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 PEVELY,
MO (June 28) -- Seventeen-year-old Justin Allgaier wasn't the only
person who was glad he won his first U.M.P. Modified race at I-55
Raceway in Pevely, MO. So were the 5,000-plus fans in attendance.
Prior to the late model feature race, new sponsor Dairy Queen as part
of a Fan Appreciation Night held a drawing in which all the competing
driver's names were put into a hat and one name was drawn. The name
they drew was Justin Allgaier. If Allgaier won the race, all in
attendance would be given a free Sundae at Dairy Queen. And wouldn't
you know it, Justin won beating not only the I-55 regulars, but also
Winston Cup Champion Tony Stewart and Winston Cup regular Ken Schrader
who is co-promoter at I-55 Raceway. Allgaier is the son of Mike and
Dorothy Allgaier, owners of Hoosier Tire Midwest. While most of the
fans had come out to get a glimpse of Tony Stewart who was racing
along with Ken Schrader, what they got was a great race that wasn't
determined until the final lap.
After three heat races in which Mark Gansmann, Ed
Dixon and Brian Wolfmeier were winners, the Dash race was contested
with Justin Allgaier capturing the win and the right to start the
night's 25-car feature race on the pole. Unfortunately, Ken Schrader
crashed in his heat and was unable to repair the damage in time for
the feature leaving Tony Stewart to battle the locals on behalf of the
Winston Cup contingent.
In the feature, Justin Allgaier took the lead from the
drop of the green flag with fellow front row starter Ed Dixon in tow.
After several attempts, Dixon was finally able to pass the young
hot-shoe to take the lead on lap 9. Dixon's lead would last just three
circuits before a caution came out. On the caution, Justin Allgaier
regained the race lead with Mark Gansmann and Tony Stewart nipping at
his bumper.
Gansmann challenged for the lead for several laps
pulling even with Allgaier in the corners only to fall back when the
youngster floored the gas in the straightaways. As the race entered
its final stages, a final caution came out on what appeared to be the
final lap as Tony Stewart spun out challenging Allgaier and Gansmann
for the win coming out of the final turn. With the crowd almost
tasting their ice-cold Dairy Queen Sundae's compliments of Justin
Allgaier, the track announcer nearly caused a riot when he announced
the final lap would have to be rerun since the yellow came out prior
to Allgaier crossing the finish line.
So, they lined them up all over again and restarted
the field for a white-checkered finish with Allgaier once again
crossing the finish line first and securing Dairy Queen Sundae's for
all in attendance. Allgaier, who only recently (June 6) turned 17, was
also coming off a win at Farmers City. But this one was
"big" according to Ken Schrader who sponsored Justin's first
ARCA ride.
Following Allgaier to the finish line was Mark
Gansmann, Brian Wolfmeier, Dean Hoffman and Kevin Gundaker. After
spinning in the final turn, Tony Stewart was scored with an 18th place
finish.
Hoosier Racing Tire Corp. congratulates Justin on his
pair of victories only weeks after his 17th birthday.
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