Ever since his retirement, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has taken on a unique role in the NASCAR community. The Hall of Famer not only tries and succeeds in keeping the essence of the sport alive by lobbying tracks like North Wilkesboro, but he also has given a platform. His media empire and podcasts, with which other industry insiders can make their opinions, their suggestions, and their complaints heard.
But sometimes, Junior himself has some suggestions, and recently, he had one that many would consider an eccentric dream.
During an Ask Jr. segment in his podcast show, a fan asked Earnhardt Jr. about his opinion on the idea of “a timed NASCAR race” considering the diversity in the current Cup schedule.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. puts forward a 24 hours of Le Mans version of NASCAR
In his response, Junior emphasized something he claims he’s had on his mind for a while now. He also referenced a current Hendrick Motorsports project as the perfect example, which proves his idea is, in fact, a feasible one.
“Well, it would be great if it was 24 hours long,” Junior said. “I had this sort of debate over the last couple of years, when the Daytona 24-hour race comes around, the imagination starts going like, ‘Man, could NASCAR have its own version of a 24-hour race? Or could we have a class entered into IMSA’s 24 hours of Daytona?”
“I say yes to all of that.”
Junior references Hendrick’s Garage 56 as proof of concept for a 24-hour NASCAR race
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After expressing his desire for a 24-hour-long NASCAR race, Dale Jr. addressed the very natural backlash and doubts people might have over that idea with things like “cars don’t have lights” being raised.
For this, Earnhardt Jr. believes, just look at the Garage 56 car developed by Hendrick Motorsports for Le Mans. “It has lights,” he said.
“It’s gonna run 24 hours of Le Mans, it’s this car, it is this Cup car. They made some adjustments and stuff to it to make it where it has some downforce and so forth, but component-wise, it can’t be far from where we are,” he continued.
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Junior revealed he has talked to Doug Yates and the engine manufacturer told him that the “motors can handle it”.
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“It’s a test of machine, try to get that thing to go for 24 hours, try to get the driver take care of that car for 24 hours or a couple of drivers,” he continued. “I’m all for it.”
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“I would love to see our Cup cars in some version of an endurance event.”