Two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip congratulates Dale Earnhardt Jr. on ‘great’ Daytona 500 week: “Your smiles were fun to see”

Four-time NASCAR Cup Series winner and FOX NASCAR personality Michael Waltrip congratulated former teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a successful week at the Daytona 500. Earnhardt's team, Jr. Motorsports, made its Cup Series debut with Justin Allgaier after qualifying for "The Great American Race" through the Duels at Daytona. Allgaier drove the #40 Jr. Motorsports Chevrolet to a ninth-place finish in Sunday's Daytona 500.

Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 winner, took to X to share a photo of himself interviewing the star car owner prior to Sunday's race as part of FOX NASCAR's "Grid Walk", a weekly interview segment conducted by Waltrip. The FOX broadcaster penned a heartfelt caption for his longtime friend, writing:

"Your smiles were fun to see my friend. Congrats on a great @DAYTONA 500 week @DaleJr @JRMotorsports"

Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. were teammates at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI), a team owned by Earnhardt Jr.'s late father and seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt. Waltrip's first career win came in the 2001 Daytona 500 but was marred by Earnhardt's tragic death in a last-lap crash. Waltrip later won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in 2002 for his second career win and won two more races in 2003, including the Daytona 500 and at Talladega.

Jr. Motorsports will continue being an Xfinity Series team predominantly, fielding four full-time entries. Rookies Carson Kvapil and Connor Zilisch field the #1 and #88 for the team, respectively, while Allgaier continues to pilot the #7 car and Sammy Smith the #8 machine.

Last season, Jr. Motorsports won its fourth Xfinity Series championship with Allgaier behind the wheel. The driver of the #7 won two races and captured the title amid his 14th season on the circuit.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he could "get used" to the team's social media Cup updates

For now, Jr. Motorsports making Cup Series appearances was a one-time thing for this year's Daytona 500. However, owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to enjoy watching his team's social media updates as Sunday's race unfolded.

JRM's social media team provided lap-by-lap updates on the status of Justin Allgaier and the #40 team throughout Sunday's 200-lap event. The 26-time Cup Series winner reposted one of the updates shared by the team on X and made his feelings known on what he thinks of seeing Jr. Motorsports at the Cup level. He wrote:

"Can get used to these cup racin' updates from the JRM handle 💪🏼"

While not a primary Cup Series organization, JR. Motorsports has helped develop some of the top Cup stars of this generation. JRM has won Xfinity Series championships with Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick, who are three of the top drivers in the Cup Series today.