JR Motorsports is heading back to the 2026 Daytona 500, but the mood around the shop is a lot more cautious than last year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows the team pulled off something special in 2025 with Justin Allgaier, when the group qualified as an open entry and finished ninth in the biggest race of the season.
It was a proud moment for the whole shop and something that lifted everyone’s spirits. However, the team now faces a new set of challenges. The biggest one comes from Chevrolet’s new superspeedway body, which changes how the cars will handle in the draft.
Dale Earnhardt is open about the fact that the unknowns make him uneasy. The group plans to reunite the same crew and the same sponsor, but nothing is guaranteed.
Dale Earnhardt Stresses Uncertainty With New Chevrolet Body
Dale Earnhardt didn’t hide how unsettled he feels about the new Camaro body. “I’m nervous because we’re going to have a new body,” he said. “Anytime a manufacturer gets a new body, they don’t go to Daytona and perform better. You’re figuring out kind of what makes that body perform at a track like that. I don’t know the details, I just shoot it straight. Every time a manufacturer changes the body, they’re trying their best in every way, when a new body is coming in, to make their cars more competitive at the tracks that we race the most.”
This change is one of the biggest reasons Dale Earnhardt is lowering expectations for 2026. JR Motorsports had strong speed in the Duels last year, but that came with a settled setup and a body style teams already understood. The new version means fresh learning all over again. Dale Earnhardt noted that even small shape changes can affect how the car moves in the draft or how it lines up with others.
Qualifying Pressure Returns With No Charter Spot
JR Motorsports doesn’t have a charter, so the team must race its way in again. Dale Earnhardt pointed out how important that pressure will be on qualifying day.
“You got to rein all the expectations back in to man, we just got to get in the show. Let’s get in the show. We’re not locked in,” he said. “New body, don’t know how the car will qualify. We thought we were gonna do alright last year and we didn’t in qualifying. I’ll be apprehensive about our opportunity in just pure speed on qualifying. We may have to go back and race our way in.”
Dale Earnhardt said the group wants to get through the early part of Speedweeks without mistakes, and simply roll the car onto the grid Sunday morning. That moment, he said, is what the team works for more than anything.
Dale Earnhardt Sees Value In the One-Off Effort
Even though JR Motorsports isn’t looking at a full-time Cup move, Dale Earnhardt believes these Daytona attempts are worth it. The 2025 run brought energy into the shop, created a special memory for the crew, and proved the team could compete at the top level when everything lines up.
Dale Earnhardt said recreating last year’s success will be tough, but the team is prepared to try. Fans will watch to see whether Dale Earnhardt, Justin Allgaier, and the JR Motorsports group can make the show again and see how the new body performs in traffic.
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