Justin Allgaier found himself in a winning position in the Xfinity Series race in Phoenix but a tire blowout ruined his chances with just 5 laps remaining. However, he was not the only one with tire issues. It turns out that Tony Stewart‘s prodigy and defending Xfinity Series champion Cole Custer, who started the race from the pole, struggled for grip in the final stage of the event, costing him a chance to even challenge for the win.

The driver of the #00 ran exceptionally well in the first couple of stages, doing his best to keep the likes of Allgaier and Chandler Smith behind him. But his efforts proved to be in vain as the final stage witnessed his tires veering off course. He managed to finish P5 regardless of the issues, which is a good result, but the Stewart-Haas Racing star was sure to be disappointed.

Goodyear proves to be Tony Stewart’s enemy yet again

One of the most frustrating things as a driver is when you are pushing yourself to the limits to extract every ounce of performance from your car, only to find it unresponsive to your efforts. That is exactly what happened to Tony Stewart’s #00 team in the final stage. Speaking to reporters in a post-race media interaction, the reigning champion acknowledged that there was a point where he was doing everything possible but to no avail.

The culprit, at the end of the day, was his tires. The tires produced by Goodyear Manufacturers seem to be failing to keep up with the demands of the Next Gen car. Tony Stewart has had his fair share of disagreement with Goodyear manufacturers during his driving days and those feelings might have been rekindled when Custer said that he could not find any grip at all. It was evident from his time on the track that the tires weren’t up to the mark. The reigning champion struggled to defend and switch lanes, which really hurt his chances of winning.

“We had a solid car in the first couple of stages. I was working pretty hard to try and keep the #7 and the #81 behind me and then that last stage…just got super loose, overall just didn’t have the grip. Once it got really rubbered down and the track lost grip we just struggled trying to get the whole corner to work and there were times where it was just like I was doing everything I could but we weren’t extremely fast so just gotta keep working on the little things, try and make it a little bit better,” he said after the race.

Phoenix was the place where the 26-year-old experienced one of the greatest moments of his career after winning the Xfinity Series championship last year. His return was a lot less glorious but Custer was still appreciative of his pit crew for their efforts.

Robbed by Goodyear, Justin Allgaier Fails to Join Boss Dale Earnhardt Jr in Penultimate Xfinity Honor

If not for the tires, Cole Custer’s pit crew might have won him the race with a smart pit stop

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Despite their discernible issues with finding grip on the track, the Stewart-Haas Racing pit crew did everything in their power to see the #00 clinch the checkered flag. This included taking the bold decision to pit Cole Custer before everyone else in the final stage. Some people believed this to be the money stop, the one that allowed Tony Stewart’s driver to undercut everyone else and take the lead. However, after Justin Allgaier’s tire blew out with just 5 laps remaining, all that went up in smoke.

“Really proud of our team. The pit crew did an amazing job keeping us in the game and everybody did a great job executing, just…gotta get everything that little bit better,” Cole added in his post-race interview. The driver was appreciative of his crew on social media as well as he took to his official X handle to send out a message of appreciation.

But in the end, all of that hard work did not count for a win and that must be really disappointing for the #00. The team will be looking to deliver a strong performance in Austin at the iconic COTA next weekend. Road courses are always difficult for drivers who are used to turning left most of the time, but the defending champion is not one to say no to a challenging scenario.

Despite Coming Off a Win, Ross Chastain Is Concerned With Phoenix and Its Struggles