Dale Earnhardt Jr and Chris Stapleton Entering a Car in 2025 Daytona 500
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Xfinity Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will enter a car in the 2025…
JR Motorsports is making its long-awaited NASCAR Cup Series debut in February’s Daytona 500. With help from country music star Chris Stapleton, the team will field Justin Allgaier in the No. 40 Chevrolet. With a veteran like Allgaier behind the wheel, what factors will determine how good they could be in their Cup Series debut?
What’s Happening? NASCAR Hall of Famer and Xfinity Series team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will enter a car in the 2025…
Justin Allgaier will enter Daytona with just two starts in the Daytona 500. These starts came with HScott Motorsports, which had a tumultuous time during their time in the Cup Series. In his two Daytona 500 starts, Allgaier scored a best finish of 27th and failed to finish on the lead lap in both attempts.
While his Cup series stats aren’t those of a great driver, Allgaier is better known for his efforts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. In 14 full-time Xfinity Series seasons, Allgaier has 25 career wins and one championship.
Despite his success in the Xfinity Series, Allgaier is not known for his efforts as a superspeedway racer. However, in 28 total Xfinity starts, Daytona, Allgaier has one win and 14 top-tens.
Of all the factors facing Allgaier in his Daytona effort, the stark differences between the Xfinity and Cup Series Car may be the most important. In his 82 Cup Series starts, Allgaier has just three starts in the current Cup Series car. Of these starts, Allgaier has one start on a superspeedway in the Next Gen car, a 30th-place finish in 2022.
Aside from his limited Cup Series action at the track, Allgaier has the experience. He has won at Daytona, and sometimes, that’s all a driver needs to get a feel for the track.
Another factor here is the team backing Allgaier. Of course, JR Motorsports has no Cup Series starts in its long history; however, at the Xfinity level, the team is perhaps the greatest of all time.
With 88 wins and four series championships, the team has graced the series with Cup Series Champions and a Daytona 500 winner. In fact, the reigning Daytona 500 Champion, William Byron, is a JRM alumnus and a former series champion with the team.
Looking towards Daytona, JRM made a key hire for their Daytona 500 effort, which could be key to their success. Greg Ives will return to the team as crew chief and call the shots for Allgaier. Ives won the 2014 Xfinity Series Championship with JRM and driver Chase Elliott.
However, Ives is also an accomplished Cup Series Crew Chief. During his time in the Cup, mostly with Hendrick Motorsports, Ives crew chiefed for Jeff Gordon, Alex Bowman, and, of course, Dale Earnhardt Jr. While Ives has a win at Daytona in the Cup Series, he has put his driver on the pole at a Superspeedway four times, including two Daytona 500 poles in 2018 and 2021.
Ives’ experience at the Cup Series level, at Daytona, and in the Daytona 500 will be a major factor in Allgaier’s success. But, as the team enters Daytona, one existing relationship could be the most important factor in a solid run at Daytona.
It is no secret that JRM and Hendrick Motorsports have a deep relationship. In addition to the prospects and part-time veterans that JRM has entered for HMS, Rick Hendrick, owner of HMS, is a part-owner of JRM.
One major question fans are asking prior to Daytona is how deep the ties between HMS and JRM will be for this one-off start. However, the relationship between HMS and JRM has already factored into JRM’s Daytona 500 attempt.
JRM is actually able to field this car in the 500 with support from Stapleton thanks to an existing relationship between Stapleton, who was interested in fielding a car sponsored by Traveller Whiskey, and Rick Hendrick. In an interview with Jenna Fryer of AP Sports, Stapleton claimed that Hendrick sent him to Earnhardt Jr, beginning the process of fielding this car.
While this connection helped get JRM up and running at the Cup Series level, technical support beyond a supplied engine from a team like HMS is crucial for the team JRM to compete at a new level.
Practice for the Daytona 500 is on Feb. 12, and qualifying will be that same day. Both sessions will tell fans whether JRM has a shot to make the Great American Race.
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