By David Morgan, Associate Editor
HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Before the 2026 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series season had even begun, Justin Allagier had already made up his mind – this was going to be the last ride.
One more go around with his No. 7 JR Motorsports team before hanging up the helmet and heading off to Illinois to run the family business.
But then the wins started coming and Allgaier had a decision to make, ride out the rest of the season with the plan of this truly being your last season or resign with JRM for more years behind the wheel?
As team owner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. explained, they were happy with giving Allgaier as much time as he needed to decide one way or the other.
“He’s raced and raced and raced and gave us everything we’ve ever asked, been just the perfect of example of not only a great driver behind the wheel, but how he is with partners is really the standard,” said Earnhardt.
“I mean, I don’t think he gets enough credit for just how good he is with all of our partners…I don’t know where that comes from, but it’s just something I’ve always been impressed with him.
“But I think at some point he’s got to make a decision of, ‘Man, I’ve had this awesome career, a great time, but I want to go continue what my family’s built.’ We’re completely happy if he would have chose that tomorrow, to go do that after this year.”
Earnhardt added that he truly believes the performance that the No. 7 team was able to put up this year, along with the relationship that Allgaier has built with crew chief Andrew Overstreet helped to turn the tide back in the favor of getting Allgaier to stay.
“They started running so damn good, kind of changed his temperature a little bit on the whole thing. I would credit Overstreet for having a great culture in his team, having a culture in his team that Justin wants to continue to be a part of,” said Earnhardt.
“I’ll say this. Justin’s job is a lot of work. The crew chief, team owners, partners, they’ve got to make sure that they sort of see how they can make this convenient and easy on him in moments. That’s a big role for this guy right here, Overstreet, to make sure that he’s taking some stress and weight off his drivers’ shoulders.
“Apparently Overstreet did a tremendous job this year because Justin wants to continue driving.”
Allgaier noted it was a combination of knowing there was a finite end to his career and the camaraderie he was able to have with his team this year, which for the majority of the season was going to be his last that allowed him to soak it all in and allow him the chance to really settle on a decision for the future.
“I’ve had more fun this year than I think I’ve ever had. I think a lot of that came from the fact that I knew this is probably going to be it,” Allgaier said. “…in February, I already made up my mind. This was December of last year that I told JRM, ‘Look, this is it, I’m not coming back.’ It was all the way until, shoot, probably September when we actually finalized the deal, October maybe even.
“…Again, I think I’ve spent this year in a totally different mindset than I’ve ever had in my entire career. I’ve been so proud of what we’ve accomplished through that. It makes me realize that next year is going to be all about fun just as much as this year was.”
As he basked in the championship glory once again on Saturday night, Allgaier explained that he could have very well pulled the mic drop and just walked off into the sunset as a two-time champion, but he’s just as content sticking around and enjoying the sport for a little while longer.
“When I walk away from this sport and I do finally hang it up — I had a conversation with a couple drivers on the stage tonight. I’m like, I can’t imagine this being it,” said Allgaier.
“I was ready. I’m 100%. I could walk away right now and be happy. But there’s a part of me that goes I’m not sure I know I’m ready for that last curtain call. I don’t know what it’s going to feel like Monday morning when you wake up and you’re done.
“You got to enjoy it when you got it. You got to enjoy the people that we’re around. We could never win another race, another championship. That’s very viable. I hope it’s not true. But I’ve been blessed to have what I have and do the things we do and be able to celebrate with great people around me. I’ll never take that for granted.”
With Saturday’s championship win, Allgaier now joins the list of drivers that have multiple titles under their belt, including the likes of his team owner Earnhardt, Jr., Jack Ingram, Sam Ard, Larry Pearson, Randy LaJoie, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex, Jr., and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
Allgaier was also able to post career season-highs in wins (6), top-fives (19), and top-10s (24), bringing his career wins total to 34 – sixth on the all-time wins list. Four behind Carl Edwards and three ahead of Ingram.
As his crew chief tells it, the Allgaier that we saw in 2026 is primed to turn the No. 7 team into a dynasty in the years ahead.
“We knew that if we could get this going, I mean, we can start a dynasty here,” said Overstreet. “He’s won two of the last three. He has been a staple of this series for a long time, as long as I’ve known him. Especially with Brandt. If he can keep building on that, it’s going to be great for this sport.
“You look at the history of this sport, especially the Grand National Series, seeing some iconic people in it. When Dale raced, having the AC Delco car. I know Justin appreciates being able to build the sport that way.”
Should Allgaier be able to add another championship to his trophy case before hanging it up, he would be the first driver to ever eclipse the threshold of three championships, putting him at the top of the mountain in regards to the ultimate prize in the series.
After so many heartbreaking championship losses over the years, Earnhardt joked that would an ironic turn of events for his driver.
“That would be the most Justin Allgaier thing to do, to win three championships when no one has ever done it in the series before he retires,” said Earnhardt.
Asked to assess how his career stacks up in the grand scheme of things, Allgaier just wants to leave the series he has called home for nearly two decades in a better place than he found it when he first began.
“It’s surreal, especially when I look at the list of names that my name is by,” Allgaier noted. “Yeah, I laughed this week. I was joking with somebody. Somebody asked me about catching Mark Martin, right? I laughed because that’s a lofty spot to get to catch Mark Martin [49 wins] before I retire. That’s still not even halfway to what Kyle Busch accomplished, right?
“I definitely don’t have that in me, but I can promise you there’s nobody probably in this garage that respects this sport and wants the history of this sport to grow and go on like I do.
“I love Dale Jr.’s personality, his outlook on the sport. I feel like I hopefully at some point can be as loving of this sport as he is, ’cause he’s a great role model in that regard. Just in life in general, as a dad, as a car owner, as an icon of the sport.
I hope that I can share his love to his level of this sport before I quit. That’s why I still want to do what I do and I still love being here.”
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