The 2025 Daytona 500 is always going to be memorable for Dale Earnhardt Jr. First, it was Dale Sr.’s 24th death anniversary after he tragically died in the 2001 Daytona 500 crash. And to make the day special, a deceased fan willed an original, Intimidator-driven car to Junior. The same iconic #3 black and silver Monte Carlo, which was a menace on the track. The car still has the original orange interiors in it! But what made the ‘Great American Race’ an emotional moment for Dale Jr was JRM’s Cup debut was different.

Like it’s every driver’s dream to at least once run the Daytona 500, the same is true with a team owner. JRM has won 88 races and four championships since their debut in the 2005 Xfinity Series, none of those 4 championships felt the same as seeing their team at the 500 in the Cup Series. It’s NASCAR’s most important race, the place where the sport was born. It doesn’t get more special than this. And he’s taken a souvenir from the race to always remember it by.

Dale Jr has a strange taste in memorabilia

This moment kind of seems like Junior walking on Dale Sr’s path. Back in the day, he had the Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Cup Series and now the Earnhardt siblings have JRM. And they picked their most trusted driver for this special occasion. Surprisingly, Justin Allgaier always does exactly what is expected of him. He first won the 2024 Xfinity Series title for JRM and now he has a P9 finish in JRM’s first Daytona 500.

And this was way above what Junior had asked of him. Ahead of the race, Allgaier received a free hand. Junior told him, “Forget expectations. Just make the race. Run all the laps. Finish.” And the #40 car did way more than just finish. So, Junior wanted to have a physical representation of this moment. And Junior being Junior, went to the JRM shop and took all the spark plugs used in the #40 for Daytona. He even proudly shared it in an Instagram story, with the caption: “These 8 plugs fired our sled around Daytona 500 miles. I’ll keep them forever.”

Well, we like the symbolism. Spark plugs are responsible for starting a car and this is the start of JRM’s Cup career. Still why all 8? Well, only Junior knows the answer to that. But what we know is that Dale Earnhardt Jr has recently made JRM’s Cup team plans clearer.

In a recent Dale Jr Download podcast episode, he said, “I’m not going to give you $40 million for that Charter. I’m not doing that. That’s not something I’m interested in doing. And that’s my prerogative now. I would invest five or 10 in the right situation five absolutely maybe more of my own money right so there’s you know 20% ownership that’s probably very a very comfortable place for me to be in. When I look at an NFL franchise there are majority owners but there’s also a lot of minority people as well. I believe that owning around 20% of the charter would be satisfactory for me personally.”

So provided he gets a majority owner who’d be willing to put the money, they’d kick off JRM’s Cup campaign. It’s how Denny Hamlin has Michael Jordan for 23XI Racing and Junior needs to find a Jordan of his own. Also, he thinks it should be hard to find someone given what he and Kelly Earnhardt bring to the table. With NASCAR’s dwindling popularity, getting sponsors to invest in teams has become a challenge, let alone partners. But maybe Junior can ride the wave of Private Equity investors in NASCAR

Trending

1

“I’d Have Smacked Him”: NASCAR Veteran Sends a Strong Message to Defend Dale Earnhardt Jr. Against Fans’ Hate

2

Roger Penske’s Final Hopes Slipping Away as NASCAR Fans Prepare for Honda

3

NASCAR Rumors: $41B Japanese Giant to Outrun Dodge to Become NASCAR’s 4th Manufacturer Days After New Reports

4

Rick Hendrick Accused of ‘Burying’ Ross Chastain’s Real Persona as Fans Insinuate Trackhouse’s Exit From Chevy

5

Pressured by Brad Keselowski, Roger Penske Spills Truth on Reviving Joey Logano’s NASCAR Career

Dale Earnhardt Sr’s perfect partner

Essentially, this would be similar to how Jimmie Johnson got private equity firm Knighthead Capital Management to invest in his Legacy Motor Club. However, Dale Jr has very specific requirements for a partner.

He had previously said, “So now the person that comes in here can’t just be anybody you don’t partner with just somebody because they’ve got the money you got to feel good about that person this is going to be a marriage right you need to make sure that person is somebody you can absolutely compromise.” This is the description of an old friend and finding that kind of a partner might be a challenge. Hamlin got lucky with golf buddy Michael Jordan. Maybe Junior should ask one of his friends.

But jokes apart, this bond seems like a must-have for Junior. He had some offers in the past, but because there was no chemistry, it did not get through. “There have been people that have wanted to invest that have we have sat down and talked about the money and that had the money but it just wasn’t the right fit for Kelly and myself and we’re not doing we’re not going to do it uh with any risk involved,” he added.

Let’s hope Junior gets his ideal partner soon and we see JRM in the 2026 Cup Series! What do you think are the chances we see that #40 car full-time in the Cup? And who do you think should pilot it? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.