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Justin Allgaier Wins O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race With Late Pass at Nashville Superspeedway

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Justin Allgaier passed rookie Brent Crews with 20 laps to go to win the O'Reilly Series race at Nashville — his fourth win of the season. Full recap inside.
Tristan Pharis

Last week, Justin Allgaier admitted in an interview with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that he had decided to retire at the conclusion of the 2026 season.

Then he started winning, crossing the finish line first in 3 of the first 15 races, doing so for a fourth time on Saturday at Nashville Superspeedway in the Sports Illustrated Resorts 250.

Starting from the 17th position due to qualifying being rained out, Allgaier had confidence in his team. “I told them before the race that we were going to go to victory lane,’’ he said after his win.

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The pole-sitter, Jesse Love, led the first 46 laps of the race, taking the stage 1 checkered flag, but Allgaier had already worked his way up to third.

Soon after the stage break, Allgaier made a move inside to pass Love on Lap 55 and lead his first laps of the night, but Love regained the lead toward the end of stage two, setting up an intense battle to end the stage. The No. 7 Brandt Chevrolet Camaro took the stage 2 checkered flag by a mere .337 seconds.

During the stage break pitstops, Allgaier’s team had a fumbled tire exchange, which dropped him to fifth and put Love back in the lead. Just one lap after the restart, Allgaier was back into second place.

The 18-year-old rookie Brent Crews, who started in 33rd position, began to emerge as a real factor in the race. He first passed Allgaier for second and then Love with 70 laps remaining. Shortly after, Love had a tire issue from his last pit stop and had to pit again, practically eliminating him from contention after leading a race-high 87 laps.

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After a cycle of green flag pit stops, it was Crews and Allgaier 1-2. The two battled each other in some close-quarters racing, in what Allgaier called “the most fun I’ve had without winning.”

With under 20 to go, Allgaier overtook Crews for the lead and never looked back, stretching the lead to 1.4 seconds as he crossed the checkered flag.

Crews finished second, followed by W. Sawalich, S. Mayer, B. Jones, C. Day, C. Kvapil, K. Larson, T. Gray, and S. Smith, who filled out the remainder of the top ten.

Saturday’s win marked the third for Allgaier in NASCAR’s second national division, and it is a favorite racetrack of his.

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“I ran my very first race here, and I fell in love with this racetrack,” Allgaier said.

“It’s not an easy racetrack. I’m sitting in the car. I’m in victory lane. I had to take a minute because I was exhausted, and it takes everything out of you. But at the end of the day, that’s what makes this place fun. That’s what makes it cool. This trophy, and the other two, really make me value the races we’ve run. I remember those races. So now, this one adds to that. You walk by, and you remember everything that went right and everything that went wrong, and you just reminisce.”

Allgaier currently has an average finish of 7.94, the best of his career (9.03 in 2019), and his team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., hopes to have him in the No. 7 care for the forseeable future.

“Justin is just incredible,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He just keeps surprising me with his ability.”

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“Whatever else we do going forward, if he finishes off the year and says, ‘You know what? I think I’ve had enough.’ That’s fine too,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “If he runs a couple more years, I’ll be happy about that as well. If he wants to run longer, it’s just pressure on me to keep giving [him] everything he deserves and everything he needs to be successful.”

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Kentucky Women’s Basketball Announces SEC Schedule For 2026-27 Season

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Photo via UK Athletics

The clock of the offseason keeps on moving. As we tick closer and closer to the return of college basketball, we can at least get some early hype brewing for the conference foes!

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, Kentucky Women’s Basketball revealed an official SEC schedule for the 2026-27 season with dates and locations. We already knew who the team’s opponents would be, but now we have even more of those fun details.

The team revealed the schedule by playing a fun game of “Heads Up” this morning. If yelling “SOONER” at the top of your lungs was an award, Gabby Brooks takes home the award.

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Year three of the Kenny Brooks era is slated to be challenging, but this roster he assembled may be his best yet. Brooks and his team will play eight games on the road this year and host another eight at Historic Memorial Coliseum, with Tennessee being the only opponent that Kentucky will face off against twice.

Sitting at a confirmed 28 games, the Big Blue Nation should expect a couple more non-conference matchups added to the schedule before it is finalized.

Below is the entire conference schedule with date and matchup. TV and tipoff assignments have not yet been announced.

OPPONENT DATE
@ FloridaThursday, Dec. 31
vs. Auburn Sunday, Jan. 3
@ MissouriThursday, Jan. 7
vs. TexasSunday, Jan. 10
vs. ArkansasThursday, Jan. 14
vs. Tennessee Thursday, Jan. 21
@ Oklahoma Sunday, Jan. 24
vs. Alabama Thursday, Jan. 28
@ South Carolina Sunday, Jan. 31
vs. LSU Thursday, Feb. 4
@ GeorgiaSunday, Feb. 7
@ Ole MissThursday, Feb. 11
vs. Vanderbilt Monday, Feb. 15
@ TennesseeSunday, Feb. 21
@ Texas A&MThursday, Feb. 25
vs. Mississippi StateSunday, Feb. 28

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Kentucky Deputy AD Marc Hill Accepts New Role at BYU

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Photo via UK Athletics

Kentucky’s athletics department continues to evolve as the faces we’ve seen for decades depart from the Wildcats and take on other opportunities.

On Tuesday, Aug. 11, it was announced that deputy AD Marc Hill was hired to BYU’s executive team under athletic director Brian Santiago. Reported first by Pete Thamel, Hill will be taking on a new role after 27 years at the University of Kentucky.

Among his various positions over the years, Hill worked with former head coach Mark Stoops as a top admin for over a decade with Kentucky Football. He was promoted to deputy athletics director back in 2019, serving essentially as Mitch Barnhart’s No. 2.

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Now that the J Batt era is fully underway in Lexington, the landscape within the upper administration has a whole new look to it.

A statement from BYU’s athletics department and Santiago:

“BYU Director of Athletics Brian Santiago has announced the addition of longtime Kentucky Athletics administrator Marc Hill to the BYU Athletics senior leadership team.

Hill will serve as a deputy athletic director at BYU, overseeing various administrative and operational efforts within BYU Athletics.

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‘We are excited to add Marc to our executive team,’ Santiago said. ‘He brings a wealth of experience from the highest level of collegiate athletics that will elevate our entire athletic department. He is a great fit and will help us as we continue to chase greatness the BYU way. We look forward to welcoming the Hills to our BYU athletic family.’

Hill comes to BYU with 27 years of experience at the University of Kentucky. After serving nine years as executive associate athletics director, he was named deputy director of athletics in 2019 and served as the athletic director’s right-hand man. He also served as the sport administrator for Kentucky football.”

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Q & A With Kentucky Baseball Commit Kale Hammer

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Photo via Seattle University Athletics

Kentucky Baseball has built a culture that’s unbreakable, even through the thick and thin of a roller coaster season. The Bat Cats have appeared in four straight NCAA Tournaments, have fans pack out ballparks no matter the location and are never out of a ballgame.

Kale Hammer, a Seattle University left-handed pitcher, recently transferred to Kentucky on Wednesday, June 10. He started in 13 games in the 2026 season, going 2-4 with a 5.79 ERA. He tallied 61 strikeouts through 70.0 innings pitched as well.

Hammer sat down for an interview with myself as part of KY Insider, highlighting the culture, his transfer decision and how important he will be in the Wildcats’ bullpen next season.

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Q: What influenced your decision to transfer away and what stood out to you about Kentucky? Was it as simple as playing at a SEC school with more opportunities or was it more complex than that?

“What stood out to me about Kentucky is the coaching staff and how they are as human beings, they truly are great people and want to make their players better at every aspect of life. SEC was a big part but I felt like I connected with the Kentucky coaching staff very well and they were exactly what I was looking for.”

Q: What do you think the most impressive part of your game is? Are you focused in big moments, strikeout heavy, etc.?

“I believe the best part of my game is my ability to keep an even demeanor on the mound in any situation, I think I have a great ability to locate multiple pitches around the zone and be clutch in big moments.”

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Q: What’s your best leadership qualities? I think, and I speak for the fanbase, but the team is in need of a guy to lead the bullpen and consistently put out during the season and postseason.

“I’m a quarterback at heart, so I think when it comes to my leadership qualities I just want to lead by example. When energy is low always making sure to get it back up and everyone rally’s off of everyone.”

Q: How do you feel about the fanbase so far? I know you’ve only had a short glimpse of it, but have you had any interactions yet?

“It honestly doesn’t feel real yet to me, the amount of support I’ve already gotten within a few hours is incredible and I think that alone speaks for how awesome of a fanbase Kentucky has.”

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Q: What’s your personal goals for this upcoming season? You can be as specific as you want to be, and even include team aspirations as well.

“I definitely want to earn a big role on the staff, I believe I can help the team win but the most important thing to me is just that we win. I want to help bring Kentucky to Omaha next year and win the national title.”

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