The Martinsville weekend was anything but subtle. Fans’ disappointment following the Bristol cutoff race’s mundane nature overturned in the final laps of the 2024 Xfinity 500, The Martinsville race aftermath saw NASCAR hand out season-ending penalties, including $100,000 fines and 50-point deductions for Chastain, Dillon, Wallace, and their teams, citing race manipulation. Bell also received a controversial penalty for alleged wall-riding on the last lap.

With recent moves on the track that fans are calling anything but subtle, Dale Jr. predicted that NASCAR wouldn’t let this one slide, hinting at a shake-up of rule enforcement (one that rapidly came to fruition) that could change the playoff game entirely.

Dale Jr calls for penalized drivers to sit out races

While Ryan Blaney blasted to victory, Chevrolet drivers Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon faced accusations of holding formation to protect teammate William Byron’s Championship 4 spot. Meanwhile, Toyota’s Bubba Wallace allegedly slowed to help teammate Christopher Bell. On his latest ‘Dale Jr. Download’ podcast, NASCAR Legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. tackled the buzzworthy drama swirling around last weekend’s controversial Martinsville race. Known for his honesty, Dale Jr. didn’t hold back, diving into one of NASCAR’s most debated topics this season: teams allegedly bending the rules to gain an edge in the playoff standings.

For Dale Jr., NASCAR’s recent fines and penalties aren’t enough to stop drivers from pushing boundaries when playoff points are on the line. He took issue with the way Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon seemed to run in sync behind fellow Chevrolet driver William Byron in Martinsville. They avoided any aggressive passes that could jeopardize Byron’s shot at the Championship 4. Dale Jr. also called out a similar move in the Toyota camp, where Bubba Wallace backed off to seemingly help teammate Christopher Bell.

But Dale Jr. didn’t just highlight the incidents—he proposed a stronger fix. Rather than the usual fines or point deductions, which drivers and teams often take in stride, Dale Jr. believes a more serious consequence is in order: suspending drivers who engage in race manipulation. “The money fine stuff, I don’t even know,” Dale Jr. said, acknowledging that financial penalties may not be enough to keep teams honest. Taking the driver’s seat away, even temporarily, would be a game-changer.

He added, “The one and the three, that is absolutely either a one-race suspension for the drivers that probably deterrent going forward. Unfortunate that this maybe be the best-case scenario for everyone to be able to move forward without a whole lot of collateral damage down the road. The money fine stuff, I don’t even know, right, because none of us, really truly how detrimental that is, right?”

Co-host Andrew Kurland agreed, adding that taking a driver out for a race would be enough to make anyone hesitate before risking another stunt. “It’s like saying, ‘Oh, you don’t want to race? Well, ya ain’t gonna race,’” Kurland joked, getting a laugh from the show’s crew. Dale Jr.’s wife, Amy Earnhardt, chimed in as well, saying that the whole situation “feels like policing children” and that suspending drivers might finally stop these games on the track.

The basis of Dale Jr.’s arguments takes us back to a different controversy in NASCAR, popularly known as Spingate. Involved was the well-known team Michael Waltrip Racing and Martin Truex Jr., who received a similar penalty for influencing the result.

Lessons from 2013’s “Spingate”

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Dale Jr.’s call for stronger consequences comes more than a decade after the unforgettable “Spingate” scandal at Richmond in 2013. That controversy saw Michael Waltrip Racing manipulate the race by ordering Clint Bowyer to spin out, leading to a massive penalty and new rules designed to prevent further race tampering. NASCAR handed out one of its biggest fines, suspended team members, and ultimately forced Michael Waltrip Racing to close its doors. But as Dale Jr. pointed out, the recent Martinsville drama shows that race manipulation hasn’t gone away—it’s just evolved.

In the episode, Dale Jr mentioned that the podcast was recorded before the official announcements of the penalties dished out on Tuesday. However, it didn’t stop him from accurately predicting NASCAR’s decision surrounding penalties. He said he would be “shocked” if officials didn’t step in after Martinsville. For him, the sport’s integrity was at stake, and NASCAR had to make a strong statement to keep teams from bending the rules.

Now that the dust has settled and the punishments have been doled out, Dale Jr. can rest a bit easier knowing that the farcical events that went down in Martinsville are unlikely to repeat as NASCAR heads to Phoenix for the title finale.