Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s champion driver set to lead the field to green as rain washes NASCAR Xfinity qualifying

Justin Allgaier of Dale Earnhardt Jr.-owned team JR Motorsports, is all set to lead the Xfinity Series pack at the Daytona Xfinity Series race on Saturday. Allgaier will take over the charge after rain washed away the qualifying ahead of the race.

Allgaier, who is set to race at the Daytona 500 in the Cup Series after qualifying through the duel, will lead the pack, thanks to NASCAR's rule book in case of washed qualifying. Announcing the same, the official account of the Xfinity Series took to their social media account to share the update.

"NEWS: Due to weather, today's Xfinity Series qualifying at @DAYTONA has been canceled. The lineup will be set per the rule book," NASCAR Xfinity's post said.

The clouds hovering over Florida already forced NASCAR to change its schedule, and the latest Xfinity Series added more misery for the organizers. Earlier on Friday, NASCAR preponed the start time of the 67th edition of the Daytona International Speedway from 2:30 PM ET to 1:30 PM ET.

In the Xfinity Series, Allgaier will lead the pack to Green. He is the defending champion, having held off Cole Custer in the 2024 season. The United Rentals 300 will take place on Saturday, February 15.

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Justin Allgaier let his feelings known after his Daytona 500 entry

Justin Allgaier pulled off a miracle on Thursday as he qualified for the 2025 Daytona 500. Allgaier entered the Daytona 500 qualifying for the 67th edition of the Great American Race and earned himself a spot among the four available uncharted slots.

NASCAR Cup Series driver Justin Allgaier (40) during driver introductions for the Duels at Daytona International Speedway. - Source: Imagn

For the first time in the team's history, Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided to field a car in the Cup Series for JR Motorsports. They fielded the #40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for NASCAR's biggest race. As Allgaier finally made Earnhardt Jr.'s dream come true, here's how the JR Motorsports driver reacted to his achievement,

"I don't know that there are words that can describe it (the feeling of qualifying for the main event). It may not seem like a big feat, I mean when you look at how many cars are locked into this race every year, it doesn't really seem like a lot of a feat; but at the same time, the emotions of this, and not wanting to let Dale and Kelly and all KW down. There's a lot of people you don't mind letting down, but Dale Jr. is not one of them," Allgaier said.

In the first Duel, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson claimed the first two available slots, making it difficult for Allgaier in the second Duel. The #7 driver had to compete against Chandler Smith, JJ Yeley, Corey LaJoie, Anthony Alfredo, and BJ McLeod and came out on top to claim the all-important slot.