LEXINGTON, Ohio - Justin Allgaier used fresh tires to pass rookie Austin Cindric with four laps left and win Saturday's NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
Allgaier used the sixth restart of the race to squeeze by Cindric on the track's first turn, then held off his challenge on the 72nd lap for his third series win of the year. He also won at Dover International Speedway and Iowa Speedway for JR Motorsports.
Allgaier was seventh for the last restart on the 69th lap Saturday but had used the caution to replace all four tires.
"We needed to get up front," Allgaier said. "We knew the last restart was going to be pivotal."
Team Penske's Cindric, who started in pole position, finished 2.05 seconds back after leading 59 of the 75 laps on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course.
"It's NASCAR racing. We knew there would be a late-race restart," Cindric said. "Great driver on new tires, great restart. We finished second. It's frustrating. This place means a lot to me. We just came up short."
Cindric is the grandson of the late Jim Trueman, who once owned the track.
Daniel Hemric was third, followed by Matt Tifft and Ryan Truex. Series leader Christopher Bell was 11th.
"Justin did a great job moving through traffic," Hemric said. "When you have new tires, at some point during the run it tends to equal, but he did a good job getting as far in front as he did.
"I was sitting there watching (Allgaier and Cindric) go at it. It was a heck of a race from my viewpoint."
Cindric built a seven-second lead before the fifth caution on the 60th lap. Cole Custer rubbed tires with Tyler Reddick, spinning him and causing a flat rear right tire for Reddick, who could not get his car off the course.
Custer also spun Allgaier during the same incident, and Allgaier dropped to eighth with the race's laps and his hopes of winning quickly fading.
"I really thought that was as far as we could get," he said.
Allgaier won the 20-lap first stage after Cindric led the first 17 laps before pitting, yielding the lead to him. Cindric won the second stage, also 20 laps.
Allgaier moved up to fifth in the series standings with 751 points, 20 behind Bell.
"We're still pushing," Allgaier said. "I don't know if we can get to first."
Moffitt wins again
BROOKLYN, Mich. - Brett Moffitt passed Jimmy Sauter just before reaching the finish line in Saturday's Camping World Truck Series race at Michigan International Speedway.
Moffitt edged Sauter - the leader the previous 12 laps - by 0.025 seconds as he won a trucks race for the fourth time this season, adding to Hattori Racing Enterprise's run of success in 2018.
"Pretty amazing this little team's gone to victory lane four times this year," Moffitt said. "The whole last however many laps I was behind (Sauter), I would get to him, but I would push him with that air bubble between our bumpers.
"So I tried to back up (on turn one), let him get out there a little bit, and I knew (third-place finisher John Hunter Nemechek) was behind us. I was hoping he would actually get to us and be able to push us. But we were able to play it right and time it right. And, man, it's just great to get here."
Noah Gragson was fourth and Todd Gilliland fifth after leading a race-high 18 laps.
Moffitt tied Sauter for the lead in trucks victories this season.
Sauter leads the season standings with 625 points, 56 ahead of second-place Gragson going into Thursday's race in Bristol, Tennessee, the final event before the playoffs. Eight drivers will qualify for the postseason.