Justin Allgaier Attempts To Make JR Motorsports's NASCAR Cup Series Debut
1 month agoAfter winning a long-overdue NASCAR Xfinity Championship in 2024 for JR Motorsports, Justin Allgaier was rewarded by getting the opportunity to drive JRM's first-ever NASCAR Cup Series entry for next Sunday's Daytona 500 in the No. 40 car, sponsored for this race by country star Chris Stapleton's Traveller Whiskey brand. Although he only qualified 33rd in yesterday's qualifying session, he seems likely to advance as he and Martin Truex, Jr. are better than any of the other non-chartered drivers in the first Duel race and they also have the fastest cars, while Hélio Castroneves is likely too inexperienced and Chandler Smith and J.J. Yeley likely have too slow cars to beat either Truex or Allgaier unless one of them has bad luck. However, bad luck is certainly a frequent occurrence at Daytona.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference
Justin Allgaier Drastically Overrated By All DraftKings Metrics
4 weeks agoJustin Allgaier is making JR Motorsports' debut in the NASCAR Cup Series in Sunday's Daytona 500 after a late charge to finish ninth in the first Duel race. However, he seems drastically overvalued everywhere on DraftKings, where he is given 25-1 odds to win -- equal with Ross Chastain and Chris Buescher, who are both easily more likely to win -- and he is also favored to earn a top ten finish at minus-110 (which he probably won't do, especially for a brand-new team). Additionally, the fact that he is starting 19th, which is better than he will likely run, and valued at $7,000 on DFS lineups (making him more expensive than a lot of more valuable drivers), suggests that it's best to avoid him at all costs, especially when considering he caused three crashes in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, indicating he might be likely to overdrive.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference
Justin Allgaier Advances To Daytona 500
1 month agoAlthough it looked a little precarious for a moment, Justin Allgaier did advance to the Daytona 500 by finishing ninth in the first Duel race, finishing highest among the five non-chartered drivers to give his JR Motorsport team its first start in the NASCAR Cup Series. Although everyone expected him to advance over J.J. Yeley (particularly after both Hélio Castroneves and Chandler Smith crashed out), Yeley kept it surprisingly close at times as they ran together for most of the middle stretches of the race, and Yeley even passed him for a few laps. But Allgaier made a furious charge at the end to meet expectations while deftly avoiding the trouble that the other non-chartered drivers like Castroneves and Smith faced.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference
J.J. Yeley Misses Second Straight Daytona 500
1 month agoAlthough J.J. Yeley initially looked like a long shot to advance into the Daytona 500, considering he drives for the historically subpar NY Racing Team, Yeley ran surprisingly well in the first duel race as he and Justin Allgaier ran together for large portions of the event and Yeley was even ahead for a while despite a substantially slower car. But he likely needed Allgaier to have some trouble to advance, and that played out as expected, as Yeley faded to 17th. This marked his second consecutive Daytona 500 DNQ for the team. It's unclear whether Yeley will return for more starts later this season, but since he made eight starts last year, that is a definite possibility.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference
Justin Allgaier Finishes 13th At Charlotte In Substitute Role For Kyle Larson
10 months agoAfter the rain delay at Indianapolis meant Kyle Larson couldn't make the start of the Coca-Cola 600, Justin Allgaier got the opportunity of a lifetime to drive Larson's No. 5 Chevrolet, only the second time the prolific Xfinity Series winner drove a competitive NASCAR Cup Series car. In his only other Hendrick start at the 2020 Brickyard 400, Allgaier was taken out in an unavoidable pileup on his first pit stop, so he was unable to show what he could do for an entire race. Since the 600 ended before Larson could take over the No. 5 car, Allgaier ran the complete distance and drove from the back to 13th, but was outrun by the other Hendrick cars all day and only ranked 26th in speed. It was a decent run, but not one that suggests that Allgaier would be significantly competitive in the Cup Series.
Source: Racing Reference
Source: Racing Reference