Dale Jr. brought to tears as his car makes the Daytona…

While Bubba Wallace earned a victory in the first Duel race before the 2025 Daytona 500, all eyes — particularly Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s — were on the middle of the field as the action came to a head.

That's because Justin Allgaier, piloting the No. 40 Chevrolet co-owned by Earnhardt and his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, was running three-wide and driving the race of his life against the outside wall. For a while, the reigning Xfinity Series champion had struggled to make up ground. But in the waning moments of the race, the third lane formed up and he pushed his way into NASCAR's biggest race, finishing ninth — ahead of J.J. Yeley, the driver he had to beat to make it to Sunday's race.

"This guy right here [Earnhardt Jr.] -- we get to race on Sunday," said Allgaier. "His lip was quivering and his hands were shaking before the race. I don't think I've ever seen that out of Dale Jr. He told me before the race, he said, 'I'm nervous. I don't want to make you nervous, but I'm really nervous.'"

Dale Jr. "can't believe it"

Earnhardt was just as emotional after Allgaier's drive, though in a whole different way. He brushed tears aside as the team embraced. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has been a part of every aspect of JR Motorsports' Cup debut, even showing up before sunrise to watch the team unload the car.

"First off, I'm so proud of Justin, man," said Earnhardt Jr. "He put the whole team on his back those last couple of laps. He got to the top, and I did not think that was possible, but he got up there and made something work. It was his only shot and he got some help. So we got some people to thank. Just a great race car. Greg Ives [crew chief] has put a group together that is motivated. There's some special people on this team that I've worked with all the way back to 1998. But I'll tell you, this sport is amazing -- everything about it. I've seen it from so many different lenses and I love the challenges. I wouldn't want it any other way.

But more to the point, Earnhardt Jr. continued:

"This was hard, emotionally. I can't believe we got to race on Sunday. I just can't believe it."

Justin Allgaier, JR Motorsports Chevrolet (Photo by: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

J.J. Yeley was left on the other side, reflecting on what could have been. "I just needed more pace, unfortunately," he said. Yeley has failed to make the 500 in his last five attempts; he lost out last year in a nailbiter with Jimmie Johnson, who made this year's Daytona yesterday.

"I just didn't have that pull to where I could make something happen," said Yeley. "Seven to go, and I got by the 40 [Allgaier], and 56 [Truex] went by us on the outside. I just committed to the bottom and put all my whiskey in one glass, hoping that was where I needed to be. Three to go, it looked like that was going to work out. I know with two to go, it just kind of goes into full chaos ... But I lost a bit of my help, and at that point I was hoping there would be more carnage off of four. Didn't get it."