Big Gator & Little Gator: The Championship Story Of Justin Allgaier & His Dad Mike

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Big Gator & Little Gator: The Championship Story Of Justin Allgaier & His Dad Mike"

Podcast Information:

• Title: Herm & Schrader
• Hosts: Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader
• Episode: Big Gator & Little Gator: The Championship Story Of Justin Allgaier & His Dad Mike
• Release Date: May 29, 2025

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1. Celebrating the Allgaier Legacy [01:59 - 05:00]

Kenny Wallace opens the episode by introducing a special segment dedicated to celebrating the racing legacy of Mike Allgaier and his son, Justin Allgaier. Emphasizing the familial bond and shared passion for racing, Kenny sets the tone for an emotional and heartfelt conversation.

Notable Quote:

Kenny Wallace [02:54]: "This is like family to me... We’re going to celebrate these two, you know, dad and son. This is very heartfelt."

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2. The Genesis of DNM Speed Shop [04:01 - 14:15]

Mike Allgaier shares the humble beginnings of DNM Speed Shop, detailing how his initial interest in racing led him to start selling car parts. Anecdotes about early challenges, including a pivotal moment when he decided to leave his day job selling candy and tobacco to focus on racing, highlight his dedication and entrepreneurial spirit.

Notable Quotes:

Mike Allgaier [05:43]: "At that time, I was selling candy and tobacco."

Mike Allgaier [06:58]: "I was number two in the district... he was telling me how I need to quit fooling with these silly race cars and get serious about selling tools."

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3. Building Rusty Wallace’s Career [14:15 - 16:13]

Kenny acknowledges the significant role Mike and Dorothy Allgaier played in aiding Rusty Wallace's early career. Mike reminisces about producing and selling frame cars that were crucial in launching Rusty's journey in NASCAR.

Notable Quotes:

Mike Allgaier [14:15]: "He just came up to me and he said I could build some cars if you could sell them."

Kenny Wallace [14:27]: "That's incredible."

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4. Justin Allgaier’s Racing Journey [16:13 - 34:29]

The conversation shifts to Justin Allgaier’s impressive racing career. Starting from his first ARCA win at the Springfield Mile in 2006 to becoming a four-time NASCAR Xfinity Series Most Popular Driver, Justin discusses his motivations, inspirations from his father, and the challenges he has faced. He reflects on his achievements and the influence of key figures like Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his career.

Notable Quotes:

Justin Allgaier [11:45]: "The more I'm doing this and the longer I've gone, the more God's kind of called me to figure out what the next chapter is."

Justin Allgaier [21:15]: "I wish it was the other way around. Now, if you're Kyle Busch, maybe it's not the case because I think I'm... I don't know that I can get to that number."

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5. The Impact of Mentorship and Relationships [34:58 - 68:28]

Discussing the significance of mentorship, Justin shares his interactions with Dale Earnhardt Jr., highlighting a pivotal conversation where Dale Jr. supported him during a challenging time in his career. The episode delves into how these relationships have shaped Justin’s approach to racing and life, emphasizing the importance of community and support within the sport.

Notable Quotes:

Justin Allgaier [43:44]: "Special? It's extremely special. [...] It was weird to me because I never really talked sponsorship numbers with the folks at Brandt."

Justin Allgaier [52:43]: "They got a crew together and went up there and they pulled weeds and cut the grass and cleaned the asphalt so that iRacing could come in and scan the property."

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6. Balancing Family and Career [68:28 - 84:38]

Justin reflects on the balance between his demanding racing career and his dedication to family life. Sharing poignant memories and personal anecdotes, he emphasizes the importance of being present for his children and spouse, drawing parallels to his father's commitment to family.

Notable Quotes:

Justin Allgaier [77:53]: "I realized that there was no place I'd rather have been in that moment than watching her play softball."

Justin Allgaier [82:25]: "The ambition of racing doesn't allow for it. [...] There's not a day that goes by that I'm not doing something to make myself better on the racetrack."

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7. Looking Ahead and Legacy [84:48 - 90:59]

The discussion transitions to future aspirations and the desire to continue building the family's business legacy. Justin shares his vision for Hoosier Tire Midwest and his commitment to maintaining the family's involvement in the racing industry while contemplating potential avenues beyond driving.

Notable Quotes:

Justin Allgaier [70:37]: "I've made it very clear to him, I don't want to take any part of your job that you don't want to. To give away."

Justin Allgaier [86:51]: "The only plan is there is no plan. And I live every day like that."

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8. Emotional Reflections and Closing Remarks [91:41 - 93:52]

As the episode nears its end, the hosts and guests share emotional reflections on their journeys, the challenges overcome, and the enduring bonds within the Allgaier family. The episode concludes with heartfelt acknowledgments and a reaffirmation of their passion for racing and family.

Notable Quotes:

Mike Allgaier [92:13]: "After the race, Chief come up to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said, you have to be so proud of your son. I said, I am."

Justin Allgaier [93:52]: "It's a wonderful conversation, everybody. And with that, we are zoned in on one of our longest Kenny conversations."

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Key Takeaways:

• Family First: The Allgaier family places immense value on familial bonds, with racing being a shared passion that brings them closer.

• Legacy Building: From the establishment of DNM Speed Shop to Justin’s successful racing career, the family's contributions have significantly impacted the NASCAR community.

• Mentorship Matters: Relationships with mentors like Dale Earnhardt Jr. have been pivotal in Justin's career development and resilience.

• Balancing Act: Maintaining a successful racing career while prioritizing family life is a recurring theme, highlighting the personal sacrifices and commitments involved.

• Looking Forward: Both Mike and Justin are focused on sustaining and growing the family business, with Justin contemplating his future beyond driving while honoring his father's legacy.

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This episode of Herm & Schrader offers an intimate glimpse into the Allgaier family's racing dynasty, underscored by heartfelt stories, professional triumphs, and personal reflections that resonate with both racing enthusiasts and general listeners alike.

Transcript

[Kenny Wallace]

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[Kenny Wallace]

Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny Conversation brought to you by jegs, the leader in high performance aftermarket car parts. Remember to go to JEGS.com for everything and anything you need to fix your everyday car up or even your hot rod. Well, this is a special one to me. We don't do very many two boxes like this. Well, including me, it's three. You're looking at Mike and Justin Allgire. We'll start with the dad first. How you doing, gator?

[Mike Allgaier]

I'm good for an old man, pal.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh man, you ain't old. You're a legend. What about you, Justin? Where are you at? How you doing?

[Justin Allgaier]

I'm good, I'm good. I'm actually at home for once, which seems like a rarity, but. But I'm Good. It's. It's been a busy, busy season so far. But not winning as much as you are, so maybe I. I gotta do a little more work here.

[Kenny Wallace]

Stop that. And. And listen up, everybody. Here's what we're gonna do. This is like family to me, okay? They're about a hundred miles north of me. Of course, Justin's down in North Carolina running that Xfinity car, winning everything champion. But we're going to celebrate these two, you know, dad and son. This is very heartfelt, and it was something we've been wanting to do for a long time. Finally got them together. So, Justin, let's. Let's start like this. Let's go with your dad first because, you know, I lost My daddy. October 30, 2011. Gator. My first recollection with you was, you know, you and your beautiful wife Dorothy. DNM Speed Shop. Justin wasn't even born. Let's just talk. Let's go right there. Let's go with D M Speed shop. How did it start? How did DM Speed Shop start? And, you know, how did racing ever even happen?

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, I had an interest in racing, so I had a couple race cars. Wasn't very good and didn't have the money to race them. And I was out on the mile for a sprint car race. And Mike Smith, which would be Danny's dad.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Mike Allgaier]

And his brother was on top of their semi trailer, which is. The semi trailer was quite a deal back then, but his brother fell off the roof of him and broke his arm or leg or something. And. And they were concerned. They didn't have enough money to pay the hospital to get him out of the. You know, get him fixed and get him out. I don't know how that all worked, but. But anyway, he had a bunch of wheels and stuff he wanted to sell, and so I. I bought him. And it's funny because I. I sold them before I had to leave, before I left the racetrack. It was pretty cool. And. And he had them sitting in his trailer for sale. I don't know. So anyway, that kind of got me interested in doing that. And then I kind of got some other stuff. You know, I got hooked up with Bob Boyce and what have you. I don't know. And just started picking up stuff. Now, I did all this that night, you know, because I had a day job.

[Kenny Wallace]

What was your day job?

[Mike Allgaier]

I. At that time, I was selling candy and tobacco.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, what?

[Mike Allgaier]

And. And knickknacks. And there was a place that back then, you know, I Didn't have a job. So I went to the state or something, had a deal downtown. I went down and I said I'm looking for work. And they said, I don't know if we have anything in automotive, but I got this job and you can sell candy and tobacco. And I go, hey, it's work. So I started doing that and I did that a while and then I, I left there and. But I, I did all the racing stuff at night and I was a Mac tool man for, I don't know, eight, 10 years. No, not that long, probably five or six years. And the rep, I, the reps changed and the guy that was a rep now was. I didn't get along with him very good.

[Kenny Wallace]

You're too nice. You're always nice.

[Mike Allgaier]

I'm. I was number two in the district and he was 27th or something like that and, and he's in there telling me how I need to quit fooling with these silly race cars and get serious about selling tools. Which I thought about that and I went home and friend of ours said, hey, try it. I mean you, they don't have debtors prison anymore, so if it doesn't work they're not going to put you in jail. So I went back the next day and he was riding with him and I said, I made up my mind, you're right. And he said, I knew you'd come to census. I said I'll be out in two weeks. And we quit. And Kenny, I'm gonna tell you, it was one of the roughest times we ever had. You know, the summertime, you know, we did pretty good, but the wintertime was pretty lean. And then this kid come to me and he said, hey, you know what, I think I can build some frames if you could sell them.

[Kenny Wallace]

I know who that was.

[Mike Allgaier]

We got together now. You can carry that on from there.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, let's, let's do like this. Justin, first of all, you're extremely patient and I know how much you love your daddy and you stayed quiet for a little bit. What do you have to say about what your dad just said?

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, funny story is, you know, as I've gotten older and, and we talk regularly, right? Dad and I talk every day and. But I also hear all the stories, right? So racers that have been around for years and even now, young racers or younger, you know, middle aged racers for that matter, that their parents or their grandparents bought, you know, something from my dad and I have to laugh because I tell my dad all the time he needs to pull his phone out and, and hit the, the record button and record these stories as he's going because he gave you a two minute interval there of, of his past job history. But this number is significant. Right. He, he forgot the fact that he worked at a gas station and he was street racing or he was running from the police officer with his car and the police came to his gas station and bought coffee in the morning. So he lost his license, had to walk to work.

[Mike Allgaier]

He was drinking my coffee and eating my donuts and told me that.

[Justin Allgaier]

I.

[Mike Allgaier]

Had a 55 Chevy which Justin has a pedal car that matches it, that matches it black and gold and he's in there eating donut. My donuts. And he said, you were out late last night. I opened, I opened the station at, at 7 in the morning and I closed at 10 at night. So I mean 10 wasn't late for me because I, you know, you know, we just. That was the only time I had to go do something and this 61 Dodge pulled up alongside me, rev the engine up a little bit and light changed and we had to go and guys on a motorcycle. He said he, he. I was doing over 115 mile an hour. I don't know if I was or not, but I ended up pleading guilty and walking for a year on that deal. Whole year.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah. My, my point of all this though was the reason why I still am racing and racing is because of the guy that's sitting on your. Your side there in this video because he wasn't afraid to try something and be bold in a time where I think a lot of people weren't right. People, people kind of went with the flow a lot and, and just didn't status quo and, and you and your brothers were never like that. Right. And I think that that's what's made y' all successful and, and it's been fun to be along with the ride. I, I've, I've had a different story than my dad, right. In my racing and journey and in career. But it's been fun because I get to relive his journeys. Right. And be part of the business and, and you know, still be a part of that and then have this kind of double life and be race car driver and kind of write this story over on the other side of it. And so I think as with your dad, you had great leadership and great examples of what that's supposed to look like. But you also had a great mom that you understood both sides of it really, really well. Right.

[Mike Allgaier]

And she was tougher. She was tougher than anybody.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah, I agree with that.

[Kenny Wallace]

Judy Wallace or. Or Dorothy. Who are we talking about? Dorothy. Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

But I think that for me, it's been cool to see. To see his journey and. And get to live. Get to live a little bit vicariously through him, because I feel like his. His generation doesn't get the credit that they deserve a lot of times for what they accomplished with how little they had, you know, and. And it's been pretty cool to. To watch what he's been able to accomplish.

[Kenny Wallace]

Hang in there, everybody. We're celebrating Mike and Justin Augar today. And there. There's a method to this madness. Okay, I made a lot of notes. We're studied up on this. We got three pages right here, everybody. Okay, so there's so much to say about you, Justin, but let's. Let's follow this. Let's follow this timeline real quick. D M Speed Shop, Dorothy and Mike. Okay, so you just told us that you had a little automatic speed in your blood, and. And, you know, you're looking for a job, and you realize you can buy Danny Smith's wheels at the track, and then you sell them before you leave the pits. You just told us that's kind of the way it started. That's what's in your memory. Okay, so now we. We get the speed shop. And my big brother, Rusty Wallace, sells you leaf spring dirt cars framing cages. And I want to say it right here. Go ahead.

[Mike Allgaier]

They're Chrysler kick cars with a Chevrolet front clip on it is what they were.

[Kenny Wallace]

And you were a massive boost in Rusty's life. Listen, there's things that happened years ago that we're not proud of. We beg, we borrowed, and we stole, and. And the good lord, you know, you pray every day for him, Forgive you of your sins. But on behalf of my whole family, you know, I'm the lover out of the bunch. I don't want to be too corny, but. But we love both of you. And in front of everybody, I want to. I want to thank both of you for helping my big brother Rusty get started. Gator, tell me about those days of helping Rusty when he was just an old redneck and had nothing.

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, he just. He come up to me and he said I could build some cars if you could sell them.

[Kenny Wallace]

And.

[Mike Allgaier]

We. I think we sold 57 that first year.

[Justin Allgaier]

Not just frame, which is a lot.

[Kenny Wallace]

That's incredible.

[Justin Allgaier]

A lot of cars.

[Mike Allgaier]

Yeah, a lot of cars. And, you know, I got. Handling a lot of the Chrysler. They use Chrysler leaf springs. And I. I Did some stuff with Tom Hamilton out on the West Coast. He was looking for some brake calipers. So I got on the phone to the people I was dealing with at Chrysler. And, I mean, I think I bought the front calipers for 12 bucks or 10 bucks or something like that, and the rear calipers for seven. They were out of something that Chrysler was phasing out. You know, they. You have to keep so many parts for the new cars, but as they get older, then that stuff becomes available and then wanted to get rid of it. And Tom Hamilton made a career out of selling these brake kits that he put together, stock car products.

[Kenny Wallace]

Was that what it was?

[Mike Allgaier]

Tom Hamilton? Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yep.

[Mike Allgaier]

And, you know, we. We had a good time just trying to work here and work there. That's. That's what we did.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, everybody, we're working on this base now. We've laid a base. Now we know why Mike and Dorothy have become racers. You start DNM Speed Shop. You're selling everything. You help Rusty Wallace become who he is now today. Of course, along the way was John Childs and Don Kern. It was a tough road. Go ahead.

[Mike Allgaier]

Charlie Chase.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yes. Massive part of Rusty's career. So once again, I want to thank you. Okay, let's. Let's do something. We're gonna do like a movie. I'm gonna. We're kind of talking to your dad here, Justin. I'm gonna. I'm gonna talk about Justin Allgar, and we're gonna say everything about Justin. I'm gonna say all this, and then I want. I want you to respond. Justin. And then. And then, Gator, I'm gonna give you a chance. Okay? But hold on. All right, here we go. That's your boy right there. He's growed up now. He's a man. He's 38 years old. Out of Springfield, Illinois, the great Justin Allgar. Justin Stats. 2008 ARCA series champion, 87 ARCA starts, 8 wins, 46 top tens. That's an ARCA. We got a long way to go here, so buckle up. 2009 NASCAR Xfinity rookie of the year 2024 Xfinity champion. That right there tells me you paid your dues. There was a little time between 2009, 2024. Now hold on. Four time NASCAR Xfinity most popular driver 2019-2021-2023-2024, 290 Xfinity top 10. I want to repeat that to everybody that's listening. Two hundred and ninety top tens. That means in 290 races he was in the top 10 NASCAR cup starts right here. That's okay. This is part of your building block, same as me. Except you're better than me. 83 NASCAR cup starts, two top tens. Now, we all know that the Cup Series will chew anybody up and spit them out. So that's neither here or there. 482 NASCAR Xfinity starts, 8 NASCAR truck starts and and this is a big one. Right here. Right now you have 573 NASCAR starts. That's a big number. Now, I got a lot more to say, but I just want you to comment on when I tell you those great stats. What do you what what goes through your brain? Justin hey, it's Dale Jr. Did you know that we've got brand new merch from our Star Stripes and Beers collection available now? We've got tanks, tees, beach towels and more just in time for summer. Check it all [e-mail] there's always something new and exciting going on at Chumba Casino. Proud partner of 2311 Racing catch the number 23 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry at the Coca Cola 600 this Memorial Day weekend. The number 23 Choma Casino Toyota Camry will be back on track at the Nashville Superspeedway on June 1st. Man, that Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. That is a lot of fun. I love the month of May and June 1st at Nashville. With Nashville right down the road, all that country music and all the places to go and see, that's a lot of fun. Chumba Casino is always fun and always free to Play. Play over 200 games including slots, blackjack, roulette, bingo and scratch cards and enjoy new releases every week. You can also connect with large community of over 1 million active players. Sign up to Chumba Casino and receive your free welcome offer. Play for Fun and Play for free free [e-mail] free welcome bonuses sign up 2 million free gold coins and 2 free sweets coins. Follow Chumba Casino on social or log in every day for free daily coins. No purchase necessary. VGW group void where prohibited by law. See terms and conditions 21/sponsored by Chumbukiss Casino.

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[Justin Allgaier]

I struggle with it because 27, 27.

[Kenny Wallace]

Xfinity wins 290 top tens. That's, that's incredible.

[Justin Allgaier]

It is. I've been super blessed and, and you know, I, I love what I do. I wouldn't change it for the world, you know, and, and for me, it's always been about the family aspect of it. Right. My parents have gone to, up until the last couple of years, they've gone to almost every race I've ever run in nascar. And you know, my wife and kids get to travel with me a lot. And you know, in the moment. It's funny because I think in all sports, right, when you're living it in the moment, you're not, you're not attempting to set records or do things that other people didn't. You're just trying to compete at the highest level you can compete at. And, and, and yeah, you want to win, but we both know you lose a lot more races than you're ever going to win. Right? I wish it was the other way around. Now, if you're Kyle Busch, maybe it's not the case because I think I'm, you know, whatever, 9th or 10th on the all time win list for the xfinity series at 27. And he's got 100. Right. I mean, that's just 101 or 102, whatever it is. You know, the. I, I don't know that I can get to that number. Right. Even if I won every race for the rest of my career, I couldn't get to that number. But I'm super proud of what we've accomplished. And, and I think for me, the end of the day, I look at it, I could be back at home and I could be selling parts and tires and, and I enjoy that role and I, and I, I've kind of taken more of that role on over the last couple of years, but every time I show up at the racetrack, I'm just thankful to be around people that I really enjoy being around and have an opportunity to go do it. And I think a lot of that comes from my dad. You know, my dad was never a. If it didn't work, you just worked harder, right? You just dig deeper and you, you know, if you got to drive all night, you drive all night, you got to work all night, you work all night, you do all these things and, and you know, I think. I think for me, I. The way I've looked at it is nothing in this. Nothing in this sport or really in this life is guaranteed. And you know, the. If you want it, you better go get after. Right. No different than you social media wise. Right. You probably weren't. Would have never thought you would be doing the things that you're doing today, but if you didn't work hard at it, you wouldn't be doing what you're doing Right. Or Charlie, for that matter, of helping you to work hard, to be able to do this right. All these things, you know, I think for me, it's. It's. It's kind of become full circle of seeing his effort and his time and the people that he's helped along the way. If it wasn't for the relationships that my dad made 50, 30, 20, 10 years ago, you know, I'm not in the position that I'm in. Right. I mean, your show that you do with Kenny Schrader, it wasn't for Kenny Schrader. I don't get it. I don't get an opportunity to make my first arc start. Right.

[Kenny Wallace]

Hold on right there. Hold on right there. Okay. Right now I've got a great editor. Charlie, you're going to drop that picture right here. We're dropping it right now. Okay, so we edit this up and we're showing the picture right now. And you. And you know what the picture is, Justin, in your brain, tell me what we're looking at here.

[Justin Allgaier]

So I'm assuming this is the picture of Kenny Schrader myself when I was driving a quarter midget.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, well. And there's a lot of them out there. But just tell me about Schrader.

[Justin Allgaier]

Trader was. I mean, we both know Kenny.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

And we both know his willingness to go race anything, anywhere, anytime, didn't matter what. And. And you know, his daughter Dorothy and I are. Are not that far apart in age. And the ARCA series used to come to Springfield, Illinois to the. To the Springfield mile and race. And Kenny would come over after Michigan and whether he was racing or he had a car back then, I think Bill Baird was. The years that I really remember, Bill Baird was driving his car at Springfield and he would come and then his whole, you know, they would all. Annie and. And Dorothy and Sheldon, we'd all go to the state fair and walk around the fair after the races were over. And. And my funny. My favorite Schrader story was, I'll never forget, we were at the fair and some guy walked up and he said, man, you look just like Kenny Schrader, but I know it can't be you. He was in NASCAR at the NASCAR race in Michigan today, and he's like, you know, I get that all the time. And he just kept on walking, and I had to laugh so hard.

[Mike Allgaier]

But we used to come up out of the tunnel.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Mike Allgaier]

At. At the fairgrounds.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yep. Coming right into the rides. But I just remember. What I remember the most, though, was we'd get in a car, we'd go, and we'd get steak and shake because Kenny, you know, Schrader always had to have a steak and shake because he didn't have it everywhere like they do now. And we drive over and we'd park where the old Chahan's racetrack used to be. Anybody that's familiar with dirt track world, Shaheens was the place. Jeff Gordon and all the. All the heroes used to go to. Shaheens and Races.

[Kenny Wallace]

Shaheens and Little Springfield. Is that what it was?

[Justin Allgaier]

Yep, Little Springfield. And. And we would go and we'd sit in the parking lot and trade. Would kick back, and he'd be eating his cheeseburger and he'd be talking about stories and reminiscing about, you know, Old Springfield Speedway. And I think. I think I learned the value of. Of what the sport held at a young age from. From people like Kenny. Right, right. Super successful on. On Sundays and in nascar and just, you know, drove for the heroes in the sport and won NASCAR cup series races. Right. He was. He was that guy. And. But he was still just Kenny Schrader. And that was probably one of the biggest reasons that, you know, obviously I. I love racing, and I wanted to be at the racetrack, but that was what really kind of drove me to. To want to keep doing it and keep going after it. And like I said, the relationships that my dad made 50 years ago, you know, maybe kids or grandkids of those people that he was friends with, but, you know, ultimately, that's what got me the opportunity to even be in the sport where I'm at today.

[Kenny Wallace]

And.

[Justin Allgaier]

And I don't. I don't take that for granted. And we race against. When we go dirt track racing, Kenny, we race against talented race car drivers every Friday, Saturday night that could do my job in a heartbeat if they just had the right opportunity, if they just had, you know, the ability to go out and talk to people, if they just had the ability to go find a little bit of sponsorship, if they just had, you know, the want. Really. I mean, sometimes you know, you get caught up in what works for you in the moment, and you don't. You don't aspire to be anything bigger. You want to be the. You know, you think your. Your pond is pretty big until you realize that there's a bigger pond out there, but just super blessed to still be in the sport and doing it. And I'm proud of. I'm proud of what we've accomplished, not only on the racing side, but also at the. At the parts store, into the tire store, and what he's accomplished in his career.

[Kenny Wallace]

And it.

[Justin Allgaier]

It's all one big story that kind of molds itself together.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay, so this is difficult to do, but we're gonna do it. All right, Gator, I'm gonna. I'm gonna say these two things to you, and I want you to respond to these. Okay? Okay, we're going to get to Hoosier Tower Midwest. We're going to get way more to Justin. But this is a building block. There's some. Can't tell your story in 30 minutes. Okay? I'm gonna say this to Gator. Your son Justin, after the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity championship, December 14, is recognized as Justin Augar Day in Springfield, Illinois. And that's not all. Your son, your baby boy right there, December 9, 2025, is Justin Augart Day in the entire state of Illinois. You're the daddy, as they say down south. That's my daddy. Back here, we call them dads. When I say those two things just now about your baby boy right there, Justin Allgard Day in Springfield, Illinois. You know, Justin Auga Day, the entire state of Illinois. What's that make you feel like, Gator?

[Mike Allgaier]

Kenny, I don't know how to even answer.

[Kenny Wallace]

You know, I'm crying for you.

[Justin Allgaier]

We.

[Mike Allgaier]

It was. It was a very. Both of those were very emotional, and it's. It's really unbelievable. You know, here we just. We started out, and Justin said he wanted to race, so we got a quarter inches and that.

[Justin Allgaier]

Which.

[Mike Allgaier]

That's what we did.

[Kenny Wallace]

And Schrader's fault.

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, he gave. He gave Justin his first helmet. I remember that I still have the box and I have the helmet that he gave Justin when we. When he first started racing. But Kenny's been a very integral part of Justin's career in the early days. You know, he helped us get a little help from STP and Chuck Spicer, great guy. He says we don't have much to offer, but how about if we just buy a fire suit? Wow, that was huge. And that was our sponsor that first year. So just, just stuff like that, that happens. But. But I mean, the, the city and the state recognizing Justin. You know, I'm not a very tall guy, but man, I. I was about 12 foot tall that day. Those two days. I'll tell you. Pretty cool.

[Kenny Wallace]

Absolutely. Okay, so we all know it, but for the listeners that now know of Justin, because championship, you know, four time most popular driver. So we call you Gator, and then we call your boy little Gator. Just, you know, my name's Herman, and there's a reason why. Why are you Gator?

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, when my mom was pregnant with me, the nurse or doctor come in and said, all right, Mrs. Alligator, you can come in. And so that was my. That was my nickname, and I've had it ever since.

[Kenny Wallace]

A nurse. And as Paul Harvey says, and that's the rest of the story. So the nurse couldn't say augar. She called you Alligator.

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, right. That's your point there, Kenny. I don't. There are people that used to call the office and ask for Gator, and he'd pick up the phone and say, this is Mike. How can I help you? And they're like, oh, no, I'm on hold for Gator. People that. People that should know and. And had no idea what his real name was, and they only knew him as Gator. And that was. I mean, there are people still to this day that don't even know his real name is Mike.

[Kenny Wallace]

That is fantastic. Because, you know, when something like that, you know, I mean, that. That's you. I mean, that's. That's just awesome. It's like saying the Intimidator. You know, it's Earnhardt. You know, Gator is Mike, but. And then you became a little Gator. You wear that. I'm sure you wear that.

[Justin Allgaier]

I got that name in an ARCA race, so. Oh, Springfield Mile. You know, used to be, back in the day, I'd go to the racetrack with my dad, which, as a child, I got kicked out of the INFIELD By. By Mr. Mike Helton. And as a young child, because, you know, I was supposed to walk with my dad and stay with my dad. You know, back in the day, you had rules you couldn't leave. You either had to hold their hand or you had to stay in the trailer. I got brave one night in Nashville and, And went out on my own and. And Mike Hilton grabbed me by the back of the neck and escorted me out. So not first good dealings with. With Mr. Mike Hilton, but anyways, I Was walking with my dad on, down through the little pit area at Springfield, right? It's a little dirt pit area. One of the crew members from one of the ARCA teams walked up and said this must be the little Gator that you always talk about is racing.

[Kenny Wallace]

And that was it.

[Justin Allgaier]

I mean that was, that was, that was the moment. And, and you know, listen, probably being called little anything isn't a great moniker, right? But when you're a Little Gator to, to somebody that I respect and appreciate probably more than anybody will ever know, I'll be little all, you know, all day, every day. To, to his big gator. I, I, I've outgrown him in height, but I definitely have not, have not surpassed what I feel like he's been able to accomplish in his life. And nor will I ever, I'll never, I'll never be able to hold up to, to the person that he is.

[Mike Allgaier]

So I don't believe that. But.

[Kenny Wallace]

Well, we're going to talk about that a little bit later. Let's hold that. I got that in my notes. Okay. You talked about receiving Little Gator in Springfield, Illinois. Listen to this nugget. That's a big one. 2006, Justin Augart wins his very first ARCO win on dirt at the Springfield mile Dirt. Now that, that's big enough as it is, but, but listen to this one. Becoming the first Springfield area resident winner in its 72 year history. Gator, let's go to you on that one. Okay. You win the race, Justin wins it. We know he's a hell of a dirt racer by now, but when you realize that he's the first area local winner in 72 year history, what's that make you feel like?

[Mike Allgaier]

You know, I didn't realize that. You know, I know I, I thought there was somebody else that wanted from around here, but maybe that's great. I, I don't know.

[Kenny Wallace]

I think Ryan Unzinger would try to copy you there a little bit. You know, he's an Illinois guy and yeah, he finally, yeah, he finally got the winning us and now he's not running ARC anymore. But when I saw that stat. Would you all agree that Ryan was kind of going, you know, Justin did this or is that just coincidence?

[Mike Allgaier]

No, there's, there's way more to that story.

[Kenny Wallace]

Go ahead.

[Mike Allgaier]

Bill Hendren was the car owner and he was the car owner that was leading most of the race with, with Bob Straight. Help me, Justin.

[Justin Allgaier]

Bob Straight was going to win his first ARCA race, his first Springfield with Bob Straight. And led majority of the race. Go ahead.

[Mike Allgaier]

And Justin had said about 20 laps. We'd had trouble all day with the motor, and it was cutting out and stuff. And didn't. You didn't think he was going to be in the game. But at the end of the race, Justin has said, I found something. I said what? He said, I'll tell you later. And coming into 1 and 2, he changed his line a little bit, and he come off just right on the guardrail and got beside Bob straight down the back straightaway. And when they got down to the other end, Bob was not going to be defeated. He drove it in like there was no tomorrow. And there wasn't. He went up in three, and we won the race. It was special. Same car owner as Unzicker got it. And then. And then they hired that.

[Justin Allgaier]

And he had been trying to win that race year over year. He felt like that, you know, that was the reason he owned our car. He wanted to win, and that was his opportunity to go win that race.

[Mike Allgaier]

And they. They won a lot of races, but they didn't win Springfield.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, it's the crown jewel. It's. I race there. It's a mild dirt. It was my. It was my very first win of. Yeah.

[Mike Allgaier]

You cheated some old tires.

[Kenny Wallace]

Tell everybody. Okay, this is great, because I kind of forgot about this. Okay, My very first win, Everybody. It was 1982.

[Mike Allgaier]

No, it was your first race too.

[Kenny Wallace]

True.

[Mike Allgaier]

Race before.

[Kenny Wallace]

You're right. You're right. You all are finding out that we. I love Gator. Gator loves me.

[Justin Allgaier]

So.

[Kenny Wallace]

So 1982 was my very first race ever in a car. And I get Pat Walsh's Illinois street stock car, and we call Gator. Up I go Gatorade, you know, and you really helped me out. Now you tell the rest of the story about the tires.

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, you said, what do I need to run? Because I don't know. And I said, man, Kenny, if you could find some of those tires we used to run at Lake Hill and grew to my. I think that'd be awesome.

[Kenny Wallace]

We killed.

[Mike Allgaier]

They were.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yep. So because of that, I had real race tires on, and they had. They had DOT Department of Transportation tires on. Hey, there's an old saying. Father John, he married Kim and I, and at pre cana class, Father John said, kenny, what are you gonna do? And I said, I'm gonna be a race car driver. And Father John said, be careful. Competition will kill you. And I learned at an early age, it's about the car. It's about. It's about the car. If the car's not there, you don't look good. Okay, so with those tires, Justin, we're gonna ask your dad this one. You, you said that we used to race those tires at Lake Hill. Now we just got done doing Herman Schrader. Kenny Schrader said to me, gator. I remember Gator coming to Lake Hill Speedway in Valley Park, Missouri, in the 70s. You were brand new, and you were a Hoosier tire dealer. And I know that you're a hall of famer. I know you're a legend for Hoosier tires. Schrader said that we were all running Firestones. I was a kid. My dad's brother Mike, you brought, you brought some Hoosier tires, and you said, we got to get these Hoosier tires on these cars. They all had Firestones. Tell me about that. Do you remember that?

[Mike Allgaier]

I had two sets of these tires, and I wanted to put them on somebody to, to make an impression. I put them on Kenny Schrader and Tom Hannig.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Mike Allgaier]

And guess who run into each other.

[Kenny Wallace]

Schrader tells the exact same story.

[Justin Allgaier]

So.

[Kenny Wallace]

But. But that was your first. What made you come to Lake Hill? What made you come 100 miles south?

[Mike Allgaier]

Went to Granite City on Saturday night in Lake Hill, run Sunday night. So I, I, I slept in my truck, got up the next day, and, you know, Rusty had the shop down there then.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yep.

[Mike Allgaier]

And I go down there and wait till it was time to go to the track and. And I did like him.

[Kenny Wallace]

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[Kenny Wallace]

We're jumping all around here. We're doing our very best. Okay, it's just me, everybody. I don't have people. It's just me. All right, this one I really like. Now we're going to go over to Justin a little bit and, and dad, after Justin, I want you to comment on this too. Okay, Listen to this. Justin Allgaier is Dale Earnhardt Juniors and Kelly Earnhardt, your Junior Motorsports longest and winningest tenure driver. Holy moly. The most famous race car driver besides his daddy. Yeah. Dale singer at Dale Jr. Dale Jr. Could say we're gonna stop racing. And everybody listen right now. Dale Jr. Is the most powerful man in, in NASCAR to this day. He really is. And, and you have raced for him and you did not let that, you did not let that overcome you. In other words, he's so famous and you are. Are his longest running driver and winningest. Justin, how's that make you feel?

[Justin Allgaier]

Special? It's extremely special. You know, I got to go back to the story of how it started because I think that really sets up why I have respect for kind of what. Where I'm at today in my career. But we're Darlington and the news had just kind of come out about, you know, me being replaced at the 51 car by Clint Boyer. Right. And, and gonna lose my opportunity to race in the Cup Series, which, you know, I wasn't sad at, to be honest with you, because I was ready to quit racing at that point anyways.

[Kenny Wallace]

Because we all are.

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, but you know, we, we had a really weird situation when I, when, when we went there. You know, the, the you've lived this. What you're gonna have, what we're. What we're. What we're gonna have equipment wise and what we're gonna have information wise. Turns out to be somebody forgot to dot their I and cross their T. And. And that wasn't really the case. Right we might, we might have a car that says Hendrick motorsports on the chassis, but it's 300 cars old of. Of what the other guys are racing, you know, stuff like that. And to be honest with you, I just hit a point in my career where I wasn't having fun anymore. I, I was miserable. We're showing up the racetrack and, you know, I, I, we finished, whatever, seventh at Bristol or eighth. April. Yeah, eighth of Bristol. And, and nobody really even cared, right?

[Kenny Wallace]

It was just in the cup series.

[Justin Allgaier]

In the cup series. Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

That's Billy.

[Justin Allgaier]

And so I realized then, like, I, I just, I was. I was kind of over it personally. And anyways, long story short, I know I'm getting replaced, and I'm. I'm riding the back of the truck and, and I had qualified next to Dale Jr. A couple of times that year, and I told Stevie Lataro at the time was a screw chief. I said, you gotta stop qualifying next to me because I either gotta walk on stage right before you or right after you. When a hundred thousand people and every person cheers a hundred percent for Dale Jr. And then you walk across the stage to the next guy, and they in a soul cheers for you, It's. It's pretty deflating, right? So I said, you have to stop qualifying next to me. But anyways, we qualified next to each other. We're riding around in the back of the truck, and Dale looks at me and he says, man, I. I just want to tell you I'm really sorry about the way things happen for you, and I'm sorry about your deal. He said, you know, this sport isn't fair. And, and he's like, you know, I feel bad for you. This is a guy that's. Doesn't have to feel remorse for anybody. He doesn't have to. I mean, he's worked hard, right? Dale Jr. Is, is an icon of the sport, but, you know, yes, his dad was Dale Earnhardt senior, but, But Dale has equally worked just as hard to become the racer, the person, the dad, you know, all these things that he is. Right? And he didn't owe me that. Right. Nor does anybody. And, you know, I thanked him and, and, you know, I appreciated it. And we got to talking about his Xfinity car and junior Motorsports, and he said, we're kind of going through something similar. You know, we're gonna have to let Regan go. You know, I'm not really sure what the future looks like for the 7 car. We just. We can't find sponsorship at the moment. You know, we're Trying to figure through all these different things. He said, it's been really tough. You know, Regan and I are really good friends. And, you know, I hate, I hate that we're not gonna be able to run that car, and I hate that we're not gonna be able to run Regan. And it was, it was weird to me because I never really talked sponsorship numbers with, with the folks at Brandt, right? They, they, they, they've been lucky enough to support me for a long time in my career, but I've never had the conversations of what racing cost for them or what they were going to spend in sponsorship or, or really, for that matter. You know, we talk about, does the program work, can we get return on investment, all those things. But, but I never, I never really wanted to know what that number was from them. And I had talked to their, their marketing, their head of marketing that morning, and, and he had given me a number of what they were, what they had kind of set aside if we were going to race again the next year of sponsorship. And I asked Dale, I said, well, you know, how much sponsorship would it take to run that car, like, to keep that car running? And he gave me the exact number.

[Kenny Wallace]

Wow.

[Justin Allgaier]

And what's weird about that is it wasn't like a solid number. It wasn't a whole number. It was kind of a random off the wall number. And two people in one day said the exact same number. And I just kind of looked up at the sky and I'm like, if that's, if that's a sign, I feel like, I feel like it's got to be a sign, right?

[Kenny Wallace]

Like the first thing I thought, thank the Lord.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah. And, and, you know, we, we want to believe that we're the reason everything happens. But, but at the end of the day, you know, what is the definition of luck when preparation meets opportunity? Right. We can be prepared, but you got to wait for the right opportunity, right? And, and that person, you know, the man upstairs, has got to give you that right opportunity. And I said, well, I'll have my people call your people, right? I did the whole kind of big time, big time. Even though I didn't have any people at the time, I'm gonna have my people call your people. And it wasn't. But a couple of weeks later, we put a deal together for me to go to Junior Motorsports and, and know Rick Brandt and Kenny. I think you've, you've been able to meet Rick before or at least have seen him in the garage area, but Rick is, Rick is an incredible Individual and, and somebody that, you know, I put right up there with my dad as far as people that I respect and, and, and, and, and I love his, his passion for, for his business and what they do and his work ethic, right? He's, he's, he's, he's a little crazy at times. Work ethic. I love that. I love it. It's awesome. But you know, he's a family owned business. His, his aunt and his dad started the business and you know, he, he was able to come into Junior Motorsports, which is a family business, right? Dale Earnhardt, Kelly Earnhardt, Miller and the synergies between those two are, are really, really strong. And, and that's why you've seen a Brandt freshener agriculture race car for the last however many years. It's been on, on, on the racetrack with me driving the car because he, he believes in what I do and who I am. You know, two central Illinois, two central Illinois kids, right, Being able to, to be on the grand stage of nascar, but also he believes in Junior Motorsports and what we have. And, and it's been special to, to have that relationship and, and have bosses like Dale and Kelly and, and L.W. miller and everybody that's a part of our group because it, it's special. And you know, running the Daytona 500 this year for Junior Motorsports was a great extension of that, right? It was a big moment, it was a big deal and it's something that I don't take for granted. And you know, I've started the day 2500 before, but never in the capacity like I did this past time around. It was, it was really a big deal and something that it was, it was pretty awesome.

[Kenny Wallace]

So back to you, little gator. I feel a. Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is an old soul. He, he's 50 years old, but he, he talks so intelligent. For him to recognize your situation, for him to recognize you're a good driver, you know, and for him to have peripheral vision. I think Dale Jr. Has great peripheral vision. His verbiage is like he went to one of the greatest colleges in the world. Do you find your relationship with Junior like, he's, he's super smart. Is he, he's super intelligent? Yes. No. What, what do you think he really is?

[Justin Allgaier]

And I think it's, it's unique because to your point, he didn't have that formal schooling like a lot of folks did, right? What Dale did was, was, and Dale will tell you this, he had a lot of fun when he was younger in his racing career. Right? But I think that, you know, Dale Earnhardt senior was the visionary of the sport, right? Dale Earnhardt senior, he, he not only focused on his racing program and how to be the best race car driver, but he has it. He had his hands in a lot of the pieces of the puzzle that made the sport function because he wanted to see the sport grow and, and, and, and thrive. Dylan Hart Jr. Took that another level. You know, Dylan Hart Jr. Is somebody that I, I don't know that the fans, as much as they love Dale and as much as they, they support him, I don't know that they'll ever know the depth of, of what he has done for the sport behind the scenes, you know, in the closed door meetings, the phone calls, you know, after hours to make sure that, you know, our sport stays on, on track and goes in the right direction.

[Kenny Wallace]

He Single handedly, Dale Jr. Single hand. Marcus Smith just admitted it. He said it on social media. Marco Smith, who owns North Wilkesboro on X he said the reason Wilkesboro's back is because of Dale Jr. That's power.

[Justin Allgaier]

They got a crew together. This is no lie. They got a crew together and went up there and they pulled weeds and they, they weeded and cut the grass and cleaned the asphalt so that iracing could come in and scan the property. Because Dale said it'd be a shame for a racetrack as nice as this and as cool as this to be lost in the wash, right? Because at the time it was just sitting dormant. Nobody was doing anything with it. And Dale Jr. Spent the money to go to North Wilkesboro, clean the place up so that iracing to scan it because he didn't want that racetrack to go away. And you know what? That sparked a whole, a whole conversation, right, that got the state of North Carolina to donate money, you know, and sponsor a bill to be able to put money into the revival of Northwoodsboro. That put Marcus Smith in a position to be able to take a racetrack like that and turn it back into something that was saw on, on Sunday night. That's probably one of the best races I've ever seen in North Wilkesboro. And, and we talk about this race car, this next gen car not being a great short track race car. It was three, four wide. You know, granted it was hard to pass. I'm not saying that it wasn't, but it was a great race. And, and you know, if Dale Jr. Doesn't put an interest in reviving North Wilkesboro for iracing, North Wilkesboro doesn't happen. And what are we going to do? We're going to race this All Star race at some racetrack again, that doesn't probably warrant the. The. The. The feel and the. I mean, you remember the All Star race when it was in its heyday, right? I remember going to Charlotte and packed house, flash bulbs going off. Because back then, everybody. Yeah. Every camera with a flash on it back then. And you'd take the green flag and it'd be flash bulbs, and. Was awesome. You know, we lost a little bit of that, and I think North Wilsboro has brought a lot of that back, and it's been fun to watch.

[Kenny Wallace]

Gator. Daddy. So when. When Justin comes back to you and he says, okay, dad, Dale junior, talk to me. What. What did you think? When your son is looking at reviving his career, you know, not. You know, it's not like you went and looked for this. You're in a. You qualify next to each other. You say the same number. Gator, you're a man of the Lord. So they qualify next to each other. The financial numbers, the same. When your boy tells you about this, what are you thinking?

[Mike Allgaier]

Oh, it. It was a blessing. It was strictly a blessing. And look. Look. What words. Gone. So, yes, it's been great.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay. You know, I want to thank you for that, Justin, because I wasn't ready to go down that road yet. And thank you for telling that story, because that would have took a whole another layer of questions to get there. You saved me a lot of work. Okay, Gator, I'm assuming you're at Hoosier Tower Midwest right now.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yes, sir.

[Kenny Wallace]

How did we get from DNM Speed Shop, where you're to, To Hoosier Tower Midwest, which. Let me just say this. I want. I want to brag on you. It sounds better coming from me than it does you. So everybody doesn't know. Hoosier Tire Midwest is one of the largest Hoosier Tire dealerships in America. I go up there. The largest. Thank you. I go up there, I get my tires. Now you're back in the parts business. You did that about four or five years ago. We got parts, we got tires, we got fabrication. We're building race cars, we're repairing race cars. It is one stop shopping. Who's retired Midwest, Springfield, Illinois. How did we get there from DNM's speed shop?

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, when we started the tire business, I called Bob Newton at his house. This is when they were still in South Bend.

[Kenny Wallace]

The owner of Hoosier Tire.

[Mike Allgaier]

The owner of Hoosier Tire, and I said, I'd like to sell Hoosier tires for you. Because the guy that we have here, you had to go to his house to buy the tires. And he didn't like fooling around with these silly stock cars because he was. Well, he, he was a hero Indy car racer. I mean, he was card carrying IndyCar racer. So the open wheel stuff was his main focus. And so I called Bob Newton Joyce. His wife answered, just a minute. You know, and I got Bob on the phone and he said, why would I want you? I've got three other dealers in that area. And I said, well, I know all three dealers. Okay. And I can outsell them.

[Kenny Wallace]

Wow.

[Mike Allgaier]

And we did. So we started there. Things got real tough. I went down and run a wheel company for rich Clement Bart wheels.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Allgaier]

And north. My wife would come down, you know, one weekend out of the month, and I would maybe go to Springfield. This is down in Conyers, Georgia.

[Kenny Wallace]

You were living down there to make a living?

[Mike Allgaier]

I was living down there, yeah. And so that went on for about three years.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, my.

[Mike Allgaier]

I got a phone call from Dennis Sherman from Hoosier tire, and he said, how about coming back to Hoosier remove back up there. And it was interesting because the. One of the big wigs at Clement wheel, his boy come to help me down in Georgia. So I wasn't real happy about that because he had different ideas of how things should be done. So I said, they talked. I said, we'll make you a warehouse, but we want you to change your name to who's your tired Midwest to be more Hoosiery. So we did that. And that, that, that helped us. We, you know, being a warehouse now, we're selling. We sell in Ohio, Missouri, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, you know, Illinois, Indiana, down in Kentucky. So we, we have a nice area to work. And we just kept trying to grow it.

[Kenny Wallace]

Wow. So. So in reality, it is still DNM Speed shop. You just change the name.

[Mike Allgaier]

I actually have the old sign hanging on the back wall back there.

[Justin Allgaier]

It has an alligator on it too. As. As it should, right?

[Mike Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay. We're finding out a lot, and let's have a little bit of fun now. So, Justin, your father called me a year ago. And you know how much your dad loves you. And he said to me, herman, how many starts do you have in the Xfinity series? So everybody look behind my head right now. NASCAR gave me that. I ended at 547 starts. And when I was redecorating, you know, this area, I had that sitting around for, you know, well, since 2015, NASCAR gave me that. 2015 was my last NASCAR Xfinity race in Iowa. So I'm at 547 starts, and that's where I ended. And. And I have the most starts. I have fun with it. I poke them. I'm the mayor. I'm the greatest. Of course we're. We're poking them. Right. So Gator wants you, Justin, to have more starts than me, and I want that too. And when that happens, I'm going to be there. But we got a nemesis. Who's that other kid right there? That's. That's going to outrun me too. What's his name again? I forgot.

[Mike Allgaier]

Jeremy Clement.

[Kenny Wallace]

Jeremy Clements. Now there's Jeremy. How is this going to end between both of you? How is this going to end? Are. Is Jeremy. Clint. I mean, when you and Jeremy pass me up, you know, man, I just wish I could come congratulate you first. But it sounds to me like Jeremy's gonna outrun me. I'm gonna congratulate him. Then you're gonna outrun Jeremy and Jeremy's gonna have to congratulate you. What do you think?

[Justin Allgaier]

I think. I think if I'm looking at it, to be honest with you, I think Jeremy's got this one in the bag. To be honest. I. I'm super proud of how many starts I have. I don't know what the number is currently. I think 42.

[Kenny Wallace]

You have 482 starts?

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah, I, I can't. I can't get there. I can't get to your number, not with where my head's at. And what I, What I believe is, is my.

[Kenny Wallace]

We're gonna talk about this. We're gonna talk about this. Keep going.

[Justin Allgaier]

Jeremy's got to be right around the 500. 5, 5, 505 mark. I would say pretty easily because I. The two years that I was in cup, you know, he was. He was still racing in the Xfinity series. We started at a similar time. But one of the cool things for me is, is. Is, you know, you talk about full circle moments. I'll never forget years and years and years ago. Jeremy Clements was an up and coming durley mon racer as. As was I. Right? And I don't remember if they were at Cherokee or a Gaffney, but Jeremy was racing a super delay model and he had his hands on steering wheel drive shaft came out. And if you ever, if you ever shake Jeremy's hand, you'll notice it right away. But the whole inside of Jeremy's hand was ripped out right he had his hand on the wheel, the drive shaft come through the inside of the car, tore out the whole inside of his hand. They were going to cut his hand off.

[Kenny Wallace]

Oh, my.

[Justin Allgaier]

And his dad begged them not to. Not to cut his hand off. And the doctor said, well, I can give him, you know, 24 hours, 48 hours at the most. And if it's not. If it's not healing itself, we're gonna have to cut it off. And kind of miraculously, the blood vessels and the way that his hand was damaged, they ended up going around, and he's had to put a lot of reconstructive surgery into his hand. I know it's been super painful. They actually, at one point, they even sewed his hand inside of his. Inside of his skin. They sewed his hand to his body so that it would allow his hand to heal. And Ed Petrov, somebody's been around the dear late model world and sponsored a lot of late model racers, myself included, growing up, and been integral in kind of that St. Louis area. But really his influence has gone really worldwide. His daughter Michelle called me one day and she said, hey, she said, you and Jeremy are similar in age. And she said, he's really struggling, right. He's not able to be in a race car. And if I send you his number, would you. Would you call and talk to him and just, you know, up his spirits and just have that conversation? And so I picked up the phone and I called Jeremy Clements. And really didn't know Jeremy that well, other than we had kept up with each other in the racing world and both young drivers. I think we were probably both 14 or 15 at the time.

[Kenny Wallace]

And his father has one of the most famous motor companies in the world. Clemens.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah. And I. I had a Clements engine for my race car. So I. I was. I mean, that, you know, they. They were and still are. Honestly, if you talk to anybody now, they're one of about two engine builders that everybody is sought after in the durley model world. And. And honestly, I think they build the heads or they. They. They, you know, machine the heads for probably majority of the engine builders in the durley mile industry. But we had a conversation and we became friends, and that friendship has gone for a lot of years. And. And, you know, I remember him, you know, having to make special attachments for his hand to be able to shift gears and all kinds of stuff, you know, once he was able to heal himself up.

[Mike Allgaier]

But they asked him, they asked him how they wanted his hand to be, and he said.

[Kenny Wallace]

Like, a like a steering wheel. Does it, does it surprise both of you? You know I've interviewed Jonathan Davenport, Bobby Pierce, I've interviewed some of the greats you think of Jeremy Clements and and I had no idea you had this relationship with him. Does it surprise you where Jeremy could be running? You know the greatest dirt super late models in the world. Jeremy Clements could be running for a hundred thousand to win at Eldora and yet Jeremy just wants to be in the Xfinity series. Have Gator or Justin. Have you both thought about Jeremy as you two kind of share this most Xfinity starts in common? Why, why, why does he run Xfinity when his dad rules the dirt late model world?

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[Justin Allgaier]

I've asked that question a thousand times. I've asked Jeremy that same question because I, I don't know. I, I, you know, I, Jeremy's had success. He's a NASCAR Xfinity series winner. He's, he's been somebody that has had a lot of success on track. Now I would say of recent times it's maybe a little, been a little bit more of a struggle than what it was, you know, five, 10 years ago. But you know they do they family owned team. He's never driven really for anybody else. You know he has family in the sport, you know in, in the sport of NASCAR outside of the, the engine building business. But I, I, I don't know, I don't know that I've ever understood that part of it.

[Mike Allgaier]

Can I, can I throw something in there? Jeremy was on the short track to go to Childress with Chevrolet and then the accident happened. That was, that's when all that happened. But he. It. It was planned that they were going to run Jeremy rcr.

[Kenny Wallace]

I'll be darn. Well. I want to let everybody know that I'm extremely proud when Jeremy breaks my record. I can't wait to go and congratulate him. And. And now this leads me to this. And this. This is a serious one. And I think it's fine for me to ask this. I've thought about it. You just gave a small look, Justin. You said, I don't think I'm gonna make it to your record. So my mind is thinking right here on Kenny conversation that you're headed back to Springfield, Illinois to run Hoosier Tire Midwest. I don't know that. Tell me how wrong I am and tell me what's up. Why did you say you don't think you're gonna break my record?

[Justin Allgaier]

That is a. That is an opportunity. Yes, 100%. You know, I think, you know, about. Probably closer to five years now ago, we made the decision that that was the direction I wanted to go and be a part of the business. And, and, you know, I'm a. I'm. I'm a minority owner of the business currently. At some point, I, you know, I've watched my dad grow this business for my entire life. And, and there were opportunities for him to sell, and there were opportunities for him to get out. And, you know, he's asked me point blank years ago, he said, is this something you see yourself doing? Is this something you want to do? And it's always been 100, yes, 100%. I want to see this business go and grow and carry on the legacy that he's kind of created, you know? Is that tomorrow? No, it's not tomorrow.

[Mike Allgaier]

But it can be.

[Kenny Wallace]

It could be.

[Justin Allgaier]

But I also, I think, I think for me, I've looked at the ownership side of things a little differently than some. As far as I'm concerned, whether I have ownership or not doesn't really matter. You know, my dad is. Has been the man in charge. My mom and my dad have been. It been the family in charge since day one. I don't have any intention of changing that. And as long as they are willing and able to go to the office, I mean, he sitting in his desk right now, and he's there most days. Right. If he's not there, he's usually traveling to a NASCAR race to be with me. But. But most days he's in that. That desk. And there are days that the employees there wish he would be at a NASCAR race. But. But for the most part, you know, he's sitting there and he's looking at. He's looking at the computer, and he's. He still understands the business very well and, and what it takes for that company to be successful. And for me, I've made it very clear to him, I don't want to take any part of your job that you don't want to. To give away. Right. I want you to. To run this business until the day you decide that, hey, I'm either done or, unfortunately, the day that we're putting in the ground. Right? That's. That's. It's gonna. One of those is gonna come first. I don't know which one's which. Right. But one of them is going to come first. But I'm also enjoying the moment of being able to spend time with my family and, And. And have conversations like we're having right now and understand my dad's mentality and his work ethic and his, you know, learn from somebody that I respect immensely as far as what he's been able to accomplish. So for me, I, you know, I. I still feel like I'm competitive. Obviously, I want a NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Yesterday or last year? Not yesterday. Last year.

[Kenny Wallace]

It was yesterday.

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah.

[Justin Allgaier]

But I just don't know what the. I don't know what the long term of that looks like. I feel like for me, my kids are growing up. I'm watching them grow up. I'm watching them get older. I don't want to. I don't want to miss it. You know, I don't. I don't want to not be there for it. And. I don't know. I still love the sport. I still love what I do. I would. Would. Wouldn't change it for the world, but I also feel like there's a lot of other stuff that I can accomplish in this world outside of being. Being behind the wheel. And, you know, I. Look, I love the younger drivers that are coming up. I've. I've helped quite a few try to be better. I'd love to do more of that. You know, I've had the lucky opportunity to be on the broadcasting side a little bit. You. You've gone down that path. I really enjoy that. I'm a people person, and I just love people, and I feel like there's still value in this sport, even not being behind the wheel. And so, you know, I don't want to get to a point in my career where the job is telling me that I should have quit. I want to quit before. Before that day comes. And I still feel like I'm young enough and healthy enough to be able to go do something else. I don't know. I just feel like. I feel like. I feel like. I know this sounds dumb, but I. I feel like the more I'm doing this and the longer I've gone, the more God's kind of called me to. To figure out what the next chapter is at some point. And it's probably closer than farther away. And I've always said 40 was my number and I will be 40 next year. So I'm not. I'm not calling that a definitive, but I definitely feel like that was. It's kind of where I stand with it.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay. I don't ever give my opinion on Kenny conversation because Kenny conversation is about celebrating. And on Kenny conversation, today we are celebrating you two, your glorious relationship from Springfield, Illinois, to the championship. I'm going to give you my opinion. And this is the first time ever on Kenny conversation. Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Bobby labani, Clint Boyer, Ryan Newman. Do you know what they all have in common?

[Justin Allgaier]

I do not.

[Kenny Wallace]

It's not a trick question. They both were done. All of these. All of these drivers. Jeff Gordon, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Bobby labani, Clement, all of them were done right around 42. I. I asked Ryan Newman, I said ryan, and I asked Clint Boyer. Clint was the most interesting. I said, clint, I said, you quit so early, and I almost think this pertains to you. Clint Boyer said, herman, I started racing at such a young age. By the time I got to 42, I felt like I was 60. Same with you, Mike. You know what my notes say right here? I still got lots of highlights. Here's what, here's what your notes say. Started at age five and quarter minute midgets. Age five. You've been racing since five. You probably feel 100 years old right now in racing age.

[Justin Allgaier]

I. I just left the chiropractor right before I came here. So, yes, I do.

[Kenny Wallace]

Okay. I'm still making you feel good. You started running ump dirt super late models at 13. You started running ara at 16. It's okay, justin. You know, if you want to go home, your. Your work is done there because you are like Clint Borer. You started racing at five, and when Clint told me that, I thought aby damn. I never looked at it that way. You know, Rusty Wallace, a lot of these great drivers from that were born in 1957. You know, Schrader, they started 16, 17. Your. Your era. You know, it was the Tiger woods era. Tiger Woods, Everybody, you know, their kids in a race car at 7 gotta get younger. So you've been racing a long time. Did that make you feel better? My little speech right there?

[Justin Allgaier]

No, it validates, it validates my decision. Kenny. I feel like I watch you go have fun. All this dirt racing. Whenever you, whenever you retired from the sport of nascar, you went out and did all this dirt racing and you're having fun again, right? It's not that I don't have fun on a regular basis. I just, sometimes I think, I think it's easy to, it's easy to, to let life pass you by because you're making a paycheck. And you know, let's be honest, in this sport, you get a lot of accolades for, for being on the racetrack every weekend. And you know, it, it, the self promotion aspect of it is fulfilling. Right. When, when people want you autograph, when people want your picture with them. Right. Those are, those are feel good moments because you know that at one point you were the other way around. You wanted to have somebody's autograph or you wanted a picture with that celebrity or, or whatever it was. So it's hard to say, hey, I want to walk away from that. And I don't.

[Kenny Wallace]

You'll never be away from it. Don't ever worry about that.

[Justin Allgaier]

I don't want to walk away from people. I just, yeah, you know, I. Listen, I got to spend all weekend with my daughter. I, I was at the All Star race on Friday night. I got to practice to qualify the 5 car for Kyle Larson. I left there and I drove to Asheville, North Carolina, and I got to watch my oldest daughter, Harper. I got to watch her play softball for two straight days. And I was softball dad. I was Harper's dad. I wasn't just an Auger. I wasn't race car driver. I wasn't, you know, I stood under a tent, I stood in the concession line and I, I bought my coffees and my, my food just like everybody else. And I, I, I got equally as frustrated when my daughter didn't do the things that we practice in the front yard with softball. Right. But I realized, I realized that there was no place I'd rather have been in that moment than watching her play softball. Right. No different than my dad, really. You know, I'll never forget Terre Haute, Indiana Grand Nationals. I had just won, I just won the grants. My dad was a decoyne. He was working the ARCA race.

[Kenny Wallace]

Hang in there. Hang in there.

[Justin Allgaier]

He's Getting hang in there.

[Kenny Wallace]

It's been a long road. It's been a long road for you too.

[Justin Allgaier]

And he remembers the story very well. So, so my dad finished the ARCA race, He got in the vehicle, he drove as fast as he could get to Terrehood, Indiana. I had won the grants and I was, I had just gotten my trophy from winning the grants and I'm coming back with this trophy that was, it was a six foot, a six foot tall trophy and I was about two and a half feet tall, right? And I remember walking back towards my dad with that trophy and I remember seeing him and the, the emotion that came through me at that moment. It didn't matter that he wasn't there for the race. It didn't matter that he, he missed the racing part of it. The fact that he drove like he did to get to me, to watch me get that big old trophy. I meant the world. And I've always, I've always said that, you know, I, I know I'm gonna miss things in my kids lives, right, Kenny? You missed stuff, dad. You've missed stuff. But as long as I'm putting effort in to make sure that I'm there for my kids, no matter what the circumstances are, it's going to be worth it. And I'm gonna do my job every day to, to make that happen.

[Kenny Wallace]

So for everybody that's listening on Dirty Mo podcast right now. They're both crying.

[Justin Allgaier]

We are.

[Kenny Wallace]

I am.

[Justin Allgaier]

You're right. I'm not. I am. I. I had to move here because my phone, my.

[Kenny Wallace]

You're fine, buddy. You're fine. So. So, Kenny, conversation is on YouTube and on Dirty Mo podcast and it's a very emotional time. We wanted to celebrate these two. So, Gator, it's kind of, it's kind of back in your court right now. Just comment. We're in an hour and 15 minutes now. It doesn't mean we got to stop, but we're going to start winding down. It's. It's been an incredible journey for you, buddy. Gator, you were extremely successful. You're a man of the Lord and you've always, you've always been. I've heard you. You've talked to me before. You. You've taught your son, little Gator Justin, you've taught him to be a, a man of the Lord. Justin's got his wife Ashley. He's got his girls, Harper and Willow. Gator, what's it make you feel like that, that your boy listened to you? He's a man of the Lord. He's got his priorities straight. I know it sounds corny, but it's just the way it is. I love my girls. What's it make you feel like, Gator? That your son listened to you? You instilled the Lord, and being a good dad, you've done a good job, I think.

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, my wife has. Dorothy's been the one that held everything together, really. But I'm beyond proud. I don't know what the word is, but whatever it is, beyond proud. That's. That's how I feel.

[Kenny Wallace]

The great thing is he. He's not. Justin's not out smoking dope and drinking beer. He's. He's always been straight up. I've always, I've always found that fascinating. You know, years ago, I missed too many days of school, and they said, we're going to hold you back a year, Kenny Wallace, unless you tell us why. So I stood up in front of the principal and everybody and I said, look, I'm not out smoking dope and drinking beer. I'm going to be a race car driver. And that's what I do. And now I'm in the hall of fame. Justin, why do you think you stayed straight lace and a good kid?

[Justin Allgaier]

I mean, I think racing, Racing. I tell young kids this all the time. The ambition of racing, it. It's a, It's a. It's a bug that you catch, you can't get rid of. I mean, we all know that. But the ambition of racing doesn't allow for it. Right? It doesn't allow for the, the. Yeah, we have a good time. And yeah, there's, there's days where you slack off, but for the majority of it, you're. You're working hard, you're. You're. You're pushing yourself to be better. I mean, if I'm the same race car driver tomorrow that I was today, I'm going to get passed by every driver that I'm. I work harder today at, at 38 years old and, and a veteran of the sport and a champion of the sport than I ever worked when I was starting out in my career. And, and there's not a day that goes by that I'm not doing something to make myself better on the racetrack. And, you know, you hope at job you can work really hard up front, then you can coast later on in life. Right? And that's not, that's not been the case, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. And, and, you know, all those parties that I missed as a high schooler, or all those moments that I could have taken as a, As a younger, younger guy, been out partying, whatever.

[Mike Allgaier]

It.

[Justin Allgaier]

Racing, just always had. Had that place. And you know, I've been lucky. My wife and I started dating at 15 years old. We got married at 19. You know, I, I've never known anything different. And, and I don't want to. Right. I. I told somebody within a couple of months of. Of dating my wife that I was going to marry her, and we were 15 years old and, and you know, I look back all these years and I wouldn't, I wouldn't change it for the world. Right. And, and we've been blessed, two great kids and all these things, but that's. She's been a lot of the driving force, no different than my mom was for my dad. The driving force and what it takes to go up and down the road every week and all the traveling. I, I spend more time on an airplane than I do anywhere else. And, and I laugh because I said, you know, if I could get all the hours that I've spent an airplane traveling, or in a car for that matter, traveling all these years, I'd have a lot of time to do fun stuff.

[Kenny Wallace]

But yeah, you're gonna, you're, you know, when you do decide to move back to Springfield, your wife is gonna say.

[Justin Allgaier]

Go run the dirt out of my house.

[Kenny Wallace]

Get out of this.

[Justin Allgaier]

I'm tell you. And you, you commented on it when we started the show. But you know, you talked about Jake's and you talked about hot rods. Right? That was the first thing you brought up.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah, we.

[Justin Allgaier]

We put a 72 Chevy pickup truck together at the shop a couple of years ago. And I've fallen in love with the classic truck world. And, and Right.

[Kenny Wallace]

I love it too.

[Justin Allgaier]

Like, I. My 72 is an old farm truck. It's like a brand new old farm truck. Right. Looks like it rolled off the showroom floor, but still got. It's a long bed, it's nothing fancy. But I'll be honest with you, there's. There's a moment in time where I've. I can see myself sitting in a lawn chair behind a pickup truck that I built at a car showing life. So at some point, when I'm done with all of this.

[Mike Allgaier]

Jesse. No, you won't, because I, I did that a couple years ago. You know, everybody goes out and they got their lawn chair and they set it beside your show car. And I sat there about a half hour ago, I go, what am I doing here? I got work. But I Can't get the car out because it's in the middle of all this car show.

[Kenny Wallace]

What a wonderful conversation, everybody. And with that, we are zoned in on one of our longest Kenny conversations. You guys have tied Ron Kelly, Earnhardt, Dale Jr. Tony Stewart, you're wonderful people. I want to thank you so much, both of you for, for letting me talk to you and Gator, big Gator. Kenny Schrader once said, I don't want to do over. I might mess it up. Would you want to do over Gator or you? Are you really happy?

[Mike Allgaier]

I'm happy.

[Justin Allgaier]

I live by Kenny. Kenny Schrader's 1:1 phrase, by the way, just so you know, I had never heard that phrase, but he's right. There's one phrase that I live every day by that that came from Kenny Schrader. When you ask him what he's doing, the only plan is there is no plan. And I live every day like that. So.

[Kenny Wallace]

And, and my, my advice to you this too. I told Don prime and Walker Evans, I said, well, I think I'm going to slow down. I think I'm going to quit at 60. Don Perdome and Walker Evans 12 time off road truck champion and Don Pernon, one of the famous drag racers of all time, they both come up out of their lawn chair. No. Perdome said, I miss it so much. Keep digging, keep going. Of course I'm doing it with my dirt car here at Pele, you know, and winning and winning NASCAR tore me up because to compete at the highest level in the world like you are, there's a sense of misery required. And we all know the world knows that you are doing a lot for Chevrolet. We know that you're just not driving that Xfinity car. We all know that they're using you. They're not using you up, but they're using you because they know how good of a race car driver you are. So there's a lot more to Justin Augar and we'll end on that. How, how much time do you spend helping Chevrolet?

[Justin Allgaier]

Well, so we, we work on the simulator right in, in the, the tech center there. We work on the simulator, try to make it. You know, everybody knows simulators are what's happening in the, in the sport of auto racing, right? Whether you're at home on an iracing rig, you're going to go to Peebley and race at Federate Auto Parts I55 Raceway, right? You can go there and race it on iracing. But, but to take it even a step further, you know We. We have a simulation program that we run every week that helps with setups and, and, you know, it needs a driver line to be able to run those laps. You know, new drivers coming in, they, they. They drive that simulator to learn the tracks and to learn. Learn the cars. So somebody like myself that's been in the sport for a while can sit down and. And help with correlation of how that works. I do the, the wheel force program. So we test the cup series car on tracks that NASCAR kind of specifies, and it's got a bunch of data on the car. I don't even want to know how much the car is valued at, because it's a lot. I know, I know that it's every inch. Everything on that car is instrumentated. They can, they can tell if I flinch in the car. They can see it on the, on the day. Day. It's. It's pretty wild. So I do that. We obviously do all kinds of stuff, you know, behind the scenes with younger drivers and at the track, and it's, It's. It's probably a full time and a half job in itself, but the more I do that, the more it helps me on my racing side of it. So it's hard to. Hard to not want to be a part of that program whenever it. It helps. But, you know, I've been lucky enough. I've raced a Chevrolet majority of my career. It was a small time there when I was with Team Pinsky that I wasn't in a Chevrolet. But, you know, for the most part, I've been in a Chevrolet since. Since day one. And, and, you know, they've supported me and been a huge part of what I do. And, you know, you could. You could look back on it and say that I've effectively helped other drivers have success also. But I also know that's what's driven me to have the success that we've had and our team to have the success that we've had. And, you know, it. It's been really, really cool. So, you know, each of the manufacturers, I mean, if you, you know, if you're able to. If you're able to align yourself with the manufacturer for any period of time, you realize how much they give back to the sport, whether it be on the dirt track side of things or on the NASCAR side of things, or NHRA or IndyCar, whatever it be, you know, so. So for me, I've been pretty lucky in that regard. And it's a lot of time, a lot of commitment, but I'm still here doing What I love to do. And your point, Kenny, you. You wanted to quit because it was your own, Your own accord. And I've been lucky enough to be in this sport for a long time. And when I do walk away, it's going to be on my own accord, not on somebody else's. And there's not a lot of people that can say that, right? There's a lot of people that have been retired from this sport, whether they wanted to be or not. And I've been pretty lucky to do the things that I'm doing and still have an opportunity to go do it.

[Kenny Wallace]

Yeah. Don Perdome and Walker Evans, they said no go as long as you can get it out of your system. Gator. On that note, when your boy right there, when Justin got in Kyle Larson's car last year at the Coke 600, when Kyle Larson could not make it there because he was running the Indy 500, when your boy got in that car and had it up in the 10th spot from last, that had to be a highlight as a father to watch your kid do what Kyle Larson's doing. The talent level of your son was shown bigger and brighter that night. Tell me about that night.

[Mike Allgaier]

Well, let me. Let me tell you what happened. After the race, Chief come up to me, put his hand on my shoulder and said, you have to be so proud of your son. I said, I. I am. He said, you don't understand. He did everything exactly the way that we asked him to do. He did everything right. Can't get any better than that. You know, it was pretty cool.

[Kenny Wallace]

And then he goes to the Daytona. Then your. Your son goes to the Daytona 500 this year, and with a half a lap to go, he's not in the race. And, and he picks that lane going into turn one, and he gets that whiskey car number 40 and. And makes the Daytona 500. So things are good right now, don't you think, gentlemen?

[Justin Allgaier]

Yeah, I agree, sir.

[Kenny Wallace]

And we're going to end just like that. Things are looking great for the Allgar family. I love you all.

[Justin Allgaier]

Love you.

[Kenny Wallace]

You're wonderful people. Remember everybody. As we say every Kenny Conversation. Dale junior Called me up, he said, herm, we want that Kenny Conversation. So you can watch Mike and Justin Agar on Dirty Mo podcast. But if you want to see their pretty face, you can go over there to the Kenny Wallace YouTube show, too. Until the next next Kenny Conversation. We'll see you later, everybody. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram.

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