Toledo Speedway

(TOLEDO, Ohio – May 14, 2015) – It went down in history as one of the wildest and most thrilling races in the annals of ARCA. Gut-wrenching and heartbreaking for some, euphoric for others, exciting for all.

The year was 2008 and there were five drivers heading into the last race of the season at Toledo Speedway with a shot to win the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards national championship.

Justin Allgaier, a full 110 points behind the leader in third, was a long shot going in, as were Frank Kimmel in fourth and Matt Carter in fifth. However, Allgaier not only emerged as the national champion, the popular Springfield, Illinois driver put an exclamation point on the season by winning the race.

ARCAracing,com sat down recently with Allgaier’s father Mike Allgaier to reflect on that big day.

“One of our crew guys asked me before the race, ‘can we win this championship?’. I told him we can’t win it, but they can still lose it,” said champion car owner Mike Allgaier.

Ironically, that’s pretty-much what happened. The “they” part he was referring to was point leader Scott Speed and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., who were one-two in points heading into the Toledo finale. It was anyone’s guess between the two, but widely recognized as being a matter for Speed and Stenhouse to decide. No matter how you sliced it, Allgaier needed a lot of help. As it turned out, he got the help he was searching for when Speed’s wrecked Red Bull Toyota went away on a hook while Stenhouse’s Aflac Ford left the scene on a flatbed truck.

Speed and Stenhouse tangled not once, but twice. It started on lap 27 when Stenhouse, running third right behind Speed, got into the back of Speed headed into turn three. Speed drifted up the track and smacked the wall, causing significant damage to the right-side.

After losing a lap on pit road, Speed returned to competition, albeit off the pace. Then, as the leaders, including Stenhouse, drove to the high side of Speed to put him another lap down, Speed turned right as Stenhouse was going by, sending Stenhouse hard into the turn two outside retaining wall. The exchange also sent Speed into the inside wall causing further damage to his already wrecked car.

As a result, ARCA officials parked Speed for rough driving for the remainder of the race. Stenhouse eventually returned to competition 69 laps down and ended up 25th.

With Speed and Stenhouse gone from the championship mix, Allgaier, on a new national championship mission, went on the charge. To the anxst of his father, Allgaier wanted more than the title…he wanted to celebrate his crown in Victory Lane.

“I remember coming on the radio and telling Justin to look at the big picture,” Mike Allgaier continued. “He could have settled in second place, but he went up there and wrestled for the win. I told him we have little to gain and a lot to lose.

“I’m counting dollars at this point. Sometime after Nashville that year, I told Justin that I appreciated all he was doing, but we can’t do this next year. It was straining the company too much, and we were spending money we didn’t have. He understood that and asked me if we could still race. I told him sure, but not at this level. I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

Possibly, with all those long conversations in mind, Allgaier put it all on the line and drove past Matt Carter to lead the 184th of 200 laps. With the crowd standing, Carter took it right back to lead the 185th lap. But it ain't over till it's over and Allgaier marched right back, made a daring, hold-your-breath three-wide move in traffic to get under Carter for the lead on lap 189. With the crowd going wild, Allgaier refused all remaining challengers, zoomed off into the sunset and straight into the ARCA history books as a national champion.

“That was truly a defining moment in his career. We were headed back home to work in the tire store and race locally. But winning the championship, the way we won it, opened some doors, and I mean some big doors. Next thing you know, Justin’s driving for Roger Penske in the Xfinity Series.

“If I had to say, I’d say there were three defining moments…the 2007 Chili Bowl, finishing third behind Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley, the Xfinity win at Bristol…winning against his teammate Brad (Keselowski)…running 36 laps side-by-side, and winning the ARCA championship in 2008. Those are the three races that people still remember. I still get people to come back and tell me how well they remember that Toledo race. It was that race, more than anything, that defined Justin’s career.

“I still wear the t-shirt that has the five guys on it. It was an unbelievable year. We really weren’t considered for the championship. I mean, we worked hard on our stuff, but we weren’t always freshened up the way it takes to win a championship. It was a matter of money to make things new every week, and we just didn’t have it. We broke in a few places and fell out…broke a transmission, I think at Kentucky. We were a long shot any way you look at it.”

In reference to the Speed/Stenhouse drama, Allgaier said, “I don’t know who decided to do what to who and why, but it was cool for us.

“What also stands out to me is that we were the team that finally beat the Kimmel domination. I think Frank had won eight (championships) in a row up till that point. That was a special time. I still replay that day.”

By Don Radebaugh, dradebaugh@arcaracing.com