Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to make history this season with JR Motorsports’ NASCAR Cup Series debut, marking the team’s first stint into the sport’s top tier since their inception in 2005. The milestone is buoyed by a collaboration with country music luminary Chris Stapleton and sponsorship from Traveller Whiskey, ensuring that JRM’s #40 car, piloted by Justin Allgaier with Greg Ives at the helm as crew chief, will debut in full force at the Daytona 500.
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In a recent discussion about the decision to appoint Ives as crew chief, Dale Jr. revealed, “I saw how many times he’s qualified a car on the front row at Daytona (laughs),” talking about the track record Ives holds at Daytona, where he impressively positioned his cars on the front row in six of his eight Daytona 500 appearances.
“I’m like, do you have any magic left, Greg? Let’s go to the track and see what we can do. But I think being an open car, there’s some challenges to get into the field,” he added.
Junior expressed his trust in Ives and said, “I was confident that Greg understood, better than anybody, the things that we would all need to gather into place to go there with the best opportunity we could. Me and him are just really great friends, and I just trust him wholeheartedly with his decisions… He’s got a great track record, in terms of qualifying, and that hopefully can be a big assist for us.”
Dale Jr. remarked that he believes Ives won’t mind him hovering and peppering him with questions throughout the event’s preparations. He and Ives also have a history of collaboration.
Before the 2014 racing season, Ives was assigned as crew chief for Chase Elliott, a position he held provisionally until the end of that year. He then advanced to lead Dale Jr. from 2015 until Junior’s retirement in 2017.
Their partnership yielded a third-place finish at the 2015 Daytona 500. The subsequent years saw finishes further back in the pack at positions 36 and 37. Overall, under Ives’ guidance, Junior secured finishes at 12th, 32nd, and 21st.
Justin Allgaier shares his confidence in Ives’ expertise
Following the shift where Blake Harris took over as crew chief for Michael McDowell’s #34 car at Front Row Motorsports in 2023, Ives returned to a part-time crew chief role. He shared responsibilities for Hendrick Motorsports’ part-time Xfinity entry, helmed by a roster of drivers including Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, Boris Said, and Alex Bowman.
Allgaier expressed confidence in Ives’ capabilities, noting, “I mean, he was a championship crew chief at JR Motorsports [won the 2014 Xfinity championship with Chase Elliott]. He understands the business well, and I think that gives some comfort when you look at trying to assemble people for this organization and for what we’re trying to accomplish. It gives that little bit of comfort that I think makes a big difference.”
He added that Dale Jr. feels at ease with Ives, and that comfort extends to him as well, enhancing their collaborative efforts. It remains to be seen how well the #40 entry will perform during the upcoming event. Regardless of the finishing position, JRM’s foray into Cup Series racing marks a momentous occasion for both the team and its owners, as well as NASCAR as a sport.
