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BROOKLYN, Mich. — Justin Allgaier raced to his second NASCAR Xfinity Series victory of the year and the 25th of his career, pulling away from the pack in an overtime finish Saturday at Michigan International Speedway.

Allgaier broke a 10th-place tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tommy Houston for victories in NASCAR’s second-tier series.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would hit that number,” the 36-year-old Allgaier said.

Michigan’s two-mile oval became the 18th track where he has won a race.

Sheldon Creed was second for an 11th time, setting an Xfinity Series record for runner-up finishes without a win. He’s the only Xfinity Series driver to finish in the top five in 10 races this year.

John Hunter Nemechek, the Xfinity winner last year at Michigan, was third.

Creed and Sam Mayer were signed to multiyear contracts earlier in the day to drive in the second-tier series next season for Haas Factory Team, an offshoot of Stewart-Haas Racing.

The wet weather that washed out qualifying for the Cup Series, stopped the Xfinity event for nearly 10 minutes early and again toward the end of a race scheduled for 125 laps that went an extra three laps.

On the final restart, Allgaier broke free in the No. 7 Chevrolet before Kyle Sieg rolled over in a crash on the final lap to end the race. Sieg, who was able to get out of the car on his own, was treated and released from the infield care center.

Allgaier, who drives for JR Motorsports, also won this season in the series in May at Darlington Raceway. He has won at least twice for the fifth straight year in the series.

Shane Van Gisbergen, who was 17th in the 38-car field Saturday has a series-high three victories this year.

Five races remain in the regular season, with no weeks off, before the 12-driver playoffs begin Sept. 28 at Kansas.

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

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QB Castellanos exits after losing BC starting job

Boston College quarterback Thomas Castellanos, who lost his starting job earlier this week, will not be returning to the team, he announced Thursday night.

Castellanos, who started 12 games last season and retained the top job under new coach Bill O’Brien, wrote on X that “unfortunately, all good things come to an end, even though it’s sooner than I would like.” He did not mention the transfer portal in his departing message and has not officially entered it. The junior from Waycross, Georgia, started his career at UCF and appeared in five games in 2022.

O’Brien said Tuesday that Grayson James, who replaced Castellanos in last week’s win against Syracuse, will start Saturday when Boston College visits No. 14 SMU. Castellanos “wasn’t real thrilled” with the decision, O’Brien said, adding that the quarterback decided to step away from the team for several days.

Castellanos had 2,248 passing yards and 1,113 rushing yards last season under coach Jeff Hafley, passing for 15 touchdowns and adding 13 on the ground. He had 18 touchdown passes and only five interceptions this season, but his accuracy dipped in recent weeks, and he completed only 2 of 7 passes against Syracuse before being replaced.

In his statement, Castellanos thanked both coaching staffs he played for at Boston College and wrote that he had “some of the best experiences of my life in the Eagles Nest and I will truly cherish these memories forever.”

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Gators’ Lagway ‘ready to play,’ will start vs. LSU

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Gators' Lagway 'ready to play,' will start vs. LSU

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida quarterback DJ Lagway is “ready to play,” coach Billy Napier said Thursday on his weekly radio show.

Napier removed Lagway from the team’s injury report and penciled him in to start against No. 21 LSU in the Swamp on Saturday.

Lagway practiced every day this week while progressing from a strained left hamstring. The highly touted freshman was carted off the field against Georgia on Nov. 2. Tests revealed a “less significant” injury than initially feared, and now he’s back in time to face the Tigers.

The Gators (4-5, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) need him. They have to win two of their final three regular-season games to become bowl eligible.

LSU (6-3, 3-2) has struggled mightily against dual-threat QBs, including Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who ran for 185 yards and four touchdowns last week.

Lagway returns after walk-on and Yale transfer Aidan Warner started in his place against Texas. Warner threw two interceptions and was 12-of-25 passing for 132 yards in a 49-17 loss.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

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Georgia leading rusher Etienne ruled out vs. Vols

No. 12 Georgia will be without leading rusher Trevor Etienne for Saturday’s showdown against No. 7 Tennessee.

Etienne was downgraded from questionable to out on Thursday night’s SEC availability report.

Etienne left Georgia’s win over Florida with an upper-body injury on Nov. 2 and did not return. He played limited snaps in last week’s 28-10 loss at Ole Miss, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards.

Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 477 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season.

The loss is another blow to Georgia’s banged-up backfield. Cash Jones is also listed as questionable while Branson Robinson remains out after missing the past three games with a knee injury.

That leaves true freshman Nate Frazier as the only healthy Bulldogs running back who has played meaningful snaps this year. Frazier is second on the team with 333 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

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