with an ownership group that includes dale earnhardt jr and sister Kelly Earnhardt Miller, JR Motorsports has been a staple in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for nearly 20 years. To date, JRM has four drivers’ titles, winning in 2014 chase elliottwith 2017 William Byronwith 2018 tyler reddickAnd finally, with 2024 Justin Allgaier,
2024 marks Allgaier’s first The deal came as a bit of a surprise to Allgaier as, when he was brought into the JRM office, he did not expect that he would be offered the chance to pilot JRM’s first Cup entry.
Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports, Brandt Chevrolet Camaro
Photo by: Danny Hansen/NKP/Motorsport Images
“This is a huge opportunity,” Allgaier said at Wednesday’s press conference. “I take a lot of pressure on myself in that moment to see this organization compete on a major level in the Cup Series. The thing I’m amazed at is it’s never been successful before this point.”
Allgaier talked about the battle to make the 500 with nine open entries potentially fighting for the final four spots on the grid, explaining how he almost collapsed under pressure in last year’s Xfinity title-decider before making a remarkable comeback. How they had collapsed. To secure the crown.
“Phoenix is a great example of what not to do in those moments,” Allgaier said, laughing. “I think one thing that’s been extremely important for me – I think your mentality has to be to try and qualify. It’s got to be number one. That’s the easiest way to do it because then you can race in the duels. In a different capacity you can allow yourself to learn a little bit more and some things that are going to be important to race in the 500… if you don’t qualify and you have to race your way up Of conflicts. Through, I think your mindset changes to understand what can happen in a couple… We’ve seen it over and over again, I remember watching it last year jimmy johnson Trying to run my way and I remember thinking to myself that if you were in that situation and you knew you had to go for it, you had to be careful and try to see that What you can achieve.
A very capable crew chief is leading this effort
Allgaier will pilot the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet atop the pit box with veteran crew chief Greg Ives. Of note, Ives has been a crew chief in eight Daytona 500s, placing his car on the front row an astonishing six times.
When asked about the decision to bring in Ives, Earnhardt Jr. said with a smile, “I’ve seen how many times he’s qualified the car on the front row at Daytona.” “It’s like, ‘You got any magic left, Greg? Let’s go to the track and see what we can do.’ But being an open car, there are some challenges that we have to overcome to get the best of the opportunity. And he and I are really good friends and I trust him with all my heart and I don’t think he’ll be too angry with me standing over his shoulder during the whole process. Asking all kinds of stupid questions.”
Endorsement from a country music legend
The car comes with the sponsorship of singer Chris Stapleton’s Traveler whiskey brand. Stapleton was present at the announcement and said that it is not quite over yet as he sets out on this new adventure.
“I was thinking what was the coolest thing we could do with a whiskey brand,” Stapleton said. “Well, maybe we should put it on a race car and I’m Rick Hendrick (owner, Hendrick MotorsportsRick connected me with Dale and this opportunity came up and I thought we had to do it. I went and talked to my partners and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do this. Let’s make it possible. And they agreed. It’s the best possible way we can present our brand to sports fans and besides, it’s great to see it on a car. Selfishly, this is one of the things I wanted most from it. Just to see this thing happen and now, reality is setting in. Like oh, we’re entering a car in the Daytona 500. This is going to be a lot of fun. I’m excited to see what happens… the whole experience of it.”
Allgaier has made two previous starts in the Daytona 500, running the event in 2014 and 2015. He has a total of 82 Cup starts, but his most recent appearance came in last year’s Coca-Cola 600, which was held in 2014 and 2015. kyle larson In the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet when he was competing in the Indy 500.
in this article
Nick DeGroot
nascar cup
dale earnhardt jr
Justin Allgaier
JR Motorsports
Be the first to know and subscribe for real-time news email updates on these topics
Subscribe to news alerts