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

Dale Earnhardt Jr. blinked back tears as the moment hit 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,

With an emotional qualifying night in the rearview, Justin Allgaier and JR Motorsports are looking forward to racing in Sunday's Daytona 500.