Dale Jr. reveals “nobody came over” apart from sister Kelley Earnhardt and LW Miller to celebrate JRM’s top-10 Daytona finish

Dale Jr. has revealed how he celebrated JR Motorsports' debut top-10 finish (debut Cup Series race) at the Daytona International Speedway during the NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500. He mentioned that he sat down with the Dirty Mo Media group, and his sister Kelly Earnhardt Miller, and they made an impromptu plan to have beers.

JR Motorsports has a reputed history of racing in the Xfinity Series and it was on display at Daytona 500 when Justin Allgaier engineered a top-10 finish. Owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr, his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, Rick Hendrick, and LW Miller, the team currently fields four cars in the series.

The 2025 Daytona 500 in the Cup Series came as an opportunity for the team. The team chose their reliable driver Allgaier to pilot the #40 on the field, marking JR Motorsports' debut in the Cup Series.

He ran competitively and managed to finish the race in ninth position after Denny Hamlin's final lap crash. Finishing within the top 10 on their debut emerged as a major achievement for the team.

Discussing their celebration on the Dale Jr. Download podcast after achieving the milestone, he revealed that he shared a few beers with his sister and other crew members.

"We sat around the camper and drank some beer," Jr. said (04:40 onwards).

His co-hosts then revealed the people who were with him during the celebration - Kelly Earnhardt Miller and LW Miller. Subsequently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed more details, saying:

"I said we're drinking beer, I thought I made it clear and I got some nods and okay yeah and then, man, we went over to the camper and nobody came over there," he added.

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Dale Jr. on taking his team to the NASCAR Cup Series

Notably, this was JR Motorsports' first taste of the premier Cup Series. The team has been running in the Xfinity Series since 2005 and has amassed four driver championships and over 80 wins. With such a successful record, the team debuted at the Daytona 500, ending up with yet another impressive finish.

Reviewing the race, Dale Jr. said: (via NASCAR)

"It really was good for me, I think, to come here and experience this to see if it was truly something that I felt like I wanted," Dale Jr. said. "I think this helped me understand that I do want to be here personally. I do feel like it’s what I should be striving for."

He further also discussed the chances of JR Motorsports running in the Cup Series full-time in the future.

"We’re always ready. Have been for years, so we’ll see," he added. "When we started putting this deal together, I told Kelley, you never know what this experience might drum up and in terms of interest for some partners that want to help us get here full time."

Allgaier, who ran the Daytona 500 for the team, has been racing with JR Motorsports since the 2016 Xfinity Series season. He won the Xfinity championship last year.