JR Motorsports is working it again within the Daytona 500 in 2026 with Justin Allgaier after a profitable Cup Collection debut during which they scored a prime 10 within the No. 40 automotive with Traveller Whiskey.
It was a significant race for co-owners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, whom aren’t positive if racing full-time within the Cup Collection will ever come to fruition, so having made not less than one look in The Nice American Race was a dream come true.
So the rationale to return again for a second try is apparent.
“Properly, Kelley will inform you that we race. We obtained an opportunity to go race, we race. We simply wanna race,” Earnhardt stated on Monday’s Dale Jr. Obtain. “The Daytona 500 is a very powerful race of the season, and I might say that it, for an open staff or anyone that desires to enter the race, that most likely is the perfect alternative financially to do it and never lose cash.
“It prices a major amount of cash to run any race, Talladega or no matter. When you wanna go run in the midst of the yr or a pair races all year long, tougher to make the monetary work in them different occasions. This one, we’re simply offered with alternative to go do it. We obtained some companions that wanna go assist us fund it.”
Allgaier is confirmed for the return journey to Daytona however it’s nonetheless to be determined if the Hendrick Motorsports provided staff that features veteran crew chief Greg Ives will all come again with the 2024 Xfinity Collection champion.
“Our store will get enthusiastic about it. They really feel prefer it’s their effort,” Earnhardt stated. “You see Rodney Childers chiming in on social media and also you see our staff get pumped concerning the concept as a result of it’s their automotive. It’s our flagship. However I’ll say this, greater than doubtless, I don’t know for positive 100%, but when I had it my approach, we’d go together with precisely the identical elements, folks and personnel as we did final yr.
“Justin’s gonna drive the automotive. Final yr, we had Greg Ives because the crew chief. We had [Barry] Hoover come out of retirement, my outdated automotive chief man. I might have all the things because it was. That was a terrific, enjoyable group of individuals. All of them needed to be there, all of them cared about it. That hopefully comes collectively.”
Regardless of the top-10 with a succesful crew and driver, Earnhardt is already nervous about even making the present since he doesn’t have a constitution that locks them into the race. It’s the brand new Chevrolet Camaro physique type that has him nervous.
“I’m nervous as a result of we’re going to have a brand new physique,” Earnhardt stated. “Anytime a producer will get a brand new physique, they don’t go to Daytona and carry out higher. You’re determining type of what makes that physique carry out at a observe like that. I don’t know particulars, I simply shoot it straight. Each time a producer adjustments the physique, they’re making an attempt their greatest in each approach, when a brand new physique is coming in, to make their vehicles extra aggressive on the tracks that we race probably the most.
“They’re at all times making an attempt to place a personality line in there or fudge the quarter panel, or regardless of the nostril in such a approach they’re working with the groups to go, ‘Hey man, that is what we’d like, this might make us higher. Properly, let’s see if we will get it handed via. Will NASCAR settle for it?’ NASCAR will run it via some assessments and aero and stuff like that to verify it’s not like this large benefit similar to the opposite producers.”
So, with all of that in thoughts, Earnhardt is tempering expectations.
“You bought to rein all of the expectations again in to man, we simply obtained to get within the present. Let’s get within the present. We’re not locked in,” Earnhardt stated. “New physique, don’t understand how the automotive will qualify. We thought we had been gonna do alright final yr and we didn’t in qualifying. I’ll be apprehensive about our alternative in simply pure pace on qualifying. We might have to return and race our approach in.
“… You simply wish to get there and roll the automotive out for Sunday morning and put it on the grid. That’s a proud second, pushing a automotive out on to the grid and standing there watching your driver. That’s a proud second. … Hopefully we will return. It’ll be laborious to recreate the expertise and the success we had final yr. So, everyone should be lifelike.”
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