JR Motorsports had a rocky qualifying week for the 2025 Daytona 500. Justin Allgaier tried out in the single-car qualifying, but that only put him 33rd, forcing him into a Duel to race his way into the field.

During Thursday night’s Duel race, he squeezed into the top ten and clinched the final open-team spot, finishing ninth among the Open entries. Despite making the 500, the path was anything but smooth for JRM, and they’re already gearing up to try again in next year’s race.

New body means new risks at Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never been one to play it safe, and now, as JR Motorsports preps for another crack at the Daytona 500, he’s openly admitting that he’s got real concerns. After running his organization’s first-ever Cup effort last year, he’s back at it, but this time, with a fresh Chevy body for their Camaro ZL1.

On The Dale Jr. Download, he said, “JR Motorsports in the Daytona 500 … we’re going to go back again … We’re basically going to rerun and re-rack the whole thing we did last year … The car will look a little bit different … It’s a good-looking race car. I had some input on the car. I would hope I checked well.”

Part of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s nerves comes from the fact that Chevrolet is introducing an updated Camaro ZL1 body. While the production Camaro has been discontinued, the new race body draws from Chevrolet’s Carbon Performance Package, featuring a larger hood dome, revised grille, and more pronounced rocker panels.

It’s a cosmetic update, yes, but one with real aerodynamic implications: “I am nervous … first because we’re going to have a new body … What does that mean?” he said. “Typically, anytime a manufacturer gets a new body, they don’t really go to Daytona and perform better.”

The issue, according to Earnhardt Jr., isn’t just aesthetics; it’s the unknowns. “You’re figuring out kind of what makes that body perform at a track like that … Every time a manufacturer changes the body, they’re trying their best … to make their cars more competitive at the tracks that we race the most,” he explained.

In his view, engineers may try to inject subtle design changes, “put a character line in there or fudge … quarter panel or … the nose”, in collaboration with teams, but how that translates into real-world performance on plate tracks or superspeedways is a different question altogether.

Beyond the setup work itself, there’s a regulatory side to everything. Earnhardt Jr. pointed out that once GM designs these updates, NASCAR isn’t just rubber-stamping them: “NASCAR is going to … run it through some tests … and aero … to make sure it’s not … a massive advantage” over other manufacturers. That’s consistent with how homologation works; any body change has to be balanced with competition fairness in mind.

JRM’s strategic justification for entering Daytona again is clearly about more than just prestige. With the new body package, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s gathering data, refining setups, and helping Chevrolet test how the revised ZL1 performs under real race conditions. It’s a real-world experiment, and a high-stakes one at that. While he admits to being “nervous,” he also knows the potential long-term payoff is worth the risk.

His honesty about the fear, especially in a sport where confidence is often everything, resonates with fans. It’s an admission that innovation always comes with uncertainty. And in a way, that uncertainty is exactly what makes this second Daytona 500 bid for JRM so compelling: it’s not just about running a race, it’s about shaping the future of their Chevy racing program.

That same tempered edge shows up in the next generation too, where young guns like Connor Zilisch are staring down Cup’s big leap with clear eyes and no illusions.

Zilisch’s wake-up call

Connor Zilisch’s climb through the Xfinity ranks might have turned heads, but the 19-year-old knows the Cup Series will be an entirely different experience. Ten wins in his rookie full-time Xfinity season weren’t enough to bag the championship, and as he prepares to go toe to toe with NASCAR’s heavyweights next year, Zilisch isn’t fooling himself into expecting an easy transition.

He distinguished the two divisions. “In Xfinity, you get to the top five, and it gets tougher, but from 10th on back, especially being in such a good car, people understand that you’re not going to be able to hold someone off for long. But in Cup, it’s just ruthless. Those guys race for every spot like it’s the last lap of their lives.”

The difference, Zilisch said, is night and day, a leap that only those who’ve made it can truly understand. He knows that the Cup Series is no joke, and every person in the field was once a champion or a dominant driver somewhere, and when they get in the Cup field, nobody dominates. There’s no one-man show in the top tier of NASCAR.

Zilisch has already gotten a taste of that harsh reality. In three Cup starts, he’s been wrecked twice, finishing P37 at COTA and P23 at Charlotte. Atlanta was the lone bright spot, where he clawed his way to P11, a glimpse of what might come once he finds his rhythm. Given his knack for road courses, many, including Kyle Larson, expect him to give Shane van Gisbergen a serious challenge next season.

Still, he knows patience is key. After all, even the greats needed time. Joey Logano, now a three-time champion, had to weather early struggles and a team change before hitting his stride. Kyle Busch, on the other hand, was quick from day one. Zilisch’s journey could follow either path, and he’s not in a rush to find out.