Dale Jr’s CARS Tour Penalty Barrage Prompts Heartfelt Apology From 16-YO USAC Star

Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s brainchild, the CARS Tour, is among the most talked-about topics in the community. Before the Cup Series race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, tension turned into tactics at the Tri-County Speedway. The race was controversial, and it looks like Junior would have certainly liked it the other way around.

The recently concluded CARS Tour race experienced anger and frustration after the events transpired between the 16-year-old Katie Hettinger of Anthony Campi Racing and Caden Kvapil. The two were tense due to multiple duels on the track, eventually hurting them.

The Tri-County Brawl explained

In the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, Junior dived into the fight between Austin Hill and Myatt Snider that broke out last year in Xfinity. Fights and brawls have been fought in NASCAR since time immemorial, and it looks like the unfiltered aspect of NASCAR is seeping into the blooming talents of the sport.

This time, Kvapil and Katie felt the same emotion as they collided on the Homestead Miami Speedway during the CARS tour race. Going into the second turn, the #96 car of Kvapil bumped the #81 of Hettinger. This plunged the No. 81 into the wall, collecting multiple cars. Moving with retaliation, Hettinger quickly caught up to the #96 and intentionally right-hooked Kvapil on Turn 1. This proved detrimental even for her as the No. 81 went for another spin, suffering intensive damage.

Being so young, Katie’s stifling fit of temper could have turned out far worse than it did. While a sense of maturity is important here, respect for an opponent and understanding some incidents as part of the profession are also important. Katie Hettinger is an upcoming USAC star, and such incidents will only drag her back.

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Katie Hettinger apologizes for her outburst as Dale Earnhardt Jr. hands out penalties

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After everything that ensued at the speedway, there was no way the race would have ended without some drivers getting handed penalties and fines. Katie Hettinger was issued a one-race suspension for retaliating and intentionally wrecking No. 96 of Caden Kvapil. Apart from the No. 81 of Hettinger, Ashton Higgins, Gavan Boschele, Shad, and Coleman Higgins, along with Steve Deskins’, will receive penalties for their involvement in the instigation of the pit area fiasco. The young speedster was also quick to understand her misdoings in the race and took to Twitter to apologize.

CARS Tour Executive Director Kip Childress also voiced his disappointment about how one of the tour’s most-anticipated races of the season turned out. “We are extremely disappointed in the actions of a few of our competitors at Tri-County Speedway,” said the CARS Tour Executive Director. “The safety of all of our competitors, staff members and fans is of our utmost concern. We will not tolerate any retaliation on the track or fighting during our events.“

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The penalty will serve as a lesson for budding talent. This will encourage the 16-year-old, Katie Hettinger to avoid such behavior in the future and be aware of the consequences before doing something as reckless as this. It is a good thing to teach them young, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. seems to be already at it.