In dramatic fashion, JR Motorsports and Justin Allgaier will officially be taking the green flag in the 2025 running of the DAYTONA 500 on Sunday afternoon. Needing to race his way in during Thursday evening’s Duel 150 qualifying event, Allgaier and the No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet team went to work, as the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion used the high line to his advantage to draft his way into the top 10 over the closing laps and take the checkered flag in the ninth position to secure the first Cup Series start for JRM in “The Great American Race.” With tonight’s result, Allgaier is set to roll off for Sunday’s DAYTONA 500 from the 19th position.
“This just means so much to Dale (Earnhardt Jr.), Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and L.W. (Miller) and everyone at JR Motorsports. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves to come make this happen and to see it come to fruition is truly special. Greg (Ives, crew chief) has worked his tail off to give us a strong car and this No. 40 Traveller Whiskey team rallied following qualifying Wednesday night. This whole group is special. I can’t thank everyone at Traveller Whiskey and BRANDT Professional Agriculture enough for coming onboard for this effort. This might seem like not that big of a deal to a lot of people, but when I think about our small team at JR Motorsports, as big as it is, it really is a small family team. To see this happen tonight, it takes a lot of weight off my shoulders and is extremely special.”