Chris Stapleton is a man of many accomplishments. He's won dozens of awards, been named one of the Greatest Singers of All Time by "Rolling Stone," and performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl.
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Yet his newest venture — a partnership with NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. and JR Motorsports — is unforgettable for an entirely different reason.
In one month, Stapleton will see a NASCAR Cup Series car featuring his Traveller Whiskey brand potentially compete in the Daytona 500, the biggest event in stock car racing.
"I'm so grateful that they were willing to let me participate in the world just a small bit," Stapleton said about his partnership with JR Motorsports during a Jan. 15 media session. "And it really is one of those surreal things that you get to experience once in a lifetime."
See y’all in Daytona. pic.twitter.com/iCvILhtw1W
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) January 15, 2025
Stapleton has a point. JR Motorsports competes in the second-tier Xfinity Series. Its driver Justin Allgaier, who will attempt the Daytona 500 in the No. 40 Traveller Whiskey Chevrolet, is the reigning Xfinity champion.
This organization has never competed in the top-tier Cup Series even though Earnhardt Jr. won 26 races as a driver.
No one knew if JR Motorsports would ever attempt a Cup Series race, let alone the biggest one on the schedule. Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged that he doesn't know if the organization will ever attempt another Cup Series race after the 2025 Daytona 500.
So everyone involved in this collaboration — especially Stapleton — is soaking up the experience.
"With the car reveal, it became so real when the sheet came off the car," Stapleton said. "I was like, 'Oh, this is not a napkin drawing anymore or some pie-in-the-sky idea that we think would be cool.'
"This is something we're really going for and really trying to do, and I'm thrilled to be rolling the dice and taking the risk with them."
Several pieces had to fall into place for this partnership to happen. Stapleton needed a team that would be willing to showcase Traveller Whiskey during NASCAR's Super Bowl and one that had real estate on their car for a new sponsor.
He also needed a partner who could beat out several other entries to take one of the four spots on the starting grid not already allocated to a full-time car.
So how did he put these pieces together ahead of the 2025 season?
"What's the coolest thing we could do with the whiskey brand," Stapleton asked. "Well, maybe we should put it on a race car. And I happen to know Rick Hendrick (NASCAR's all-time winningest owner), and Rick kind of hooked me up with Dale, and this opportunity came up.
"And I was like, 'Well, we've got to do that.' So I went and talked to my partners in the whiskey, and I said, 'Hey, we've got to make this happen. Let's make this happen.'"
According to JR Motorsports CEO/co-owner Kelley Earnhardt Miller, this process began in July. Her team at JR Motorsports began working with Traveller Whiskey to put all of the pieces in place. This took extensive time as the two companies somehow kept the project under wraps.
Now that the collaboration is public, the focus shifts to Speedweeks, which lead up to the Daytona 500. Allgaier and the Traveller Whiskey car will not have a guaranteed spot in the starting lineup, so they will have to either qualify on speed or in one of the preliminary races, The Duels at Daytona.
here is a look at the No. 40 JR Motorsports Chevrolet for the Daytona 500. pic.twitter.com/LELenEUtyZ
— John Newby (@JohnNewby_) January 15, 2025
JR Motorsports has taken steps to make qualifying easier. Earnhardt Jr. brought in his old crew chief Greg Ives, who guided him to one of his many wins at Daytona.
Ives has been the crew chief for 16 Cup Series races at Daytona, split between Earnhardt Jr. and current Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman. His cars have won the pole four times and qualified on the front row nine times at Daytona.
This is something Earnhardt Jr. has set as one of the goals so that he and JR Motorsports can deliver a better experience to the country music superstar.
"We do want to go and win the pole and win the race every time we show up, but given the circumstances — and Chris and Traveller has trusted us with their brand and to go represent them well," Earnhardt Jr. said during the media session.
"I think at the end of the day, I want them to be happy with the experience and be glad that they did it and did it with us."
Of course, Stapleton is not as concerned about that part of the NASCAR experience. He appreciates the emphasis that Earnahrdt Jr. is placing on this partnership, but he's already had an unforgettable time while going through the process.
He's seen a NASCAR Cup Series car with his company's logos all over it. There isn't much better than that.
At this point, the country music star just wants to watch JR Motorsports go out and put on a show.
"I'm so pleased that you want us to be happy, but we're already happy as partners with what we're doing here, and everything that I ever dreamed that this could be is happening right now," Stapleton said as he turned to Earnhardt Jr.
"And now I want you guys to go do what you do."
