Dale Earnhardt Jr Questions NASCAR’s Genius as Bubba Wallace Gets Sarcastic on Refusal to Exploit Disposable Assets

NASCAR had prepared for a wet weather scenario in New Hampshire. Rain tires were in place in case they were needed. With 82 laps to go in the race, there was a possibility of the cars being run under damp conditions. But even before the rain started to pick up, the red flag was dropped, and this certainly wasn’t appreciated by Dale Earnhardt Jr. Later, Bubba Wallace also tweeted his frustration at NASCAR’s decision.

The weather was getting bad in New Hampshire. There was lightning in the area, but not for a prolonged period of time. It seems NASCAR almost waited for the storm to get closer so they could halt the race. With wet-weather tires, there was a possibility of completing another 30-40 laps.

Unable to wrap his head around the call made by NASCAR to be quick on the trigger while trying to wrap up the race, Dale Jr took to his X account, and wrote, “No umbrellas in the interviews with @TylerReddick. Seems the exact scenario for this particular rain tire. I’m not there. Feels like we should be racing tho.”

It had only began to drizzle with rain drops falling on the track when the race was stopped. If the wet weather tires were in place, the question is why weren’t they used straightaway?

The criticism didn’t stop there. 23XI Racing star Bubba Wallace was also puzzled to see NASCAR eager to drop the red flag and not make use of the rain tires. Taking a sarcastic jibe, Wallace took to his X account and tweeted, “What rain tires…” The rain eventually picked up, but this was seen as a lost opportunity by Dale Earnhardt Jr and Wallace for not continuing the race despite having the special set of tires.

The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck was also left baffled by the decision, and tweeted, “Look, I’m listening to the booth’s arguments against using these tires in this scenario. But if that’s the case…then just call it. It’s over then. Why is everyone waiting? Either use the tires or call it. No? What am I missing? Waiting while there could be racing seems crazy.”

NASCAR eventually brought out the wet weather tires as the race resumed with 73 laps remaining of the scheduled 301. This marked only the second occasion in NASCAR history that a points-paying race used the wet tires, with Richmond in April being the first such instance.

After a more than two-hour delay in the final stage and with rain pelting down at “Magic Mile,” the drivers restarted their engines. The race was successfully completed with wet-weather tires proving to be a game changer under damp conditions.

NASCAR finally balanced competitive integrity and safety to complete the race. After the conclusion, NASCAR SVP was also keen to point out the importance of events in New Hampshire.

Wet weather tires provided a thrilling end to the USA Today 301

Although there’s still a lot NASCAR can do about how they can put the rain tires to good use, today’s event certainly was a benchmark. One that they can reflect on, learn from, and adapt for the future races. One of the big issues from the late race action was that the teams were still not allowed to choose the tire configuration.

With the track drying out, drivers were hoping to go back to slicks, but NASCAR only opened the option for the use of wet weather tires, thus completing the use of all three sets during the race. NASCAR’s SVP for competition, Elton Sawyer, explained why they decided to restrict the teams’ choice of tires after the race.

“Obviously, we’d like to be out of the tire business and just turn that over to the teams. But as we continue to take some small steps and we learn, eventually we’ll get there. We just wanted to do this in the safest way possible.” Giving NASCAR the benefit of the doubt, they did make a good call given how many wrecks and accidents unfolded late in the race.

However, the wet weather tires also forced teams to work with different strategies and adapt to the racing conditions. There were times when the field was four wide going into the turn. Drivers were running extremely low, hugging the apron, while some ran high up on the track. All of them were searching for nothing but a good grip, which was hard to come by in wet conditions.

But Christopher Bell, out of all the drivers, nailed his run as he kept his cool and led the field for the entirety of the wet weather tires run. The race did go into overtime, which allowed the likes of Josh Berry and Chase Briscoe to script a potential late comeback, but Bell never gave them the opportunity. This marked Bell’s 7th win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in his 11 national series starts.

With wet-weather tires proving to be a success and providing a thrilling end, it seems NASCAR may have a solution to its damp weather woes. However, Earnhardt Jr.’s concerns about halting a race in minimal rain also remain, but with wet-weather tires in place, we should see NASCAR being a little more flexible about red flagging early.