Justin Allgaier will make the 80th NASCAR Cup Series start of his career this weekend as he slides behind the wheel of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports entry for the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Allgaier’s longtime sponsorship partner, BRANDT Agriculture will serve as the primary sponsor for the effort. Spire Motorsports made the announcement Monday evening in a tweet, which was followed by a press release.
Here is the No. 77 BRANDT Chevrolet Camaro that Allgaier will drive this weekend:
Switchin' it up this weekend since NXS is off…No. 7 ? No. 77??? @J_Allgaier @BMSupdates pic.twitter.com/m6Ca7CL2n4
— Spire Motorsports (@SpireMotorsport) April 11, 2022
With the NASCAR Xfinity Series off this week, it provides Allgaier a perfect opportunity to mix it up in the NASCAR Cup Series.
“Since the NASCAR Xfinity Series has the weekend off, we decided to have a little fun over Easter and go mix it up at Bristol Motor Speedway,” Allgaier said in a team release. “When BRANDT decided to come on board with Spire Motorsports for the Food City Dirt Race, it was really a no brainer. It’s going to be a fun change of pace to play in the dirt with all the Cup Series regulars. Spire Motorsports and (No. 77 crew chief) Kevin Bellicourt always bring a good piece to the race track so we’ll have a solid shot of putting together a good run.”
For Allgaier’s sponsorship partner, having their brand on a car at a dirt race just makes sense.
“Our business is about helping farmers grow healthy, profitable crops from the dirt so it doesn’t get much more exciting for us than to compete at the world’s most iconic stadium on dirt in the BRANDT No. 77,” said Rick Brandt, CEO and President of BRANDT. “Add that to our driver, Justin Allgaier, being one of the most experienced dirt track racers competing in NASCAR and we just had to be a part of this historic Easter Sunday race.”
The 35-year old competed in two NASCAR Cup Series events a season ago, both with the No. 77 Spire Motorsports team. Spire Motorsports says anytime they have a seat to fill, Allgaier is always on their mind.
“When we have an opportunity to put someone in the seat, Justin Allgaier is always part of the conversation,” explained Spire Motorsports co-owner T.J. Puchyr. “BRANDT and Justin have almost become synonymous with one another and they’ve both been part of the Spire family for many years. Justin is also a talented dirt racer so having him in the No. 77 this weekend is a great opportunity for everyone involved.”
Allgaier finished 25th at Pocono Raceway last June driving for the team and he finished last in the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway after a crash on lap 55 ended his day. Allgaier’s career-best NASCAR Cup Series finish came at Bristol, the non-dirt version, back in 2015 when he scored an eighth-place finish with HScott Motorsports. He’ll look to better that finish this weekend.
The Riverton, Illinois-native is a 16-time winner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and he has finished inside the top-five of the NXS driver point standings in five of the last six seasons, while driving for JR Motorsports, the team owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Allgaier is very well versed on the dirt, and should bring a wealth of knowledge to the Spire Motorsports team this week. Allgaier has competed in several different racing disciplines over the years on dirt prior to and since his NASCAR career began to blossom.
In recent years, Allgaier has been an occasional competitor in the DIRTcar Nationals at Volusia Speedway, and he has picked up three wins on the dirt there since 2016.
The NASCAR Cup Series Food City Dirt Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will take place on Sunday, April 17th at 7:00 PM ET. Television coverage of the event will be provided by FOX.
