Dale Jr.’s NASCAR champion Justin Allgaier unveils JRM’s ‘biggest shakeup’ featuring a key RCR acquisition

Justin Allgaier is the reigning Xfinity Series champion for JR Motorsports, a team co-owned by NASCAR legend Dale Jr. However, Allgaier's title defense has not been to a good start in 2025. On media day ahead of the race on Saturday, March 8, at Phoenix Raceway, Allgaier spoke about why the No. 7 JRM team has worked so well in the past and how they have brought some major changes in recent years, including the hiring of Jim Pohlman from Richard Childress Racing in 2023.

For years, the No. 7 team at JRM thrived under a stable core of personnel, including former crew chief Jason Burdett. Allgaier pointed out that when he first joined JRM, the team he inherited was largely the same group that had worked with Regan Smith. Their well-established chemistry and consistency contributed to their success, and Allgaier was able to benefit from that structure.

However, over time, it became clear to Allgaier that while consistency had been an asset, there were also areas where the team could improve. A critical element of JRM’s restructuring was hiring Jim Pohlman, who joined Dale Jr.’s organization as the crew chief of the No. 7 team in 2023 after a successful career at Richard Childress Racing.

"While there has been turnover, I would say two years ago and this would be the third year we made kind of the biggest shakeup right in changing kind of everybody from top down... (The No. 7 crew) had built a team around themselves that really functioned no matter who the driver was... I probably understood some of the weaknesses that we had as a race team because of it. But really, I saw why it worked," Allgaier said (4:17 onwards).

"I went after somebody that I knew that could take what I knew would be good and go even further with it, right? And Jim Pohlman has been that guy. I mean, he is insanely good at what he does and he's a details guy, and those of you that have been around the sport you know how important the details are... I think that for me, having Jim as that guy and building a team around him has really helped me," he added.

Justin Allgaier hopes the No. 7 team will make a strong comeback at Phoenix.

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Dale Jr.’s prodigy explains why JRM has an advantage over other teams

Justin Allgaier has had a sluggish start to the 2025 NXS campaign. While Dale Jr.'s team's star driver is currently winless and sits in a decent fifth in the points standings, 32 points behind the leader, he hasn't scored any stage wins or playoff points. However, he is confident that the team can bounce back at Phoenix.

Beyond the internal changes within Dale Jr.’s No. 7 team, Allgaier also pointed to the advantage of JRM’s multi-car program. The team fields four full-time Xfinity Series cars and a part-time entry, allowing them to collect vast data.

“I mean, when you have four cars, a fifth car part-time your notebook grows every week and you're able to learn and grow and just feel like you're doing all the right things when you show up at the racetrack,” Allgaier shared.

Despite the structural improvements, Allgaier acknowledged that the 2025 season has not started as strongly as he would have liked in terms of race finishes. However, he is looking forward to a strong race at Phoenix.

“We haven't had as good of finishes as I would like in 2025, but at the same time, we've had speed at all the races. And you know, this is a place (Phoenix) that I feel like we can kind of reenter ourselves,” he added.

Dale Jr. and his team will be back for racing action on Saturday for the 200-mile race.