SALLY SANTORA/For the County News
Stock Car Racing
NASCAR driver makes pit stop in Caledonia
Justin Allgaier’s fascination with fast cars began when he was five years old. A five-year old can’t drive you might be thinking, but Allgaier did. His mother would catch him in the driver’s seat of quarter midgets; fast enough at 15 miles per hour to give a mom heart failure.
He’s still doing that to his mom, Allgaier admits. He’s a NASCAR driver behind the wheel of No. 31 Chevrolet with Turner Motorsports and he was at Gromark on Route 20 in Caledonia, bringing with him the Brandt sponsored stock car and completely outfitted trailer.
The Brandt racing team travels across the country so they have to be ready, no time for breakdowns. The trailer hauls two complete racecars and dozens of spare parts to make quick work of repairs.
Allgaier says he is used to being asked his age; he looks like a young teenager but in fact he is 26 years old and has been making a name for himself in motorsports for 20 years, entering the NASCAR arena in 2005.
Illinois is home to Allgaier but these days he lives in Charlotte, N.C. His team brought several merchandise items along and many fans took home autographs. He also did a live interview with WCJW’s DJ Trevor Carey.
A Brandt representative called Allgaier a “delightful hometown boy. A great ambassador for Nascar.” Allgaier said the No. 31 Chevrolet Impala is an agricultural car, and he thanked everyone from the nearby agricultural community for coming out to Gromark that day to meet him.
“Hope y’all have a good day,” he said.
Gromark FS, LLC, located at 2936 Telephone Road, is a supplier of commercial fertilizer products. They are distributors of Brandt agricultural products. Gromark, an Agway business until 2003, specializes in precision agriculture products.
“As the need for food grows, so does the need to grow high yield crops on less land,” said Gromark’s Dale Bartholomew. “We are sensitive to the environment and want to help our growers maximize value,” he added.
The science of commercial fertilization has evolved to a state-of-the art science and is perhaps the safest it’s ever been, Bartholomew explained.
“Our goal is to raise quality, nutritious food by getting the micronutrients from the root to the fruit,” he commented.
