With tears flowing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets another shot at the Daytona 500 as a team owner

Dale Earnhardt Jr. blinked back tears as the moment socked him at Daytona International Speedway — a track bursting with triumph and tragedy for his family — that he was, with a country star and a NASCAR champ in tow, back in the Daytona 500. “I can’t believe that we get to race on Sunday,” Earnhardt said. Long NASCAR's most popular driver as he built a Hall of Fame racing career in the intimidating shadow of his father, Earnhardt celebrated Thursday night at the track where he won two Daytona 500s and suffered the loss his father on the last lap in the 2001 race.

Castroneves to use “world-class driver” provisional to race in Daytona 500 after qualifying crash

Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves will race in the Daytona 500 as a special 41st driver under a new rule that allows for a “world-class driver” to receive a provisional spot. “Unfortunately, we’re going to have to take the provisional," Castroneves said. Bubba Wallace in a Toyota for Michael Jordan-owned 23XI Racing won the first of the two qualifying races, which are used to set the starting order for Sunday's season-opening Daytona 500.