The more things change, the more they stay the same.
Nationwide
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O’Reilly
Team Penske
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JR Motorsports
Matt Kimbell
Jason Burdett
Jim Pohlman
Andrew Overstreet
You get the picture: 29 wins, three title sponsors and three teams in nearly two decades means this is indeed the Justin Allgaier era of NASCAR’s secondary division, but he wouldn’t look at it that way. He’s just proud and happy that he’s still in the position where all of this is happening.
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“In 2020, we had 50 wins (at JR Motorsports) and in 2026, we had 107 wins, which is really a special statistic,” Allgaier said. “O’Reilly Auto Parts is on board this year and it’s great to get our first win with them. We’ve worked really well with Xfinity over the past few years…
“Having a new crew chief, a lot of different things going on this season, coming to a track that I know will be great for us, but having a tumultuous night, but getting the win here is really special.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished and hopefully this is the first of many, but you never know if it’s your first or your last; or if you’re going to get another one, so enjoy them while you still can.”
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Also read:
Justin Allgaier wins NASCAR O’Reilly race in Phoenix
It’s all worth reflecting on, because Allgaier knew he and Bollman had something very special. Indeed, Pohlman is a very special man, which is why he was promoted to Cup Series crew chief for Richard Childress Racing.
Andrew Overstreet is highly regarded within Chevrolet and JR Motorsports, but this could have been a bad race and nothing really seems to have changed.
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“It’s weird because you change crew chiefs and Jim and I had a great relationship for years and then Andrew came and he brought me up to a place where I was struggling (mentally) because I didn’t know if I could live up to his expectations of me.
“He’s probably one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. He’s always sending me texts, scriptures, little things that are meant to make me believe in myself more than I do.
“But I told him I had 100 percent confidence that he could get the job done.”
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Allgaier said he was pleased with the pairing from the start because he knew Overstreet had something to prove and that they were similar faith-based and family-oriented people.
“We have a lot of synergy here as far as the family is concerned,” Allgaier said. “I’m proud to be able to bring him to Victory Lane because he deserves it.”
He said, recognizing that this wasn’t even their best day on the seventh team. They had some misfortunes on the pit road. Allgaier doesn’t always make the best decisions behind the wheel. It takes 15 laps for the car to come back to life.
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That’s what the seventh team does in various configurations.
“Everyone worked really hard and it was just the resilience of this team today,” the driver said. “You know, I don’t know seven teams never make it easy because if everything goes well, you know it’s going to fall apart eventually, right?
“I don’t know why that happens. I wish I could find out, but all of our wins end up being a Hail Mary, and tonight was no different. But I think it makes you enjoy it more. If you don’t live in the valley, you never really know what the top is.”
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So now, Allgaier says they need to build on that, especially after taking the lead in the table with this win.
“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished here at Hendrick Engine Shop and Chevrolet; everyone has had a hand in it,” Allgaier said. “I felt like we got off to a much quicker start than I expected.
“We can’t let this stop us either. You know, we still have a lot of work to do. We have a track next week in Vegas where we can win. Other teams are pushing too: Haas, Carson (Kvapil) and everyone in this series are really strong and I’m proud to race against them.
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“It’s not easy and it’s not always fun, but nights like this make it even better and Andrew is a big part of that.”
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