There will be new faces and people in different places when the garages open at Daytona International Speedway for NASCAR’s Great American Race, the 67th annual Daytona 500. Placing its most important competition at the start of each season makes racers come out of the woodwork to join this event, held in mid-February on the iconic, 2.5-mile Florida tri-oval track.
Among the faces in unfamiliar places is JR Motorsports, owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller. While this team has been successful in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series and earned the title last year, JR Motorsports will enter the Daytona 500 for the first time this February, bringing a Chevrolet for Justin Allgaier, the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, with whom JR Motorsports clinched the 2024 Xfinity Series title. This trio is joined by Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician Chris Stapleton in fielding a Chevrolet ZL1 for Allgaier.
Was this ride at Daytona a reward for Allgaier’s success in the feeder series? Allgaier believes it’s “an amazing opportunity to win the championship last year and to kind of finally check a box that we’ve tried to check at JR Motorsports for so long, with myself and with the team,” he said. When he was brought into the office to discuss this Daytona 500 entry, “I thought I was being called to the principal’s office at first. I wasn’t really sure what to expect.
“I just thought they were kind of filling me in on what the plans were for JR Motorsports. And so,” Allgaier related, “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, 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 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 Chis has been in the process and how much passion he’s had – it’s really cool for me and something that I’m not taking lightly.”
While the plans were meted out slowly to Allgaier, Earnhardt Jr., Miller and Stapleton have put “a lot of work into putting this program together, designing a race car, logistics and our roster of mechanics and all the people we will need to go to the racetrack,” Earnhardt Jr. noted. “Buying our race car and putting it together has been a lot of fun and a lot of work, but we’re now starting to get a dose of reality and get to know each other. It’s really the first time me and Chris have been around each other, so really enjoyed the day,” as the foursome discussed their Daytona 500 plans at Earnhardt Jr.’s Whiskey River property.
Traveller’s Whiskey is Stapleton’s brand, and bringing it to Earnhardt Jr. and Miller’s first Cup Series car at the Daytona 500 with Allgaier at the wheel really hasn’t sunk in for the singer/songwriter/whiskey purveyor yet. “It’s one of these things that you kind of think about… what’s the coolest thing we could do with the whiskey brand?” Stapleton mused. “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.” He talked with his partners and they all agreed to make it happen.
Introducing his whiskey brand to NASCAR fans “is the best possible way that we could introduce our brand to the fans of the sport,” Stapleton acknowledged. “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!”
While Earnhardt Jr. and Miller have been wanting to enter a car in the Cup Series for quite a while, choosing to do it now with Allgaier was something they’d considered before now. Gaining the participation of Stapleton and Traveller Whiskey made it all work out. “We’re just excited that Justin was our guy,” Earnhardt Jr. admitted, “and that he said ‘yes’ the day that we brought him into the principal’s office.” Allgaier, who has two Daytona 500 starts to his credit, is excited about being part of JR Motorsports’ first Daytona 500 experience. “You know,” he said, “as large as our group has gotten, it’s still a family and it’s still the family feel. And I feel like, with what Chris has brought with Traveller’s Whiskey, that feel is the same.”
Allgaier realizes he and this team have their work cut out for them just to make this race. “There will be nothing cooler than if we can line up on Sunday.” His car’s co-owner, Kelley Earnhardt Miller acknowledged the length of Allgaier’s employment with the team – he’s been part of JR Motorsports since the 2016 Xfinity Series season and has won 25 series races with them – leading to last year’s title. “He just goes above and beyond anything that’s asked or not asked,” Miller stated. “He’s always there for his partners, for our team partners. And so we know that Justin will do a great job, not only around the Daytona 500 when we get the opportunity to get out there and attempt to qualify, but really all year long, for this partnership and what it means to the Traveller brand.”
JR Motorsports isn’t the only group attempting their first Daytona 500 this February. TRICON Garage, which has been exceptionally active in NASCAR’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series is going to bring a No. 56 Toyota Camry to the 67th Daytona 500 for 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champ Martin Truex Jr., with technical support from Joe Gibbs Racing. Cole Pearn will reunite with Truex Jr., returning to Cup Series competition for the first time since 2019. In their five seasons working together, Truex Jr. and Pearn won 24 Cup races and that 2017 title. Bass Pro Shops continues its longstanding partnership with Truex Jr. in this race.
TRICON Garage and Toyota began their partnership during the 2023 Truck Series season and earned nine victories, along with 50 top-five results and consecutive Championship 4 appearances. This consistency and ultimate successes made this partnership the next local stop for TRICON as it continues to grow and gear up for its future. “This opportunity, “ said TRICON Garage partner David Gilliland, “is a testament to the dedication of our entire organization and our partners at Toyota. Having raced against Martin for many years, I can confidently say there’s no stronger competitor I’d want behind the wheel for our first Cup Series entry at the sport’s most prestigious race.”
Both JR Motorsports and TRICON Garage are “open” entries, so they’ll have to make the race on speed and results in the two qualifying contests. Practice and qualifying begin on Wednesday, February 12, followed by the Duels on Thursday. The 67th Daytona 500 is broadcast live on FOX Sunday, February 16 at s:30PM ET.
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