Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wins the 2025 Daytona 500 in Stunning Comeback Victory
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a storybook ending that will be remembered for generations, Dale Earnhardt Jr. captured the checkered flag at the 2025 Daytona 500, fulfilling a lifelong dream and cementing his legacy at NASCAR’s most iconic track.
The victory comes more than two decades after his first Daytona 500 triumph in 2004 and marks an emotional high point in his return to competitive racing. Earnhardt Jr., who stepped away from full-time racing in 2017, stunned the motorsports world when he announced a one-off return for this year’s Great American Race. At 50 years old, he defied expectations and delivered a masterclass in superspeedway racing.
Starting from the middle of the pack, Earnhardt Jr. methodically worked his way to the front, using veteran tactics and drafting expertise. As the laps wound down, a late-race caution set up a dramatic green-white-checkered finish. Lining up second behind defending champion Ryan Blaney, Earnhardt Jr. executed a perfect push on the restart, staying locked to Blaney’s bumper until the final lap. Coming out of Turn 4, he made a daring slingshot move to the outside, narrowly edging out Blaney at the finish line by .027 seconds in one of the closest finishes in Daytona 500 history.
“I can’t believe it,” an emotional Earnhardt Jr. said in Victory Lane. “This is what we dream about. I came here just wanting to be competitive, but to win—it’s unbelievable. This place means everything to my family, to my dad, to me. To be back here as a Daytona 500 champion again, I don’t even have the words.”
The win holds extra significance for Earnhardt Jr., whose father, the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr., won his only Daytona 500 in 1998 before tragically losing his life at the same track three years later. As Earnhardt Jr. climbed out of his car, the crowd erupted in deafening cheers, fully aware of the historical weight of the moment.
With this victory, Earnhardt Jr. becomes the oldest Daytona 500 winner in history, surpassing Bobby Allison’s record set in 1988. Whether or not this signals more races in his future, one thing is certain—Dale Jr.’s Daytona dream has finally come true.
