Dale Earnhardt Jr’s ‘Lack of Maturity’ Claim About His Racing Series Backed by Young Driver After Paying a Heavy Price for Hot-Headedness (Exclusives)

When Dale Earnhardt Jr took ownership of the CARS Tour along with some of the biggest names in NASCAR, little would he have expected to witness what he did over the weekend. During the Blue Ridge 250 event, a group of drivers from the series’ pro-late model race got into a violent scuffle that caused quite a stir in the racing community. In the aftermath, Junior launched a scathing attack on the bad image that these young drivers brought to racing on his podcast and suggested plausible actions going forward.

After the promotion filed penalties and suspensions against the offenders who were involved in the day’s negative action, EssentiallySports had an exclusive interview with one of the drivers, Ashton Higgins. Despite his day’s action, the 21-year-old was in agreement with the solutions proposed by Dale Jr.

Ashton Higgins is in agreement with Dale Earnhardt Jr as he faces racing probation

Back in January, Junior had said after acquiring the CARS Tour series, “Looking forward to this season. It’s going to be an amazing year. See y’all at a racetrack soon.” Months later, his exact words were, “The pro-race was embarrassing”. 

The events that led to this extremity from the NASCAR icon took place at the Tri-County Speedway. After an on-track incident between Higgins and fellow racer Gavan Boschele, the two got into a fistfight on the pit road that the law enforcement team had to put down.

Prior to that, 16-year-old Katie Hettinger had intentionally wrecked the car of the race winner Caden Kvapil, causing a pile-up that later sparked a brawl between the two on the pit road. Watching these events unfold right in front of his eyes, Junior’s disappointment peaked.

Proposing a solution to change these unprofessional dynamics among young racers, he said, on ‘Dale Jr Download’, “Maybe there’s something that we do a little bit differently. So we have this sort of all-in drivers meeting, and everybody comes. (…) A couple of those guys are there [Late Model drivers], and not only are they great stewards of the tour. But they also help those younger drivers really understand where the limit is. What’s tolerated and what’s not,”.

For their actions, Higgins and Boschele received probation for the remainder of the season along with a $500 fine each. Hettinger, on the other hand, was slapped with a one-race suspension. Talking to EssentiallySports in an exclusive interview, Ashton Higgins expressed his desire to see Junior’s solution in action. Believing that older drivers from the late model series could show the way for the younger ones, he reflected that many on the field were immature.

The CARS Tour offender wants older drivers to teach the “kids” respect

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Continuing on his answer about his thoughts on Junior’s solution of putting the older drivers in the same room as the pro-late drivers, Higgins said that many on the current grid weren’t even 20 years old. Calling them kids, he said, “A lot of these kids aren’t even twenty years old. I think that’s why having somebody like Deac McCaskill or somebody like that can teach these kids, almost kind of a sense of respect. Would definitely go a long way. I agree with him [Dale] there for sure. And, I think they do need a driver come in and step in and say, ‘Hey that’s not how you race.”

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Higgins did bring up some great points during his exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. Hopes are that the driver would welcome being a part of this “mentorship” program himself. Junior’s strong need to inflict change for the better of racing displayed his affinity for the game. Should he come down hard on these youngsters, they might have no other choice but to become better professionals in the racing field. For now, the probations and suspensions will have sent a strong message across the grid.

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