Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls Justin Allgaier 'cornerstone' of JR Motorsports

At a track in Pocono Raceway that honors its greats with rocks, JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. called Justin Allgaier the cornerstone of his race team. 

Allgaier, who clinched a spot in the 2026 NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series Chase Saturday and leads the series standings by a whopping 250 points over second-place Jesse Love, won Saturday's race at Pocono, earning his fifth win of 2026 and the 33rd of his career. The victory is his 30th with JRM. 

"Justin is just dependable," Earnhardt Jr. said Saturday evening at Pocono. "He's going to run good every week. Some days he'll be our bets car, but he'll always be a solid race car. He's been the cornerstone of the company, and his success and consistency has helped stabilize us throughout some tough times. I'm wondering if we just didn't really know how good he was."

Allgaier has aged like a fine wine. The 40-year-old from Riverton, Illinois, finally won what had been an elusive O'Reilly Series championship in 2024. He revealed two weeks ago that he was considering retirement before saying it's more likely that he'll drive in 2027 than not.

Dale Jr. commends Justin Allgaier

"I don't know what Justin wants to do in terms of retirement or racing more," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I think this new points system would encourage a driver to add years to their career. It's a system where, right or wrong, you might feel like you have a little more control over your destiny as a driver, so that would maybe lengthen some careers, which I think is nice.

"He's having such a good year this year, so I'm hoping that he's excited about maybe sticking around for a little while. But he's earned whatever decision he makes."

Allgaier's win also enabled Earnhardt Jr. to make a special memory with one of his daughters, Nicole, who rode shotgun with her father in Allgaier's No. 7 Chevrolet to Victory Lane. It was the second year in a row that Nicole and her sister, Isla, were able to experience a victory at Pocono for their father's team. 

"Nicole goes out there, she's like, 'Yeah, I'll ride in the car'," Earnhardt Jr. said. "So, I got in there and she sat on my lap and she rode and held the [checkered] flag. She loved it. Core memory. All possible because of Justin."

Quotes provided by NASCAR Media.