“I’m disappointed to lose to him”

Following the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series BetRivers 200 at Dover Motor Speedway, Justin Allgaier commented on his loss to Corey Day with a big praise for the 20-year-old rookie. Despite leading a race-high 71 laps around the “Monster Mile,” Allgaier was unable to hold off a late-race charge from Day, ultimately crossing the line in second place.

The race-defining moment came with just four laps remaining. Allgaier looked poised to seal the victory until the front-runners encountered the lapped car of Blake Lothian. He moved his car toward the middle of the track, forcing the JR Motorsports driver to try a risky pass on the bottom lane. This slight hesitation opened up the top lane for Day’s No. 17 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, sealing his second win of the 2026 season.

In a post-race conversation, Justin Allgaier said (via NASCAR.com):

“Corey is ultra-aggressive in a good way and I thought he raced super good today… That 17 team, they’re doing a great job, and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, they always do a great job. Corey is ultra-talented. He’s just trying to get his feet wet and figure out the stock-car thing, and he’s doing a pretty darn good job of it.”

Allgaier revealed he had multiple conversations with the rookie earlier in the year about managing his driving style. The No. 7 driver noted that Day has done a “really good job” channeling that aggression productively.

Furthermore, the former NASCAR OAPS champion added:

“I’m disappointed to lose to him, but at the same time, you watch what he was doing out there. I mean, obviously, he was running a heck of a race, and it was gonna be hard to hold him off, even if the lap car wasn’t there. So we’ll go back and reboot, figure out what we could have done better, but ultimately it just wasn’t our day.”

Justin Allgaier details post-race talk with Blake Lothian after Dover race

Justin Allgaier provided deeper insight into his post-race conversation with 23-year-old rookie Blake Lothian following their costly encounter in the closing laps at Dover Motor Speedway.

Driving the No. 55 Joey Gase Motorsports Toyota, Lothian, found himself directly in the crosshairs of the battle for the win between Allgaier and eventual race winner Corey Day.

Speaking with the media, Allgaier said:

“Blake’s learning. He’s a good kid, really good kid. “We got a lot of conversations.”

Allgaier highlighted that this erratic movement inadvertently put Corey Day at an advantage. While Allgaier had to guess and commit early to a low-line dive, Day was positioned further back, allowing him to see the high lane open up clearly

While the setback cost Allgaier the individual race trophy, his second-place finish keeps him in the points standings lead with 175 points over Sheldon Creed.