By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: August 4th, 2014 at 2:54 pm EST
Many racing fans are already familiar with the Allison racing family. If they aren’t already, they will be familiar with the 21-year-old ARCA Racing Series rookie in the future.
He is the latest in the Allison family to become a professional race car driver. Through family members Donnie, Bobby, and Davey Allison, the family has 113 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins, including 4 Daytona 500 wins.
Justin Allison (Getty Images)
“It definitely puts more pressure on me with the success that they had,” said the younger Allison. “They were very good, but at the same time, I’m not them. I have to chase my own history.”
This past weekend, Allison picked up his first career win in the ARCA Racing Series at Pocono Raceway. He is the third family member to win a race in this series, as Davey won eight times in ARCA, while Bobby won just once.
He had to hold off Will Kimmel late in the 50-lap race to get the win.
“I don’t even have words, man,” Allison said to Fox Sports 1 following the win. “I think we had a good car – we were struggling a little bit with being tight. But I can’t thank these guys enough. Without them, it wouldn’t be possible…This is awesome.”
Prior to this weekend, his best finish was a third place finish at Michigan International Speedway. On June 13th, he began the race in the 12th position before finishing in the Top 3.
“We struggled the day before that race in practice and qualifying,” Allison acknowledged. “As the race went on, I felt like we had a really good chance to win that race at the end of it. Unfortunately, we finished with a third place car. I was happy with our race that day.”
Allison is in his rookie ARCA season, where he’s racing a select number of races. So far, he’s competed in 8 races, including the past three straight.
He has five Top 10 finishes. He finished 13th at Lucas Oil Raceway on July 25th and 19th at Talladega Super Speedway on May 3rd.
At the Daytona International Speedway to begin the season, Allison was in an accident. He finished in the 36th position, his worst finish of the season.
“It’s definitely not an ideal situation, but I am familiar with these cars,” Allison mentioned. “The seat time is the biggest deal, but that’s my only concern right now. So far, I would say it hasn’t played a factor, as I’ve finished many races in the Top 10.”
Allison envisions that he will be in the Sprint Cup Series in the next few years. First, he has to finish out the final two races on his schedule this season.
He plans on competing at Kentucky Speedway on September 19th. Several weeks later, he will end the season at Kansas Speedway on October 3rd.
Justin Allison (Photo by Team BCR Racing)
“I honestly don’t think it’s lofty expectations,” he said about his comments of being in the Sprint Cup Series in the next few years. “I feel like the only thing would stop that would be sponsorship. I feel like I could run with those guys, as it’s still a race car, something that I’ve been in for years. It’s not that much of a difference from what I’m driving today. I don’t believe that’s high expectations.
“If I make it there, I feel like I could compete with all of them. I’m an old school racer, like Tony Stewart. If it has four wheels and I can drive it, I will be in it at a race track. Tony is the same way, and unfortunately that’s hurt him last season. He has made a name for his self in the Sprint Cup Series, and I hope to do the same.”
