NASCAR legend issues 30-word statement after Daytona 500 failure

NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt Jr, has issued a statement on social media after his team, JR Motorsports, failed to lock in a spot for the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt Jr’s NASCAR team have fielded their first ever Cup Series entry for 2025, with Justin Allgaier the only driver in the car for the Daytona 500.

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However, Allgaier failed to make it into Sunday’s race after qualifying on Wednesday night, finishing 33rd overall.

If former champions Martin Truex Jr or Jimmie Johnson finish first among the Open teams in their duels, then Allgaier could lock in a place in the Daytona 500.

To catch all of the exciting Daytona 500 action live on Fox Sports this week, via FuboTV, click here.

Can Earnhardt Jr’s team secure a Daytona 500 spot?

Earnhardt Jr has since composed a statement on social media following the disappointing qualifying performance, but still believes JRM have a chance at competing in the Daytona 500.

“Damn it woulda been nice to lock in tonight,” he wrote on X.

“But we get to come back tomorrow and race our way into the Daytona 500 in a dual. Living the dream.”

Damn it woulda been nice to lock in tonight. But we get to come back tomorrow and race our way into the Daytona 500 in a dual. Living the dream.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) February 13, 2025

“I mean, obviously you want to qualify your way in,” Allgaier added after qualifying.

“You want to be locked in. You want to have all the pleasantries of knowing that you’re in, right?

"But at the same time, we knew that it was going to be an uphill battle. The guys that you’re racing against — I mean, Jimmie and Martin both laid down incredible laps and did exactly what they needed to do.

“I look at the lap. I mean, I’ll go back and study it and try to figure out what we needed to do to be better, but we did the best job we thought we could do, and it just came up a little bit short.”

In exciting news for Earnhardt Jr, despite the setback in qualifying, Justin Allgaier has qualified for the Daytona 500 on Sunday after finishing as the highest open entry car in the first duel race on Thursday night.

READ MORE: 2025 NASCAR Cup Series: Daytona 500 start times, schedule and TV channels

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