While everyone was buzzing about Kyle Larson‘s marathon day, racing from the Indy 500 to the Coca-Cola 600, Mother Nature had other plans. The weather at Indy dampened Larson’s plans, and a pit road blunder left him finishing in the 18th. By the time he was supposed to race in Charlotte, he was too late.

Eventually, his ride at Charlotte Motor Speedway was taken over by JR Motorsports’ Xfinity driver, Justin Allgaier. Not many expected much from Allgaier’s stepping in at the last minute, but he ended up impressing everyone at the HMS camp and earning their respect with his standout performance.

Could Kyle Larson’s #5 car improve on his Indy 500 finish at Charlotte with Justin Allgaier’s help?

Kyle Larson’s #5 car showed promising performance even though Larson himself couldn’t participate in the Coca-Cola 600 due to the weather delay at the Indianapolis 500. Stepping in, Dale Earnhardt Jr‘s driver, Justin Allgaier, drove the #5 Chevy impressively, navigating from a start position of P10 up to P13 before the race was stopped by rain. After working through some challenges in the earlier stages of the race, where he placed P26 and P23, respectively, Allgaier’s effort didn’t go unnoticed.

Even Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, was quick to praise Allgaier, saying, “Justin Allgaier, you did one hell of a job. You should be proud. Hendrick Motorsports and all of us are.“ Humble in his response, Allgaier expressed his gratitude, “Sir, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate working with you guys. I was hoping Larson would get 1100 but I appreciate it.“ Justin Allgaier modestly added, “The car has more potential than the driver at the moment,“ signaling that the #5 Chevy was a contender for victory, especially once Larson took the wheel.

Justin Allgaier showed nothing but team spirit when he mentioned that he’d feel a bit down if Kyle Larson won the race—not because he wouldn’t get credit, but because Larson wouldn’t have the chance to enjoy the winning credit himself. But with all the confidence outside, he seemed quite overwhelmed before the race started.

Not to mention, since the rain did not let up, Christopher Bell was declared the winner since he was leading the race with 249 laps down. Brad Keselowski was in second place, with William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, and Chase Elliott rounding out the top spots from third to seventh.

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s driver was overwhelmed with emotions that caused him sick

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Justin Allgaier’s ride in the Cup Series has been a mix of ups and downs. He raced full-time in the cup series, back in 2014 and 2015, for HScott Motorsports. After that, he got another major opportunity in July 2020, filling in for Jimmie Johnson, who was out with COVID-19 but in that race also ended up in a crash early on. Fast forward to 2023, and he didn’t get a single shot at the Cup series, settling comfortably into his niche in the sport without any fuss.

However, at Charlotte, when he got a chance to drive a Hendrick Motorsports car, he pushed his limits. After the race was stopped due to rain, Allgaier shared his pre-race jitters and how he almost got sick just getting into the car. “You don’t get the luxury of just kind of getting comfortable in there. Because it is Kyle Larson and he’s Kyle Larson. I thought I was going to throw up at one point when I got in the car, to be perfectly honest with everybody and I didn’t,“ he said.

“So when I finally got comfortable I actually had to tighten my seatbelts up because I felt like, I just felt like my body get relaxed and I was ready to go. And by the time the race was over I’m like, ‘Alright we’re actually doing the right thing.’ It was cool you know there was a lot of things that I did for the first time tonight that I hadn’t done. It was worth it.”

While we missed out on seeing Kyle Larson tackle the full 1100 miles, Justin Allgaier’s effort in stepping up was nothing short of impressive.