Motorsports have always been fierce, raw, and intimate. While there is competition, there is also respect for the sport, for competition, and for everyone involved. But certain things ruin the reputation of a sport, whether it be an undue advantage or even torn-up racing!

Recently, a prominent late model star in the Door Bumper Clear podcast suggested that Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cars Tour is facing significant challenges.

Butterbean’s insider scoop on controversial rental rides 

Brenden Butterbean Queen who is an ace at racing cars and has carved his way into it was at the Door Bumper Clear podcast and chose to speak about it. Butterbean has the credit to speak about it as he won the Dale Earnhardt Jr-owned Cars Late Model Stock Tour. Butterbean also won the biggest Late Model Stock car races in the country and is aiming to make another stride debuting for TRICON at North Wilkesboro. Queen gave some behind-the-scenes scoop on the disrespect and rental rides nowadays. He said, “I think that’ll be the hardest thing for the CARS Tour. It’s getting rougher because there’s a lot of, I mean, it’s all turning into rental rides, and that’s kind of how the Truck Series is too.”

Imagine you ace your exams, get good grades for every class, and then another just whooshes past you because he got an undue advantage. This is what NASCAR drivers face when tackling “rental rides.” the term refers to the practice of paying for the seats or getting a seat in the car without merit or performance. For drivers with no substantial financial backing, securing opportunity is difficult. Butterbean gave an insider scoop on how it’s rare for drivers to get opportunities just with their talent. He said, “It’s rare to see somebody just get a shot anymore. We all know that.”

NASCAR has been seeing plenty of torn-up racing. Call it politics or the sheer ego of drivers, there have been berserk cases. However, Butterbean did mention that the core group of competitors in the Dale Earnhardt Jr CARS Tour still has a lot of respect for each other. He said, “It’s kind of like our normal group that we race with for wins. There is mainly a lot of respect. We won’t move each other, but it’s hard racing, but it’s what you want to see. Yeah, you don’t see torn-up racing.”

NASCAR seems to have a respect problem

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Driver respect has been talked about a lot recently at NASCAR. Just like Butterbean, even Busch chose to address this at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He said, “We have completely lost any sense of respect in the garage between the drivers at all. That’s where the problem lies. Nobody gives two **** about anybody else. It’s just a problem where everybody takes advantage of everybody as much as they can. We’re all selfish, granted. But there was an etiquette that once did live here… That’s gone.”

Not just him, even Erik Jones spoke openly spoke about how he understands the frustration of other drivers who feel; as they get run over. He said, “It’s tough. It’s a tough balance. At some point, you’ve got to stand your ground and say you’re not going to take it anymore.” A great example of drivers being disrespectful would be Hamlin, who openly stated that he intentionally took out Ross Chastain when he fenced him at Phoenix Speedway!

Whereas Butterbean’s race at Thanksgiving Classic was just the epitome of “clean racing.” It was a no-brainer race and throughout the event, people were at the edge of their seats as three drivers edged towards their victory. With 50 laps remaining, Brenden Queen saw his lead evaporating and Josh Berry came for his lead with his fresh set of tires. Queen and Berry had some car bumps and lead changes during a 15-lap stretch and then even Honeycutt came into the mix. 

But in the end, Queen took the victory lap. After the race, he said, “It’s the one that eluded us, and we finally got it. I wanted this one bad, and we worked hard to get it. When it came down to it, I wasn’t going to roll over and let them take it from me. Lee Pulliam has worked so hard for me to win races this year. It was our night.”

Berry, after the race, put his side of the story. He said, “It was rough, but it’s easy to get frustrated over that stuff. I got around, and I can’t really remember everything that happened. I thought it was clean about it the first time but then he hit me and it was on from there. If I ran full-time, I might have been a little rougher, but I respect these guys a lot.”

Butterbean at the Door Bumper Clear Podcast talked about this race and highlighted how clean even the most interesting and thrill-worthy races can be. He said, “Look at the Thanksgiving Classic. Josh and I got rougher and rougher, but I thought it was a hell of a race.”

What do you think about the new-age car rental rides and the sheer lack of respect seen among racers? Do you agree with this change? Will Dale Earnhardt Jr CARS tour succeed?