“That’s tough to watch, but our guys worked really hard to do what they did…I’m proud of them.” For Dale Earnhardt Jr. and many others, watching Connor Zilisch fall short of the championship stung. The No. 88 JRM team picked up 10 trophies across the 2025 season, and yet succumbed to Jesse Love’s stronger car during the Phoenix finale. Now, however, there is little time to ponder over that result, as JRM is preparing for the next big challenge.

The Daytona 500 is a race that evokes mixed feelings in Dale Jr. It is the race that took the life of his father, the legendary Dale Earnhardt. And it is also the race that Junior won twice, in 2004 and 2014. And now, he is adding more weight to the positive memories – with JRM preparing for its second outing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. bites his nails 

During the 2025 Daytona 500 qualifying, Justin Allgaier was in a precarious three-wide situation with his fellow open entries. Luckily, he finished ahead of all of them in 9th place and secured a spot in the race. So Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows what he is worried about for the 2026 attempt. “Making the race is still the goal all the way back. Yeah, you got…all the expectations back in to man, we just got to get in the show…We thought we were going to do all right last year, and we didn’t in qualifying. I’ll be apprehensive about our opportunity in and just pure speed on qualifying. So, we may have to go back and race our way in again.”

What’s more, Chevy is rolling out a new car body for the Cup Series. That compounds the challenges for the JR Motorsports team. So Dale Jr. continued that just getting a spot would feel like racing in the Championship Final Four. “You just want to get there and roll the car out for Sunday morning and put it on the grid. That’s like a proud moment,” he said. “You know how the drivers say that…they are going to race for a championship, but getting to Phoenix, being there, and being one of the four is a very proud thing…That’s kind of the way it feels in the morning of the Daytona 500.”

Justin Allgaier finished 9th in the No. 40 JRM Chevrolet during the 2025 race. For the team’s second Cup Series attempt, a familiar sponsor will return – the Traveller Whiskey brand of 11-time Grammy Award-winning musician Chris Stapleton. Longtime sponsor Brandt also will be backing Allgaier at Daytona. These partners will help Allgaier in his decisive moments – on Feb. 11 and Feb. 12, which will set the qualifying grid for the race.

JRM CEO and Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, is also excited. “Getting the opportunity to enter a second Daytona 500 is something that is extremely special to everyone at JR Motorsports. Last year was an amazing moment, and I’m very proud to be able to see this group come back together with the support of Chris Stapleton and Traveller Whiskey to go after it again in February.”

JRM’s preparations are under full swing, not just for the Daytona 500 but also for a possibly legendary path.

An email spilled the beans

Last Friday, inboxes lit up with a jaw-dropping email. A message from JR Motorsports advertised new Justin Allgaier merchandise “for the 2026 Daytona 500.” And JRM had not yet announced its comeback for the Great American Race. In today’s digital age, when most people have superior investigative skills, the email snowballed. And JR Motorsports cleaned it up with a social video confirming the obvious. “You didn’t think this was a one-and-done, did you?” Justin Allgaier said in the video, smiling.

Most people expected a louder and bolder announcement than this video. That is because of JRM’s phenomenal performance in 2025. Its first attempt earlier this year was anything but subtle. The team had no charter and no guarantees. Allgaier simply undertook the boldest way into the Daytona 500, qualifying on speed through the Duels. What’s more, his team notched a top ten on its very first Daytona 500 attempt.

And Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s words after that race should be enough to let you know that JRM may be onto something legendary – possibly a bigger Cup Series deal. “It really was good for me … to come here and experience this to see if it was truly something that I felt like I wanted,” he said then. “I think this helped me understand that I do want to be here personally. I do feel like it’s what I should be striving for.”

Evidently, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team is gearing up for an exciting 2026 season. Let’s wait and see how it all pans out.