DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Veteran crew chief Greg Ives walked down pit road carrying his gear on Thursday night. He had to stop multiple times for hugs, fist bumps, and handshakes with team owners, drivers, crew chiefs, and pit crew members.
You see, this was not a standard post-race walk for Ives. He had just helped JR Motorsports qualify for the biggest race in team history, the Daytona 500.
"The emotion, to me, it felt like a win," Ives told AltDriver after sharing an embrace with Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks on pit road.
"...I find it humbling that I can come into the garage after a couple years and have people congratulate me, have people thankful that I'm here."
Ives is no stranger to the Daytona 500. He was a longtime crew chief at Hendrick Motorsports, and he was atop the pit box for the Great American Race eight times. His drivers -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Alex Bowman -- had won the pole for the Daytona 500 twice and had combined for six front-row starts.
This season marked a major change for Ives, who Dale Earnhardt Jr. specifically requested to lead the team so that he could bring some of his "magic."
Ives, Justin Allgaier, and the No. 40 JR Motorsports team did not have a guaranteed spot in the crown jewel race. They had to qualify on speed or through the Duel race.
"I've been in the sport for 21 years, and at Hendrick Motorsports," Ives said. "You take it for granted being locked in and being part of the Daytona 500. And this is a new experience for me."
The team fell short of its first goal. Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson took the two spots available in single-car qualifying.
This meant that Allgaier had to finish better than JJ Yeley, Chandler Smith, and Helio Castroneves during the first Duel race on Thursday night.
"I was seriously disappointed after qualifying and not being able to lock ourselves in," Ives said. "And it wasn't due to lack of effort. We didn't have the speed."
The No. 40 team left the track on Wednesday night facing immense pressure. They had the task of putting JR Motorsports into the Daytona 500. Having to do so in a 60-lap Duel race greatly increased the difficulty considering the inevitable crashes.
How did the team -- and Allgaier in particular -- handle the pressure? They rose to the occasion.
Allgaier avoided a multi-car crash on Lap 13 started by Chandler Smith. This incident knocked Smith and Castroneves out of the race and left Yeley as Allgaier's competition for a spot on the starting grid.
The reigning Xfinity champion had an early advantage over Yeley. He raced inside the top 15 for the majority of the race while Yeley remained 16th or worse, but the situation drastically changed as Lap 60 approached.
Allgaier fell through the running order and ended up behind his competition with three laps remaining. He needed to gain four spots to lock into the Daytona 500. He achieved this by taking the field three-wide and getting some much-needed help from pusher Michael McDowell.
Allgaier continued making aggressive moves on the outside. At times, he appeared inches away from crashing, including a sequence when Ty Dillon went to make a block and slammed into the outside wall.
Yet, he didn't crash. He crossed the line ninth overall and qualified for the Daytona 500. This was the performance Allgaier needed to have, one that Ives repeatedly compared to last season's Xfinity championship race.
"Those last two laps were probably the most fun I've ever had in a race car," Allgaier said in response to a question from AltDriver. "You literally just lock your elbows, and Michael was pushing me so hard.
"I'm like, 'Man, I don't know. I'm hitting the 16, he's hitting me, and it's like you don't know if you are going to come out the other side of it.'"
Allgaier avoided a race-ending wreck and finished ahead of Yeley. He officially locked JR Motorsports into the Great American Race and made history for the Earnhardt family.
This result made the long walk back to the garage that much sweeter for Ives.