Relive Dale Jr.'s Daytona 500 Weekend as Grand Marshal

Ron Lemasters | 2/19/2018

Dale Jr. Daytona 500 NASCAR Nationwide News

Just like he’s done for the past however-many years, Dale Jr. was on the grid for the Daytona 500, only this time around he had a different perspective.

 

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Feb. 19, 2018) – Just like he’s done for the past however-many years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was on the grid for the 60th annual running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday morning. The only difference was, he wasn’t dressed in his firesuit and there wasn’t a helmet—or car, for that matter—with his name on it anywhere in sight.

The recently retired Earnhardt Jr. was serving as Grand Marshal for the event, on the 20th anniversary of his father’s lone Daytona 500 victory and the 17th anniversary of that terrible day in 2001.

As can be seen by his Instagram posts, the 43-year-old Earnhardt Jr. made the most of his day as the Grand Marshal.

Wearing a vintage T-shirt that featured his father behind the wheel, Earnhardt Jr. had his own media availability that morning, attended the driver’s meeting and generally did all the things he could never do when he was competing. He gave the command to the starting field as well.

One of the highlights of the day was getting to hang out with fellow Nationwide pitchman Peyton Manning, who was the honorary pace car driver for the race. Earnhardt Jr. had a few quips about the fact that both are now retired.

“I got a job before he did,” Earnhardt Jr. quipped. “I don’t know if he’s just staying retired. It was good to talk to him a little bit about what he’s doing and how he’s spending his time.”

He also talked about the fact that, as tense as Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race was for him - Tyler Reddick won in his first start for JR Motorsports in a photo-finish over teammate Elliott Sadler - as a team owner, it was easier in a way because he didn’t have to climb in the race car on Sunday.

“This is the first race we’ve won on Saturday that I haven’t had to worry about Sunday,” he said. “I walked around every day of my life with a thousand pounds on my back that was Sunday. I think every driver does that. Now that all that is off my shoulders, every day of my life is so much more enjoyable. I loved driving cars on Sunday, but it made everything else sit in the back seat. Everything else wasn’t as enjoyable as it could have been.”

Here’s a sample of his day as Grand Marshal at Daytona International Speedway:

 

 

Making my rounds this morning. #Daytona500

A post shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on

 

 

 

Daytona 500 Grand Marshal press conference. #Daytona500

A post shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on

 

 

 

My t-shirt choice today. I feel real good about it. #Daytona500

A post shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on

 

 

 

Peyton is here. We can start the race now. #Daytona500

A post shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on

 

 

 

A post shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on

 

 

 

Packing my bags for South Korea. Mid flight snack?

A post shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@dalejr) on