{"id":2975,"date":"2012-09-10T14:00:18","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T18:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/inspiringathletes\/?p=2975"},"modified":"2012-09-10T13:44:12","modified_gmt":"2012-09-10T17:44:12","slug":"a-conversation-with-nascar-driver-justin-allgaier-and-his-wife-ashley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/09\/a-conversation-with-nascar-driver-justin-allgaier-and-his-wife-ashley.html","title":{"rendered":"A conversation with NASCAR driver Justin Allgaier and his wife Ashley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Justin Allgaier, driver of the #31 Brandt Chevrolet for Turner Motorsports (Photo courtesy of NASCARmedia.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Justin Allgaier has literally been around racing his whole life. He caught the bug from his father Mike who worked with various teams due to his involvement with Hoosier Tire Distributors. By the time Allgaier was just five years old, he was buzzing around the track in a quarter midget, and he hasn\u2019t stopped since.<\/p>\n

Now racing in NASCAR\u2019s Nationwide Series, Allgaier has won three career races and has established himself as one of the sport\u2019s rising stars. But it\u2019s taken more than just racing pedigree and hard work to get to the top. Allgaier quickly gives credit to his strong faith in God, his rock solid relationship with Ashley Allgaier to whom he has been married since they were both 19 years old, and a group of Christian drivers (i.e. Trevor Bayne, Michael McDowell, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Blake Koch, Josh Wise, etc.) that keep each other accountable to their core values.<\/p>\n

In this Inspiring Athletes, both Justin and Ashley take time to talk about married life in NASCAR, the importance of fellowship on the road, and what makes the sport so unique:<\/p>\n

Chad Bonham: How much did it help to be married before becoming a prominent professional driver?<\/p>\n

Justin Allgaier: I probably wouldn\u2019t be in the situation I\u2019m in if it wasn\u2019t for Ashley. It helps me a lot (to be married). I can\u2019t imagine being in this sport being single. It\u2019s been good for me to have someone there. My wife\u2019s not my biggest cheerleader. She\u2019s probably my biggest critic most of the time. She helps balance out who I am, what I do and how I need to get it done.<\/p>\n

Bonham: Do you get nervous when Justin gets in a car before a race?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Justin Allgaier and family (from left to right): Justin, mother Dorothy, father Mike and wife Ashley (Photo courtesy of NASCARmedia.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ashley Allgaier: I don\u2019t get nervous. I just don\u2019t like Daytona and Talladega. I\u2019m confident in his racing ability but one person\u2019s mistake can jeopardize him. When Daytona rolls around, I love it but I\u2019m dreading it at the same time.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What\u2019s the scariest moment you\u2019ve dealt with at this point in Justin\u2019s career?<\/p>\n

Ashley Allgaier: A scary moment was at his first Nationwide Race at Charlotte in 2008 when he wrecked and his car went up in flames. He didn\u2019t get out of the car right away. It was his first race with Penske and there were all kinds of emotions. That was probably the worst one because I had no clue where the infield care center was. I practically got lost trying to get there. By the time I got there, he was checked out of the doctor\u2019s (room) and looking for me.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What are the benefits of spending time with likeminded Christian drivers such throughout the weekend?<\/p>\n

Justin Allgaier: That\u2019s a big deal. Being able to surround yourself with good people is a good thing. We all have our struggles. Some come in different forms than others, but those relationships definitely help. Ashley and I feel like since our small group has started that we\u2019ve gotten closer to the McDowells and the Wises and the Kochs. We meet a couple of times during the week\u2014especially during the offseason.<\/p>\n

Bonham: How did Trevor\u2019s Daytona 500 win last year impact the group?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Justin Allgaier snags the checkered flag after winning the NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on August 18, 2012 in Montreal (Photo courtesy of NASCARmedia.com)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Justin Allgaier: It\u2019s amazing how much people talk about Tim Tebow. Trevor was the same way. When Trevor won the 500, people talked about (his faith) a lot. It\u2019s a good thing, but it also brings a magnifying glass on you a little bit whenever you profess that. For us, it\u2019s good that we can keep each other accountable. We\u2019re able to push each other and keep each other from screwing up.<\/p>\n

Bonham: What makes NASCAR different from other sports?<\/p>\n

Ashley Allgaier: I fell in love with how passionate the fans are. We get a lot of good feedback. There\u2019s negative feedback too but it\u2019s just because they\u2019re so passionate about the sport. That\u2019s what I like. I do try to be the best role model that I can be. And it\u2019s hard because your emotions tend to get the best of you sometimes. But I just love how passionate they are and how they sit out in 110-degree weather and they pay for that seat. Not a lot of people would do that.<\/p>\n

Justin Allgaier: In our sport, the drivers are more accessible than any other sport. You go to a football game and more than likely you\u2019re not going to be able to get field passes and meet the players before the game or you\u2019re not going to be able to go to an autograph session an hour before the game. A lot of the things we do, they allow the drivers to get close to the fans. That\u2019s a big deal. I\u2019ve had great fans over the years and being able to interact with them is the only reason they\u2019re coming to the racetrack. They come in hopes that they might get to meet somebody or see somebody. There are a lot more good things in NASCAR than there are bad.<\/p>\n

Follow Justin Allgaier\u2019s pursuit of a Nationwide Series championship by visiting his official website HERE<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Justin Allgaier has literally been around racing his whole life. He caught the bug from his father Mike who worked with various teams due to his involvement with Hoosier Tire Distributors. By the time Allgaier was just five years old, he was buzzing around the track in a quarter midget, and he hasn\u2019t stopped since.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":418,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,382,388,5],"tags":[1202,730,151,743,190,189,10,25,532,209,202,141],"class_list":["post-2975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-athletes","category-qa","category-racing","category-sports-features","tag-ashley-allgaier","tag-blake-koch","tag-daytona-500","tag-josh-wise","tag-justin-allgaier","tag-michael-mcdowell","tag-nascar","tag-nationwide-series","tag-penske-racing","tag-ricky-stenhouse-jr","tag-tim-tebow","tag-trevor-bayne"],"yoast_head":"\nA conversation with NASCAR driver Justin Allgaier and his wife Ashley - Inspiring Athletes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspiringathletes\/2012\/09\/a-conversation-with-nascar-driver-justin-allgaier-and-his-wife-ashley.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A conversation with NASCAR driver Justin Allgaier and his wife Ashley - Inspiring Athletes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Justin Allgaier has literally been around racing his whole life. He caught the bug from his father Mike who worked with various teams due to his involvement with Hoosier Tire Distributors. 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