“Asking and Begging For” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Applauds NASCAR’s Delayed Vigilance Towards Driver Demands

NASCAR is known for its big fat rule book and even more for its frequent modifications to those rules. However, it always tries to make its rules to support the demands of its drivers and, most importantly, its fans. Sometimes, those changes work, sometimes they don’t. And that’s because, since the inception of the new generation stock car, a lion’s share of those changes come through trial and error. One such change in rule has taken the entire racing community by storm and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had something to say about it.

For context, NASCAR has increased the tread on the tires going into the penultimate race at Martinsville so that the tires have more grip. However, it didn’t quite work out the way they had anticipated. Too much grip, backed with the high-frequency rotation of the tires, could either result in faster wearing off of the tires or a decrease in the throttle. However, Dale Junior gave due credit to NASCAR, and this is why.

Despite its short-track difficulties, NASCAR received its flowers from Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The biggest challenge for the next-gen cars is that they don’t run very well on a short track. That’s because the Gen-7 car needs space to run. With the single-groove short tracks, passing a fellow contender by driving high or low is just not possible. This aero-drive becomes the sole factor that determines the nature of the traffic. But that’s not all.

Previously, when a driver made a mistake on the short tracks, it would give his rivals a chance to clear him. However, with the introduction of the 5th gear, drivers are now able to downshift and recover any loss of momentum, which ultimately hurts the short-track package. However, looking at the qualification and practice laps of the Xfinity race at Martinsville, Dale Earnhardt Jr. felt like the cars could benefit from the tire change.

Even if it did not, the JR Motorsports owner applauded NASCAR for at least trying to get this modification with only two races left in the season. Usually, when there is a need to make a change in the rule so late into the season, it’s kept on hold till the next year. But NASCAR paid heed to the urgency of a better driving experience at the short tracks and tried hard to make a change.

“They saw the urgency that everybody’s been asking and begging for on the short-track program,” he said, “It’s got to get better; it cannot be what we’ve had over the last couple of years. They went to Richmond, they tried hard with a lot of really good ideas they thought would bear fruit that didn’t.”

“All we’ve been told is even if we do find the answer… it may not get implemented for another 6 months or 12 months… And so, thank you [Goodyear] for efforts they have had to try to improve things,” he admitted.

Watch this story: Next Gen Cars Stir Debate in NASCAR

However keen NASCAR’s attention to details might be, oftentimes, bad weather ruins a perfectly good race. Every fan surely remembers how NASCAR was forced to cut The Grant Park 220 for a similar reason. Surprisingly, NASCAR had its way of dealing with unfavorable weather conditions too.

NASCAR’s wet weather package for selected ovals

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Besides being a high-value sport, NASCAR is also a fan-entertainment business. Hence, it works day and night to cater to the likes of the fans. This is why there have been instances when NASCAR ignored on-track crashes to give the fans as many green-flag laps as possible. It’s no shock that NASCAR has always been trying to accommodate the uninterrupted running of its races.

Now, NASCAR has introduced a wet weather package for the following tracks: the Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Lucas Oil Raceway Park, Martinsville, Milwaukee, New Hampshire, North Wilkesboro, Phoenix, and Richmond. Elton Sawyer, senior vice president of competition for NASCAR, has announced that the teams are expected to show up at these tracks with windshield wipers and wet weather tires.

According to NBC Sports, Sawyer said, “Our goal here is to get back to racing as soon as possible… If there’s an opportunity for us to get some cars or trucks on the racetrack and speed up that (track-drying) process and we can get back to racing, that’s what our goal is.”

“We don’t want to be racing in full-blown rain (at those tracks) and we’ve got spray like we would on a road course,” he added. It’s only a matter of time before NASCAR brings about a change that would obliterate its short-track problems. As racing fans, we can’t contain our excitement at seeing what new changes roll into the 2024 schedule.

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