“We all compromised”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals JRM’s decision to pick No. 40 car for historic Daytona 500 debut

Former NASCAR driver and JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently revealed that they will field the #40 Chevrolet in the prestigious Daytona 500 debut. On the latest episode of the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, he explained the decision behind picking the #11 car number for their first appearance in the Cup Series.

Justin Allgaier, who competes full-time for JR Motorsports (JRM) in the Xfinity Series, will attempt to run the 2025 Daytona 500 piloting the #40 Chevrolet with primary sponsorship from Chris Stapleton's Traveller Whiskey brand.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed how compromise and collaboration between the JRM and Traveller Whiskey resulted in choosing a #40 car number. He references the connection to Traveller Whiskey’s blend No. 40 and compares it to the deliberate choice of 88 proof for High Rock, the vodka brand owned by Dale Jr. and his wife, Amy.

“It’s a connection to the blend No. 40 that Traveller’s utilizes in every bottle, so much like High Rock is 88 proof. There is a connection to the product, and I’ll be honest with you, I was indifferent… It’s Traveller’s first experience and allowing them to have a little skin in the game in terms of they were involved, they were very particular about the design of the car, and we all compromised a bit. Them having this number they identify with is I think, fair and important.” Dale Jr. explained on his podcast.

JRM has managed to win four NASCAR Xfinity championships so far with Chase Elliott in 2014, William Byron in 2017, Tyler Reddick in 2018, and Justin Allgaier in 2024.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has previously shown interest in switching to the Cup Series, but he also admitted that there have been no discussions for other projects beyond the Daytona 500 attempt.

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“I am not nervous”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. on JRM’s first Daytona attempt

Two-time Daytona 500 winner cleared that he is not nervous about his JRM’s upcoming bid for the Daytona 500. He admitted that there are no expectations or pressure to perform immediately, as this is their Cup debut, and framed the situation as an opportunity to grow and improve.

In the aforementioned interview, here’s what Dale Jr. said:

“I am not nervous. I almost feel like that we can’t go down. We’re starting at the bottom. There’s zero expectation. We are at the bottom, and the only way we can go is up. I personally hope that this is the start of more opportunities for us to compete at the Cup level.

Watch Justin Allgaier and Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s owned Xfinity team in action for their first Daytona 500 attempt on February 16 on FOX.