News

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (February 27, 2010) – Justin Allgaier, driver of the Penske Racing No. 12 Verizon Dodge in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, had a car capable of contending for the win in Saturday’s Sam’s Town 300, but an extended green-flag run in the latter stages of the event left the third-year driver with a seventh-place finish.

Allgaier’s third-consecutive top-10 finish allowed him to maintain the fourth position in the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver point standings. Three races into the 2010 season, Allgaier trails point leader Carl Edwards by 56 markers.

Allgaier recorded the 22nd- and seventh-fastest times, respectively, in Friday’s two practice sessions. In Saturday morning’s qualifying session, Allgaier toured the 1.5-mile oval in 29.650 seconds, at an average speed of 182.125 mph, to earn the 13th starting spot for the 200-lap event. 

While pre-race activities took place as scheduled, rain showers moved into the area forcing the postponement of the start of the race by nearly two hours. Once the green flag finally waved to get the event underway, Allgaier wasted little time working his way inside the top 10, doing so at lap 14 when he overtook the No. 27 of Greg Biffle.  Although experiencing a tight-handling condition on the Verizon Dodge, the Riverton, Ill. native maintained his position inside the top 10 for much of the first half of the race, only relinquishing positions for a green flag pit stop at lap 59.

As the laps clicked off, Allgaier continued his move towards the front. The 23-year-old driver ran as high as second at lap 115, appearing to have a car capable of contending for the victory. As various pit strategies played out over the final third of the event, crew chief Chad Walter made the call to leave his driver on the track. With more laps on his tires than his competitors, Allgaier faded in the closing laps of the race but held on to score a respectable seventh-place finish.

Penske Racing teammates Brad Keselowski and Parker Kligerman finished fourth and 35th, respectively.

“It was a bit of a frustrating finish for the Verizon Wireless Dodge, but we managed a top 10 out of the deal,” said Allgaier. “To have as good as a car as we did and not be in victory lane is tough. We had some trouble in the pits but we overcame it and trucked our way back up to the front. To be running up front all day and have it end the way that it did is tough to swallow. We just didn’t have anything left for tires. The good news is that it’s another top-10 finish, and a good day in points.”
 
The Verizon Wireless team will enjoy a two-week break in the NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule before heading to Bristol Motor Speedway. ABC’s live television coverage of the Scotts Turf Builder 300 will begin Saturday, March 20 at 2 p.m. ET. The event will also be broadcast live on PRN Radio and Sirius XM Satellite Radio.