Allgaier Races to Ninth in JRM’s First NASCAR Cup Series Start at Daytona

February 17, 2025

In the first NASCAR Cup Series start in JR Motorsports’ history, in the sport’s crown jewel Daytona 500, Justin Allgaier brought team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. a top-10 finish.

Allgaier, who earned his best finish in the biggest race on NASCAR’s schedule, drove the No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet to ninth, avoiding a last-lap, overtime melee in Turn 3 and racing to the checkered flag for a ninth-place result. Allgaier’s previous best finish in the 500 came in 2014, when he placed 27th, and his best at Daytona was 18th in the 2015 summer race on the 2.5-mile oval.

Starting 19th, Allgaier played the waiting game through stoppages for rain and rode in the pack much of the day. The Illinois native managed to miss most of the frequent crashes, taking light damage in a couple of them, before getting a chance near the end of the event.

On the final restart, Allgaier was able to miss most of the pileup in Turn 3 on the last lap and raced back to the checkered flag with a ninth-place result for JR Motorsports and Traveller Whiskey.

“I think we checked all the boxes,” Allgaier said of his and his team’s performance. “I’m really proud of JR Motorsports and everybody on this team. We hit all the markers. We had DVP (damaged vehicle policy). We had pit stops. We had craziness in picking lines. A lot of uncertainty on my part, just knowing the guys you are around. But all in all, it was a solid night.

“Missing the crash there at the end was cool,” he continued. “I assumed the caution was out and I didn’t know we were racing back to the line. That was cool to race back to the line and get a top-10 finish. Just want to thank everybody at Traveller Whiskey, Dale Jr., Kelly Earnhardt Miller and everybody that let me be a part of this. Thank you to everybody at Team Chevy and the Hendrick Engine Shop. This is a big moment for JR Motorsports, and we are excited about what the future holds for our company.”

For his part, Earnhardt Jr. was pleased with both the performance and the result.

“We showed up for our first race, to run in the most elite form of stock car racing, what kind of expectations can you have in terms of being really competitive in the race?,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I would say that we’re very happy with a top-10, really happy that we got to duke it out with them tonight.

“If you told me we were going to finish 10th two months ago I would have been really thrilled with the result. Everything about the experience was good, even the challenges we faced.”

A two-time Daytona 500 winner (2004, 2014)as a driver, Earnhardt Jr. had good things to say about Creg Ives, who built the program and called the race.

“I hope at least Greg (Ives) enjoyed it,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He was the one who had to manage all the people and get everything going in the right direction. I didn’t understand how detailed that job was until I watched him go through that whole process, so I was very thankful for him as the leader of the team. Everyone who had a role did them well and we executed from the moment they started putting the car together until we got to the end of the race. I’m happy, and we’ll see what comes next.”