“I’ll keep them forever”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares the special JRM memento used during the Daytona 500 that he’ll never part ways with 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared a meaningful piece of memorabilia from JR Motorsports' (JRM) first-ever NASCAR Cup Series appearance at the 2025 Daytona 500. In a social media post, Earnhardt Jr. revealed that he plans to keep a special set of spark plugs used in the race as a memory of the event.

He uploaded the story to his official social media account, sharing an image of the eight spark plugs displayed in a box with race-specific details. Dale Earnhardt Jr., a two-time Daytona 500 champion and co-owner of JRM, has been vocal about his plans to bring the team into full-time Cup Series competition. The image was shared with the caption,

"These 8 plugs fired our sled around Daytona 500 miles. I’ll keep them forever."

The box label read,

“JRH 3048, JRM 40, Daytona 500, 2-16-25”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. story on Instagram. Source: Instagram, @dalejr

The memento marks a significant milestone for JRM, a dominant team in the Xfinity Series since 2005. The team boasts 88 race wins and four driver championships. The 2025 Daytona 500 represented their inaugural official entry into the NASCAR Cup Series, with reigning Xfinity Series champion Justin Allgaier piloting the No. 40 Chevrolet. Despite this being their debut, Allgaier delivered an impressive ninth-place finish.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. calls for changes to improve Daytona 500 racing

Other than celebrating JRM's milestone, Dale Earnhardt Jr. also shared his concerns about the state of racing at Daytona. On the latest episode of his podcast, "Dale Jr. Download," he discussed how the race's current format needs adjustments to keep fans engaged.

Earnhardt Jr. criticized the way drivers save fuel and struggle to pass, leading to large multi-car crashes. He believes NASCAR must rethink its approach to drafting tracks rather than implementing quick fixes.

"I’m not going to worry about that because I think we can fix it if we can take this issue seriously and really go after trying to make it different and improve it," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. "Let’s not f****** add a stage or make them put a smaller fuel cell in there. Those are band-aids. Let’s not add gimmicks. That is not a long-term solution. Those are things that will get somebody back tomorrow but they won’t stay. We’ve got to reimagine how to do this from the very basics and see if we can’t have an entirely different product." [52:54]

This year's Daytona 500 had multiple major wrecks, including a 15-lap-to-go crash that took out top contenders Joey Logano and Kyle Busch. Another crash with fewer than 10 laps remaining had Ryan Preece's car flip multiple times. The final lap featured an accident involving leader Denny Hamlin, which allowed William Byron to claim his second consecutive Daytona 500 victory.