Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Xfinity Series Challenger Reveals “The Hardest Part” of Driving a Next Gen NASCAR

Many NASCAR fans know there’s a marked difference between body styles and engine power between a NASCAR Cup car and an Xfinity Series ride. JR Motorsports’ Xfinity Series ace Justin Allgaier said there’s also another marked difference between driving the two different types of cars: tires and tire wear.

In a recent story in The Athletic, newly-minted Indianapolis 500 winner Alex Palou asked Allgaier if there was a difference between wear limits in a Cup tire versus an Xfinity tire, and also driving on an oval versus on a road or street course between the two types of tires.

“It’s funny, because I don’t know where the limit of the tire is on a road course, but I have so much of an easier time of feeling that on an oval,” Allgaier said. “The Xfinity Series car is great for me because the Cup Series car, I would say that’s the hardest part.”

The 38-year-old further explained the reasons for this difference. He said, “When I go drive Cup, whether it be the 40 car at Daytona or filling in for Kyle (Larson) in the 5 car, I struggle with finding a little bit of the tire because it is a short sidewall, real low profile. The car has a ton of grip. The tire has a ton of grip.

“IndyCar is the same way, right? Really wide tires, lots of grip. An Xfinity car has got the narrower tire, taller sidewall, more flex. It’s probably the easiest car I’ve ever driven to find the limit of the tire.”

If Palou were to ever climb behind the wheel of an Xfinity race, regardless if it was on an oval or road/street course, Palou might be in for a bit of a pleasant surprise. Allgaier said with a chuckle, “He’d go, ‘Oh man, this is way easier than I thought.’ It would be way more comfortable.”

Ironically, just a few days after posing the question about tire wear on an oval to Allgaier, Alex Palou went on to win the Indy 500 — his first ever on an oval.

Post Edited By: Abhishek Ramesh

Alex Palou Dale Earnhardt Jr. Justin Allgaier

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Jerry Bonkowski

Jerry Bonkowski is a veteran sportswriter who has worked full-time for many of the top media outlets in the world, including USA Today (15 years), ESPN.com (4+ years), Yahoo Sports (4 1/2 years), NBCSports.com (8 years) and others. He has covered virtually every major professional and collegiate sport there is, including the Chicago Bulls' six NBA championships (including heavy focus on Michael Jordan), the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX-winning season, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Cubs World Series championships, two of the Chicago Blackhawks' NHL titles, Tiger Woods' PGA Tour debut, as well as many years of beat coverage of the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA for USA Today. But Jerry's most notable achievement has been covering motorsports, most notably NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA drag racing and Formula One. He has had a passion for racing since he started going to watch drag races at the old U.S. 30 Dragstrip (otherwise known as "Where the Great Ones Run!") in Hobart, Indiana. Jerry has covered countless NASCAR, IndyCar and NHRA races and championship battles over the years. He's also the author of a book, "Trading Paint: 101 Great NASCAR Debates", published in 2010 (and he's hoping to soon get started on another book). Away from sports, Jerry was a fully sworn part-time police officer for 20 years, enjoys reading and music (especially "hair bands" from the 1980s and 1990s), as well as playing music on his electric keyboard, driving (fast, of course!), spending time with Cyndee his wife of nearly 40 years, the couple's three adult children and three grandchildren (with more to come!), and his three dogs -- including two German Shepherds and an Olde English Bulldog who thinks he's a German Shepherd.. Jerry still gets the same excitement of seeing his byline today as he did when he started in journalism as a 15-year-old high school student. He is looking forward to writing hundreds, if not thousands, of stories in the future for TheSportsRush.com, as well as interacting with readers.

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