The wait for a championship keeps on extending for JR Motorsports. The Xfinity Series mammoth is undoubtedly one of the most formidable forces on the grid. Having a 2023 line-up that included Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer, the team put two of its cars in the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. Unfortunately, neither was able to end the trophy drought at Dale Earnhardt Jr’s garage. The last time Dale Jr could call himself the owner of a championship team was back in 2018 when Tyler Reddick rode the #9 JRM Chevrolet.

After being let down by his current set of drivers, primarily Justin Allgaier, the icon looks back at 2022 and reminisces about their continuing misfortune. Despite the heartbreak, failure doesn’t seem to have hurt Junior as badly as it used to do before.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and star driver Justin Allgaier settle for a “good shot” once again

37-year-old Justin Allgaier has been behind the #7 Chevrolet of Dale Jr for eight years now. He has become an expert at coming close to a championship during this time. In 2022, he was one of the Championship 4 contenders as in the many seasons before it. And the clutch moment eluded him once again. Allgaier ended up finishing 3rd in the finale race at Phoenix and second in the driver standings.

Recalling memories of the heartbreak, Dale Earnhardt Jr said on his podcast, “I saw Allgaier at the end of this race last year, walked up to him, and man, we were both heartbroken, right? And I told him, I said, ‘Let’s not do that again. We’re gonna win this year. We’re not gonna stand in our own pit road and try not to cry.’”  Unfortunately for them, 2023 wasn’t a very different affair either. Despite gaining entry to the Championship 4 in spectacular fashion at Martinsville, the driver couldn’t get himself to win at Phoenix.

However, this time around, the duo weren’t as heartbroken as they were last year. Narrating his talk with Allgaier after the latest finale at Phoenix, Junior said, “I said, “You know I feel like we put up a good fight for it, we weren’t good enough.” He goes, “I feel the same way. We raced them hard, we had a shot. We just didn’t get it done.”

Despite their own failures, Junior was all praise for their contender who did end up getting the job done. Cole Custer of Stewart-Haas Racing is the 2023 NASCAR champion and Dale Jr was in awe of the 25-year-old’s resilience.

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Despite his own failure Dale Jr credits the Xfinity champion, Cole Custer

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In 2023, Cole Custer had much to prove just like Justin Allgaier. He had been moved down from the Cup Series to provide a seat for Ryan Preece at SHR. The job that Custer had was to prove that he was still worthy of a place in the top tier. After the laps at Phoenix, he had proven that enough. Crediting his journey, Dale Jr said, “A deserving champion back down in the Xfinity Series after a little short stint in the Cup Series. Trying to prove that he belongs in a Cup Series. And he goes out there and he gets it done.”

For JRM itself, 2024 will provide more hope and strength to find its hands on the championship again. The potential-filled youngster Sammy Smith will be making his way to the car that Josh Berry leaves behind. Joining Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, and Sam Mayer, the 19-year-old Smith will form Dale Jr’s very own fantastic four. Hopefully, the Pied Piper of Daytona will not have to settle for a “we put up a good fight” next year.

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