Nice Guys Do Finish First!
Over 35 years ago I sat in my boss’s office chatting about my work performance. He said something to me that day that has stuck with me forever. Oh, I certainly heard those words uttered before, but never in such a way that made such lifelong lasting impression.
The words? “Nice guys never win.”
Saturday, when Justin Allgaier crossed the start/finish line at Phoenix International Raceway at the DC Solar 200 my old boss’s theory was destroyed. A nice guy did finish first. For Allgaier it was his first victory in the Xfinity series since August of 2012 where he won on the Circuit Giles Villeneuve road course in Montreal, Quebec.
Justin is one of the good guys. Back in 2014 while writing for Last Word on Sports, I had written an article about meeting many of NASCAR’s drivers at Pocono. I had very kind words for Allgaier. A day after the article was published I received this note from his father, Mike Allgaier.
“Thank you for your kind words. You have made a Mom and Dad very proud. If you groom your son to be the best driver in the world and not a good person you have failed. Thank you!”
I’ve run into Mike Allgaier in the garage now and again along with his son Justin. I don’t know if Mike remembers that article or his note to me but I always make it a point to stop by Allgaier’s hauler to say hello.
Mike Allgaier told me he was not keen on the idea of Justin getting into the world of racing. The story he tells points the finger at Justin’s Mom, Dorothy Allgaier. Justin was a youngster of 5 or 6 years old. Mike, busy working at the tire distribution company he owes received a phone call from his wife Dorothy. She told her husband that their son had something to say and gave the phone to her son. In a typical child’s way Justin started telling his Dad about a quarter midget car. Can he get one can he? Can he? Can he? That’s how I imagine the conversation taking place.
Mike smiles at telling the story now. He told Justin no. And like all of us did as children Justin says, “But Mom says…..” The next thing Mike knows he’s on the phone speaking to his wife. The next words out of Mike’s mouth were that if their son was going to get involved in racing they would “do it the right way”.
Justin has had much success in racing winning the ARCA Series Championship in 2008 and winning the Nationwide (now Xfinity) Rookie of the Year in 2009. Driving for a few seasons in the Cup series he returned to the Xfinity Series in 2016 where he finished the season in 3rd place, 3 points behind Champion Daniel Suarez. His victory in Phoenix has assured himself a place in this year’s Xfinity Chase.
The success that Justin has had has not come easy. At Las Vegas, the weekend before his Phoenix victory, he and his team fought a steering issue all weekend before finishing solidly in the top 5. Even given the stress of trying to fix an ailing race car, Justin took time after the Xfinity drivers meeting to chat with me for a few minutes.
“I’m not going to lie to you. There are moments in my racing career when I wondered why I got up and went to the race track”, Allgaier recently told the Associated Press. Long winless streaks will do that to racers.
The support from his family has never wavered. His wife, Ashley who was on hand to celebrate his victory in Phoenix is often at the track. His Dad? Seldom misses a race and can almost always be seen sitting under the shade beneath the #7 hauler. I always make it a point to stop by and say hi. I’ve never regretted it.
Many of the Xfinity drivers took a few minutes to visit Allgaier in victory lane on Saturday. Among them his teammate Elliott Sadler and his team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. You can often tell in NASCAR what competitors think of each other by the reaction of them after an opponent wins. Allgaier’s victory was extremely popular.
After Allgaier drove his JR Motorsports Chevrolet to victory on Saturday I could not help but reflect back on that day some 35 odd years ago in my old boss’ office. Nice guys DO indeed finish first. They most definitely do.
Thanks for reading. Listen to WTBQ radio on Monday and Friday mornings at 8:45 as I join Frank, Taylor and the Morning Show gang to discuss all the current happenings in NASCAR. 1110AM 93.5FM or online at WTBQ.COM. You can also follow me on twitter @JimLaplante
