DAYTONA BEACH Dale Earnhardt Jr., like his father before him, bagged a lot of trophies for winning races at Daytona. But he never seemed to enjoy himself here as much as he did this past February, when he didnt even turn a lap around the 2.5-mile tri-oval.
And now hes going to do it again.
JR Motorsports, the Xfinity Series team co-owned by Junior and his sister Kelly Earnhardt-Miller, will again field a No. 40 Chevrolet for driver Justin Allgaier and attempt to make the 2026 Daytona 500. In another repeat effort, the single-car effort will partner with music star Chris Stapleton, carrying sponsorship support and branding from the crooners Traveller Whiskey.
As always, the Daytona 500 will kick off the 2026 regular season. The 68th edition is scheduled for Feb. 15.
JR Motorsports has been a longtime fixture, and four-time champion, in NASCARs Xfinity Series, which is rebranding this coming year as the OReilly Auto Parts Series. Allgaier, the 2024 series champ, piloted the teams Cup Series debut in the 2025 Daytona 500, but only after barely qualifying for The Great American race in the 150-mile Duel three days earlier.
On that Thursday night, everyone learned just how much it meant to Junior for his team to make the Daytona 500 in its first attempt.
Man, we got here and we got a taste of it, and holy moly, Junior said after the Duel. I didnt really know exactly how badly I wanted to do this or wanted to be a part of something like this until we started going through it,
We race. We love to race, and racing is hard, and I wouldnt have it any other way. This was rough emotionally, but damn it, its fun when it works out.
Three days later, Allgaier finished ninth in the big race.
The Earnhardt name has been a big part of the Daytona story for over 40 years. Dale Sr. won a wide variety of races at Daytona a record 34 in all and his long-sought Daytona 500 victory in 1998 is among the greatest Daytona highlights of all time.
Junior, like everyone else, was no match for his dads Daytona record, but it wasnt without trying. He won two Daytona 500s, along with two of Daytonas summertime 400-milers. In the Xfinity Series, where he was a two-time series champ, he won six times at Daytona, including four straight between 2002-04.
Junior also won five of the Thursday qualifying races and won twice in the preseason Shootout, now known as the Clash, giving him 17 Daytona wins overall.
As a team owner, JR Motorsports has nine Daytona victories in the Xfinity Series.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Dale Earnhardt Jr. back to NASCAR Daytona 500 as team owner in 2026