JR Motorsports Starts 2023 on a Shocking Note and Makes Headlines Outside the World of Racing
JR Motorsports had a year to remember in 2022. Three of the team’s four drivers made the Championship 4, all falling short to eventual winner Ty Gibbs. 2023 is a new season and there are equally high expectations for the powerhouse organization.
With just over a month before the start of the new campaign, team officials are preparing cars for the season-opening laps at Daytona. This week, for a brief moment, no one in the shop was focused on increasing the power of any cars but instead on observing the incredible power of Mother Nature.
JR Motorsports had a solid season in 2022
Looking back on the 2022 Xfinity Series season, it was unquestionably a good one for JR Motorsports. The four drivers combined for an impressive 14 victories, including Noah Gragson tying a series record with four consecutive wins late in the year.
The JRM cars consistently ran up front. Even the organization’s youngest driver, 19-year-old Sam Mayer, earned 11 top-5 finishes, which tied him with Josh Berry.
However, Berry and Justin Allgaier made their way to Victory Lane three times apiece. Both veteran drivers joined Gragson, who won eight times, in battling for the championship in Phoenix. Unfortunately, the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing car, piloted by Ty Gibbs, proved to be faster and won the title.
The three JRM cars finished second, third, and fourth, respectively in the final points standings.
Lightning strikes JR Motorsports
All NASCAR teams are currently working on their vehicles and preparing for the 2023 season. In the last few weeks, some have been releasing paint schemes of their cars for the upcoming year on social media. JR Motorsports recently revealed the look of the No. 9 Menards car of Brandon Jones.
The team account took an interesting detour from talking about racing this week when it shared a video on Twitter and included the following description: “Starting the year off with a bang.”
The video revealed security camera footage on the property with Allgaier’s No. 7 hauler in the foreground. Several yards behind it were numerous parked trucks and cars. Just before the halfway point of the 14-second clip, the sky lights up before a lightning bolt makes a direct hit on one of the trucks, which is immediately covered in a shower of sparks. Interestingly, the truck lights, which were not on before the strike, remained illuminated for the remainder of the video.
Could it be a good omen?
Moments after sharing the clip on Twitter, the JR Motorsports account was bombarded with questions from media outlets asking if the team would permit using the footage.
For those wondering, a lightning strike has multiple symbolic meanings, depending on perspective. The folks at JRM will likely want to use the Celtic interpretation of such an incident, which is viewed as sacred or holy because the point of contact indicates a connection with unfathomable power.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. would be the first to tell you that his organization is always trying to find a little more speed or power. This week it got it in an unexpected way.
