"It's very important to Justin Allgaier": Kenny Wallace makes feeling known on JRM star set to break his NASCAR record

Former NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace congratulated Justin Allgaier as he gets closer to breaking his record for the most Xfinity Series starts. Defending champion Allgaier will hit 500 starts in the series this October.

Currently, only three drivers, Wallace, Jeff Green, and Jason Keller, have crossed the 500-start mark. However, Jeremy Clements is set to be the fourth one this weekend and will make his 500th Xfinity start at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).

During a recent episode of the 'Coffee with Kenny' podcast, Wallace said he was happy to see the next generation reach big achievements. The 61-year-old has the highest Xfinity Series starts of all, with 547.

"So yes, I am the mayor of the NASCAR Xfinity Series, and yes, it does feel good. And I will be honored to pass over the baton next year 'cause there's not enough races this year for them to get to my mark of 547. However, I will be honored to go to the NASCAR Xfinity race and congratulate Jeremy Clemens, and not long later, congratulate Justin Allgaier," Wallace said (8:50 onwards).

"Justin Allgaier's father has called me two times about it, so it is very important to Justin Allgaier to break my record. I will respond like this: Remember, I'm still the greatest! (laughs) Can't help it, guys, it's all about competition. Uh, and if I would have stayed in the Xfinity Series that long, I'd have had, what, 900 starts, right? 800, something like that," he added.

Wallace raced in NASCAR from the late 1980s to the mid-2010s and made an additional 344 starts in the Cup Series and 13 in the Truck Series. He retired in 2015 and later worked as a NASCAR analyst for Fox Sports.

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"Fun road course to race on" - Justin Allgaier on third Xfinity start for the 2025 season

Justin Allgaier (7) makes a pit stop during the United Rentals 300 at Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

Justin Allgaier debuted in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2008 and has competed in 473 races with 25 wins. The JR Motorsports No. 7 Chevrolet driver, in his 15th full-time Xfinity season, will race at the COTA this Saturday. He has two top-five finishes in five starts at the 2.356-mile road course in Texas.

"COTA has always been a fun road course to race on, but this weekend brings a whole new set of challenges with this reconfigured layout. We’ve always had strong Chevrolets on the road courses and I know that Jim (Pohlman, crew chief) will give me another strong BRANDT Professional Agriculture / REV 1 Energy Chevrolet when we hit the track for practice and qualifying on Friday," Allgaier said in a team statement.

"Hopefully we can keep all four fenders on the car all weekend long and be there when it counts on Saturday," he concluded.

Allgaier had a second-place finish at the second race of the season at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend.