Justin Allgaier gets candid on difficulty of replacing Alex Bowman in NASCAR Cup Series: ‘Feel like I’m failing’

Justin Allgaier said he has not had an easy time replacing Alex Bowman in multiple NASCAR Cup Series races this year. In an interview with Matt Weaver of Motorsport.com, Allgaier opened up about driving the No. 48 Chevrolet for Bowman, who has vertigo.

“I feel like I’m failing at all of it, if I’m being honest with you,” Justin Allgaier said at Rockingham this past weekend.  “You know, the same things that are making us good on Saturday is what’s hurting us on Sunday.”

Allgaier has been working double-time recently since he also competes in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series full-time.He also spoke to Weaver about dedicating as much time as possible to the No. 48 team at Hendrick Motorsports while remaining committed to his No. 7 team at JR Motorsports.

“I’m having six or seven meetings a week between the two cars, between video review, sim review, and SMT review,” Allgaier said. “There are some days where I don’t know if my brain even knows how to function.

Justin Allgaier is staying busy with work in the Cup and O’Reilly Series

“I think I went back and forth from Concord and Mooresville like seven times a couple of weeks ago. So there’s a lot going on, but I think the biggest thing for me is making sure I can help the 48 guys, and there are a lot of news guys on that team, find some momentum started to Alex can jump right back in that thing and take off.”

Allgaier has driven the No. 48 car for Bowman in the last three Cup Series races. He also competed in this year’s Daytona 500, driving the No. 40 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports. In each Cup race this year, Allgaier has finished outside the top 20.

But as challenging as the Cup Series has been for Allgaier this year, he is having a monster season in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. In eight races, the 39-year-old has earned three victories, seven top-10 finishes, and six top-five finishes.

Allgaier has been competing in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series full-time since 2009. He has competed in 512 O’Reilly races and has earned 31 wins and 309 top-10 finishes.