When a driver approaches the 40-year mark, talks of retirement begin to swirl around them, whether they like it or not, and Justin Allgaier has, sadly for him, reached that stage. Most drivers around his age start thinking about settling down after spending years on the road, but that is not the case for Allgaier.
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He is not willing to enter that mental space yet. In a recent interview with SpeedFreaks, Allgaier was asked whether he had thought about retirement and if he now wanted to spend more time with his family than ever before. “Way past that point,” he answered.
“Three years ago, I guess. Almost four now. We sat at a dinner table on Friday night before Phoenix. We’re sitting at a dinner, and I knew,” the JR Motorsports driver added.
Jim Pohlman had not yet taken over as Allgaier’s crew chief at the time, and the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. was stuck in a rut. That frustration led to a bold declaration in front of all 25 people at the table. Allgaier told his wife that if he won that season’s championship, he would hang up his racing suit and call it a day for good.
Though taken aback, his wife did not agree with the decision, and he soon realized why. “I realized in that moment how much I still love the sport,” he continued.
Allgaier’s first full-time NASCAR season came in 2009, and since then, he has not missed a single race in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. That level of commitment leads to a routine that becomes difficult to walk away from. As a result, when he eventually retires, he knows he will miss heading to the racetrack every weekend and answering the countless questions from the media.
He also emphasized that he will feel it in his gut when the time to retire arrives, and that he is closer to that moment than he was before. For now, however, his focus remains firmly on the 2026 season. He is more excited to begin the year than he has ever been, and that energy and optimism are qualities his team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., will surely appreciate.
