When NFL quarterback Lamar Jackson’s attorneys filed an opposition to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s claim on the #8 trademark last Wednesday, it looked as though a long-drawn battle in court was on the cards. But, with a mature move, Junior quickly resolved the dispute by Friday. On top of it, JR Motorsports drivers made history at the Darlington Raceway on Saturday.
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Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones won the Xfinity Series race. But all five drivers who raced under Junior’s banner finished in the top 9. This is the first time in series history that a team had five of its drivers end the race in the top 9. Justin Allgaier finished third ahead of Ross Chastain in fourth, Carson Kvapil was classified fifth, Connor Zilisch ended his race in sixth position, while Sammy Smith was the last of the JRM runners, finishing ninth.
Barring Chastain, the other four drivers are full-timers for the team. This great performance reflects the quality of the organization that Junior is building. Allgaier’s result was impressive for many reasons. He is on a fiery streak of top 5 finishes in the last five races, including two victory lane visits in Vegas and Miami. He also equaled a record in Darlington.
JR Motorsports results at Darlington:
Justin Allgaier – 3rd
Ross Chastain – 4th
Carson Kvapil – 5th
Connor Zilisch – 6th
Sammy Smith – 9thThis is the first time a team has EVER placed 5 cars in the top 9 positions of an Xfinity Series race pic.twitter.com/yBn7lqlxNq
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) April 5, 2025
Allgaier matched Mark Martin’s record for the most consecutive top-10 finishes at Darlington. Both drivers have nine back-to-back top-10 results at the track. The 38-year-old appears all set to give Junior yet another championship if his current form continues for the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, young Zilisch secured his third top-10 finish of the season, continuing to establish his credentials in stock car racing.
The impressive weekend could have turned out differently had Junior decided to hold his ground and fight the trademark battle with Jackson.
Junior makes a sacrifice for the sake of his drivers
JR Motorsports is heading toward interesting times with its drivers performing impressively. And new territories for battle are opening up: the team made its Cup Series debut earlier this year at Daytona.
It is at this juncture that Jackson filed an opposition against Junior for the #8 trademark. Upon closer scrutiny, it can be seen that the NFL star was unhappy with one particular design of the #8 logo that Junior was using.
JR Motorsports has been using this contentious version since 2019. However, it clashed with the styling of the quarterback’s ‘Era 8’ brand. The other version Junior used back in his days as a driver has not been challenged in court.
JRM announced on Friday that it would abandon its current logo. “Through the USPTO, we successfully secured the rights to the stylized (8). Therefore, we will be moving away from the original JRM (8) we have used since 2019. We are looking forward to the remainder of an already successful season,” he wrote on X.
Now, Junior could have gone to court and battled for the mark. But doing so at this time could have caused a disruption in the team ranks and maybe a dip in morale too. A legal dispute is the last thing drivers need on their minds when pushing themselves on the track.
It is no secret that 23XI Racing faced a tough time keeping the motivation levels up in the garage after choosing to file an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR. Junior indeed made the right call as a team owner to let go of a fight that wasn’t necessary.
