Inadvertently, NASCAR keeps finding one way or the other to frustrate the racing community. Following the lines of its hated relationship with Goodyear and its road course stage break removal, many aspects of its 2024 schedule have drawn criticism. While the voices against that not dying down yet, the veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr has now come up with a discontent of his own.
Taking the mic in the “Dale Jr Download” podcast, he got into discussing next season’s schedule. The problem this time was the two-week break that NASCAR has put down in August because of another sport.
Dale Earnhardt Jr is not a fan of having to stop his own car so others can pass
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Since the promotion drew the curtains on its schedule a few weeks back, a varied range of reviews have been pouring in. The introduction of Iowa Speedway and the playoff destinations mix-up are a couple of aspects that have been well-received. On the other end, however, things don’t seem very flowery.
The aspect of the schedule that did not sit well with Junior in particular, involves the regular season race at Michigan.
Owing to the Summer Olympics, the race weekend that usually goes down at the beginning of the month will take place on August 18, 2024, instead. Expressing his disappointment with NASCAR having other sports always have an upper hand, Junior spoke to his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller on the podcast.
He said, “I don’t like a break in our schedule determined by other sports. Nothing against the Olympics, but we would always adjust our schedule based on, ‘Well, NFL’s doing this. This is happening. There’s a prime time game here.’ So, we are always moving for everybody else.”
“Hell with that. We ought to be doing what we wanna do. You move!” While Dale’s annoyance seems justified, have you thought about what could be the reason behind this break in the calendar?
Regardless of viewership and sport reach, there is a crucial reason behind NASCAR giving way to the Olympics in 2024. Surprisingly, that reason is the camp that Dale Jr has belonged to for a long time now.
Watch This Story: NASCAR 2024 Schedule: A New Chapter BeginsADVERTISEMENT
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Junior’s employer turns out to be the cause of his disappointment
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Next year’s Summer Olympics are scheduled to happen between July 26 and August 11, in Paris. The common factor between these dates and NASCAR’s schedule is NBC. The media house broadcasts the Olympics and also serves as the exclusive television partner for the final 20 races of NASCAR’s Cup Series. The overlay of the dates is what has, in part, prompted the racing promotion to take a step back.
The former Hendrick Motorsports driver currently works for NBC as a racing analyst for NBC Sports, the very group that set off his issues with the two-week break. The break has brought about some unique changes, intentional and forced, in the schedule.
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Southern 500 at Darlington will now be the final race of the regular season to avoid a double header weekend with two crucial races at Daytona and Darlington. The first round of the playoffs will also see races at Watkins Glen and Atlanta. While Junior was not a very big fan of these effects, he certainly was thrilled with the introduction of Iowa and the return of the Brickyard Oval. But what do you think of the two-week break and the schedule changes that it has brought forth?