“There’s still some mountains to climb”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflects on an “emotional” few days as Cup team owner

The Daytona Speedweek has been emotionally overwhelming for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a one-off Cup team owner. The former NASCAR driver found himself desiring full-time Cup team ownership even more, while acknowledging the challenge it would present.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a 50-year-old Kannapolis native who owns JR Motorsports. He entered the Daytona 500 for the first time as a team owner following years of competition in the Xfinity Series. His driver, Justin Allgaier, locked them into the race on Sunday.

Speaking about the No. 40 team's historic Daytona 500 run, Dale Jr. admitted feeling emotional, saying:

"It's really emotional. I had no idea that it was going to feel the way it feels having not ever been in this situation and just didn't know that it was going to be as emotional as it's been."

The two-time Daytona 500 winner shared realizing a deeper longing to become a Cup team owner amid the Daytona Speedweek.

"But I think that maybe I wanted to be a Cup owner even worse than I thought, which I wanted a lot... maybe I want it more than I even realized," Dale Jr. stated.

He concluded by saying:

"It really opened my eyes up to the fact that there's still some mountains to climb."

During the Duel 1 at Daytona, Justin Allgaier, driving the No. 40 Chevrolet Camaro for JR Motorsports, finished ninth. His performance was enough to qualify for one of the four open car Daytona 500 spots.

The drivers from unchartered teams competing in the "Great American Race" include Corey LaJoie, Martin Truex Jr., and Jimmie Johnson. Four-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves also makes the final cut through NASCAR's new rule, the Open Exemption Provisional (OEP).

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 40 team will start 19th, ahead of Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch, respectively.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares race strategy for Daytona 500

In an interview in the Daytona Fan Zone, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared their strategy for the Daytona 500. He is looking to allow the No. 40 team to let Justin Allgaier "mash the gas" on a track where fuel saving is essential to score good points.

The JR Motorsports owner said (via the Dale Jr Download):

"I am lobbying for the rest of the weekend with Greg Ives [No. 40 team crew chief] to let him [Justin Allgaier] mash the gas on Sunday. We're going to the front."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stated he'd prefer to lose the race by running out of fuel while leading, rather than finish poorly.

"I would rather lose the race because the cautions didn't fall perfectly than because I was sitting in 20th and it was time to go and I couldn't go." he concluded.

Superspeedway tracks, including Daytona and Talladega, tend to reward drivers with a good fuel-saving strategy. As such, it would be interesting to see how the No. 40 strategy would pan out.

The start time for the Daytona 500 on Sunday has been moved from 2:30 p.m. ET to 1:30 p.m. ET. Officials made the change to avoid a potential race suspension due to forecasted later-day rain.