‘A Dream Come True’, JR Motorsports Enters Daytona 500

Photos courtesy of JR Motorsports.

For Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelly Earnhardt Miller, co-owners of JR Motorsports, it’s been a dream to enter a car in the Daytona 500.

Next month, that dream will become a reality as reigning NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, Justin Allgaier, will attempt to qualify for stock car racing’s biggest event behind the wheel of the No. 40 Chevrolet entered by JR Motorsports and sponsored by country music star Chris Stapleton’s Traveller Whiskey brand.

“For me, there's a lot of layers to this,” explained Earnhardt. “Obviously JR Motorsports, myself and Kelley entering a Cup car in any race is a big deal for us. But this is also a bit of a continuation, at least for me personally, of celebrating Justin's championship - achieving a goal that we've been after for a long time.

“With Traveller, we want them to have a great experience. We know what Justin's capable of doing outside of the car, as well as inside the car. And so we know that as a driver and through marketing engagement, that Justin will make sure this is a great experience for Traveller, Chris and his team.”

According to Earnhardt Miller, it was an opportunity they couldn’t pass up.

“We've been talking about the opportunity to be in the Cup Series. And obviously, we're a family of racers. This is our life. This is our passion. And so to be able to have a Cup entry at the Daytona 500 -  a place that's really special to us.. a place where the Earnhardt’s have had a lot of history and a lot of success with both my dad and Dale - you know, it's just really kind of full circle. This is the perfect situation, the right moment. So we're just pretty thankful and glad to be here.”

Stapleton, a 10-time Grammy winning musician, singer-songwriter, says teaming up with the Earnhardts and JR Motorsports for the Daytona 500, is something that hasn’t fully sunk in yet.

“Yeah, it's one of these things that you kind of think about.. what's the coolest thing we could do with the whiskey brand? Well, maybe we should put it on a race car. And I happen to know Rick Hendrick, and Rick kind of hooked me up with Dale. This opportunity came up and I was like - well, we've got to do that.

“So I went and talked to my partners in the whiskey and I said - hey, we've got to make this happen.. let's make this happen. And they agreed. This is the best possible way that we could, you know, introduce our brand to the fans of the sport. And beyond that, I just think it's super cool to see it on the car.

“Selfishly, I think that's one of the things I wanted out of it the most, is just to see this thing happen. And now a lot of realities are setting in like - oh, we're entering a car in the Daytona 500 all of a sudden.

“I'm excited to see what happens and, you know, enjoy just the whole thing.. the experience of it.”

Given what Daytona means to Earnhardt Jr. and his family, he wants to experience everything about the team’s first entry in the 500.

“I did tell Kelley that I wanted to be present for all the moments. And so from the moment we started to, you know, select the chassis and purchase the car; start to build, find the components, and get the components. And even going through that with NASCAR and understanding that whole process is really unique and new, compared to how things work in the Xfinity Series. So I want to be involved or at least a witness to everything.

“I'm going to be on pit road when the car is pushed out for qualifying. I'll be there when it's going out for practice. I'll be there when they unload it on Wednesday at the racetrack. I want to go through tech. I want to see everything. I don't know what's realistic because there will be some other obligations, but I'm approaching this like it's a one and only opportunity.. a dream come true.

“I told Kelley that I want her there for all of it, as well, because we've done this together from the start. This was something that we really waited for the right moment, and Chris and his brand, Traveller and their excitement around it feels nice and genuine. They're experiencing it for the first time, as well. So yeah, we're all kind of going through that.

“If we're fortunate enough for everything to go well and we can be there on the grid for the 500,” Earnhardt added, “that pre-race moment is going to be very emotional, and really, really cool. So, you know, once it's on the grid, it's out of my hands, but getting it there is going to be a lot of fun.”

Allgaier, who has 82 two previous NASCAR Cup Series starts, including the Daytona 500 in 2014 and 2015, isn’t taking this opportunity lightly.

“When I got brought into the office to discuss this, I thought I was being called to the principal's office, to be honest with you at first. I wasn't really sure what to expect. When they were explaining some of the process about it, I kind of didn't put myself in the position of them offering me the job to drive the car. I just thought they were kind of filling me in on what the plans were for JR Motorsports. And so when the opportunity was presented to obviously drive the car and to be a part of the foray for JR Motorsports in the Cup Series - I mean, that's a big opportunity.

“I take a lot of pressure on myself in that moment to see this organization compete on the grand scale of the Cup Series.. something that I am surprised that has never come to fruition before this point. But then to add somebody like Chris Stapleton and Traveller's Whiskey into this -  to see how involved Chris has been in this process and how much passion he's had. I mean, really, in the conversations of what's going back and forth between him and the team, and then to see his passion for this, is really, really cool for me and something that I'm not taking lightly.”

As JR Motorsports doesn’t own a Cup Series charter that would guarantee it a spot in the starting lineup for the 500, Allgaier will need to either earn a starting position based on speed in time trials on Wednesday night, February 12th, or through one of the two qualifying races on Thursday night, February 13th.

“I know that it's going to be a stacked field at the racetrack,” Allgaier acknowledged. “There's a lot of open cars trying to battle for a few spots. But, you know, this is.. as somebody that's been a part of the Cup Series, it's great to get back. But this is a lot bigger than that for me. This is about seeing JR Motorsports make this transition for this race. And, you know, who knows if there will ever be another JR Motorsports Cup Series entry. But regardless, there will always be one ‘first’, and this is obviously something that's really, really important to all of us.”

The Daytona 500 is set for Sunday afternoon, February 16th.