JR Motorsports seemed to be in a prime position to make major noise to begin the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series season; however, it has been a relatively slow start for the organization overall.
Let’s dive into JR Motorsports’ situation and see what is ahead for the powerhouse team.
JR Motorsports has unexpected slow start to the 2023 season
JR Motorsports entered the Championship 4 for the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series season with a 75% chance of coming home with the trophy. However, the other 25% ended up happening when Ty Gibbs won the Xfinity Series championship.
Ever since that point, it has felt like JR Motorsports has been a little bit off as an organization. Its drivers have been running into each other and making contact, the performances have not been up to par, and this all comes with a weakened Xfinity Series field after a mass exodus at the top.
Three of its four drivers ended up staying but Noah Gragson, the eight-time JR Motorsports winner in 2022, found himself with an opportunity to drive for a prestigious group of people led by NASCAR Cup Series legend Jimmie Johnson.
Brandon Jones, who came over from Joe Gibbs Racing as Gragson’s replacement, has been really slow out of the gates. Well, slow as in the results have been really poor for the organization’s standards.
Jones has zero top-10 finishes and a 20.2 average finishing position through six races. The learning curve between a crew chief and a driver can be steep sometimes but no one could have expected this type of start.
Meanwhile, Justin Allgaier was hot when the season opened in Daytona, FL. This included three top-3 finishes in the first three races; however, Allgaier crashed out of the last two competitions and finished in fifth place at Circuit of the Americas.
Allgaier has been the bright spot in an otherwise poor start to the 2023 season. Sam Mayer has shown speed but only has one top-5 finish in the first six events. More has to be expected from Mayer in his second full-time campaign for JR Motorsports.
Finally, Josh Berry has been consistently in the top 10 spots but the finishes only reflect consistency. Berry has a best finish of fifth place twice in the first three races but has been a few positions outside the top 5 spots in the last three races.
All of this has combined to give Allgaier a fourth-place spot in the point standings, which is the highest of any JR Motorsports driver. Mayer sits in sixth place, Berry in ninth place, and Jones in 15th place behind B.J. McLeod Motorsports driver Anthony Alfredo.
This might not seem terrible on the surface but this comes after a mass exodus at the top as mentioned above. Gibbs, Gragson, and A.J. Allmendinger all went to the Cup Series. It represented an opportunity for JR Motorsports to firmly claim the stage with a consistent lineup.
The season is just beginning but there is some cause for concern as JR Motorsports has an unexpected slower-than-anticipated start to the new year.
Evaluating the remainder of the 2023 season for JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports will only get better as the 2023 campaign moves forward; however, this means everyone else will see the same thing occur. This is especially true for Sammy Smith and Chandler Smith.
The two rookie drivers have been incredibly impressive to start the NASCAR Xfinity Series season with Sammy Smith winning the race at Phoenix Raceway and performing really well at Circuit of the Americas.
The driver of the No. 18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing has the speed to be the championship favorite but rookie mistakes have plagued him thus far. Once Smith cleans up his mistakes, a Gibbs-type season could be on the way.
Meanwhile, Chandler Smith dominated the Xfinity Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway but he was tracked down by Austin Hill for the victory. It was disappointing but Smith’s talent is undeniable.
Both of these rookie drivers will make major noise as the season rolls on and that doesn’t even include other drivers. Cole Custer has been lagging behind just like JR Motorsports and Sheldon Creed is getting ready for a breakthrough.
This is why JR Motorsports’ start is concerning. The organization was supposed to take advantage of a brand-new field of competitors. Allgaier, Berry, and Mayer should be clicking on all cylinders to start the year while Jones becomes acclimated.
Sure, the organization will steadily improve but it is not what many expected through the first six races. JR Motorsports does not have a single victory while Richard Childress Racing boasts three and Joe Gibbs Racing has two of them.
Hill has three victories in his second season in the Xfinity Series and that is what people expected with JR Motorsports. It has simply been a slow start because the expectations were really high for a reason.
It is not time to hit the panic button but JR Motorsports needs to keep up with the rest of the field. Everyone will improve at fast rates and it’s up to the organization to make sure it is not left behind in the dust.