TC Daily Pit Stop: Justin Allgaier Holds Off Aric Almirola to Win at Las Vegas; McDowell Earns First Pole for Spire Motorsports

TC Daily Pit Stop: Sunday, March 16th, 2025

Mar 16, 2025

Defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier is set to return to the NASCAR Playoffs this Fall, after a dominant performance in Saturday’s The LiUNA! at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The native of Riverton, Illinois had the dominant racecar throughout much of the afternoon but had to put up a masterful defense against a hard-charging Aric Almirola in the closing laps of the event to secure his 26th NASCAR Xfinity Series win.

Aric Almirola, Jesse Love, Austin Hill, and Sam Mayer completed the top-five. Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg, Harrison Burton, Connor Zilisch, and Sheldon Creed rounded out the top-10.

Michael McDowell Earns Surprise Pole at Las Vegas; First Pole for Spire Motorsports

How’s that for a surprise?

Michael McDowell and Travis Peterson have collected the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series pole position for Spire Motorsports, laying down an incredible lap in Sunday’s single-car qualifying session from Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

After placing ninth in the series’ sole practice session from the 1.5-mile facility in Las Vegas, Nevada, McDowell surged to the top of the speed charts in the time trials session, posting a lap time of 28.883 seconds (186.961mph) to edge out defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano.

Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Erik Jones rounded out the top-five.