"Keep following your dream": Richard Childress backs Dale Jr. to have 'a heck of a good shot' in Daytona 500 debut as team owner

Richard Childress recently shared his wisdom to Dale Earnhardt Jr. ahead of the Daytona 500. The JR Motorsports co-owner hosted Childress on his podcast, and asked the legendary team owner for advice for his first outing as a team owner in the Cup Series.

Last month, JR Motorsports announced the team's Cup debut at the Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier behind the wheel. The first racecar for the Dale Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller-owned operation will be the #40 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by Traveller Whiskey.

On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, the JRM co-owner asked Richard Childress if he had some advice for his debut Daytona 500 outing as an owner. Childress said:

"Well first off, you're following your dream. Keep following your dream. Your dream is to have a Cup team someday, be a Cup champion from the side of owners. Just follow your dream, that'd be the first advice. I think it's going to be, you're going to enjoy it. I mean, you've got the gut wrenching moments at Daytona but making that race is not an easy task. I feel good about your car, our cars. You got a really good solid driver, you got good engines through the Hendrick deal, I think you're going to have a heck of a good shot." [9:00]

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Richard Childress agrees with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s thoughts of having pride as a NASCAR team owner

Sharing his thoughts on his upcoming Daytona 500 debut as an owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed he's looking forward to the race. Junior revealed that he has told everyone that while he won't assume anything in terms of being able to make the race, he's aiming to get to Daytona early.

Earnhardt told Richard Childress that he'd reach the venue ahead of the tech with the car on Wednesday, and wants to witness and push his car through practice and qualifying. He said he doesn't want to miss a thing, as he told Richard Childress:

"You've raced a long time, pushed a lot of cars onto the grid. But when you moved into the owners side of things and embraced that change in your life and were no longer a driver, the confidence, the pride in seeing your car and pushing your car on the grid to qualify for a race like the Daytona 500 is quite different than what it's like as a driver." [10:50]

Richard Childress said he agreed a 100% with Dale Jr.'s words. It's worth mentioning that in his 55+ year career as a team owner, Childress has won the Great American Race thrice.

The first win was the long-awaited Daytona 500 win of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s career in 1998, the second came in 2007 through Kevin Harvick, and the most recent one came in 2018 by Austin Dillon.