“I think, it could be more bodies up in the booth. We need to establish the wave around, the free pass and the lineup.” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his CARS Tour. As a co-owner of the competition, he’s not just keeping short-track racing alive; he’s breathing new life into it by inviting NASCAR legends back to the track. His latest announcement has fans buzzing, and it’s clear Dale Jr. is chasing more than trophies.

The CARS Tour has faced its share of challenges. Its Cordele Speedway debut was a wild one, with Dale Jr. caught in a late-race wreck that dropped him to 21st. He didn’t hold back, calling for cleaner racing and respect among drivers. “We’ve got to flip our minds,” he said, stressing the need to protect cars and build a sustainable series. Connor Hall, who won at Cordele, called the track a “unique challenge” but admitted short tracks can be rough. “It’s not perfect, but it’s racing,” he said. Yet the series is growing.

Dale Jr. has his list of drivers ready of he wants to see behind the wheel

Dale Jr. shared on his Dale Jr. Download podcast, “And Newman’s been running the Modified. This came off a win in Orange County, so I called him up and I said, hey, it’s short notice, but I got this race car. It’s good. I can help find the things that we’re going to need to get you in it, get you entered. And so, yeah, I’m going to try to go out there and help him on Saturday with the tour.” Ryan Newman, the “Rocket Man,” is the first to answer the call. Fresh off a Modified win at Orange County Speedway, Newman will make his CARS Tour debut on April 26, at Ace Speedway, piloting a JR Motorsports-prepared Late Model Stock Car.

He revealed, “So I was talking to a guy that owns a couple cars, and he’s like, I’ve got a little inventory, just some dates where I’ve got a couple cars that I need drivers for. And I was like, well, I’ve got a couple drivers that I need cars for. You know, I’d love to get Newman and Kenseth, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Casey Mears. There’s a list of kind of semi-retired, retired guys that I would love to come race in our series once, right, just to say they did it, to tell us what they thought, what they think is good or bad about it,” He wants their experience, their feedback, and their passion to shape the series into something special. His excitement is contagious, and you can hear the love for racing in every word he speaks.

The names he listed carry weight. Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, is known for his cool-headed precision, famously holding off Kasey Kahne in a thrilling 2013 Las Vegas race to claim victory on his 41st birthday. That day, Kenseth led 42 laps, fending off Kahne’s late charge to win by a mere 0.594 seconds, proving his mastery under pressure. Kahne brought relentless speed to that Vegas battle. “I’m not a goal person, but my goal was to win and win early,” Kenseth said then, “Nobody put any pressure on me except for myself, but I also know that Coach (Joe Gibbs) hired me to come here and climb in the car and win races. You certainly want to do that — you don’t want to disappoint people”

After Newman’s near-fatal Daytona 500 crash in 2020, his return to racing feels like a triumph, and Dale Jr. is all in, helping with entry details and planning to be there to cheer him on. Fans on social media are excited, with posts calling it a “nostalgia bomb” for the ages. But Newman’s debut is just the start. Dale Jr. has a bigger dream—to bring a lineup of semi-retired and retired NASCAR stars to the CARS Tour, even if only for one race.

Brent Crews dominated the Pro Late Model race at Cordele, and Hall’s win showed the depth of young talent. Dale Jr.’s influence stretches beyond the track through Dirty Mo Media, where he’s reshaping NASCAR’s storytelling, bringing fans closer to the action. His mentorship of drivers like Josh Berry, who went from short tracks to NASCAR’s big stage, proves he knows how to spot and nurture potential.

Junior wants the veterans to race, reflect, and share what’s good or bad, building a bridge between NASCAR’s past and the CARS Tour’s future. As Newman gears up, the possibility of these icons following feels like a love letter to racing, and Junior’s passion is the ink.

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Junior doesn’t like to take credit for unearthing talents

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s not just a NASCAR icon—he’s a podcaster, team owner, commentator, and a guy with a gift for spotting talent, just like his dad, Dale Sr. But when you try to pin the credit on him for launching stars like Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Josh Berry, he shakes his head. In a recent Sports Illustrated interview, Junior got real about his role, and it hit me hard.

Take Parker Reztlaff, a young driver with Alpha Prime Racing. Junior’s eyes lit up when he talked about him. “He’s pretty much the kind of driver that, when he gets behind the wheel of a race car… he gets in a car and it runs better than you expect,” Junior said. He believes Reztlaff could win in a JR Motorsports or JGR car. “I can’t be sure to know whether he’s a Cup champion guy, yet, but… he’s going to win.” But here’s where Junior gets emotional.

He’s launched big names—Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex Jr., Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman, Cole Custer—but he won’t take the glory. “It’s not just me looking out there and saying, ‘Well, that guy is good,’” he said. “Oftentimes, it’s something you hear from someone else.” Like when Richie Gilmore tipped him off about Truex Jr., who won a championship with Junior’s Chance 2 Motorsports in 2004.

Junior’s voice softens when he talks about Josh Berry, his personal project, who just won at the Pennzoil 400. “I wish I could take full credit, be this savant of sorts, but you just gotta listen to people,” he said. That humility, that heart—it’s why Junior’s not just a legend, but a guy you can’t help but admire.