INDIANAPOLIS — Team owners in any form of sports can make or break an athlete’s career.
Some may struggle with leading a team forward, while others thrive in the environment.
In the case of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr., his ownership approach with JR Motorsports has resonated with his drivers.
Nearly two months ago, longtime NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier broke through to earn his first championship after 14 years of trying.
Alongside him was an elated Earnhardt, who was seen firmly waving and carrying Allgaier’s championship flag around Phoenix Raceway during the title celebration and back at the JRM race shop in Mooresville, N.C.
As a fan of Earnhardt growing up, Allgaier knew as well as anyone the joys of victory throughout Earnhardt’s career.
“As a racer, you enjoy those moments, you have that success and you act accordingly,” Allgaier began. “But when it’s somebody else, even if it’s your race team, when it’s somebody else, you don’t typically see a car owner have the passion and the excitement that Dale has shown over this process.
“I think that for me, that’s been probably the neatest part. Just watching him out there and coming out to the car and seeing all the videos and photos of what was going on post race.
“Those are moments for me that Dale was big on,” Allgaier continued. “He wanted me to win the championship. He felt like we put the time and effort into it. He wanted to make that happen.”
From Allgaier’s perspective, his will to clinch a title was not for himself, but for his No. 7 Chevrolet team to secure the owner’s championship.
“Here I am, I’m on the other side of it,” Allgaier said. “I wanted to win the owner’s championship for them just because they’ve given me opportunity for how many years.”
With eight seasons under his belt at JRM, Allgaier’s relationship with Earnhardt is unique as they both feed off each other in sharing the same passion for the history of the sport.
“I just feel like Dale is a historian of the sport,” Allgaier said.
“He loves the history of where the sport has come from. I think when I look at our relationship and why I’m still at JR Motorsports, I think he believes that I feel a lot the same about the sport as he does.
“That’s why I think he’s as proud of the moment as he has been. Been really, really cool. Dale’s somebody that he wasn’t the most popular driver 375 times like he was for any other reason other than he’s a genuinely good person and somebody that I think people gravitate towards and they want to be around.
“It makes a big difference.”
