Dale Earnhardt Jr, Chris Stapleton to enter Daytona 500 again with Justin Allgaier
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. and country music star Chris Stapleton will team up again in 2026 to enter the Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier.
Justin Allgaier will return to the high banks of Daytona International Speedway in Dale Jr.’s No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet with sponsorship from Stapleton’s Traveller Whiskey. This is the second time the trio has come together for a NASCAR Cup Series race and will be the second Cup start for JR Motorsports.
After clinching the 2024 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championship, Dale Jr. rewarded Allgaier with the honor of being JR Motorsports’ driver for their NASCAR Cup Series debut in the 2025 Daytona 500.
Allgaier made the race and finished ninth after starting 19th and avoiding multiple wrecks late in the race.
While Allgaier missed out on the NOAPS championship in 2026, last year’s success has him and his star duo of backers motivated to come back and win.
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Jonathan Fjeld View All
Jonathan Fjeld is the co-owner of the The Racing Experts, LLC. He has been with TRE since 2010.
A Twin Valley, MN, native, Fjeld became a motorsports fan at just three years old (first race was the 2002 Pennsylvania 500). He worked as a contributor and writer for TRE from 2010-18. Since then, he has stepped up and covered 24 NASCAR race weekends and taken on a larger role with TRE. He became the co-owner and managing editor in 2023 and has guided the site to massive growth in that time.
Fjeld has covered a wide array of stories and moments over the years, including Kevin Harvick's final Cup Series season, the first NASCAR national series disqualification in over 50 years, Shane van Gisbergen's stunning win in Chicago and the first Cup Series race at Road America in 66 years – as well as up-and-coming drivers' stories and stories from inside the sport, like the tech it takes for Hendrick Motorsports to remain a top-tier team.
Currently, he resides in Albuquerque, N.M., where he works for KOB 4, an NBC station. He works as a digital producer and does on-air reports. He loves spending time with friends and family, playing and listening to music, exploring new places, being outdoors, reading books and writing among other activities. You can email him at fjeldjonathan@gmail.com