“The fan base is 100% locked in”: NASCAR fans come in full support as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JRM battles for Daytona 500 bid

NASCAR team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his disappointment on social media after driver Justin Allgaier failed to make it in Wednesday’s qualifying and fans rallied with support.

JR Motorsports (JRM) is fielding its first Cup Series entry this week with Allgaier driving the No. 40 Chevrolet at Daytona International Speedway. The defending NASCAR Xfinity Series champion raced to qualify for the season opener but narrowly missed out on locking in. JRM co-owner Earnhardt Jr. talked about the team's last chance to race its way in during the Bluegreen Vacations Duel on X.

"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. wrote.

Allgaier finished outside the top two Open cars and missed his spot by 0.080 seconds. He needs to grab one of the last two spots to race at the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Fans replied to Earnhardt Jr.'s post on X and shared their kind words.

"The fan base is 100% locked in. Let’s go dueling," wrote one.

"The entire NASCAR fanbase wants to see yall make it into the 500 tomorrow, best of luck," wrote another fan.

"Gator gonna win one of them Duels tomorrow night, Junior. I think it’ll be bad fast in race trim," replied another.

Others wrote their thoughts on the race and the Chevy's performance. Austin Dillon's No. 3 car was the fasted Chevy, which qualified in seventh place.

"None of the Hendrix cars appear to have the usual top tier speed. Hope y’all race well," wrote one fan.

"Man, I was disappointed in not seeing them Chevys with that usual raw super speedway speed tonight. Maybe that’s a good sign though that they will be fast in the draft," commented another.

"Nothing worth having comes easy," replied another.

Allgaier was the 33rd fastest overall while Jimmie Johnson and Martin Truex Jr. were the two fastest drivers out of the nine 'open' teams. They are locked into the lineup but can improve their starting position during the duels.

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"They used this method for decades" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. on practice option at superspeedways

NASCAR revised the practice and qualifying format for the 2025 season last year. One of the changes was that drivers would not practice at superspeedways except for the Daytona International Speedway. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes that the teams should have the choice.

After Christopher Bell said practice felt unnecessary, Earnhardt Jr. suggested a simple fix.

"Here's an idea. Open the track up for practice. If you don't want to practice, you don't practice. If you want to practice, you practice. Crazy idea I know, but would you believe they used this method for decades with no real complaints," Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote.

The Duel races start on Thursday, February 13, at 7 pm ET.