JR Motorsports is returning to the NASCAR Cup Series for the 2026 season-opening DAYTONA 500, building on a standout debut last February at Daytona International Speedway.

The team announced the entry via social media on Friday evening, with 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier again piloting the No. 40 Chevrolet. Traveller Whiskey—Chris Stapleton's country music star-owned brand—will be the primary sponsor for the car co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller.

This marks just the organization's second Cup Series attempt, following a strong ninth-place finish in last year's 500-mile race. Allgaier, from Riverton, Illinois, advanced positions after a massive last-lap crash.

As an unchartered entry, Allgaier and the No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet must race their way into the field—either via a top single-car qualifying lap on Wednesday or by finishing among the highest unchartered cars in Thursday's Duel races.

Last year, he secured his spot by being the top unchartered finisher in the first Duel.

Allgaier had an impressive showing in last season's Daytona 500. He finished in the No. 9 position, which was the best finish of his NASCAR Cup Series career.

In total, Allgaier has attempted 83 races over nine seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series. He has two career top 10 finishes.

His best-career finish was in 2015 in the No. 8 position at Bristol for HScott Motorsports.

Allgaier is coming off of a season with he had three victories in the NASCAR Xfinity Series (now known as the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series). He also finished in the No. 3 position in the final points standings.

With the offseason barely underway, JR Motorsports is the first non-chartered team to confirm its DAYTONA 500 plans, beyond the 36 chartered entries.

With NASCAR ability to expand from 36 to 40 charters, along with the fallout of the 23XI Racing/Front Row Motorsports lawsuit against NASCAR, there has been plenty of speculation that if a new charter is established, it could end up going to JR Motorsports.

At this point in time however, no new charter agreement has been announced for the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Since last February's Cup debut, the team dominated the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (formerly Xfinity) in 2025, racking up a record-breaking 18 wins from drivers Connor Zilisch, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Shane van Gisbergen, and Daniel Suarez.

The 2026 DAYTONA 500 is set for Sunday, February 15, at 2:30 p.m. ET on FOX.