Dale Earnhardt Jr. Shows Off Justin Allgaier’s ’70s-Inspired Traveller Whiskey Daytona 500 Car To Chris Stapleton

That’s a sharp ride.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has long dominated the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly the Xfinity Series) with his JR Motorsports team. But last year, the team partnered with Chris Stapleton’s Traveller whiskey to enter a car in the Daytona 500, sponsored by the country star’s whiskey brand and driven by JR Motorsports Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier.

And this year, they’re running it back.

The team announced back in November that Traveller would once again be sponsoring the #40 car in an attempt to make the Daytona 500, with Allgaier behind the wheel. And Junior recently had the opportunity to show off this year’s ride to Allgaier and Stapleton.

JR Motorsports shared a video of the three getting their first look at the car, which is similar to last year but with the added touch of burgundy stripes added to the top and bottom of the car – and a pretty sweet throwback-looking number.

The coolest part, though, is that the team added some vintage looking stickers to the front of the car too, giving the whole thing a look that’s straight out of the ’70s.

Stapleton was clearly impressed with the look, with all three agreeing that it was even better than last year’s version.

Allgaier has been full-time with JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since 2016, and is the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion, but he will once again be forced to race his way into the Daytona 500 since the car will be competing as an open car (versus being guaranteed a starting spot with a charter).

It was an emotional moment for Junior last year when his car raced its way into a race despite not being guaranteed a starting spot, and Allgaier had a respectable run in the Great American Race, finishing 9th after starting 19th. (For comparison, that’s one more top 10 than two full-time drivers had in 36 races in 2025).

JR Motorsports has been around since 2005, and has turned into one of, if not THE, top team in the Xfinity Series. They’ve won four championships and 108 races in the series, leading many to naturally wonder whether there were plans for JRM to expand to the Cup Series at some point. And Junior hasn’t been shy about expressing his desire to someday be a full-time Cup Series team owner, but said last year that it didn’t make financial sense for the team given the cost of the Cup Series charters:

“What would need to happen is, an investor, somebody who wants to partner … The rest of the money has to come from somewhere else, and that has to come from somebody who wants to invest in the idea that that $40 million charter is going to be $100 or 150, 200, $250 million down the road … That’s why, if it happens it happens, is kinda the way you got to feel about it.”

Obviously it would be awesome to see Junior as a full-time owner in the Cup Series, but with the recent settlement in the lawsuit against NASCAR from 23XI and Front Row Motorsports, charter prices are likely only going to skyrocket, making it even more a financial risk (and burden) to go full-time Cup racing.

Maybe one day it’ll finally happen, but right now, it’s cool to see Junior and Stapleton partnering up to make it happen for the Great American Race.