JR Motorsports is Fired Up at Daytona

Danica Patrick stands inside her garage prior to turning laps during NASCAR
Nationwide Series practice Thursday. Credit: Chris Graythen, Getty Images

NASCAR is heading to Daytona this weekend for the annual 4th of July celebration and the JRM team is ready for an amazing weekend of racing. Nationwide’s Subway Jalapeno 250 is scheduled for Friday night at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be aired on ESPN.

Racing at Daytona this summer will be different with the draft. Pushing will not be as simple as it may have been in February, as outside temperatures are much hotter in July. thus making temperatures in the car even warmer. Drivers may push for a lap instead of two like they did last spring.

Danica Patrick is back for a night of stock car racing and will drive the No. 7 Go Daddy Chevrolet. This is Danica’s third start at Daytona. She started fourth in Daytona last February, her best start of her stock car career and the highest finish for a woman in NASCAR history.

If you are at the track, you can meet Danica at the JR Motorsports souvenir trailer Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. Because of her limited time availability, only 100 passes are available and can be purchased at the JRM souvenir trailer starting Thursday.

Aric Almirola will be sitting in the No. 88 Suave Men’s Chevrolet this Friday night and he too will be available for an autograph session at the trailer. Daytona is Almirola’s home track, which makes racing for him more exciting for him and his family. This will be his fourth start at the track this weekend.

Some may wonder if JRM’s boss Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be racing in Nationwide this Friday and the answer is a no. Last season, Earnhardt Jr. won the Subway Jalapeno 300 when he ran a special race with Wrangler Jeans in the No. 3 car, in honor of his dad's memory. That win did not count toward Earnhardt Jr.’s score in the Sprint Cup Series and it unfortunately did not result in a win in the Sprint Cup car the very next day. Earnhardt Jr.’s record at Daytona is solid in both Nationwide and Sprint Cup. (More information about Dale Jr. driving in Daytona this weekend will be available in a Sprint Cup preview article scheduled for Saturday.)

Genevieve is a creative writer living on Lake Norman in North Carolina and enjoys writing NASCAR news reports.