Justin Allgaier, who has raced in only seven NASCAR Cup Series events since 2016, is stepping into Cup in the 500. It's a big deal for him, but even more so for his team owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"Where else do you go and barely make the field and cry tears of joy? Nowhere," Earnhardt said of the fabled speedway and race.

Standing next to his team’s car before Thursday’s qualifying race at Daytona International Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. looked at his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, in amazement. “God dang,” he said to her before the invocation,