The 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship was finally secured by JR Motorsports (JRM) with Justin Allgaier‘s victory at Phoenix Raceway on November 9th. With this victory, JRM won their fourth Xfinity Series championship and their first owner’s championship. It’s a milestone that the team had long aspired to achieve. With Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, sharing in the joy of seeing the team reach the pinnacle, it was especially poignant for the Earnhardt family.

Both Allgaier and his crew chief, Jim Pohlman, were ecstatic after the victory. After working with him in the 2008 ARCA Series, Pohlman was delighted to see his driver earn NASCAR’s top Xfinity honor. In a post-race interview, Allgaier weighed in on the emotional moment after the race when he saw Dale Jr. and Kelley following his victory.

It was so much more than just a championship win for JRM

The connection between Justin Allgaier and the Earnhardt family runs deep and his admiration for Dale Jr. as a driver and person was evident in his voice. “To see Dale standing in front of the window with his arms up, like the emotion that I saw from him when he was winning races, those are the emotions that I saw from him when I won the championship,” he confessed on the NASCAR Live podcast. 

Justin Allgaier described the winning moment as surreal, especially after he realized that he had just delivered the first-ever owners’ championship to JR Motorsports. “It was really special, you know, to not only bring a championship back to Junior Motorsports again but to be the first owners’ championship that they’ve ever gotten,” Allgaier said.

Kelley, who plays an instrumental role in the day-to-day operations of JR Motorsports, was also a key part of the moment. Allgaier made it evident that JRM was as much hers as it was Dale Jr.’s, adding, “She’s the reason JR Motorsports is even still a thing. To see her there and to see how excited she was, it was just a surreal, really special moment.” Kelley has worked tirelessly behind the scenes to build JRM into the powerhouse it is today and was elated to witness the culmination of all her hard work.

Justin Allgaier’s win was not only a victory for him personally but also a win for the entire JRM family. His crew chief, Jim Pohlman, also played a significant role in the title. The joy of the championship win spread beyond the team to Allgaier’s family as well. Even his older daughter, Harper, was seen in tears when she joined her father in victory lane. “That’s not an emotion I expected out of her,” he said, describing the emotional reunion. “It just made the weekend that much cooler, and it made it that much more special.”

One man who has been on Allgaier’s side since his early days was determined to bring home the championship in 2024 after years of heartbreak.

How did crew chief Jim Pohlman react to Justin Allgaier’s success?

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Justin Allgaier and Jim Pohlman’s partnership had deep roots that dated back to their time together in the ARCA series but this was their first time winning a championship in the Xfinity Series. The connection between the two was built on years of trust and respect, which the JRM Champion made known in his podcast interview with Bagley. “He’s worked behind the scenes for so many years, race wins and championships that you probably didn’t even know he was a part of,” Allgaier said of Pohlman. “He’s the guy in the background that made big things happen, and I’m lucky to have him as my crew chief.”

Their partnership wasn’t always easy, especially after a tough 2023 season. Justin Allgaier looked back on how, following the Phoenix race that year, Pohlman had shared just how difficult it had been for him to miss out on a victory. Pohlman was really upset after losing at Phoenix in 2023. It was one of the toughest challenges he’s ever faced. He was lucky enough to have the chance to put Allgaier in the final four in 2024, so he promised to make sure the team had a car that could win both races and championships.

When the title was finally secured in 2024, Pohlman’s emotional reaction was a rare but powerful display of his dedication. While he is typically not an outwardly emotional person, Allgaier could still see the pride and relief on his face. The big hug Pohlman gave him was a heartfelt acknowledgment of their hard-fought journey together.

After years of near-misses, the championship victory brought a sense of fulfillment, but it also underscored the perseverance of a team that refused to give up. He confessed that to be part of this team, to bring them their first owners’ championship, and to share it with people who have meant so much to him personally, “it’s a feeling I’ll never forget.”