JR Motorsports is attempting a NASCAR Cup Series race for the first time.
The team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. is competing in the 2025 Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier behind the wheel. Allgaier won the 2024 Xfinity Series title and has driven for JR Motorsports in NASCAR’s No. 2 series since 2016.
The car will be sponsored by musician Chris Stapleton’s whiskey brand.
“We have been waiting for the right moment for JR Motorsports,” Junior said in a statement. “With Justin winning the Xfinity Series championship and the undeniable power of Chris Stapleton, the planets have aligned for this perfect opportunity to compete in this year’s Daytona 500.”
Allgaier has finished in the top five in the Xfinity Series standings in each of the last six seasons. His title in November was the first of his career.
JR Motorsports has been a mainstay of the Xfinity Series since its inception in 2005. However, the team has not attempted to move up into NASCAR’s premier series like many other Last 20 years. Junior retired from full-time NASCAR competition at the end of the 2017 season and has made at least one Xfinity Series start for the team he co-owns with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, in every season since. .
The team’s entry into the Daytona 500 officially means more than 40 cars are trying to make the 40-car field for the 2025 Daytona 500. The No. 40 car is the 41st confirmed entry with cars expected to be lined up for Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson. The No. 66 MBM Motorsports team has announced its entry into the race, but now needs a driver.
MBM said Mike Wallace would drive his car, but inexplicably made the announcement before Wallace was officially endorsed by NASCAR. On Monday, the team announced that Wallace had not been approved by NASCAR. Wallace, 65, has not competed in a NASCAR national series race on an oval since 2015.
Helio Castroneves is one of the drivers entered in the race and is assured of a place, thanks to a new temporary recently announced by NASCAR. If Castroneves does not qualify for the 500m sprint through qualifying or the Duel qualifying race, he will be added to the field as the 41st car.
