Despite the chaos at the end of the Daytona 500, there were a few positive stories to come out of the race. 

Perhaps the best one was a top-10 run from JR Motorsports Xfinity Series driver Justin Allgaier, who made the team’s first ever start in the Cup series after racing his way into the 500 via Thursday’s Duels.

An owner in the Xfinity series for two decades, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — who is arguably the most famous NASCAR driver today despite being retired — would shake up the sport in a truly positive way if he does make the move up to Cup in the coming years.

And it’s something he is finally admitting some interest in doing.

"I think this helped me understand that I do want to be in the Cup Series, personally," Earnhardt said after the 500. "I do feel like that it's what I should be striving for. JR Motorsports loves being in the Xfinity Series, and we got a great business model, and we think we do a great job there. It would be a big challenge, but something Kelley and I could put a lot of effort into for the next several years."

That should be news to fans’ ears, who would love the see the Earnhardt name back in the Cup series on a full-time basis for years to come. Dale Jr.’s fans of course remember him driving for his dad’s Dale Earnhardt Inc. for the first half of his career, and this would be a truly welcomed addition to the Cup lineup across the board — especially now that Dale Jr. has emerged in retirement as one of the sport’s biggest mouthpieces and commentators.

Having that Earnhardt presence at the track every Sunday could be huge as the sport tries to draw the next generation of fans into the sport in the years to come.

Shorter-term, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dale and Kelley run Allgaier in a few more Cup events this season, assuming sponsorship is there to cover the costs. Regarding the purchase of a charter, I would anticipate they'll wait to see what happens in the antitrust lawsuit currently being litigated before committing to purchase any charters that may come up for sale, but it’s good to get their name out there even now as a potential buyer down the road.

Cup Series cars are back on track and racing for points, so all is right with the world if you are a NASCAR fan. Kicking off the action at Daytona on Thursday evening were the Duels, which helped set the lineup for the Great American Race on Sunday.

Bubba Wallace claims glory

Let’s start by talking about the first Duel, which ended with 23XI driver Bubba Wallace being the one to claim the checkered flag and take home his first victory at Daytona. A consistently strong superspeedway racer throughout his career, it was great to see Bubba finally deliver with a Daytona win, and it provides him with good momentum as he heads into Sunday and the big race. A win in the Daytona 500 would be a massive jolt for Bubba’s career, and the best possible start to the season. And after Thursday’s impressive run, he has put the competition on notice that he’s not here to run in the back of the pack on Sunday.

Wallace spoke after the race about his emotional evening at the Duel and the victory.

“What a good night. I didn’t know how it was going to play out, and we got the lead there and my McDonald’s Camry just switched like a light switch to a totally different balance from being in the pack. It was a little bit edgy out front, but luckily, I’ve got some years under my belt that people still trust me. I was lucky to have Tyler (Reddick) behind me – he did a great job pushing me. I appreciate that massive 23XI effort to get us this win,” Wallace said. “It sets us up really good for Sunday. We will enjoy this little moment right now. I told myself I would do more of – enjoy the little stuff. But hats off to these guys here. The best thing is – I cried when I walked out with (my son) Becks on pit road for driver intros, and it is really special to have him here. It is awesome.”

Team owner Denny Hamliln said he was impressed by the performance of both Bubba and teammate Tyler Reddick in the Duel.

“It’s awesome. Tyler (Reddick) was able to get a Duel last year and then Bubba (Wallace) this year. The 23 and 45 really controlled that race quite a bit so it was great to see. Even though they didn’t qualify (last night) where we expected, I think obviously the true speed of their Camrys really showed up tonight,” Hamlin said.

After 21 years, 674 races, 34 wins, 146 top-5s and 287 top-10s, 23 pole positions and 12,639 laps led in the Cup series, one Cup series championship and two Xfinity (then Busch) Series championships, Martin Truex will bid farewell to full-time Cup racing at the conclusion of the 2024 season.

His career is one with many highs and lows, and looked to be on life support on multiple occasions early on. Despite winning two Busch Series titles driving for Dale Jr.’s Chance 2 Motorsports, he did not find consistent success in his early years with Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Michael Waltrip Racing, and after a decade in the sport he had only notched 2 victories.

Furniture Row miracle

Truex’s rise began at Furniture Row Racing, the now-defunct “little team that could” based out of Colorado owned by Barney Visser that took Truex in starting in 2014 (in the wake of the disastrous “spingate” incident that Truex was a part of in 2013, a PR nightmare that left him looking for a ride). This one-car team was not likely to be a path to winning races and competing for championships. But that’s exactly what happened.

Truex won 17 races in his five years at Furniture Row, including 8 wins during his Cup championship-winning season in 2017. The scenes of that championship race and Truex’s celebration with longtime partner Sherry Pollex (RIP) are some of the most emotional and memorable in recent NASCAR history. This one-car team had stunned the field to win the title and slayed all the giant three- and four-car battalions.

Strong finish at Gibbs

After his time with the Furniture Row team came to a conclusion when the team sadly closed its doors at the end of 2018, Truex then moved on to powerhouse Joe Gibbs Racing, where he has continued to rack up wins (15 in total under the JGR banner).

Perhaps the most telling stat on Truex: Between 2017 and 2021 he not only won the lone Cup title, but also finished 2nd in points 3 different times. If a few small things change in those championship races, we could be talking about a multiple-time series champion.

So what’s the lesson from Truex’s career? He’s proof that a talented driver will eventually deliver if given the right equipment. The talent was always there, but the circumstances were not always in his favor at the teams where he drove.

Despite a decade of mostly struggling as a mid-tier performer in the Cup series, nowhere near showing championship caliber, a little team from Colorado showed faith in him, and together they shocked the world.

Other drivers have had late-career resurgences. Michael Waltrip comes to mind, for example. But none have taken that opportunity and made the most out of it as well as Martin Truex did. If you went back in time to 2014 and told a 34-year-old Truex that he would retire in a decade with 34 wins, he would have told you to get your head examined.

But it happened, and it’s a great story with a Hall of Fame spot likely awaiting Truex down the road. And don’t lock in those career stats just yet: He very well could knock out a few more wins and contend for one more title before he transitions to part-time in 2025.

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