'We have new life': Justin Allgaier resets mentality after brutal Round of 12

Justin Allgaier has been around for a time or two. He‘s the only driver to qualify for all nine NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, dating back to the format‘s inception in 2016.

With four races remaining in the 2024 season, one thing remains the same: There is still a goose egg in the championship column for the Illinois native, who has sole possession of 10th on the all-time series wins list, passing his team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. earlier this season.

RELATED: Las Vegas schedule | Xfinity playoff standings

“I‘m going to keep doing this until I‘m not able to do this anymore or I‘m not asked to come back or where I can‘t compete at a high level,” Allgaier said openly on Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “If that opportunity never presents itself, it‘s not going to be the difference in me considering my career a success or not. I love what I do, I‘m proud to be here and have the opportunities that I have and keep going forward.”

By all measures, Allgaier has had an extraordinary career. That has blossomed into a standout 2024 season, scoring 15 stage wins, more than double the amount of the next driver on the list (Chandler Smith, seven). He also leads the series in laps led at 663.

But Allgaier‘s raw pace hasn‘t translated to race wins. The No. 7 Chevrolet has visited Victory Lane just twice this season, with the most recent trip coming two months ago at Michigan International Speedway. He saw five playoff points evaporate from his grasp by giving up a 43-point lead in the regular-season finale at Bristol Motor Speedway.

That Bristol performance was the third race of a five-race stretch between Atlanta Motor Speedway and the second race in the Round of 12 at Talladega Superspeedway where Allgaier had three finishes of 25th or worse. It dropped him from being the championship favorite to having to scratch and claw his way through the Round of 12, entering last weekend‘s Charlotte Roval event 10 points below the elimination line.

“To come to Vegas, I have to laugh because with the DNFs we‘ve had and still be the points leader, to still have 15 stage wins, it‘s pretty wild,” Allgaier admitted. “When I step back and look back at the year as a whole, I‘m like, ‘How did we not win 10 races and absolutely be killing it right now?‘ My team deserves that. As fast as cars we‘ve brought to the race track every week, I look back at the mistakes that I‘ve made and think, ‘Holy cow, we have given away some points this year.

“These last two months have given me a lot of time to reflect and focus on what is important. This reset is like icing on the cake. We went into Charlotte with a different mentality, and I think that we executed. We come here to Vegas, and as long as we execute, it‘s going to be tough to beat the 7 team.”

The No. 7 team‘s strategy for the Roval was to chase stage points. With fellow playoff drivers Riley Herbst and Sheldon Creed having their own issues, the key was to keep all four tires on the pavement around a challenging 17-turn course.

“Charlotte was a great example of execution,” Allgaier said. “We got to where we needed to get to. We got to the end of the race and did what we needed to do points-wise and Jim [Pohlman, crew chief] told me to just sit where you‘re at. Don‘t try to race anybody. Just don‘t wreck. Don‘t go off the race track, don‘t make mistakes.”

When the checkered flag waved, Allgaier was seventh on the playoff grid, with a four-point buffer over Shane van Gisbergen, who was the first driver eliminated.

The No. 7 team lives by the moniker of pressure being a privilege. That feeling will only intensify by advancing to the Round of 8 and resetting as the points leader with an 18-point advantage over the elimination line entering the Round of 8.

By escaping a tumultuous Round of 12, it‘s realistic to believe this is Allgaier‘s best shot at winning the championship. Between the three tracks in the Round of 8 — Las Vegas, Homestead and Martinsville — Allgaier has one win in 43 starts. Homestead is among the tracks he‘s faced the most challenges throughout his career, having yet to score a top-five finish in 15 starts. He has defined consistency at Vegas and Martinsville, tallying 24 top-10 finishes in 28 total starts.

“We have new life,” Allgaier said. “We put ourselves in this spot. You don‘t ever know the peaks without having the valleys. I think sometimes, if everything is flat and smooth and you don‘t enjoy those big moments, you have to get down in those deep valleys and dig through it. I think that‘s where we‘re at. If we were to come out of this with a championship, it wouldn‘t be easy.”

Allgaier has qualified for the Championship 4 in six years, earning a best finish of second in the championship battle (2020, 2023).