Allgaier makes every drop count in Joliet Nationwide win

• Reprints

Justin Allgaier whoops it up after becoming the second Nationwide regular to win in the series this season. | Nam Y. Huh~AP

Updated: July 14, 2011 11:55PM

Justin Allgaier ran out of gas, but so did Carl Edwards. And the Riverton, Ill., native, who calls the Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet his home track, made it to the finish line first on fumes to win the STP 300 Nationwide race Saturday night.

Allgaier is only the second Nationwide regular to win a race this season. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is the only other Nationwide-only driver to earn a victory, which he did May 22 at Iowa. This was Allgaier’s second career victory, moving him to fourth in the point standings and 11 behind the new leader Reed Sorenson.

With four laps to go, it was a two-car race between Allgaier and Edwards and the question of who had enough gas became a concern. On the final lap, Allgaier took the lead from Edwards on the backstretch going into Turn 3 — and then promptly ran out of fuel.

“Coming off of Turn 2 we were catching Carl pretty quickly,” Allgaier said. “Right as he got to the wall he was wiggling pretty good. And as soon as I got even with him, mine ran out of fuel. I had an extra 100 feet of being on the throttle and that was a big help.”

Edwards, the Sprint Cup points leader, finished second after leading a race-high 144 laps.

“I thought I saved about a lap of fuel and they told me I could make it to 200,” Edwards said. “My first thought was that I should block him, but then he might pile into me and wreck me. If I could have gone 100 or 150 feet, I think we would have still won the race.”

Trevor Bayne picked apart the field from the opening lap and ­finished third.

Bayne, who hasn’t raced in about six weeks because of Lyme disease, went from the 31st position to sixth in the race’s first 57 laps. His only ­issue in the early part of the race was ­during the second caution, when he left his pit box and nearly ran into Allgaier.

“We came to 10th in [the first] 35 laps,” Bayne said. “I feel like I saved too much fuel and I thought I should have gone [for the lead] about six laps earlier.

“It was a good recovery here, and we actually had sponsors here today, and I got to wear a [decorated fire] suit other than a white one.”

With his 11th-place finish, Elliott Sadler lost the points lead to Sorenson, who finished sixth. Sorenson holds a two-point lead over Sadler.

Sadler and Edwards were running 1-2 for most of the race’s last 48 laps. With 28 laps to go, fuel mileage was starting to be an issue for Sadler. And with 25 to go, Edwards took the lead.

But fuel didn’t end up being Sadler’s downfall. With 10 to go Allgaier passed Sadler for second, and with six laps remaining, Sadler hit the pits when his right front tire lost air pressure.

NOTES: Brad Keselowski, one of three Sprint Cup drivers in the race and the 2010 Nationwide series champion, recorded his fifth DNF of the season. Keselowski had engine issues on lap 138.

◆ Danica Patrick, in her first NASCAR race since March, finished 10th.

◆ The 21 lead changes and 12 leaders were track records for a Nationwide race.