Congratulations to Justin Allgaier and Kevin Harvick on their racing victories this weekend! Check out the race reports and highlights below. 

Fresher tires prevailed on Saturday afternoon as Justin Allgaier and the No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team used them to earn their third NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of 2018 on Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The win was Allgaier’s eighth in NXS competition and marked his second victory on a road course. With his Stage One win and race victory, the Illinois native was able to add six NXS Playoff points to his total and remains the second seed with only five races remaining in the regular season.

Rolling off seventh for the 170-lap race, Allgaier was up to second on lap 5. He radioed to his team shortly after that the BRANDT Chevy needed more forward drive. Allgaier held his position on track and assumed the lead with just a few laps remaining in the first stage when the No. 22 of Austin Cindric opted to come to pit road under green. The No. 7 driver held on to win Stage One and collect a playoff point. Under the stage-ending caution, crew chief Jason Burdett called Allgaier to pit road for four tires, fuel and an air-pressure adjustment.

Taking the green for Stage Two in 13th, Allgaier was racing four-wide when he was pushed into the grass. He was able to continue on though and started regaining the positions he had lost. The 32-year-old driver was running in 15th when the caution came out on lap 30, and he radioed that the previous adjustment didn’t help the handling of the BRANDT Camaro. The team opted to stay out and once the race was back to green flag conditions, Allgaier continued to improve his position, taking the green-and-white checkered flag to end Stage Two in 10th. Under the yellow, the team made a stop for four tires, fuel and air-pressure adjustments.

Allgaier continued his climb forward once the final stage was under way on lap 45. By lap 56 he found himself in the fifth position, having worked his way past the No. 00 of Cole Custer. Just two laps later, two continued their battle and Custer made contact with Allgaier, sending the No. 7 Chevy for a spin. Allgaier avoided damage and lost minimal positions as he continued on. When the caution flag waved on lap 60 for a spin, the team took the opportunity to bring Allgaier to pit road for four fresh tires and fuel while a few teams stayed out. 

Restarting 11th, Allgaier was back up to fifth before another caution came out on lap 67. On the final restart of the day, the JRM driver muscled his way further towards the front. He was up to second in a hurry and set his sights on leader Cindric, who was on older tires. The two battled it out, but Allgaier was ultimately able to clear him and cruised on in the closing laps to the victory. Cindric had to settle for second and was followed by Daniel Hemric, Matt Tifft and Ryan Truex to round out the top five.

Allgaier’s win stands as JRM’s 41st NXS victory and second at Mid-Ohio.

Justin Allgaier, driver No. 7 BRANDT Professional Agriculture team
“Jason (Burdett, crew chief) made a good call to come down pit road and put four tires on, and that was what kind of made the decision at the end there. I knew we needed to get up towards the front on that last restart. I knew that was going to be pivotal if we were going to have a shot at getting past Austin (Cindric). They were the class of the field all day and definitely had the best car…. This BRANDT Professional Agriculture team has been spot on this year. Hats off to them. They work hard and it feels good to come home with another win.”

Source: Megan Johnson, Public Relations, JR Motorsports

Start/Finish: 3rd/1st (Running, completed 200 of 200 laps)
Point Standing: 2nd (924 points, 62 out of first)
 
Race Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Kevin Harvick of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
 
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):
● Kevin Harvick started third, finished first, collecting 10 bonus points and one playoff point.
● The Busch Light/Mobil 1 driver stayed out during the first two cautions on lap eight and lap 15.
● The No. 4 Ford came to pit road during the competition caution on lap 25 for two tires and fuel.
● Harvick restarted second on lap 27 and stayed in the lead for the remainder of the stage.
● He came to pit road for four tires and fuel at the end of the stage and came out fifth as the top-four cars opted to stay out.
 
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-120):
● Started fifth, finished first, earning 10 bonus points and an additional playoff point.
● Harvick raced his way back up to the second position by lap 75, when he came to pit road under caution for fuel only.
● The Busch Light/Mobil 1 Ford raced up to third by the following caution on lap 85. The team chose to stay out under caution.
● Harvick restarted second on lap 86 and raced to the lead by lap 109 after a long battle with the No. 78.
● The Busch Light/Mobil 1 Ford won the stage and came to pit road for four tires and fuel at the conclusion of Stage 2.
 
Final Stage Recap (Laps 121-200):
● Started first and finished first.
● Harvick stayed out under caution on lap 140 to remain the leader.
● The No. 4 Ford surrendered the lead to come to pit road for a final time under green-flag conditions for four tires and fuel on lap 171.
● Harvick took the lead for good on lap 190 after the remainder of the field cycled through its final scheduled pit stops.
● Harvick’s margin of victory over second-place Brad Keselowski was 3.233 seconds.
 
Notes:
● This was Harvick’s 44th career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win, and it ties him with Bill Elliott for 17th on the all-time NASCAR Cup Series win list.
● This was Harvick’s 21st Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory since joining Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) in 2014.
● Harvick became the first driver since 2008 to win seven of the first 23 races in a season. Kyle Busch scored all eight of his 2008 victories in the season’s first 22 races.
● This was Harvick’s series-leading seventh victory of 2018. It was also his 17th top-five and 19th top-10 finish of the season.
● Harvick earned his second victory in 36 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series starts at Michigan. It was also his 12th top-five and 17th top-10 at the track.
● Harvick finished first in Stage 1 to earn 10 bonus points and one playoff point, and first in Stage 2 to earn an additional 10 bonus points and one more playoff point.
● Harvick led five times for a race-high 108 laps to increase his laps-led total at Michigan to 480.
● Harvick’s victory in the Consumers Energy 400 marked the 53rd overall win for SHR. It was the organization’s 48th points-paying Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series win and its third at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn.
● SHR swept the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races at Michigan in 2018. Clint Bowyer won in the series’ June visit to the track.
● Harvick’s win marked SHR’s series-leading ninth points-paying victory 23 races into the 2018 season. SHR also won the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race via Harvick.
● This was SHR’s 12th Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory with Ford. The team won its first race with Ford when Kurt Busch captured the 2017 Daytona 500.
● There were eight caution periods for a total of 37 laps.
● Twenty-one of the 40 drivers in the Consumers Energy 400 finished on the lead lap.
 
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Busch Light/Mobil 1 Ford Fusion for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“(Son) Keelan is saving me some work (retrieving the checkered flag after the race). Usually when I get home the next day, we have to mock up a victory lane celebration. For him to be here and able to do that and be a part of NASCAR and bring your son to work and do all the things that we get to do with our kids – I have had him with me by myself the last three weeks, and we have had a ball. I couldn’t be happier to be a dad and be a part of NASCAR where they let your family come to the racetrack and be a part of it. Gotta thank everyone from Busch Light, Mobil 1, Ford, Jimmy John’s, everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing and all these fans for coming out today and supporting everything we do here in Michigan.”
 
Next Up:
The next event on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race on Saturday, Aug. 18 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 7:30 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBCSN beginning at 6 p.m.

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