“We’re going to burn this (expletive) down!” Dale Earnhardt Jr. uttered these impassioned words when he last won at Daytona International Speedway in 2014. It has been over a decade – and yet a whole lot of that passion still burns inside Dale Jr. today. The 2025 Daytona 500 is only days away, and drivers gave their best at the final Duel qualifier race. Dale Jr.’s mentee clocked in extra effort and made him proud.

JR Motorsports fielded its first-ever Cup Series entry this season. Wheeling the No. 40 Chevrolet, Justin Allgaier was under a little pressure when he fell one spot short in the single-car qualifier. But after that Wednesday downfall, Allgaier roared back in response on Thursday, leaving Dale Jr. emotional.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s seizes a spot

Since its inception in 2007, JR Motorsports has only competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Occasionally, whispers and rumors floated about the team considering a Cup entry. But every time, either Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Kelley Earnhardt Miller listed financial reasons as roadblocks. This time, however, they broke the trend and enlisted for the 2025 Daytona 500. Not only will they be able to take pride in their first effort, but also enjoy the thunderous entry. Justin Allgaier, the 2024 Xfinity Series champion, defeated big odds. Nine open cars were competing. Among them, Helio Castroneves could exercise the Open Exemption Provisional while Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. already clinched spots.

Despite the odds stacked against them, JRM fearlessly soared. On Thursday night, Justin Allgaier clinched the ninth spot in the 60-lap qualifier. Thereby the No. 40 JRM Chevrolet advanced to the main Daytona 500 event, as Allgaier was the highest-finishing open driver. This almost brought Dale Earnhardt Jr. to tears in a post-race interview. Part of his old passion was visible: “Racing is hard, I wouldn’t have it any other way. It was rough emotionally, but damn it, it’s fun when it works out… I cannot wait for Sunday. And we have a freaking Xfinity race to run… but we get to push a car on the grid Sunday for the first time ever.”

Justin Allgaier himself testified to what this win means for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Before the race, the two-time Daytona 500 winner injected Allgaier with all the motivation he needed. Allgaier said, “This guy right here, his lip was quivering and his hands were shaking before the race. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that out of Dale Jr. He told me before the race I’m nervous. I don’t want to make you nervous, but I’m really nervous. It’s the truth. This means a lot to our team, this little team of JR Motorsports. Dale Jr. is an amazing race car driver. He’s an amazing dad, car owner. You can tell how much he wanted this and our whole shop wanted this.”

Justin Allgaier himself was already on cloud nine before the big milestone. He also gave out all the signs of a wonderful outcome.

Allgaier beamed with confidence

This season, qualifying in the Daytona 500 was already a little difficult. NASCAR’s new 41st rule allowed Helio Castroneves to get in no matter what his qualifying result was. Nine teams had to fight tooth and nail for the remaining coveted spots. Despite these odds, Justin Allgaier beamed with confidence. The entire Cup Series garage was flooding JRM employees with messages wishing them good luck. What is more? Allgaier has never won a Cup Series race or a race at Daytona International Speedway. In his previous Cup Series stint, he won one career top-10 finish and Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors in 2009.

As motivated as Dale Earnhardt Jr. was to relive his glory in Daytona, Justin Allgaier was determined to leave his mark. Before qualifying, Allgaier overflowed with optimism. “Five years ago, I would have said that this day would never come. It finally came. It’s everything that I thought it would be and then some… I’m proud of the effort just to get to this point.” He saluted Dale Jr.’s efforts too: “To see Dale’s excitement for this, I think it makes me excited for it,” Allgaier said. “Whether I’m involved in it or not, it makes me excited for it seeing his excitement. I think that’s bled through into all of our employees. It’s really bled into the garage…We’re going to do everything we can to make it into the 500.”

Dale Jr. was also full of praise for Allgaier in his pit-road interview after the race, saying, “First off, I’m so proud of Justin man. He put the whole team on his back those last couple of laps and he got to the top… I did not think that was possible… He’s put a group together that’s motivated.” Allgaier pulled off a sensational three-wide move on the penultimate lap to get to the top and drive his way to the transfer spot. A move that two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Jr. was incredibly proud of.

Years of effort have come to fruition for JR Motorsports as Dale Jr. gets to grace the Daytona 500 as an owner for the very first time. Now all JRM needs to do is set a higher goal and win its debut Daytona 500. Do you think Justin Allgaier has what it takes to claim the Harley J. Earl Trophy?