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Daytona provides Dale Earnhardt Jr. with another full-circle moment
NASCAR team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Daytona provides Dale Earnhardt Jr. with another full-circle moment

By Samuel Stubbs  |  Last updated Feb 14, 2025 12:48 AM ET

It's safe to say that the Daytona International Speedway has been intertwined in Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s life. 

It was at Daytona where Earnhardt Jr.'s father lost his life in February 2001. It was at Daytona where Earnhardt Jr. experienced the highest highs that NASCAR racing can provide. 

And on Thursday, it was at Daytona where JR Motorsports qualified for its first NASCAR Cup Series race. A ninth-place finish for 2024 Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier locked JRM's No. 40 into the field for Sunday's Daytona 500. 

An anxious Earnhardt Jr. watched from atop Allgaier's pit box as the 38-year-old maneuvered around Daytona for the final time in the first of two 60-lap qualifying races. When Allgaier crossed the line with a Daytona 500 starting spot secured, the mood could only be described as jubilant. 

"He (Justin Allgaier) put the team on his back the last couple of laps," Earnhardt Jr. told Fox Sports. "This sport is amazing, I love everything about it. I can't believe we get to race on Sunday." 

Earnhardt Jr. was in the garage early on Wednesday morning to watch Allgaier's Chevrolet get unloaded. It was clear that whether or not Allgaier made the Daytona 500, the boss wanted to be fully immersed in the experience of being a Cup Series owner. 

The experience of seeing his car make the Daytona 500 field is another feather in Earnhardt Jr.'s Daytona cap. 

"Daddy loved Daytona," Earnhardt Jr. said during his post-race news conference. "He loved winning here. I loved coming here as a kid."

"When he (Dale Earnhardt Sr.) passed away, I had to make a decision. I had a career in front of me, I was coming back (to Daytona) multiple times. I had to figure out a way to be okay with it. I knew that it wasn't the track that took him. I knew that he, wherever he was, still felt the same about Daytona."

"Him losing his life in this property has brought this property closer to me. For me, knowing I had to keep coming here, I made some peace with it and embraced it."

Like his father before him, Daytona became one of Earnhardt Jr.'s best tracks. The same walls that were the sight of NASCAR's biggest tragedy became the sight of healing in July 2001, when Earnhardt Jr. won the Pepsi 400 in NASCAR's first trip back to Daytona since Dale Earnhardt lost his life. 

Two Daytona 500 victories from Earnhardt Jr. in 2004 and 2014 ensured that his name would join his father's on the Harley J. Earl trophy. 

Eight years after he ran his final Daytona 500, Earnhardt Jr. will roll a car entered under his name to the starting grid of NASCAR's most prestigious race. It's hard for anyone involved in NASCAR to sum up exactly how much that means, but Earnhardt Jr. gave it his best shot. 

"Where else do you go barely make the field and cry tears of joy?"

Nowhere but Daytona.

Samuel Stubbs
Twitter/X

Hailing from the same neck of the woods as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Samuel has been covering NASCAR for Yardbarker since February 2024. He has been a member of the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) since October of 2024. When he’s not writing about racing, Samuel covers Arkansas Razorback basketball for Yardbarker

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