DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.— Justin Allgaier has endured his share of pressure-packed situations in NASCAR racing.
The current Xfinity Series champion has competed in the final round of the Playoffs seven times. Allgaier subbed for Jimmie Johnson at the Brickyard when the seven-time champion was sidelined with Covid-19 and stood by as a potential relief driver for Kyle Larson last year when Larson attempted the Indy 500 | Coca-Cola 600 double.
But driving the No. 40 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports’ maiden run at Daytona International Speedway—and attempting to qualify for the Great American Race—elicits an entirely new level of anxiety.
“Anytime you get to Daytona, you’ve spent the offseason thinking about getting back in the car and the effort and time that it takes to get here,” Allgaier said. “But at the same time, this one is a bit more unique with obviously the Cup program and with JR Motorsports. There’s a lot of pressure with this program to do well, to make the race and to do all the right things.
“For me, I’ve been around this team long enough that, I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to go out there and make it what it needs to be. It was good to get out there, get the rust knocked off, but also to get this car on track to see what it feels like and what it drives like.”
If Allgaier didn’t have enough eyeballs on his attempt to qualify for one of 40 or 41 positions in the race, given his association with NASCAR’s perennial most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., adding the star power of Chris Stapleton and the Buffalo Trace Whiskey brand on board will simply elevate the attention.
Although this is JRM’s first foray into the Cup Series, Allgaier has an edge with the Hendrick Motorsports alliance and veteran Cup crew chief Greg Ives. The 38-year-old racer is familiar with Ives through the crew chief’s association with JRM’s Xfinity program and by testing the Chevrolet wheel-force car. As an added bonus on Wednesday, his current Xfinity championship crew chief Jim Pohlman was assisting in the Cup garage for good measure.
“These qualifying efforts are such a team effort,” Allgaier added. “Greg Ives and this whole Traveller Whiskey team have really done a great job of building a car that I think is easily capable of qualifying our way in this evening. But if not, race our way in tomorrow afternoon in the Duels.
“So proud of everybody that has had a hand in it. It’s been cool seeing a lot of these guys. I don’t know if maybe other than Greg, that any of them ever had Cup experience, being at the race track with a Cup Series car. Those are things that make it a lot of fun when you can see guys get there the first time. It’s been hard to wipe the smiles off a lot of these guys all day, today.”
That includes team owner Earnhardt, Jr., who has no intention of missing the first day at the track with his new Cup endeavor. Earnhardt arrived at 6 a.m. to accompany the crew through technical inspection.
“Yeah, he beat me in the garage, that’s for sure,” Allgaier said. “He wanted to be here. His deal has been he wants to be here for every time this car goes on the race track, the big moments. Dale is so funny to me. He’s accomplished everything you could ever want to accomplish in this sport and he’s such an amazing ambassador for our sport, right? Fans, to this day, if he was eligible for most popular driver, I think he’d get it.
“I think that just goes to show how important of a moment this is for him, how big of a deal this is for him. It has been fun to watch Dale and his sister Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and LW (Miller) and really everybody from our shop see their pride in this program. It makes you want it that much more, right? It makes you feel it that much more. This is a big moment.”
Allgaier kicks off his 10th season with the Earnhardt siblings in 2025. Twenty-two of his 25 NXS wins have come under the JRM banner. And while the Riverton, Ill., native has 82 starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, he realizes this Cup start will transcend all of his previous runs.
“I’ve been in this for a long time. I’ve watched the sport my entire life,” Allgaier said. “I don’t know that there’s been the sentiment of Dale being involved in this like I feel like it has been. These guys that are busting their butts week in and week out to make this car come to what it is today. They were proud that Dale was here this morning and wanted to be here. That makes a big difference.
“It’s exciting having Chris Stapleton as a part of this and seeing his passion for it, seeing Dale’s passion for it, to see everybody at Traveller Whiskey and their passion to get this car in the field. You just go. It’s a lot bigger than just making the Daytona 500. This has been the culmination for a long time.
“Obviously, having Chevrolet in the power under the hood isn’t a bad thing. We’re going to go out there and give it our best shot. We’ve got our work cut out for us. Everybody here is on a mission. They’ve all built great race cars. We’ve just got to do a little better job than they do.”
Follow Lee Spencer on Twitter @CandiceSpencer or email her at: [email protected].
