Dale Earnhardt Jr Declares “Networks Are Trying to Take Advantage” Amidst Rising Anger Among NASCAR Fans

NASCAR is followed globally and has a massive following. It’s natural that many fans will have differing opinions. But if there is one thing that brings the fans together, it is their annoyance with the commercial breaks. And it seems that the frequency of such breaks has increased with time. Recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr discovered something new in this aspect.

The fans have always welcomed the two-time Daytona 500 winner’s behind-the-scenes insights through his podcast “The Dale Jr Download.” However, Dale Jr is a NASCAR fan first and then a driver. This time around, while discussing the commercial breaks during the race, he realized something notable.

Dale Earnhardt Jr discovers the reality behind the commercial breaks

Speaking on the recent episode of his podcast, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver explained his misconception regarding the in-race ads. He said, “One of the things, though, that surprised me, or I’ve learned, or come to understand and didn’t recognize. Like when I was watching races all of my life, I did: you [networks] got me on this one.

READ MORE – NASCAR Fans Slam “Unwatchable” Daytona 500 Amid Emergence of a Study of the Event’s Commercial Breakdown

“But when I got into the booth, I’m like ‘Oh okay, this is how this works.’ It’s the ads that are happening while we’re watching the race.

“There was a moment when they went to interview Noah Gragson during a stage break, running 30th just because that was an ad buy by Wendy’s. So they went to Noah and said, ‘Hey Noah, how’s your race going? Okay, thanks Noah.'”

He added, “And then immediately after that, we had a Toyota manufacturers ad buy where we went to set on cameras…of about three or four Toyotas.” Keeping this in mind, he had some interesting things to say for the broadcasters.

Dale gives the broadcasters’ point of view

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The 48-year-old continued his point by sharing some insights into how the broadcasters go about their things. Dale Jr said, “And those things, a lot of times, are happening and if you pay attention, you’ll pick up on when it’s an obvious ad purchase on-air. And so, I think that’s a necessary part of it.

“I understand that the networks are trying to take advantage of the opportunity to bring in ad revenue, they need to. It’s expensive to put on these races. Sometimes, though, I get, just the frequency of it, or how it’s done. Could it be done differently to where we don’t step away from where the action really is?”

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The frequency of commercial breaks is a topic of concern for broadcasters, especially given the fan outrage after the Daytona 500 this year. It will be interesting to see how they find the right balance between revenue and customer satisfaction.