54 Operation 300 Toyota Supra entry through the frontstretch. The caution all but erased Larson’s large advantage over the field as only five competitors were scored on the lead lap. During the caution period, the leaders pitted and Larson easily exited first ahead of Mayer, Hill, Allgaier and Creed.
With the event restarting in overtime, Larson nearly got sideways after he got in the rear by Mayer. With Larson also stumbling to launch, Hill rocketed ahead with the lead from the outside lane. He was pursued by Allgaier while Larson was trying to fend off Mayer, Creed and Love for third place through the first two turns. Then in the backstretch, Allgaier drew even with Hill. They dueled before Allgaier started to emerge ahead through Turns 3 and 4 and the backstretch.
When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Hill held a narrow lead over Allgaier through the frontstretch before Allgaier used the inside lane to power his No. 7 TradeMark Nitrogen/BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro entry ahead of Hill with the lead. As Allgaier drove away through the backstretch, Mayer challenged Hill for the runner-up spot as Larson pursued in fourth. With his challengers unable to mount a final charge through the final turn, Allgaier would stabilize his advantage and cycle back to the frontstretch victorious as he streaked across the checkered flag in first place for an upset Xfinity victory in Miami.
With the victory, Allgaier became the first repeat winner in the 2025 Xfinity Series season. He also notched his 27th career win in the Xfinity circuit and his second in a row after winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend. The victory was his first at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was also the fifth of the year for the Chevrolet nameplate and the third of the year for JR Motorsports.
As an added bonus, Allgaier cashed in on the first Dash 4 Cash bonus of $100,000 by both winning the race and finishing ahead of his program rivals Sam Mayer, Austin Hill and Jesse Love.
“[It’s] Just a testament [of] this team,” Allgaier said on the frontstretch on the CW Network. “I always say God is good and today’s one of those days where it wasn’t our day. We got behind and we were able to persevere and get this TradeMark Nitrogen/BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet in Victory Lane. It’s special, but I told you yesterday if there’s anywhere I could win, it would be here because I just feel like this place has gotten me so many times.
“Crew chief] Jim Pohlman told me right there at the end [that] we got a shot at it and we did. I was actually bummed t see the caution come out [with eight laps remaining] and it worked out in our favor. I’m bummed that I, maybe, got the triple from Kyle [Larson] because I think he’s going to have a great shot at it tomorrow, but we were in the right place at the right time. I’m really proud of this race team.”
Sam Mayer, who led 22 laps, finished in second place for the second time in 2025 and Austin Hill came home in third place. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson, who led a race-high 132 laps and was pursuing a historic triple-header sweep in Homestead, ended up in fourth place while Sheldon Creed finished in fifth place.
As a result, Allgaier will square off against Hill, Mayer and Creed for the second Dash 4 Cash bonus next Saturday, March 29, at Martinsville Speedway.
Jesse Love, who received the free pass prior to overtime, finished in sixth place while Brandon Jones, Nick Sanchez, Daniel Dye and Carson Kvapil completed the top 10 in the final running order.
Notably, the following names that include Harrison Burton, Connor Zilisch, Jeb Burton, Justin Bonsignore, Josh Williams, Sammy Smith, Ryan Sieg, Taylor Gray, rookie William Sawalich and Jeremy Clements finished 11th, 12th, 15th, 16th, 19th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th and 26th, respectively.
There were 19 lead changes for 11 different leaders. The race featured six cautions for 31 laps. In addition, 11 of 38 starters finished on the lead lap.
Following the sixth event of the 2025 Xfinity Series season, Justin Allgaier leads the regular-season standings by 29 points over Sam Mayer, 31 over Jesse Love, 47 over Austin Hill, 62 over Sheldon Creed, and 65 over Sammy Smith.
Race Results:
1. Justin Allgaier, 21 laps led
2. Sam Mayer, 22 laps led
3. Austin Hill, two laps led
4. Kyle Larson, 132 laps led, Stage 2 winner
5. Sheldon Creed
6. Jesse Love, four laps led
7. Brandon Jones
8. Nick Sanchez
9. Daniel Dye
10. Carson Kvapil, one lap led
11. Harrison Burton, six laps led
12. Connor Zilisch, one lap down, two laps led
13. Dean Thompson, one lap down
14. Brennan Poole, one lap down
15. Jeb Burton, one lap down
16. Justin Bonsignore, one lap down
17. Parker Retzlaff, one lap down
18. Anthony Alfredo, one lap down
19. Josh Williams, one lap down
20. Ryan Ellis, one lap down
21. Sammy Smith, two laps down, three laps led, Stage 1 winner
22. Ryan Sieg, two laps down
23. Taylor Gray, two laps down, seven laps led
24. William Sawalich, two laps down
25. Blaine Perkins, two laps down
26. Jeremy Clements, two laps down
27. Kyle Sieg, three laps down, one lap led
28. Brad Perez, three laps down
29. Joey Gase, three laps down
30. Myatt Snider, three laps down
31. Garrett Smithley, four laps down
32. Kris Wright, four laps down
33. Patrick Emerling, four laps down
34. Leland Honeyman, five laps down
35. Mason Maggio, five laps down
36. Matt DiBenedetto – OUT, Electrical
37. Corey Heim – OUT, Electrical
38. Christian Eckes – OUT, Engine
Next on the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule is Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia, for the US Marine Corps 250. The event is scheduled to occur next Saturday, March 29, and air at 5 p.m. ET on the CW Network.
