Dale Earnhardt Jr. blinked back tears as the moment socked him at Daytona International Speedway — a track bursting with triumph and tragedy for his family — that he was, with a country star and a NASCAR champ in tow,

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a car in the Daytona 500 after Justin Allgaier and the No.40 car booked its place in Sunday's big race.

The 2025 NASCAR season has kicked off at the Daytona International Speedway. There were 45 cars aiming for the prestigious spot in the race, which is often referred to as the Great American Race. Among these was the No. 40 Chevrolet, driven by Justin Allgaier, and representing Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports.

Justin Allgaier qualified for the Daytona 500 in a car owned by Dale Earnardt Jr. on Thursday's Daytona Duels.

Where else do you go and barely make the field and cry tears of joy?” The answer is Daytona, the place that means so much to the Earnhardt family.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. after Justin Allgaier put the JR Motorsports car in the Daytona 500: “Where else do you go and barely make the field and cry tears of joy?"

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a two-time Daytona 500 champion. He’s competing in the race in a new way in 2025, and the entire sport is excited for it.

For Dale Earnhardt Jr., it was his first attempt at the Daytona 500 as an owner. For a retired driver who won two Harley J. Earl trophies, simply making the race appeared to rank right up there with his two 500 victories.

Josh Berry heard the rumblings earlier this week — that his former team owner and one of the sport’s biggest stars, Dale Earnhardt Jr., would be