Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a fantastic chance to be the Xfinity Series-winning owner on Saturday. It has been a long wait for JR Motorsports whose last triumph in the competition came five years ago in 2018. With two drivers in the championship race in Phoenix, it is a golden opportunity for the team and Dale Junior. According to a former Cup Series champion, Junior may have the most experienced driver in the race but faces a tough final hurdle.

Junior might have expected to see only one of his cars fighting for the title in Phoenix but fortune was on his side. In the final round of 8 race, a Richard Childress Racing implosion allowed one of the JRM drivers to slip through and take the victory. It sealed his place in the Championship 4 race and he will go into it as the most experienced of the four drivers fighting for the title.

Former Cup Series champion makes a prediction for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s driver

The man who made most of his opportunity was none other than Justin Allgaier. At 37, he is one of the most experienced racers in all of NASCAR today. His record at Phoenix speaks for itself. The JRM man boasts two wins and nine top-5 finishes in his 26 Xfinity Series starts at the track. His experience will be a huge advantage as he hunts for his maiden Xfinity Series title.

According to former Cup Series winner Dale Jarrett, Justin Allgaier’s record at Phoenix will make him a serious threat to the rest of the title hopefuls.

“Justin Allgaier has been so good at Phoenix through the years, and I think a lot of his success was on the older track before the reconfiguration of it, much like Kevin Harvick when you look back over the years. But they still run well enough and Allgaier has run well enough here to make you think that you’re going to have to beat this guy,” Jarrett said on a recent episode of the NASCAR on NBC podcast.

However, the JR Motorsports man is not the favorite to win the championship as per Jarrett. The former Cup Series champion believes that a Joe Gibbs Racing driver will break Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s heart. That man is none other than John Hunter Nemechek. In his first full season with JGR, the 26-year-old has been on fire throughout the campaign. He has won an impressive seven races so far this year and is considered by many to be the strongest favorite to win the title. Dale Jarrett is also of the same opinion.

“I think I have to, even with Allgaier’s success here, John Hunter Nemechek has brought speed pretty much every weekend of this season and I still think he’s the driver that you’re going to have to beat. It was a Joe Gibbs Racing…Ty Gibbs that won here last year and got that championship and I look at John Hunter coming in here along the same lines as that. He’s won the most races but he’s going to have a real battle on his hands,” the former Cup Series champion said.

But the JGR man will have his own troubles, one of which is coming from within his team. Usually in a championship race, the driver fighting for the title expects to have some help from his teammates. Unfortunately, that will not be the case for John Hunter Nemechek as far as Sammy Smith is concerned.

Read More – Team Racing Hater Kyle Petty Questions Richard Childress’ Leadership Skills, Pins Martinsville Blame on John Hunter Nemechek

Are internal tensions brewing in JR Motorsports’ title rival?

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Smith had started the last race in pole position and was having a fantastic day as he led his career-most laps. He needed a win to make it to Phoenix. But on the last restart, John Hunter Nemechek blocked the driver of the #18 car, which proved to be costly as the latter could only finish in P3. The 19-year-old made it clear that Nemechek would be on his own in Phoenix as he expressed his displeasure with his teammate.

“Yeah move on to Phoenix, he’s gotta race for the championship and I don’t so, we’ll so how that goes. Yeah, he definitely doesn’t have a teammate on next Saturday at all,” Smith said.

JGR would definitely not want to suffer how RCR did last Saturday. As far as John Hunter Nemechek is concerned, there is only one thing on his mind: win the Xfinity Series title. Will the JGR star be able to do it? Let us know what you think.

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