Justin Allgaier (born June 6, 1986, in
Riverton, IllinoisRiverton is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Riverton is located at ....
), is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stock car driver. He drives the #12
Verizon WirelessCellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 87.7 million U.S. subscribers. Verizon Wireless has the largest revenue of all United States wireless companies reporting $58.6 billion...
Dodge ChargerThe Dodge Charger is a rear-wheel drive full-size automobile built by Chrysler Group, LLC for its North American Dodge brand. The Charger name is a historic one, borne by several successful models in the past...
for
Penske Championship RacingPenske Championship Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...
in the
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Nationwide Series. He was the 2008
ARCA RE/MAX SeriesThe series races on tracks as varied as small ovals and as large as Daytona International Speedway during the Daytona Speedweeks. It is one of the last major oval track circuits to still compete on dirt tracks...
Champion.
Allgaier began his racing career at the age of five in quarter midgets, and won over one hundred races and five championships. He began stock car racing at thirteen in the UMP Late Model Series, where he competed for three seasons.
Justin Allgaier (born June 6, 1986, in
Riverton, IllinoisRiverton is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Riverton is located at ....
), is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stock car driver. He drives the #12
Verizon WirelessCellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless, owns and operates the largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, based on a total of 87.7 million U.S. subscribers. Verizon Wireless has the largest revenue of all United States wireless companies reporting $58.6 billion...
Dodge ChargerThe Dodge Charger is a rear-wheel drive full-size automobile built by Chrysler Group, LLC for its North American Dodge brand. The Charger name is a historic one, borne by several successful models in the past...
for
Penske Championship RacingPenske Championship Racing is a racing team that competes in the Indy Racing League, ALMS, and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, Formula One and CART. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...
in the
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
Nationwide Series. He was the 2008
ARCA RE/MAX SeriesThe series races on tracks as varied as small ovals and as large as Daytona International Speedway during the Daytona Speedweeks. It is one of the last major oval track circuits to still compete on dirt tracks...
Champion.
Early Career
Allgaier began his racing career at the age of five in quarter midgets, and won over one hundred races and five championships. He began stock car racing at thirteen in the UMP Late Model Series, where he competed for three seasons. At the age of sixteen, he made his debut in the
ARCA RE/MAX SeriesThe series races on tracks as varied as small ovals and as large as Daytona International Speedway during the Daytona Speedweeks. It is one of the last major oval track circuits to still compete on dirt tracks...
at the
Illinois State Fairgrounds racetrackIllinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack is a one mile long clay oval motor racetrack on the grounds of the Illinois State Fair in Springfield, the state capitol. Constructed in the late 1800s and reconstructed in 1927, the "Springfield Mile" as it is known has hosted competitive auto racing since...
, driving the #99 Hoosier Tire Midwest/Law Automotive Chevrolet for
Ken SchraderKenneth Schrader is a second-generation race car driver. He is currently driving in the Sprint Cup series part time for Phoenix Racing. He occasionally appears as a television analyst on This Week In NASCAR on the Speed Channel. He is also the owner of Ken Schrader Racing, and races for his team...
; he qualified twenty-ninth and finished seventeenth. He ran two additional races for Kerry Scherer and Bob Schact, with a best finish of eleventh.
2003-2006
Allgaier ran additional ARCA races in 2003, making six starts in the #86 owned by his father. He had a sixth-place finish in his second start at
Toledo SpeedwayToledo Speedway is a racetrack located in Toledo, Ohio. It is owned jointly by Roy Mott and ARCA President Ron Drager. It is operated by ARCA and run as the sister track to Flat Rock Speedway in Flat Rock, Michigan.-Weekly program:...
, and later a best finish of third at
Salem SpeedwaySalem Speedway is a .555 mile long paved oval motor racetrack in Salem, Indiana, approximately south of Indianapolis. It opened in 1947.Major auto racing series that run at Salem are ARCA, USAR and the USAC-External links:*...
. The next season, he made only five starts but had a second-place at Toledo. In addition, he was a representative of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the South Pacific Saloon Car Championship, where had two top-fives. In 2005, Allgaier ran seven races in ARCA, splitting time between cars owned by Wayne Hixson and
Bobby GerhartBobby Gerhart is a driver on the ARCA Re/Max Series. He has won six times on the circuit, five of those victories coming in the season-opening ARCA Daytona 200 at Daytona International Speedway. Presently, he drives the #5 Lucas Oil Chevrolet owned by his brother on a part-time basis...
. He won his first career pole at Springfield, setting a new track record, and had four top-five finishes. He also made his
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
debut in the
Craftsman Truck SeriesThe NASCAR Camping World Truck Series is a pickup truck racing series owned and operated by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing...
, making four starts in the #63
MB MotorsportsMB Motorsports is a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team based in Foristell, Missouri owned by Mike Mittler. The team is one of few to field entries every year since the Series' inception in 1995...
/Dave Porter Truck Series Ford. He failed to make five races and did not finish higher 26th. That year, he appeared on the
Discovery ChannelDiscovery Channel is an American satellite and cable TV channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It provides documentary programming focused primarily on popular science, technology, and history...
program, "Driver X: The Race For The Ride." The show's premise was
Jack RoushJack Roush is the founder, CEO, and co-owner along with John Henry of Roush Fenway Racing, a NASCAR team headquartered in Concord, North Carolina, and is Chairman of the Board of Roush Enterprises....
searching for new talent to drive
Roush RacingRoush Fenway Racing is a racing team competing in NASCAR racing. As one of NASCAR's largest premier racing teams, Roush runs teams in the Sprint, Nationwide, and Camping World Truck Series, as well as the ARCA RE/MAX Series...
prepared vehicles in
NASCARThe National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947-48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
's top 3 series.
In 2006, Allgaier made his first full-time run in ARCA. He failed to qualify for the first two races of the season, but he got his first career win at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Racetrack, becoming the first Springfield area resident to win in the 72 year history of championship auto racing at the fairgrounds. He made three more truck races for MB and had a twenty-first place finish at
Kansas SpeedwayKansas Speedway is an auto racetrack in Kansas City, Kansas, adjacent to the Village West area. The speedway, which is used by the NASCAR Sprint Cup series and the Indy Racing League, is a tri-oval with 15-degree banking in the turns, and is considered in some areas to be the sister track to...
. In 2007, he won his second career race at Salem and finished fourth in points. He also won two features in a
midget carMidget cars, also Speedcars in Australia, are very small race cars with a very high power-to-weight ratios and typically using four-cylinder engines. Despite their name, they are fully capable of being driven by average-sized drivers.-Cars:...
at
Angell Park SpeedwayAngell Park Speedway has a 1/3 mile dirt racetrack located in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. The track has been run by the city's fire department since 1903. Racing occurs every Sunday approximately Memorial Day until Labor Day. Special racing events and the weather may alter the schedule...
and placed 3rd in the Chili Bowl behind
Tony StewartAnthony Wayne Stewart is an American auto racing driver and owner. Throughout his racing career Stewart has won titles in Indy cars and stock cars, as well as midget, sprint and USAC Silver Crown cars, giving him the recognition of "one of the finest racers of his generation." Tony currently owns...
and
J. J. YeleyChristopher Beltram Hernandez Yeley is a NASCAR racecar driver from Phoenix, Arizona. He is currently a competitor in the Camping World Truck Series, driving the #73 Tagsby Racing Chevrolet Silverado.-Open wheel:...
.
2008-Present
Allgaier returned for another full season in ARCA in 2008, driving for his family once again. He won six races, including the final three, and won the series championship by a slim margin. He broke
Frank KimmelFranklin James Kimmel is an American stock car driver/owner. He drives the #44 Ansell Gloves/Menards Ford in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship nine times, including eight consecutive...
's eight-year streak of winning the championship in that series. He also returned to NASCAR, finishing 21st in a Truck race at
Kentucky SpeedwayKentucky Speedway is a motor speedway located in north-central Kentucky, near the community of Sparta, Kentucky; approximately halfway between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio, and is additionally from another fairly sizable market, Lexington, Kentucky...
. Later that year, Allgaier signed a contract with
Roger PenskeRoger Penske is the owner of the automobile racing team Penske Racing, the Penske Corporation, and other automotive related businesses. He was involved in purchasing the Saturn Corporation, makers of Saturn cars. On September 30, 2009, his Penske Automotive Group announced that the deal to...
's #12 Nationwide team to run four races in the final part of the year. His best finish in the Penske Truck Rental Dodge was eleventh at Phoenix.
Allgaier was then signed to drive the car full-time in 2009. Because of the acquisition of Penske Racing sponsor
AlltelAlltel Corporation was a wireless telecommunications services provider, primarily based in the Southern United States. It was, until its acquisition by Verizon Wireless, the fifth largest wireless telecommunications company in the United States, with 14.7 million customers.At its peak, Alltel...
by Cellco Partners, a joint venture of Verizon and
VodafoneVodafone is a British mobile network operator, with its headquarters in Newbury, Berkshire, England, UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by turnover, and has a market value of about £75 billion...
, their Sprint Cup sponsorship was legislated out of the sport by NASCAR's agreement with Sprint in that series to prohibit sponsorship by wireless telephone companies. This allowed Cellco to move the sponsorship to the Nationwide Series, where it is not prohibited, and Allgaier will race a full season with Cellco sponsorship for what will now be known as Penske Championship Racing (the name change was made to accommodate Verizon Wireless' sponsorship of the team, which is referred as Verizon Championship Racing, which encompasses all series of Penske).
External links