Van Gisbergen recovers from penalty, Allgaier wins in Overtime

Despite a drive-through, Shane van Gisbergen made strong progress in a crazy NASCAR Xfinity Series Overtime finish where Justin Allgaier prevailed and cars were flying through the air in Michigan.

A rain-delayed Overtime finish was worth the wait as Allgaier took control and van Gisbergen charged to 17th before a four-car wreck finally ended proceedings. 

Earlier van Gisbergen was sitting 25th, but at the Lap 72 restart he changed lanes from low to high too early which led to a drive through penalty.

Following the restart violation the Kiwi dropped to 30th and was a lap down out of contention in the run home.

He gained two more spots to 28th before the rain-induced red flag, but gained even more ground in Overtime.

The #97 Kaulig Racing Camaro gained eight positions in the final lap and a half before a caution brought the race to an early end in dramatic style.

As Allgaier jumped past Sammy Smith to seal the win, Caesar Bacarella got into the rear of Carson Kvapil, sending the #88 hard into the back straight wall.

It also sent Chandler Smith and Kyle Sieg sliding into the infield and contact between the pair fired the latter’s #28 airborne and onto the roof. All drivers were okay with Sieg emerging unscathed after a long ride upside down.

Sheldon Creed led the early laps as van Gisbergen held position inside the top 25, while the first caution arrived on Lap 16 when Taylor Gray spun.

Creed seized his control on Lap 25 when he sensationally spun from the lead which allowed Ryan Sieg to take Stage 1 honours just before the rain arrived.

Allgaier led at the restart, but by Lap 50 there was trouble at the front. Herbst in fourth clips Sieg, which triggered Herbst going into the wall hard and collected Sam Mayer and Cole Custer.

This set-up a seven-lap sprint to conclude Stage 2 and Nemecheck overcame Jesse Love, while van Gisbergen got to as high as 11th before slotting into 13th.

Kvapil stayed out to gain track position, but could not stop Nemecheck from taking the lead.

The green flag period did not last long before Lawless Alan got loose and collected Jeb Burton and Daniel Dye.

Van Gisbergen pitted and restarted 25th on Lap 72, but this is where he was penalised and his race never really recovered from there.

Up front the top seven pulled away as many tried to save fuel and on Lap 86 Kvapil snatched the lead from Nemecheck.

With 17 to go Allgaier flew past Nemecheck to snatch second, which proved critical as leader Kvapil couldn’t go any longer and dived into the pits on the same lap.

The long green-flag run was disrupted just seven laps from home when Kyle Weatherman had a tyre go down, which fired him hard into the wall.

A fascinating dash to the flag was in prospect with the race going into Overtime, but the rain arrived and spoiled the fun.

After a delay of around 20 minutes, racing resumed with Allgaier and Smith side by side for the restart and the latter prevailed on the inside.

However, Allgaier got a great run up high on the exit of Turn 2 as Smith was swallowed up by the pack.

Soon Allgaier enjoyed a healthy gap on the rest of the field, which was enough for victory as madness occurred on the back straight, ensuring the race ended under caution.

The next NASCAR Xfinity Series race is the return to Daytona with the Wawa 250 beginning at 9.30 AEST Saturday, August 24.

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