JR Motorsports will enter a car in the Daytona 500 for Justin Allgaier, marking the first time the organization will field a Cup car in a NASCAR race. The Associated Press was the first to report the news.
This is a race that JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. has won twice as a driver (2004 and 2014).
Allgaier’s car will be sponsored by 10-time Grammy winner Chris Stapleton’s Traveler Whiskey brand. The car will be number 40. Greg Ives will be the team leader.
The Xfinity team is owned by Earnhardt, his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick. Earnhardt talked about expanding into the Cup Series, but the team did not purchase a charter.
“It’s still sinking in,” Earnhardt said Wednesday of a car vying for a spot in the Daytona 500. “I told Kelley I want to be there every moment. … I want to be involved or at least witness everything.
“I’ll be on pit road when the car comes out for qualifying. I’ll be there when it comes out for testing. I’ll be there when they unload it on the race track on Wednesday. I want to go through the tech, I want see everything.
“I don’t know what’s realistic because there will be other obligations, but I’m approaching this as if it’s one and only opportunity, a dream come true.”
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The Daytona 500 is scheduled for February 16 at Daytona International Speedway. Allgaier, the reigning Xfinity Series champion, will have to qualify for the Daytona 500 since the team does not have a charter.
Allgaier has 82 career Cup starts. He ran a Cup race last year, replacing Kyle Larson in the Coca-Cola 600 while Larson competed in the Indianapolis 500.
JR Motorsports got its start in 2005 with an Xfinity race. He has managed Xfinity’s full program since 2006, winning series titles with Chase Elliott (2014), William Byron (2017), Tyler Reddick (2018) and Justin Allgaier (2024).
JR Motorsports’ full-time Xfinity teams for 2025 will be Carson Kvapil, Sammy Smith, Connor Zilisch and Allgaier.
