Justin Allgaier was hoping to earn JR Motorsports its 100th win as a team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. He is already responsible for 25% of them, but it did not work out that way.

On a late-race restart, he chose the outside line as the control car. NASCAR Cup star Kyle Larson joined him on the front row. The two drivers were side-by-side through the first set of corners, but their battle came to an abrupt end as Larson got loose at the exit of Turn 2. He clipped Allgaier, sending him into the outside wall and ending his day.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” said a rather despondent Allgaier, who was consoled by team co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the wreck. “We’ll go back and look at it, but I hate it for our team, (and) everybody at JR Motorsports. I’m really hopeful that regardless of the outcome for our #7 team, I really hope at least one of the JR Motorsports Chevrolets is able to go to Victory Lane and get that 100th win for Dale Jr. … Unfortunately, Indianapolis is one of those places where it doesn’t take much to have an incident like that.”

Allgaier did get his wish in the end as 19-year-old Connor Zilisch earned his third consecutive win and JR Motorsports’ 100th as an organization in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

Kyle Larson explains what happened

Larson rebounded to finish fourth, and was apologetic after the race as he reflected on the incident with Allgaier.

“I wish I would have gotten clear there off of (Turn) 1,” said Larson as he watched a replay of the pivotal moment. “He [Allgaier] didn’t really pack air too much on my door there. I just got enough and got just a little bit loose. My angle was bad as I was trying to shortcut the entry, and then I was kind of along for the ride. Tried to bail quickly and just caught his left rear, and wrecked him. I hate that.

“You never want to do that to somebody racing full-time like that, so I wish I could have done some things different. Honestly, I don’t really know what I could have done right there other than to maybe help my angle into (Turn) 2 a little bit. Again, sorry to Justin and the #7 team.”

Larson starts 13th for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, entering the event as the defending winner of the Brickyard 400.

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports Chevrolet

Photo by: Jonathan Bachman – Getty Images

Photos from Indianapolis – Race

Indianapolis – Saturday, in photos

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INDIANAPOLIS — NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill is facing a possible suspension by NASCAR after contact between Hill and Aric Almirola caused Almirola to crash during Saturday’s Xfinity race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — contact officials determined was “reckless driving” by Hill and penalized him by parking him for five laps.

The incident occurred during the closing laps when Almirola and Hill were racing for position inside the top 10 when Almirola got into Hill’s rear bumper, causing him to slide up the track. Hill’s car then turned left, hitting Almirola’s car in the right-rear and causing him to crash head-on into the outside wall.

Neither driver was injured, but Almirola described it as “one of the hardest hits I’ve taken in my NASCAR career.” The Joe Gibbs Racing driver viewed Hill’s actions as intentional.

“I didn’t feel what he did was necessary. I felt like he could have easily fell back in line. He was damaged anyway. We were losing time to the leaders. It wasn’t like we were on pace with them. He was holding me up clearly.

“It’s just unfortunate. He obviously lost his mind right there. That was really bad judgment in my opinion.”

The yellow flag is out at @IMS following this incident involving multiple cars.@Aric_Almirola exited the No. 19 under his own power. pic.twitter.com/tOaYGsLFJw

— NASCAR Xfinity (@NASCAR_Xfinity) July 26, 2025

Immediately afterward, Hill said over his team’s radio that he did not intentionally try to hook Almirola in the right-rear, an action NASCAR has both heavily penalized and suspended drivers for in the past.

“I couldn’t hang onto it; I was not trying to right-rear him,” Hill told his Richard Childress Racing team.

NASCAR disagreed and issued Hill a five-lap penalty for “reckless driving.” After learning of the penalty, Hill further defended himself.

“(NASCAR) can go f— themselves. F— NASCAR. That is f—ing bull—-,” he said over the radio.

Hill declined to comment to reporters after the race.

Because of the safety risks, intentionally hooking a competitor in the right-rear to cause them to crash is considered egregious (and dangerous) by the majority of drivers — especially on a high-speed oval like Indianapolis. Bubba Wallace (in 2022) and Chase Elliott (in 2023) were suspended one race for right-hooking another driver on a high-speed oval.

Recently, there have also been similar incidents where NASCAR did not suspend a driver even though they right-hooked a competitor.

Last year, NASCAR heavily penalized RCR driver Austin Dillon, Childress’ grandson, after officials ruled he deliberately crashed both Joey Logano and right-hooked Denny Hamlin on the final lap of a Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway as the trio raced for the win. Although Dillon was allowed to keep the win, he was stripped of the playoff eligibility he otherwise would’ve earned. He was also docked 25 driver points.

This past spring, NASCAR penalized Austin Cindric 50 points and fined him $50,000 after officials ruled he intentionally right-hooked Ty Dillon (another Childress grandson) during a Cup race at Circuit of the Americas, a road course as opposed to an oval like Indianapolis or Richmond.

The latter incident involving Cindric and Ty Dillon was top of mind for Childress following Saturday’s race. When asked by The Athletic whether Hill should be suspended, Childress directly referenced what transpired at COTA and how NASCAR responded.

“Hell, no. They didn’t do a damn thing to (Cindric) when he wrecked Ty (Dillon) and admitted to it — drove him in the right rear and wrecked him at COTA,” Childress said. “It’s who you are. We’re a blue-collar team; (NASCAR) gives us trouble all the time.”

NASCAR said the five-lap penalty did not close the book on any potential future penalties handed to Hill for intentionally wrecking Almirola and will review the incident during its post-race debrief. Any potential penalties would likely be announced mid-week.

Rookie Connor Zilisch won the Xfinity race, his series-best fifth victory on the season.

(Photo: James Gilbert / Getty Images)

SPEEDWAY, Ind. — Leaving Indianapolis Motor Speedway and during subsequent team gatherings at the JR Motorsports shop during the week, celebrations will be had from all across the organization as Connor Zilisch earned the milestone 100th win at the Brickyard Saturday evening.

However, the few hours after the Pennzoil 250 and flight back to North Carolina will come with some bitter feelings as cornerstone driver Justin Allgaier crashed from the lead with 14 to go after contact with Kyle Larson.

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Through light rain and some ominous weather hovering over the 2.5-mile facility, the Xfinity Series field bunched up for multiple restarts as the laps ticked off.

Allgaier cleared to the point on a prior restart in front of Larson, who was piloting the No. 17 hot rod for Hendrick Motorsports. But on the following restart, Larson and Allgaier were even off Turn 1 and into Turn 2 before Larson scooted up the track and clipped the No. 7 Chevrolet, sending Allgaier into the outside wall. With heavy rear-end damage, it marked the end of another heartbreaking loss for the longtime Xfinity veteran who’s responsible for a quarter of JRM’s all-time wins.

RELATED: Official results | Best photos from Indy

“It doesn’t take much here, especially restarts, the way that everybody’s kind of packed up here,” Allgaier said after exiting the infield care center. “Unfortunately, we got the worst end of the deal. Probably more disappointed because we came here last year, we went down a path and we weren’t as good as we wanted to be. [Crew chief] Jim Pohlman and this whole 7 team, we have worked tirelessly on trying to make sure when we came here to Indy that we had a car that was capable of not only running up front, but trying to win this race.”

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That mission was accomplished as Allgaier led a race-high 37 laps and snagged the Stage 2 checkered flag from teammate Zilisch in a side-by-side tilt to the start/finish line.

Meanwhile, Larson kept the No. 17 off the Turn 2 wall and recovered to a fourth-place finish. He explained that he tried to stay off Allgaier as they raced side-by-side into Turn 2, but there wasn’t much he could do.

“I was almost clear and he was just able to kind of get to my right rear and just pull me back,” Larson said regarding the restart. “He kind of drove by me pretty quick where he just took enough air off my right side, where I was just kind of along for the ride there — was trying to miss him, but unfortunately, got into him. Hate to have that happen. That was kind of the end of my race there and obviously to his, so I don’t really know what I could have done differently yet. I’m sure once I look at the replay, I’ll see some things. But he was just there on my door, but I’m the one to control my car, trying to be anyways, but it’s still in my hands.”

It’s not just missing out on getting the 100th win for JR Motorsports in his 10th season with the organization, but it’s a crushing end for Allgaier at one of the most iconic tracks in the world.

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At 39 years old, Allgaier knows it will only get harder to stay on top of his game and win at the Brickyard again, but regardless, he’s happy to see his team reach the milestone although the disappointment will linger until getting back into the car next weekend at Iowa (Sat., 4:30 p.m. ET, The CW, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

“I know how important Indianapolis is to the ecosystem of the sport,” Allgaier said. “Even for me, the want to win here again is high. You never know how many opportunities you’re even going to have to race here, let alone win here. I think that’s the hardest part. We were able to get up there and to lead the race and to manage well. We lost the lead a couple of times, and we were able to get it back. Those are really key moments for me that I feel really good about.

“I told [team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr.], if we get [100 wins], I’ll be in Victory Lane celebrating with you. I think that’s the most frustrating part. As a racer, you want to be the one to win those key milestone races. But as somebody that’s been a part of this company for a long time, and as somebody that has watched the men and women in our company work tirelessly to have great Chevrolets week in and week out, 100 wins is no small feat. We’ll go celebrate and have a lot of fun, but it’s going to sting.”

INDIANAPOLIS — Car owner Richard Childress was emphatic that NASCAR should not suspend Austin Hill after his contact wrecked Aric Almirola late in Saturday’s Xfinity race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, resulting in what Almirola described as a “vicious” hit that was “uncalled for.”

NASCAR penalized Hill five laps for reckless driving. NASCAR will review the situation this week.

“He obviously lost his mind right there,” Almirola said of Hill after exiting the infield care center. “That was really bad judgment in my opinion.”

After the incident, Hill said on the team’s radio: “I couldn’t hang on to it. I was not trying to right rear him. He had me out of control. I was like jerk back to the left to keep it off the wall. I’m not sure what the hell he thought just running me over in (Turn) 3, though.”

After being told on the radio he was being held five laps for reckless driving, Hill directed multiple expletives to NASCAR.

A Richard Childress Racing spokesperson walking with Hill on pit road after the race said, “we’re not talking.”

Childress did talk.

After telling reporters “I ain’t going to say nothing (because) I’ll be in bigger trouble than I already am with NASCAR, period” — Childress responded to a question about if Hill should be suspended.

“Hell, no,” Childress said. “They didn’t do a damn thing to the No. 2 car (Austin Cindric). He wrecked Ty (Dillon) and admitted to it, drove him in the right rear and wrecked him at COTA. It’s who you are. We’re a blue-collar team. They give us trouble all the time.”

Childress walked away.

Childress was correct in that NASCAR did not penalize Cindric during the race for hooking Dillon and wrecking him at COTA, but series officials docked Cindric 50 points and fined him $50,000 a few days later after reviewing the incident.

Almirola got to the rear of Hill’s car and got him loose as they raced for fourth with 10 laps left. The back end of Hill’s car slid out but he corrected the slide and straightened the car as Almirola moved underneath him. Hill’s car then had contact with the right rear of Almirola’s car, sending into the SAFER barrier nose-first.

“That was violent,” Almirola said of the crash, which left him sore. “To be totally honest, that was one of the hardest hits I’ve taken in my NASCAR career. The impact felt very similar to when I broke my back (in 2017 at Kansas Speedway). I’d be very interested to see the black box data from (Saturday’s) crash, but it was vicious and that’s just uncalled for.

“I got him a little bit loose to get under him because it was time to go. I would have never done that five laps into the race, but when you’re coming down to the end of the race at Indianapolis and he’s already blocked me three times, I certainly got him loose.

“I didn’t feel what he did was necessary. I felt like he could have easily fell back in line. He was damaged anyway. We were losing time to the leaders. It wasn’t like we were on pace with them. He was holding me up clearly.

“It’s just unfortunate. He obviously lost his mind right there. That was really bad judgment in my opinion.”

Almirola finished 35th. Hill placed 34th. Connor Zilisch won his third race in a row, giving JR Motorsports its 100th career Xfinity victory.

On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. Indy is a big 2.5-mile flat track where track position and horsepower are king. This race is often run “backwards”, where teams try to pit as few times as possible. I view Pocono to have the most correlation, so make sure you look back to that race from just a few weeks ago (Pocono 2025 Total Speed Rankings).

On Saturday, NASCAR held a combined 25-minute practice session, so teams had time to make adjustments and tune. Make sure you check out our Indy Practice Notes, Indy 5, 10 and 15 Lap average Speed Cheat Sheet and Indy Practice Speeds and 10-Lap Averages. 

Here’s the Indy Qualifying Results/ Starting Lineup. 

Indianapolis Full Field Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

1) Kyle Larson
Start 13th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Indy Outlook – Defending Indianapolis Brickyard 400 winner, Kyle Larson will be tough to beat in this crown jewel race. Dover might be a sign the #5 team is getting back to form, and that will be big trouble for the field if that’s the case. In last year’s Brickyard 400, Larson got a late assist in overtime and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Larson earned the 3rd best Driver Rating, had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and led 8 laps. During overtime, leader Brad Keselowski ducked down pit road after the “choose cones” and that immediately bumped Larson up to the front row in the inside lane and from there, Larson hit the afterburners. Back in 2019 in Larson’s next most recent race, he finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 5 laps but then crashed in the last Stage which led to his 33rd. On lap 126 which was shortly before his demise, Larson was running in 7th. At Pocono a few weeks ago, Larson finished 7th and had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. In practice, Larson said his car was pretty good and his 5-lap average was the 3rd best.
DraftKings $10,500/ FanDuel $13,500

Further Recommended Reading = Indy Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Indy Scoring Projections, FanDuel Indy Scoring Projections, Indy Quick Rankings

2) William Byron
Start 6th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Indy Outlook – Look for William Byron to be fast and be a factor at Indy. Indy is a track where the best of the best shine, and I have no doubt Byron is poised to have a great performance, if he can avoid trouble which often hasn’t been far at Indy considering he’s finished 19th or worse in 3 of the last 4. “Performance Wise” over the last three, Byron’s easily been top ten good. Last year, Byron was top ten good but finished an asterisk mark 38th. In the race, Byron finished 4th in Stage #1, was running in 9th on lap 60 (pit strategy during the Stage #1 caution shuffled him back a little) but then on lap 74 while running around 20th, Byron crashed in a multi-car wreck during a restart. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 8th. Back in 2020, Byron led 15 laps, won Stage #1 but then on lap 83 which is a lap he was battling for the very lead, Byron had a flat tire and got into the wall which doomed him to a 27th. In 2019, Byron finished 4th. In practice, Byron had the 2nd best 10-lap average.
DraftKings $10,200/ FanDuel $13,000

3) Chase Briscoe
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Indy Outlook – Pocono winner and polesitter, Chase Briscoe should be high on your radar. Pocono is the best comp track and Briscoe was impressive there en route to victory lane. At “The Tricky Triangle”, Briscoe finished 1st, led 72 laps and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking, having ranked #1 in both the 3rd and 4th segments of the race. That very car he won with, the #19 team is bringing it back to the track this weekend. Last year at Indy in his old ride, Chase Briscoe had an afternoon to forget. In the race, Briscoe finished 24th, had the 24th best Total Speed Ranking and had a 17.3 average running position. I’ll note, Briscoe was running in 13th on lap 156 (four laps to go) but then he pitted or something which dropped him back and then in overtime he was collected in a wreck.
DraftKings $9,300/ FanDuel $10,500

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The NASCAR schedule this weekend has taken us to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the annual Brickyard 400. One of the most distinguished races in Cup Series comes with just five weeks left in the regular season. With the playoffs imminent, the NASCAR starting lineup for the Brickyard 400 and Saturday’s Cup Series qualifying results matter more than ever.

Related: NASCAR predictions for Brickyard 400

Following the NASCAR qualifying results on Saturday afternoon for the Cup Series, let’s dive into the Brickyard 400 starting grid and lineup.

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NASCAR starting lineup: Brickyard 400

1. Chase Briscoe – 49.136 seconds

2. Bubba Wallace –49.149 seconds

3. Erik Jones -49.248 seconds

4. Tyler Reddick – 49.267 seconds

5. Ty Gibbs – 49.330 seconds

6. William Byron – 49.442 seconds

7. Chris Buescher – 49.447 seconds

8. Carson Hocevar – 49.495 seconds

9. AJ Allmendinger – 49.499 seconds

10. Austin Cindric – 49.586 seconds

11. Shane van Gisbergen – 49.591 seconds

12. Kyle Larson – 49.617 seconds

13. Kyle Busch – 49.595 seconds

14. Brad Keselowski – 49.629 seconds

15. Joey Logano – 49.693 seconds

16. Christopher Bell – 49.795 seconds

17. Josh Berry – 49.830 seconds

18. Noah Gragson – 49.894 seconds

19. Todd Gilliland – 49.941 seconds

20. Austin Dillon – 49.949 seconds

1. Alex Bowman – 49.967 seconds

2. Michael McDowell – 49.974 seconds

3. Ryan Preece – 49.979 seconds

4. Ryan Blaney – 49.992 seconds

5. Riley Herbst – 50.012 seconds

6. Ty Dillon – 50.051 seconds

7. Zane Smith – 50.061 seconds

8. Justin Haley – 50.067 seconds

9. Cole Custer – 50.088 seconds

10. Chase Elliott – 50.114 seconds

11. Daniel Suárez – 50.201 seconds

12. Ricky Stenhouse Jr – 50.310 seconds

13. Ross Chastain – 50.333 seconds

14. Cody Ware – 50.588 seconds

15. Jesse Love – 50.801 seconds

16. John H. Nemechek – 50.989 seconds

17. Josh Bilicki – 54.565 seconds

18. Katherine Legge – 56.963 seconds

Related: NASCAR standings before Brickyard 400

Brickyard 400 starting grid

• Row 1: Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace

• Row 2: Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick

• Row 3: Ty Gibbs, William Byron

• Row 4: Chris Buescher, Carson Hocevar

• Row 5: AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric

• Row 6: Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Busch

• Row 7: Kyle Larson, Brad Keselowski

• Row 8: Joey Logano, Christopher Bell

• Row 9: Josh Berry, Noah Gragson

• Row 10: Todd Gilliland, Austin Dillon

• Row 11: Alex Bowman, Michael McDowell

• Row 12: Ryan Preece, Ryan Blaney

• Row 13: Riley Herbst, Ty Dillon

• Row 14: Zane Smith, Justin Haley

• Row 15: Cole Custer, Chase Elliott

• Row 16: Daniel Suarez, Ricky Stenhouse Jr

• Row 17: Ross Chastain, Cody Ware

• Row 18: Jesse Love, John Hunter Nemechej

• Row 19: Josh Bilicki, Katherine Legge

Who is on the pole for the NASCAR race on Sunday

Chase Briscoe is on the pole for the Brickyard 400 on Sunday. Bubba Wallace is second in the NASCAR starting grid tomorrow.

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