Justin Allgaier facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Justin Allgaier |
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Allgaier at Sonoma Raceway in 2025
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| Born | Justin Myrl Allgaier June 6, 1986 Springfield, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Achievements | 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Champion 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series Champion 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Regular Season Champion All-time NASCAR Xfinity Series top tens leader |
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| Awards | 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year 2019–2021, 2023–2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver |
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| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 83 races run over 9 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 40 (JR Motorsports) | ||||||
| 2024 position | 49th | ||||||
| Best finish | 29th (2014) | ||||||
| First race | 2013 GEICO 400 (Chicagoland) | ||||||
| Last race | 2025 Daytona 500 (Daytona) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 485 races run over 16 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 7 (JR Motorsports) | ||||||
| 2024 position | 1st | ||||||
| Best finish | 1st (2024) | ||||||
| First race | 2008 Dollar General 300 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 2020 LS Tractor 200 (Phoenix) | ||||||
| First win | 2010 Scotts Turf Builder 300 (Bristol) | ||||||
| Last win | 2025 Tennessee Lottery 250 (Nashville) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series career | |||||||
| 8 races run over 3 years | |||||||
| 2008 position | 88th | ||||||
| Best finish | 56th (2006) | ||||||
| First race | 2005 Toyota Tundra Milwaukee 200 (Milwaukee) | ||||||
| Last race | 2008 Built Ford Tough 225 (Kentucky) | ||||||
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| Statistics current as of May 31, 2025. | |||||||
Justin Myrl Allgaier (born June 6, 1986) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He races full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for JR Motorsports, driving the No. 7 Chevrolet SS. He also races part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in the No. 40 Chevrolet ZL1 for the same team.
Justin is a champion! He won the 2008 ARCA Re/Max Series and the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series championships. He was also named the 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year.
Contents
- Justin Allgaier's Racing Journey
- Starting Young in Racing
- ARCA Series Success
- Nationwide Series (Now Xfinity) Debut
- First Full Cup Series Season (2014)
- 2015 Season
- Return to Xfinity Series (2016)
- 2017 Season
- 2018 Season
- 2019 Season
- 2020 Season
- 2021 Season
- 2022 Season
- 2023 Season
- 2024: Championship Season
- 2025: Return to the Cup Series
- Personal Life
- Images for kids
Justin Allgaier's Racing Journey
Starting Young in Racing
Justin Allgaier was born in Springfield, Illinois. He started racing at just five years old in small cars called quarter midgets. He won over 100 races and five championships in these tiny cars!
When he was 13, Justin moved on to stock car racing in the UMP Late Model Series. At 16, he made his first start in the ARCA Re/Max Series. He finished 17th in that race.
ARCA Series Success
Justin continued to race in the ARCA series. In 2003, he finished third in a race at Salem Speedway. The next year, he placed second at Toledo Speedway. He even represented the United States in a racing championship in the South Pacific!
In 2005, Justin earned his first pole position (starting first) at Springfield. He also made his NASCAR debut in the Craftsman Truck Series. He appeared on a TV show called Driver X: The Race For The Ride, where racing legend Jack Roush looked for new talent.
In 2006, Justin raced full-time in ARCA and won his first race at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack. He was the first person from Springfield to win there in 72 years! He also won another ARCA race in 2007.
Justin had an amazing year in ARCA in 2008. He won six races and became the series champion! He broke Frank Kimmel's eight-year winning streak.
Nationwide Series (Now Xfinity) Debut
In 2008, Justin signed with Penske Racing to drive in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. He raced in four events and finished 11th in one of them.
He then raced full-time in the Nationwide Series in 2009. He earned his first pole position in NASCAR at Memphis Motorsports Park. During a race in Montreal, he had an accident with other drivers. After that, he took lessons to improve his road course racing skills. These lessons helped him win several races on road courses later on.
In 2010, Justin won his first Nationwide Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway. He finished fourth in the standings that year. He was the highest-ranked full-time Nationwide driver.
In 2011, Justin moved to Turner Motorsports. He won the STP 300 at Chicagoland Speedway. He ran out of fuel on the last lap but still crossed the finish line first! He almost won at Road America but ran out of fuel again.
In 2012, Justin won the NAPA Auto Parts 200 in Montreal. He passed Jacques Villeneuve on the very last lap to take the win.
In 2013, Justin made his first start in the top NASCAR series, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He drove for Phoenix Racing in a few races.
First Full Cup Series Season (2014)
In 2014, Justin raced full-time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for HScott Motorsports. He was competing for Rookie of the Year.
He led some laps in the Daytona 500 but crashed near the end. At Talladega, he was close to winning his first Cup race but lost help from other cars and fell back. He also led 15 laps at Pocono.
At Daytona, he was involved in a big crash that took out many cars. Later in the year, he missed qualifying for a race at Talladega, which was a new and controversial qualifying system. He finished 29th in the Cup Series standings.
2015 Season
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Justin started 2015 with a crash at the Daytona 500. He had his best Cup Series finish at the time, placing 12th at Auto Club Speedway. He then earned his first top-ten finish in the Cup Series, coming in 8th at Bristol.
In October 2015, it was announced that Justin would leave HScott Motorsports. He joined JR Motorsports to race full-time in the Xfinity Series again in 2016. He finished 30th in the Cup Series standings for 2015.
Return to Xfinity Series (2016)
Justin joined JR Motorsports in 2016. He had a strong season, finishing second three times. One of those second-place finishes was at Daytona, where he almost won but NASCAR ruled that another driver was ahead when the caution flag came out.
He also made a return to the Cup Series for one race, filling in for another driver at Bristol. In 2016, Justin also tried sports car racing in Brazil. Even though he didn't win any races, he finished 3rd in the Xfinity Series standings.
2017 Season
Justin continued with JR Motorsports in 2017. He won his first race in five years at Phoenix, holding off other drivers for the victory. This win helped him get into the NASCAR playoffs. He won again in September at Chicagoland Speedway, marking the first time he won more than one race in a season. He finished 3rd in the final standings, and JR Motorsports cars finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd overall!
2018 Season
Justin had a great 2018 season. He won his first race of the year at Dover. Even though he failed a post-race inspection, he kept winning. He won at Iowa, leading most of the laps. Then he won at Mid-Ohio and Road America.
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Two weeks later, he won his fifth race of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He won the 2018 Regular Season Championship, meaning he was the best driver during the regular part of the season. He finished 7th in the final points standings.
2019 Season
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In 2019, Justin had a moment with another driver, Ross Chastain, at Watkins Glen. Justin believed Chastain intentionally spun him out, so he later sent Chastain into the wall.
Justin also continued to race sports cars in Brazil when his NASCAR schedule allowed. He won the final race of the Round of 8 playoffs at Phoenix, which helped him get into the Championship 4. He finished 4th in the points standings for 2019.
2020 Season
The 2020 Xfinity season started with a crash for Justin at Daytona. He won several stages in other races but had some bad luck early in the season.
In July, Justin got a special call to race in the Cup Series. He filled in for Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 car at Indianapolis because Johnson tested positive for a virus. Justin finished 37th after being in a crash.
Justin had a strong second half of the season, winning both races at Richmond Raceway. He made it to the Championship 4 for the sixth time in his career. He finished 2nd among the Championship 4 drivers at the final race in Phoenix, with three wins that season.
2021 Season
Justin had a tough start to the 2021 Xfinity season. But after a good finish at Phoenix, he won his first race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, beating Cup champion Martin Truex Jr.. He then won again at Darlington Raceway.
In June, Justin also practiced and qualified for a Stadium Super Trucks race. He was called on again to substitute in a Cup Series race, this time for Justin Haley at Pocono.
2022 Season
Justin ended a long winless streak in 2022 by winning at Darlington. He also won races at Nashville and New Hampshire. At Martinsville, he finished 5th and made it to the Championship 4 race at Phoenix. He finished 3rd in that race, placing 3rd in the overall points standings.
2023 Season
Justin started the 2023 season with a 3rd place finish at Daytona. He won his first race of the season at Charlotte. He had an exciting win at the Daytona night race, beating another driver by only 0.005 seconds in double overtime! During the playoffs, he won at Bristol and Martinsville to make the Championship 4. He finished 2nd in the points standings.
2024: Championship Season
Justin started the 2024 season with an 8th place finish at Daytona. On May 11, he dominated the race at Darlington, winning both stages and taking the checkered flag. He earned his second win of the season at Michigan. Even though he didn't win a playoff race, Justin was consistent enough to make the Championship 4. He finished 2nd at the final race in Phoenix and finally claimed his first Xfinity Series championship after 14 seasons!
On May 26, Justin was called on again to be a relief driver in the Cup Series. He started the Coca-Cola 600 for Kyle Larson, who was delayed by weather at another race. Justin finished 13th in that rain-shortened event.
On October 25, Justin signed a contract to continue racing with JR Motorsports until 2026.
2025: Return to the Cup Series
On January 15, 2025, JR Motorsports announced they would make their Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500, with Justin driving the No. 40 car. Justin raced his way into the event and started 19th. He finished the Daytona 500 in 9th place, which was his first top-ten finish in the Cup Series since 2015! It was also JR Motorsports' first top-ten finish in the Cup Series.
In the Xfinity Series, Justin started 2025 with an 18th place finish at Daytona. A month later, he won back-to-back races at Las Vegas and Homestead. He earned his third win of the season at Nashville.
Personal Life
Justin Allgaier studied engineering at Lincoln Land Community College from 2004 to 2006. He is married to Ashley, and they have two daughters named Harper and Willow.
Justin is often called "Little Gator." This nickname is a fun play on his last name, and his father is known as "Gator."
After winning the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship, December 14th is now known as "Justin Allgaier Day" in Springfield, Illinois. Also, December 9th, 2025, is recognized as "Justin Allgaier Day" across the entire state of Illinois.
Images for kids
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Allgaier in victory lane after winning the ARCA race at Cayuga in 2008, one of his six wins that year en route to the title
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Allgaier's 2009 Nationwide car at the Milwaukee Mile
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Allgaier slides his car through the grass at Road America in 2010
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Allgaier in the Road America race in 2011, which he nearly won
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Allgaier in 2013
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Allgaier's No. 31 car at Road America in 2013
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Allgaier's No. 51 car at Sonoma Raceway in 2014
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Allgaier racing at Sonoma Raceway in 2015
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Allgaier's No. 7 Camaro at Road America
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Allgaier does burnouts after winning the 2018 Johnsonville 180 race at Road America
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Allgaier's race-winning No. 7 car at Indianapolis in 2018
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Allgaier racing his JR Motorsports teammate Michael Annett at Daytona in 2019.
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Allgaier's No. 7 car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2024
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Allgaier's No. 7 car at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2025
