Aero-Blocking: Dale Jr Makes His Stance Clear Even Though Denny Hamlin Sidekick Tried to Shut Down All Talks Initially

Denny Hamlin’s win at Dover Motor Speedway has turned into the new talk of the town after his use of aero-blocking tactics. Now, we can all agree that the Next Gen car has its flaws. But trying to rebrand a phenomenon that has already existed in the sport and blame it on the new car just didn’t make sense.

Journalist, Jeff Gluck tried to get Chris Gabehart’s thoughts on the same in a post-race interview. The veteran crew chief wasn’t thrilled with Larson’s take on how to tackle the blocking. While further explaining how aero-blocking is just an evolution of the sport, linking it to fuel-mileage racing at Superspeedway races.

Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson were the first to ignite the fire, and in reply, the JGR star labeled his rival’s arguments as “b*tching” on his podcast. Weighing on the discussion, Dale Earnhardt Jr has now shared his take via X, agreeing with the explanation shared by Gluck.

Chris Gabehart defends Denny Hamlin’s smart use of blocking tactics at Dover

In a bid to clear up the confusion regarding the dirty air and the aero-blocking technique, Gluck shared a video explaining how aero was just as relevant back in the day as it is now. And how the mirror, with the help of digital screens, has allowed drivers to exercise these aero blocks precisely.

While he agreed that aero racing has been around for a long time, he acknowledged the change in the style of racing with the new generation of cars, particularly in the last five years. “The topic this week has been about air-blocking as a technique used by the leader to defend. And that is relatively new (within the last five years),” Gluck shared on X. In response, Dale Jr chimed in the comments section, stating, “Indeed.”

Meanwhile, Chris Gabehart defended his driver’s tactics on display at Dover in a post-race interview, stating, “So we just left Talladega, and we’ve seen what direction that racing has evolved to. 20 years ago at Talladega, I mean, we went through a phase where we’re Tandon drafting and way back when you’d have six cars finish on the lead lap, strung out all over the track. So the sport is evolving, like any sport would and aero blocking is no different.”

Although it’s an evolution of the sport, Dale Jr. feels like getting rid of the digital screen on the driver’s dashboard could be the solution to curb aggressive blocking.

Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Larson on the same page, discarding the rear-view camera from the race cars

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Thanks to the complex design and structuring of the Next Gen car, the drivers have to make use of the digital screen to know the whereabouts of the cars behind them. Denny Hamlin did confess that he didn’t rely on the piece of technology to fend off Larson late in the race. But given that aero-blocking has become a tool for drivers to keep their track position, Dale Jr. thinks that in the absence of the digital camera, the drivers will have to rely more on traditional racing skills to make those blocks.

“One thing they can do is to get rid of that digital camera. The digital camera allows the driver very very good understanding of exactly what’s going on behind him…I just feel like that the digital camera is too much, too good, too helpful. I think as long as it’s not a safety issue, right? You could take the camera out. Make the drivers go back to more traditional mirrors to try to see what they can see.” Dale Jr. said on his recent episode of DJD.

One thing is for certain, the over-reliance on technology, especially in racing, makes for a boring product. And NASCAR could do a bit by allowing the drivers to have more say in the racing.