Allgaier captures rain-delayed Xfinity race at Charlotte

Updated May. 29, 2023 11:47 p.m. ET

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Justin Allgaier held on to win the Xfinity Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway late Monday night giving JR Motorsports its first victory of the season in a race that took more than 12 hours to complete.

Allgaier’s team worried he would run out of gas, but he was able to conserve fuel down the stretch.

“We've not had a lack of speed this year, but tonight was the opposite — we had to go slow to go fast,” Allgaier said.

John Hunter Nemechek finished second, followed by Cole Custer, Austin Hill and Ty Gibbs.

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Like Allgaier, Nemechek had to conserve fuel at the end.

“It was tough not to push as hard as you can,” Nemechek said.

Nemechek entered the race leading Hill by one point in the standings and turned in another solid finish.

"If consistency is key to winning the championship, they are doing pretty good," Nemechek said.

The race began Monday morning but was red-flagged for a second time due to rain after just 48 laps, prompting NASCAR to postpone the remainder of the race until after the conclusion of the Coca-Cola 600.

The Xfinity race was originally scheduled for Saturday, but was postponed to Monday due to wet weather.

“I can't tell you how long of a day it has been, how long of a week it has been,” Allgaier said of the race which finished just before midnight Eastern Time.

Gibbs completed 900 laps on Monday, as he also raced in the Coca-Cola 600.

Kyle Busch had been scheduled to run the Xfinity Series race, but dropped out so he could focus on running the Coca-Cola 600. Justin Haley replaced Busch in the No. 10 Chevrolet.

UP NEXT

The Xfinity Series heads to Portland, Oregon, next Saturday for the Pacific Office Automation 147.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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