NASCAR CUP SERIES
TEAM CHEVY PRESS CONF. TRANSCRIPT
JANUARY 15, 2025
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, co-owners of JR Motorsports; Chris Stapleton, 10-time Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter and musician; and Justin Allgaier, 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion; met with the media to announce that they will join forces to field the Chevrolet organization’s inaugural entry in the NASCAR Cup Series in the 2025 Daytona 500.
Media Availability Quotes:
MODERATOR: We are joined by some great guests with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Justin Allgaier and Chris Stapleton. Dale, in the interest of time, I will kick it over to you. Obviously a big day for JR Motorsports with a big announcement today. Explain to us how all of this came together.
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Yeah, thanks for joining us. We spent the whole day here at Whiskey River out on our property; capturing a lot of content, talking to Chris (Stapleton) and Justin (Allgaier), and visiting with
Kelley. There’s been a lot of work that went into putting this program together; designing a race car, logistics, and our roster of mechanics and all the people that we will need to go to the racetrack. Buying our race car and putting it together, it’s been a lot of fun.. a lot of work. But we’re now starting to get a dose of reality and get to know each other, right? It’s really the first time me and Chris have been around each other, so really enjoyed the day. I can’t wait to see the reaction on social media. We know we have a lot of people that follow JR Motorsports and pull for our success, and we’re excited to see how they all feel about the Daytona 500 and us having an entry.”
Justin, for you, obviously winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship in November and now the opportunity to run the Daytona 500 in 2025 – I would have to say, you’ve had a great winter. Tell us a little bit about your outlook as this opportunity came together and you get the chance to pilot the car.
Justin Allgaier: “I mean, obviously, it’s an amazing opportunity to win the championship last year and to kind of finally check a box that we’ve tried to check at JR Motorsports for so long with myself and with the team. And, you know, when I got brought into the office to discuss this, I thought I was being called to the principal’s office, to be honest with you at first. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When they were explaining some of the process about it, I kind of didn’t put myself in the position of them offering me the job to drive the car. I just thought they were kind of filling me in on what the plans were for JR Motorsports. And so when the opportunity was presented to obviously drive the car and to be a part of the foray for JR Motorsports in the Cup Series – I mean, that’s a big opportunity. I take a lot of pressure on myself in that moment to see this organization compete on the grand scale of the Cup Series.. something that I am surprised that has never come to fruition before this point. But then to add somebody like Chris Stapleton and Traveller’s Whiskey into this – to see how involved Chris has been in this process and how much passion he’s had. I mean, really, in the conversations of what’s going back and forth between him and the team, and then just today to see his passion for this, is really, really cool for me and something that I’m not taking lightly. I know that it’s going to be a stacked field at the racetrack. There’s a lot
of open cars trying to battle for a few spots. But, you know, this is.. as somebody that’s been a part of the Cup Series, it’s great to get back. But this is a lot bigger than that for me. This is about seeing JR
Motorsports make this transition for this race. And, you know, who knows if there will ever be another JR Motorsports Cup Series entry. But regardless, there will always be one ‘first’, and this is obviously something that’s really, really important to all of us.”
Chris, for you, just tell us a little bit of what it means to you to be able to bring your whiskey brand to put on a car in conjunction with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the relationship you guys have. Tell us a little bit about how that came together from your perspective and being able to see that brand on the race track.
Chris Stapleton: “I’m not sure it’s fully sunk in. But yeah, it’s one of these things that you kind of think about.. what’s the coolest thing we could do with the whiskey brand? Well, maybe we should put it on a race car. And I happen to know Rick Hendrick, and Rick kind of hooked me up with Dale (Earnhardt Jr.). This opportunity came up and I was like – well, we’ve got to do that. So I went and talked to my partners in the whiskey and I said – hey, we’ve got to make this happen.. let’s make this happen. And they agreed. This is the best possible way that we could, you know, introduce our brand to the fans of the sport. And beyond that, I just think it’s super cool to see it on the car. You know, selfishly, I think that’s one of the things I wanted out of it the most, is just to see this thing happen. And now, like Dale said, a lot of realities are setting in like – oh, we’re entering a car in the Daytona 500 all of a sudden, and it’s just going to be a lot of fun. I’m excited to see what happens and, you know, enjoy just the whole thing.. the experience of it.”
A question for all of you. First, I want to know why Justin Allgaier? I mean, obviously, there’s a lot of drivers within the JRM camp, and now it’s out of the JRM camp. So, why is
Justin the guy?
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “For me, there’s a lot of layers to this. Obviously JR Motorsports, myself and Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) entering a Cup car in any race is a big deal for us. But this is also a bit of a continuation, at least for me personally, of celebrating Justin’s (Allgaier) championship – achieving a goal that, like you said, we’ve been after for a long time. We’ve came so close and we’ve had some really, really tough, heartbreaking moments, but it’s really strengthened our bond and partnership. And so when we were starting to talk about doing this, I think me and Kelley both knew that we had to consider Justin as the driver. And as all of that played out toward the end of last year, it was a no-brainer that that was what we needed to do. I want to let Kelley speak to this, too, because she’s probably more aware of this than I am.. but with Traveller, we want them to have a great experience. We know what Justin’s capable of doing outside of the car, as well as inside the car. And so we know that as a driver and through marketing engagement, that Justin will make sure this is a great experience for Traveller, Chris and his team.”
Kelley Earnhardt Miller: “Yeah, speaking to that part of it – you know, not only just having your brand on the car, but we want to make sure it’s a great marketing opportunity for the brand.. for the brand to
grow and for the fan base to get acquainted with the Traveller brand. And so as Dale alluded to – Justin being with our organization so long, he just goes above and beyond anything that’s asked or not asked. He’s always there for his partners. He’s there for our team partners. And so we know that Justin will do a great job, not only around the Daytona 500 when we get the opportunity to get out there and attempt to qualify, but really all year long, for this partnership and what it means to the Traveller brand. We’re just excited that Justin was our guy and that he said ‘yes’ the day that we brought him into the principal’s office.”
Justin, we talked a lot last year, last November, about whether or not the championship was
something that you could have ended your career having or not. And I’m
curious, how much did you think at this stage of your career about your two
Daytona 500 starts? Did you feel like you needed to have a Daytona 500 start with a quality team,
quality people, to make your career feel complete?
Justin Allgaier: “You know, I don’t know. I think for me, the interesting part of this is that I’m probably more excited about what I said earlier with this being JR Motorsports’ first Cup Series start. I love where I’m at. I love being a part of this organization and the people that I’m around. Dale, Kelley and L.W. are obviously the face and the upfront part of it, but it goes all the way through the organization; all the employees.. all the men and women that are part of it. You know, as large as our group has gotten, it’s still a family and it’s still the family feel. And I feel like, you know, with what Chris has brought with Traveller’s Whiskey, that feel is the same, right? It’s about just enjoying the experiences; being in the moment and kind of living present in the moment. This is something, for me, that’s really, really cool. And, you know, the championship last year was awesome, but I had conceded to the fact that I wasn’t really sure that that was ever going to happen. When we finally pulled it off, it was like – man, that’s a really cool, big moment. Seeing the excitement of our entire group at the shop was a big deal. And so this just takes that the next step further and I’m really proud to represent not only JR Motorsports, but the Traveller’s Whiskey brand. And like I said, we have our work cut out for us to even make the race, but there will be nothing cooler than if we can line up on Sunday. I told Chris already that the thing that I’m looking forward to the most, the thing that I miss the most, is the flyover and those chills of the pre-race moment of that event. There’s nothing like it in our sport. I stick around every year for Sunday and walk pit road and think about the days that I was there racing it. I don’t have to do that this year, hopefully. I can hopefully be there in a fire suit and getting my focus on for the race, and that’s really something that’s important for me.”
This is a pretty cool deal. Dale, you kind of touched on it in your last response, but can
you just kind of express what this means to have your entry in the Daytona 500? I know that this race means so much to you on so many levels..
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Yeah, I still don’t feel like that. Like Chris said, I still feel like it’s still sinking in. I did tell Kelley that I wanted to be present for all the moments. And so from the moment we started to, you know, select the chassis and purchase the car; start to build, find the components, and get the components. And even going through that with NASCAR and understanding that whole process is really unique and new, compared to how things work in the Xfinity Series. So I want to be involved or at least a witness to everything. I’m going to be on pit road when the car is pushed out for qualifying. I’ll be there when it’s going out for practice. I’ll be there when they unload it on Wednesday at the racetrack. I want to go through tech. I want to see everything. I don’t know what’s realistic because there will be some other obligations, but I’m approaching this like it’s a one and only opportunity.. a dream come true. I told Kelley that I want her there for all of it, as well, because we’ve done this together from the start. This was something that we really waited for the right moment, and Chris and his brand, Traveller and their excitement around it feels nice and genuine. They’re experiencing it for the first time, as well. So yeah, we’re all kind of going through that.”
Chris Stapleton: “There’s a lot of synergy in that way, I think.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Exactly, so it’s really cool. It’s hard to put it into words right now, but I think to Justin’s point – I told him, if we’re fortunate enough for everything to go well and we can be there on the grid for the 500, that pre-race moment is going to be very emotional, and really, really cool. So, you know, once it’s on the grid, it’s out of my hands, but getting it there is going to be a lot of fun.”
Kelley, if I could just follow up and get your answer to that question and what it means to you to be a part of this endeavor from the Earnhardt family side of things.
Kelley Earnhardt Miller: “Yeah, I can’t really sum it up any better than Dale did. You know, we talked about the opportunity. We’ve been talking about the opportunity to be in the Cup Series. And obviously, we’re a family of racers. This is our life. This is our passion. And so to be able to have a Cup entry at the Daytona 500 – a place that’s really special to us.. a place where the Earnhardt’s have had a lot of history and a lot of success with both my dad and Dale – you know, it’s just really kind of full circle. This is the perfect situation, the right moment, as Chris said. So we’re just pretty thankful and glad to be here.”
Chris, when you look at being teamed up with this legendary family.. forget about the business side of it. What does that mean to you, personally?
Chris Stapleton: “More things that aren’t really sinking in. You set out to do things and you meet people sometimes, and these are good people, beyond just being Earnhardt’s. It’s very important to me
to be in business with good people. I love that we’ve built something together, even though we’ve had this short period of time to do this thing in. I’m so grateful that they were willing to let me participate in the world just a small bit. And it really is, you know, it’s one of those surreal things that you get to experience.. once in a lifetime. Like I said, they don’t know.. they said they don’t know; it might be the only one we ever get a piece of, you know, or get to sit there and… It’s stuff you dream up that doesn’t happen, you know? And this is one of them. This is one of them. It’s one of those moments. Today has felt like, particularly with the car reveal, it became so real when the sheet came off the car. I was like – oh, this is not a napkin drawing anymore, or some ‘pie in the sky’ idea that we think would be cool. This is something we’re really going for and really trying to do, and I’m thrilled to be rolling the dice and taking the risk with them. I think it’s a wonderful energy. There’s great energy around it, for me.”
Justin Allgaier: “It’s also surreal to be sitting next to a legend in the music industry, right? You know, I mean, I see these guys (Dale and Kelley) all the time, and they’re amazing and they’re legends in the sport. But to have all of this is – I’m still pinching myself, to be honest with you.”
As you guys have built JR Motorsports and done this in kind of your own way, and obviously, Dale, you had your career in your own right and a lot of fans have followed you because they followed your dad. Going into the Cup Series for the first time, was there ever a sense that you wanted to do it for yourselves, you wanted to do it for the company, but you also wanted to do it for those fans that have stuck by you guys and the Earnhardt’s for so long? What do you think your dad would think about this?
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Well, I hope that he’d be excited about it. I’m sure he would have told us how we should have done it differently (laughs). But, you know, he was also always very supportive. So I think he would be excited about this. I do feel a bit of an obligation with our connection to the fan base. I do feel that obligation to like achieve and have milestones as an owner. And so yeah, you’ve heard the rumblings over the years that fans are excited or hopeful of a potential Cup opportunity for us. And so yeah, there’s pressure not only on me and Kelley — Kelley said it the best the other day.. she’s like we’re a family, and we race and racing is what we do. We’re always going to race. And you know, we find a way to get to the racetrack and compete because that’s what we’ve always done and what we want to do. We’ve always wanted to race in the Cup Series, we were just waiting on the right pieces to fall into place. For our fans, there will be some pressure to go out there and get the car in the field; get it on the grid so that we can all enjoy this.”
When you guys have done things, it’s always been the No. 8, 88 or 3 with those connections. The No. 40, obviously with the connection to the sponsor, how cool is it going to be to kind of do something a little bit different?
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I’ll let Chris talk a little bit about this, but Justin mentioned this – Chris was very involved and he knows what he likes. He knows what he wants this brand to be become and what they’re creating with Traveller. And so we were more than excited to allow them all of the creative influences that they wanted; to be able to have the race car on the racetrack that they want. As a traditionalist and someone that is a bit of a history buff, I was a bit surprised about how I felt about this because I didn’t mind what the number was. I was just hopeful to be able to put it together and get it on the racetrack. And the fact that there’s a connection for Chris and his team to the number makes it matter to me.”
Chris Stapleton: “Well really, the number – obviously Traveller Whiskey is blend number 40. We tried over 50 different blends before we picked the blend that goes in the bottle. I didn’t really know how much it was really, not necessarily a problem – but when I said can it be No. 40.. I was kind of throwing it out in the air, like will we have to check to see if we can have that? And I’m just like – oh, okay, yeah, it’s cool. But it really worked out for, you know, I think it’s a nice synergy to have that cue. I like Easter eggs and things like that on bottles and now on a car. And I wanted the car to also look like JR Motorsports, but also Traveller Whiskey. I wanted it to really look like both of those things, and I think we achieved that with what we did with the car. That was really my goal.”
Can you give more insight on bringing Greg Ives on board for this? I know you guys have a history together and you’ve both won at Daytona, but what else went into that business decision?
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I saw how many times he’s qualified a car on the front row at Daytona (laughs). I’m like, do you have any magic left, Greg? Let’s go to the track and see what we can do.
But you know, I think being an open car, there’s some challenges to get into the field. It won’t be easy. There will be some very tough competition. I was confident that Greg understood, better than anybody, the things that we would all need to gather into place to go there with the best opportunity we could. And me and him are just really great friends, and I just trust him wholeheartedly with his decisions. And I don’t think he’ll be too annoyed with me standing over his shoulder throughout the whole process and asking him all kinds of silly questions. That went into the thought process, as well. He’s got a great track record, in terms of qualifying, and that hopefully can be a big assist for us.”
Justin Allgaier: “I think a follow-up on that too is that – you know, Greg has been on the Xfinity Series car for Hendrick Motorsports on the No. 17. We have a really good working relationship with him back-and-forth on the Xfinity Series side. He actually came to us for some help whenever they started running the No. 17 car. Greg has gotten to work really closely with all of our crew chiefs and all of our drivers, and he’s got a really good understanding – I mean, he was a championship crew chief at JR Motorsports. He understands the business really, really well, and I think that gives some comfort when you look at trying to assemble people for this organization and for what we’re trying to accomplish. It gives that little bit of comfort that I think makes a big difference. Dale’s got a comfort. I’ve got a comfort. And I’m sure Kelley has a comfort. Chris, he doesn’t know yet..”
Chris Stapleton: “I have comfort because they have comfort (laughs).”
Justin Allgaier: “When we got the news about Greg, it was really, really cool because I think he’s a great person to have on the box for the race.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I’ll say this too about Greg – he worked at JR Motorsports for a while and was the crew chief on my car. But over the course of the last several years, there’s been moments where we’ve brought him into the building at JR Motorsports.. we were struggling a little bit in certain particular years and he came in to be an advisor for us and take a bit of a 40,000 feet view of what we’re doing to help us find ways to get ourselves back on track. So we utilize Greg all the time and his expertise has been beneficial to JR Motorsports, even over the past recent years, to try and continue our success.”
Justin, Dale referenced the challenge of making the Daytona 500. If you do have to race into the event through the Duels, with this being such a huge stand for JR Motorsports, can you kind of take me through what the emotions will be like.. trying to not just make the race, but keeping the car clean to get to Sunday?
Justin Allgaier: “We’ve had a lot of pressure.. Phoenix is a great example of what not to do in those moments (laughs). But I think one of the things for me that’s been important – Greg and I have talked about this, and we’ve talked about this internally – but I think your mindset has to be to try and go qualify. That has to be number one. That’s the easiest way to do it because then you can race the Duels in a different capacity. You can allow yourself to do a little bit more learning. You can work on some of the things that are going to be key for the race. You can work on some setups, balance changes and things like that. If you don’t qualify in and you have to race your way in through the Duels, I think your mindset changes. You know, we’re all understanding of what can happen in the Duels. I mean, we can have something happen coming to the green.. anytime in those races. We’ve seen it time and time again. I remember watching last year with Jimmie Johnson trying to race his way in – I remember thinking to myself that if I were ever in that position and you know you’re going to have to go for it, you just kind of have to lay caution to the wind and you’re going to have to go and try to see what you can accomplish.
Number one, I have a great mentor in superspeedway racing. Number two, we’ve had success on superspeedways in the past. We’ve won at Daytona, not this past summer but the summer before, in the Xfinity Series. So I think there are things that we have going for us in that capacity, but it’s not lost on me how much pressure there is in this. L.W., who’s sitting off camera here, he told me to just go focus on doing all that we can do. But I do take a lot of pride in this process and what that’s going to look like. I have to do a lot more homework before Daytona. I have to understand the drivers. Watching footage from practice is going to be important. Looking back on SMT data from past races. Watch how drivers made their way in. I look at pit road.. that could equally be the difference maker in whether we make the race or not. There’s a lot that goes into this. We still have to try and go win in the Xfinity Series.. that’s first and foremost on what we have, too. A lot of effort and time goes into this, but I look at who’s assembled and I look at the whole process – it just feels right. As Chris has already said, it just feels right. I feel like if there’s ever an opportunity to do this, it’s definitely this year.”
What’s it going to be like to see that car on the track for the first time? Are you going to be nervous? Are you going to be excited? Have you kind of imagined what it’s going to be like?
Chris Stapleton: “I have nothing to compare it to, so I imagine I’m going to be excited and then maybe nervous. I don’t know.. these guys are kind of laughing because (inaudible).. it looks like one thing on paper, but it’s another thing when it’s sitting out here in front of the building. And then it looks like a whole other thing when it’s out on the track. I think they’re speculating what is going to happen when I see that. I don’t know.. I really don’t know. We’ll have to take bets or something (laughs).”
In terms of the business and racing sides, what aspects are going to be most important to you or what will you go back to review everything from this process?
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “Well, I think – you know, obviously, this is a tough one to answer because you would hope fans would understand the answer to this question. Performing on the racetrack is absolutely important. We do want to go and win the pole and win the race every time we show up. But given the circumstances and Chris and Traveller have trusted us with their brand and to go represent them well – I think at the end of the day, I want them to be happy with the experience and be glad that they did it and did it with us. And so that’s probably the first thing that you want to feel on Monday morning after the Daytona 500. Everything else is secondary to that. We want to go race well and do well. We’re definitely going to be thinking about that very thing all weekend long as we go through the process of qualifying, practicing and so forth. But in the end, none of that matters if Traveller doesn’t enjoy the experience and Chris doesn’t enjoy the experience because that partnership is how this comes together. I think that Kelley and I are both extremely confident in our people at JR Motorsports that they will deliver, and we chose the right driver to make sure those boxes are checked for our partners. And so that’s probably the most important thing. And then again, yeah – going and racing.. going and running well.”
Chris, you have that friendship with Rick Hendrick dating back a few years, but do your ties with NASCAR kind of date back beyond that? What does that kind of look like?
Chris Stapleton: “You know, it would be a waste of time for me to sit here and talk about racing when you have these people sitting here that can do it so well. One time, I sat in on a major league baseball hitting meeting, and they were going through all these things that I had no idea went into it. That’s how I felt like hearing these guys talk about what needs to happen for this to happen.
I’m excited to partner with them and to kind of build off of what Dale was saying – I’m so pleased that you want us to be happy, but we’re already happy as partners with what we’re doing. Everything that I’ve ever dreamed this could be is happening right now. And now I want you guys to go out and do what you do. That’s what I want you thinking about.. doing what you do. I love to see great people being pros at what they do, and that’s what this is right now. It’s going to happen. It’s going to look good. It’s going to feel good. Just entering the track to qualify, that’s going to feel good, and that’s what I’m looking for out of it.”
Dale, when was the first time you guys started talking about this deal, and when did it start feeling like it could be a reality?
Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I hope Kelley has a better memory than I do..”
Kelley Earnhart: “July.. So yeah, we were presented with the opportunity, like Chris had alluded to his friendship with Mr. Hendrick, and this was something they had interest in doing. We were able to put all of our heads together on the marketing side. I have to give a big kudos to my team at JR Motorsports for working with their team; understanding what kind of objectives had in this process and putting together a plan that they liked and that they felt would work for their brand to bring this all together. You know, we’ve been working on it since the summer. Not a long time, but not too short of a time. We’re here and we’re excited to make it happen in February.”
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