Dale Earnhardt Jr Lashes Out at Fans Hating on Chicago as He Argues There Should Be More Street Races

The Grant Park 220 was one of the most-viewed NASCAR events in recent history. With a total of 4.795 million viewers tuning in for Cup Series‘ first-ever street circuit race, the rain-shortened, 75-lap race in Windy City was a massive blockbuster, going down as NBC’s most-viewed NASCAR race in 6 years.

The numbers and analytics highlight the community’s warm reception of the event. Amidst it all, Dale Earnhardt Jr, who was the brains behind the resurrection of North Wilkesboro and whom many would consider a traditionalist, resonated with the idea of incorporating more street courses into the schedule.

Speaking on The Dale Jr. Download podcast, the JR Motorsports co-owner shared his thoughts about the event, even speculating where will the next street race be held. While purists and old-school fans despised the idea of racing Cup cars on a street course with many expressing their displeasure of NASCAR going against its core values, Dale Jr was all in for NASCAR’s new idea as he pointed out the excitement and enthusiasm the Chicago Street Course brought to the fans, saying, “I think it’s worth another try.” 

Dale Earnhardt Jr reveals the reality of Street Course racing, mentioning the greater good the Chicago race achieved

Over the years, NASCAR has been spreading its wings to newer pastures like Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Brazil, showcasing its elite discipline of racing. However, the sport is often dubbed as a dying sport—one that is losing its traditional fans and values with changing times. But the reality is much more layered. Even though the organization struggled to meet its ends during the pandemic much like every other sports promotion, the American sporting giant is witnessing a great resurgence with younger fans starting to follow the sport religiously.

With young fans accounting for almost 60% of the sport’s audience, the changing times have forced the organization to adapt accordingly. One of the solutions has been incorporating modern road courses and street circuits. Dale Jr, for one, clearly understands this rift and is all in for more street courses.

“I think it was more than anybody anticipated,” said Dale Jr, surprised by the numbers the event garnered worldwide. Also with 3x Supercar Champion Shane Van Gisbergen claiming the win in his first-ever Cup race, NASCAR proudly flaunted its new racing genre to the world with fans tuning in from across the globe, especially from New Zealand and Australia. 

Dale Jr continued, “And the number we got from Television was I think pretty surprising but also exciting, all of those things absolutely made me believe that if NASCAR could have more than one street course next year,” now with the challenging part (organizing a massive event in a crowded city like Chicago) is over and done with he believes that the best is yet to come. “Trying to you know get, some great weather and really get that crowd there looking for really make the impact they hope to make, and this year I think it’s worth another try,” said the veteran. 

READ MORE: Sensitive Carl Edwards’ “Cheap Move” Against Matt Kenseth Made Dale Earnhardt Jr ‘Change His Opinion’ of Him

While he shares his curiosity about where the next street course is going to be, the 49-year-old shoots a significant aspect that purists and traditionalists overlook, “whether we don’t like or whether we love it or whether we don’t like it you can’t deny the viewership and that now TV number is going to drive NASCAR to do this more often,” said the veteran driver. 

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While NASCAR and Chicago City officials have negotiated a 3-year deal, looking to bring the event the next year, the clause of the peculiar agreement also offers both parties to walk off from the agreement before the stated time period and this certainly has the community eager for more news.

Despite the runaway success of the organization’s first-ever Street course in its long 75 years of racing legacy, the city Mayor, who is also a former teacher said he will “assess it and grade it” and make it an “open process.”

While the weather played spoilsport delaying the Cup Series by over 90 minutes and eventually shortening the race by 25 laps the 2-day event itself brought in numerous fans from around the country to the Windy City much like how old-school NASCAR races were, bringing in the excitement.

WATCH THIS STORY: Dale Earnhardt Jr & fans slam NASCAR Drivers for their Embarrassing “Logjam” incident in Chicago

Whereas NASCAR’s COO, Steve O’Donnell was confident after Sunday’s race, saying, “We can take the Cup Series anywhere we want. The race we put on today would sell and be embraced globally.”