Youthful Allgaier shoots for the stars
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At the tender age of 5, Justin started his racing career racing Quarter Midgets with help from Ken Schrader Racing. He recorded over 100 feature wins and five Grand National Championships.
He moved on to 600cc Mini Sprints and Kenyon Midgets. In the year 2000, as a 14-year-old, Justin began racing UMP Late Models. He ran six races that year with a best finish of seventh.
Also at age 14, Justin became the youngest driver in the history of the Tulsa, Okla., Chili Bowl to finish the race. Justin continues to race each year in the Chili Bowl and continually improves.
In January, Justin won his heat race, finished second in the qualifying feature, and finished third in the race behind Tony Stewart and J.J. Yeley.
Following in his good friend Ken Schrader?s footsteps, offer Justin a ride and he will compete in any race and in any type car. As a young 20-year-old, Justin is currently racing full time in the ARCA series.
Justin got his start in ARCA racing when he turned 16, competing in three short-track races. The following year saw Justin in six ARCA races with a career best of third at Salem, Ind.
After turning 18, Justin was able to run a full ARCA schedule last year, finishing in 10th place in the point standings. I was proud to be in the stands at Springfield, Ill., where Justin won his first ARCA race. Being his hometown, there were hundreds of fans pulling for him as he took the checkered flag. The track announcer said it was the first time he ever heard the yelling of a crowd over the roar of the engines.
Two ARCA races have been run this year. Justin finished seventh at Daytona and fourth at the USA International Speedway in Lakeland, Fla. As he arrives in Nashville for this weekend?s race, Justin shares the points lead with eight-time champion Frank Kimmel.
The main difference between ARCA an the big boys is the team make-up. While the Cup and Busch guys are primarily paid professionals, ARCA teams are weekend warriors, mostly volunteers who are in it for the love of racing. I have followed the progress of the Allgaier Motorsports team since its inception.
With the help of Schrader, Mike and Dorothy Allgaier put together a group of local young men and formed a racing crew. I watched as the crew practiced pit stops. While you watch the pros complete with 14-second stops, it was a struggle for these amateurs to get under 30 seconds.
During Justin?s first two years in ARCA, it was not unusual to see him enter the pits in the top 10, then lose a dozen or more places as he re-entered the track. This is called growing pains. Today, Justin?s crew completes a pit stop in 20 seconds or less and actually gains positions.
Larry Moore is the crew chief for Justin?s No. 16 racing team. He is a racing champion himself, having won the World 100 twice. Retired from racing, Larry has assembled a crew of racing enthusiasts like himself, all volunteering their time in order to help Justin.
I met Justin?s crew in Lakeland, Fla. Many I knew from past years but I was surprised to meet Gary Atchison, Justin?s spotter at Lakeland. Detective Atchison was the lead investigator in the murder of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford. Detective Atchison said his involvement with the race team was the only thing that enabled him to keep his sanity for the past two years.
There is no major sponsor for the team, but many businesses and friends have donated time and money. You can find the names of the sponsors somewhere on the car, but Justin has always reserved the spoiler for his good friend Leroy ?the Trashman? Donley. Leroy passed away last year but Justin has a special decal on the spoiler in his memory. Another friend of the family is Rob Burris who provided all the shirts for the Allgaier Motorsports Team. Also on board the No. 16 will be Ag Tech and the U.S. Air Force.
Justin?s biggest fan has always been his Grandpa Bud. Grandpa Bud would move to Springfield, Ill., and stay with the racing team for the duration of the racing season. Bud passed away last Thanksgiving day and Justin made a special decal in honor of his grandpa, positioned next to the drivers side window opening. Justin gives this decal a fond tap every time he climbs into his race car.
The Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA)
In 1953, ARCA was originally formed as the Midwest Association for Race Cars. In 1964, the Toledo, Ohio-based sanctioning body changed its name to ARCA.
The cars are identical to the NASCAR Cup and Busch cars. They have the same 110-inch wheel base, body types and engines. Speeds are slightly less because of a larger rear spoiler, but at times, are a little bit faster than the Cup cars. All ARCA cars race on Hoosier tires.
The ARCA series races on many of the tracks with NASCAR ? Daytona and Talladega Superspeedways, Michigan International Speedway, Pocono Raceway and Chicagoland Speedway. They also race on an assortment of short and medium-sized tracks, and to set them apart, a couple of dirt tracks.
Many of the NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers cut their teeth in the ARCA series. Ken Schrader, Jeremy Mayfield, Casey Mears, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Scott Riggs, Reed Sorenson, Ryan Newman, Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Ervin, Red Farmer, Coo Coo Marlin, Davey Allison, Michael Waltrip, and Benny Parsons are some of the drivers who have won ARCA races in past years.
Parsons was a two-time ARCA Champion. Country-Western star Marty Robbins made his first ARCA series start in 1963. In 2000, Shawna Robinson became the first female driver to finish in the top 10 in the points race. Frank Kimmel, the current series champion, has established all the ARCA records as he has posted eight championship titles, the last seven in a row.
If you are going to the races in Nashville this Saturday, make sure to take in the ARCA race and say hello to Justin. ARCA always gives fans a chance to get up close and personal with the drivers.
For more information and pictures of Justin, visit his official Web site at http://www.allgaiermotorsports.com.