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 Collection 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 prospect to tackle NASCAR’s crown jewel occasion as the most recent introduced in a stacked open discipline of drivers. The deal got here as a little bit of a shock to Allgaier, who did not anticipate to be supplied the prospect to pilot JRM’s first ever Cup entry when he was introduced into the JRM workplace. 

“This can be a large alternative,” mentioned Allgaier in a Wednesday press convention. “I take numerous strain on myself in that second to see this group compete on the grand scale of the Cup Collection. 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 probably combating for the ultimate 4 spots on the grid, relating how he almost crumbled beneath the strain in final yr’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 essential — I feel your mindset must be to attempt to go qualify. That must be primary. That is the best option to do it as a result of then you possibly can race the Duels in a distinct capability. You may permit your self to do some bit extra studying and a number of the issues which might be going to be keys for the race within the 500 … When you do not qualify in and it’s important to race your means in by the Duels, I feel your mindset modifications. 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 yr with Jimmie Johnson making an attempt to race his means in and I keep in mind pondering to myself should you had been in that place and you recognize you are going to need to go for it, it’s important to throw warning to the wind and attempt to see what you possibly can accomplish.”

A really succesful crew chief main the trouble

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

“I noticed what number of occasions he is certified a automotive on the entrance row at Daytona,” smirked Earnhardt Jr. when requested concerning the determination 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 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 might all want to assemble into place to go there with the most effective alternative we may. And me and him are simply actually nice buddies and I belief him wholeheartedly. And I do not suppose he’ll be too aggravated with me standing over his shoulder all through the entire course of, asking him all types 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 totally 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. “Effectively possibly 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 believed 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 absolute best means 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 should be numerous 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 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.