This year’s Daytona 500 “will be the first time JR Motorsports” -- owned and operated by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his CEO sister, Kelley -- competes in a NASCAR Cup Series race, according to Alex Zietlow of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. JRM has long been “one of the best” Xfinity Series and Truck Series teams in the sport, with driver Justin Allgaier winning last year’s Xfinity Series. Allgaier -- who will drive the No. 40 car -- qualified for the Daytona 500 through Thursday’s Duel. This Cup opportunity came about as country singer Chris Stapleton “wanted to sponsor a Daytona 500 car to promote his Traveller Whiskey.” Acquiring a charter and securing sponsorship for a Cup program were “always the barriers to the venture.” Whether it “turns out being a one-off event -- or if it turns into something more -- it’s clear that drivers across the sport are excited seeing the name Earnhardt back in the Cup Series.” Driver Chase Elliott said: “He’s been very vocal about how much it means to him to field a Cup car, especially here at the Daytona 500. So I just think it’s healthy. It’s good. And I’m glad that the system isn’t so complicated, or has gotten so outrageously expensive, that that couldn’t happen” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 2/13).
OUT OF THE DRIVER’S SEAT: In San Diego, Bill Center noted there are “only two NASCAR races that Johnson will run this season” since becoming majority owner of Legacy Motor Club: the Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600. Johnson qualified for the race via qualifying time on Wednesday. Johnson will later “make his 700th career start in the Coca-Cola 600” in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Johnson said, “I’m now in a position that I never saw myself being in. Being the majority owner has changed everything. I was part of the ownership process before. Now, I’m steering the ship.” He said he is “in a different spot than I’ve ever been in before. I never thought about owning a race team.” Just this week, Johnson and ESPN commentator Marty Smith launched a podcast on SiriusXM. Johnson: “My focus has moved away from the driver’s seat. It’s now ‘what can I do to help Legacy Motor Club?’ We want to improve the results and expand the profile. That’s my job” (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/12).
