JR Motorsports is going Cup racing with 2025 Daytona 500 entry

With an possession group that features Dale Earnhardt Jr. and sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, JR Motorsports has been a staple within the NASCAR Xfinity Sequence for almost 20 years. To-date, JRM has 4 driver’s titles, successful in 2014 with Chase Elliott, 2017 with William Byron, 2018 with Tyler Reddick, and lastly, 2024 with Justin Allgaier.

2024 was Allgaier’s first Xfinity championship after 14 full-time seasons of competitors and now, he’ll get the possibility to tackle NASCAR’s crown jewel occasion as the most recent introduced in a stacked open subject of drivers. The deal got here as a little bit of a shock to Allgaier, who did not anticipate to be supplied the possibility to pilot JRM’s first ever Cup entry when he was introduced into the JRM workplace. 

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports, BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro

Picture by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Pictures

“This can be a massive alternative,” mentioned Allgaier in a Wednesday press convention. “I take a whole lot of strain on myself in that second to see this group compete on the grand scale of the Cup Sequence. One thing that I’m shocked has by no means come to fruition earlier than this level.”

Allgaier went on to speak concerning the battle to make the five hundred with as much as 9 open entries doubtlessly combating for the ultimate 4 spots on the grid, bearing on how he almost crumbled below the strain in final yr’s Xfinity title-decider earlier than making a exceptional comeback to safe the crown.

“Phoenix is a good instance of what to not do in these moments,” laughed Allgaier. “I believe one of many issues for me that has been extremely vital — I believe your mindset must be to try to go qualify. That must be primary. That is the simplest option to do it as a result of then you’ll be able to race the Duels in a unique capability. You’ll be able to enable your self to do some bit extra studying and a few of the issues which can be going to be keys for the race within the 500 … If you happen to do not qualify in and you must race your method in by means of the Duels, I believe your mindset modifications. All of us perceive what can occur within the Duels … we have seen it time and time once more. I bear in mind watching final yr with Jimmie Johnson attempting to race his method in and I bear in mind pondering to myself if you happen to had been in that place and you realize you are going to should go for it, you must throw warning to the wind and attempt to see what you’ll be able to accomplish.”

A really succesful crew chief main the trouble

Allgaier might be piloting the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with veteran crew chief Greg Ives atop the pit field. Of be aware, Ives has been the crew chief for eight Daytona 500s, placing his automotive on the entrance row an astonishing six instances. 

“I noticed what number of instances he is certified a automotive on the entrance row at Daytona,” smirked Earnhardt Jr. when requested concerning the determination to herald Ives. “It is like, ‘you bought any magic left Greg? Let’s go to the observe and see what we will do.’ However being an open automotive, there’s some challenges to see what we will do to get into the sector. It will not be simple. There’s some very robust competitors. I used to be assured that Greg understood higher than anyone the issues we’d all want to collect into place to go there with the perfect alternative we may. And me and him are simply actually nice mates and I belief him wholeheartedly. And I do not suppose he’ll be too irritated with me standing over his shoulder all through the entire course of, asking him every kind of foolish questions.” 

Backing from a rustic music legend

The automotive comes with sponsorship from singer Chris Stapleton’s Traveller Whiskey model. Stapleton was current for the announcement, saying that it hasn’t absolutely sunk in but as he embarks on this new journey.

“I used to be pondering, what’s the coolest factor we may do with the whiskey model,” defined Stapleton. “Properly perhaps we should always put it on a race automotive and I occur to know Rick Hendrick [owner, Hendrick Motorsports]. Rick hooked me up with Dale and this chance got here up and I assumed we bought to do this. I went and talked to my companions and mentioned ‘hey, we bought to make this occur. Let’s make this occur.’ And so they agreed. That is the very best method we may introduce our model to the followers of the game and past that, it is simply tremendous cool to see it on the automotive. Selfishly, that is one of many issues I needed out of it probably the most. Simply to see this factor occur and now, actuality is setting in. Like oh, we’re coming into a automotive into the Daytona 500. It is going to be a whole lot of enjoyable. I am excited to see what occurs … the entire expertise of it.”

Allgaier has two earlier begins within the Daytona 500, working the occasion in 2014 and 2015. He has 82 whole Cup begins whole, however his most up-to-date look got here in final yr’s Coca-Cola 600, subbing for Kyle Larson within the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet whereas he was competing within the the Indy 500.

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