$300M star Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares a proud moment with sister Kelley amid JRM’s first Cup entry at the Daytona 500

JR Motorsports owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. is beaming with excitement for the Daytona 500, after fielding an entry in the NASCAR Cup Series for the first time. From the moment the car was unloaded, Dale Jr. has been soaking it all in, admiring his car turn laps around Daytona International Speedway.

JRM has partnered with award-winning country singer Chris Stapleton's brand, Traveller Whiskey, to field the #40 Chevy. Fresh off his Xfinity Series championship victory last year, Justin Allgaier was named the driver for Dale Jr.'s venture into the Cup Series.

During the first practice session on Wednesday (Feb. 12), the NASCAR Hall of Famer stood behind the pit wall, admiring his car as it turned laps around the iconic 2.5-mile oval. He shared a heartfelt photo of himself and his sister, Kelley, smiling at each other— a moment that captured the joy of seeing their longtime dream of fielding a Cup Series entry finally come to life.

The 50-year-old posted the photo on X (formerly Twitter) without any caption, but the smile on his face expressed pure pride and joy in what JR Motorsports has accomplished alongside his sister, Kelley.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., worth $300 million (as per Celebrity Net Worth) is fully embracing his role as a Cup Series team owner, making sure he's involved in every step of the process. He was present when the Cup Series garage opened early on Wednesday morning and stood by the hauler as team members unloaded the #40 Chevy and pushed it to the garage.

Justin Allgaier completed three laps during the practice session and was classified 36th at the end of the session. With 45 drivers vying for just 40 spots, Allgaier needs a solid qualifying lap on Wednesday to secure his spot in the Daytona 500. If he falls short, the Duel races on Thursday would be his last chance to race his way in.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented on becoming an owner in Cup garage

Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't own a NASCAR Cup Series charter, but fielding an open entry in the Daytona 500 has helped him realize his dream of walking into the Cup garage as an owner. The two-time Daytona 500 winner was excited to hang around the garage as an owner during the biggest race of the year.

"It's awesome, you know a dream of mine to be in the Cup garage as an owner. So it's pretty special to finally have that opportunity, especially at the biggest race of the year."

The JR Motorsports co-owner was glad NASCAR reintroduced the practice session before qualifying. He explained that the session would help new teams fine-tune their setups and sort out any issues before hitting the track in qualifying.

"Lot of preparation in the car, but it's time to get to work, get to business with practice, go out there and see what the car can do. I'm glad we got some practice, certainly with the brand new car, you got some bugs and things to work out and try to streamline everything, get everything to do what it's supposed to do. Hopefully by the night we've got the speed we need," Dale Earnhardt Jr said.

The Daytona 500 is scheduled for this Sunday (Feb. 16) at 2:30 PM ET. Catch the action live on FOX and MRN.