NASCAR: Justin Allgaier’s statement on replacing Jimmie Johnson

Justin Allgaier is set to replace Jimmie Johnson as he misses his first NASCAR Cup Series race since 2001. Here’s what he had to say.

On Friday evening, it was announced that seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson had tested positive for COVID-19 and that he would not compete in Sunday’s Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Johnson, who had competed in 663 consecutive races going back to his debut as the full-time driver of the #48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in February of 2002, is out until he receives clearance from his physician and he tests negative for the virus twice, and the two negative tests cannot come within 24 hours of one another.

It was also announced that Justin Allgaier, who competes for JR Motorsports in the Xfinity Series, is set to replace Johnson behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet for this Sunday afternoon’s 160-lap race around the four-turn, 2.5-mile (4.023-kilometer) oval in Speedway, Indiana.

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JR Motorsports is co-owned by Hendrick Motorsports team owner Rick Hendrick, and Allgaier is the designed reserve driver for the four-car Cup Series team.

Allgaier has not made a Cup Series start since 2016 when he drove as the replacement for Michael Annett at HScott Motorsports, and he has never competed in a race for Hendrick Motorsports. Like everybody else, he knows that the priority is getting Johnson back behind the wheel of the #48 Chevrolet. Fortunately, the 44-year-old El Cajon, California native, who was tested for COVID-19 after his wife, Chandra, tested positive, is still asymptomatic.

Here is what the 34-year-old Spaulding, Illinois native had to say about stepping in as the replacement for the seven-time champion this Sunday.

The #48 team sit in 12th place in the owner standings, thanks to Johnson’s results through the season’s first 15 races. The points Allgaier earns in Sunday’s race will contribute to that total, although they will not contribute to Johnson’s personal total.

Johnson has already been granted a playoff waiver. He sits 63 points above the playoff cut line in 12th place in the championship standings with a top finish of third place at Bristol Motor Speedway in late May. He did finish in second at Charlotte Motor Speedway, but he was disqualified after his #48 Chevrolet failed post-race inspection.

NBC is set to broadcast the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 live from Indianapolis Motor Speedway beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET tomorrow afternoon.