JR Motorsports goes 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 practically 20 years. To-date, JRM has 4 driver’s titles, profitable 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 prospect to tackle NASCAR’s crown jewel occasion as the newest introduced in a stacked open subject of drivers. The deal got here as a little bit of a shock to Allgaier, who did not count on to be supplied the prospect to pilot JRM’s first ever Cup entry when he was introduced into the JRM workplace. 

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports, BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro

Photograph by: Danny Hansen / NKP / Motorsport Photographs

“This can be a large alternative,” mentioned Allgaier in a Wednesday press convention. “I take loads 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 stunned has by no means come to fruition earlier than this level.”

Allgaier went on to speak in regards to 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 practically crumbled below the strain in final 12 months’s Xfinity title-decider earlier than making a outstanding comeback to safe the crown.

“Phoenix is a superb instance of what to not do in these moments,” laughed Allgaier. “I feel one of many issues for me that has been extremely vital — I feel your mindset needs to be to attempt to go qualify. That needs to be primary. That is the simplest technique 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 perform a little bit extra studying and among 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 need to race your approach in by the Duels, I feel your mindset adjustments. All of us perceive what can occur within the Duels … we have seen it time and time once more. I keep in mind watching final 12 months with Jimmie Johnson attempting to race his approach in and I keep in mind considering to myself in case you had been in that place and you realize you are going to must go for it, you need to throw warning to the wind and attempt to see what you’ll be able to accomplish.”

A really succesful crew chief main the hassle

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

“I noticed what number of instances he is certified a automobile on the entrance row at Daytona,” smirked Earnhardt Jr. when requested in regards to the choice to usher in Ives. “It is like, ‘you bought any magic left Greg? Let’s go to the monitor and see what we will do.’ However being an open automobile, there’s some challenges to see what we will do to get into the sector. It will not be straightforward. 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 very best alternative we may. And me and him are simply actually nice associates and I belief him wholeheartedly. And I do not assume 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 automobile 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 considering, what’s the coolest factor we may do with the whiskey model,” defined Stapleton. “Nicely perhaps we must always put it on a race automobile and I occur to know Rick Hendrick [owner, Hendrick Motorsports]. Rick hooked me up with Dale and this chance got here up and I believed we received to do this. I went and talked to my companions and mentioned ‘hey, we received to make this occur. Let’s make this occur.’ They usually agreed. That is the very best approach we may introduce our model to the followers of the game and past that, it is simply tremendous cool to see it on the automobile. 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 getting into a automobile into the Daytona 500. It may be loads of enjoyable. I am excited to see what occurs … the entire expertise of it.”

Allgaier has two earlier begins within the Daytona 500, operating the occasion in 2014 and 2015. He has 82 whole Cup begins whole, however his most up-to-date look got here in final 12 months’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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