“Pay Up or Drive Slow Cars”- Brad Keselowski Painfully Matches Dale Jr’s Sentiments As NASCAR’s Harsh Reality Cripples Cup Star

While NASCAR does whatever it takes to make the competition fair and square, controversies just don’t seem to stop tailing them. Lately, a rule was introduced by the officials that limited the seasoned Cup Series drivers from taking part in the Xfinity Series races in order to give newer faces a chance to see the spotlight. However, “buck whacking,”, as it’s usually known, came with its own set of cons as well.

Earlier, fans could watch their favorite Cup Series drives in Saturday’s races as well, but due to the rule, the Cup Series drivers can participate in just 5 races of the lower-level series. However, for the RFK Racing owner, the problem is not in the limitation. Brad has an issue with the way sponsors envision the prospects of a Cup Series driver driving an Xfinity Series car.

There’s more to the 5-race-limiting rule in NASCAR

Brad Keselowski is okay with being able to run 5 Xfinity races. But doing that would translate into an additional $5–7 million on the budget, which the sponsors are not ready to pay. Being a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owner in the past, Brad Keselowski knows the costs of racing in a lower-level NASCAR series.

In order to drive in the lower series of NASCAR, like Truck, ARCA, or Xfinity, one must bring money along with them to the table. And that’s exactly what the problem is, according to Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t feel like the 5-race limit is stopping the drivers from competing in the Xfinity. He feels like it’s unfortunate that an elite-level Cup Series driver would struggle to find sponsors to drive an Xfinity.

Brad Keselowski agreed with the Xfinity Series team owner. He also admitted that he missed racing in Xfinity with a good, full-time team. Taking part in the conversation between veteran journalist Matt Weaver and Dale Earnhardt Jr., Keselowski said, “Can speak for only myself: I miss it. Would run 5 races, with a good full-time team.”

“Can’t because No major sponsor interest, it takes 5-7m annually to make it work. Any sponsor of that size usually goes on a Cup car nowadays. So the choices are: pay up or drive slow cars,” he added.

Even the 7-time winner at the Tricky Triangle, Denny Hamlin, conceded to Dale Junior. Hamlin wrote, “Buschwhacking is gone. Xfinity teams need money from drivers now. They would choose that over a Cup driver that could potentially win 10 out of 10 times in 2023. If they have no funding, they will throw a Cup guy who’s willing to run.”

Watch this story: Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals Wife’s Shocking Announcement That Marked a Turning Point for Him as a Father

On that very note, a Team Penske icon revealed a bitter truth regarding his Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway earlier this year, which had NASCAR vet Kenny Wallace baffled to the end of his wits.

Kenny Wallace was not ready for NASCAR’s “broken system”

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In a recent episode of ‘The Kenny Wallace Show’, Joey Logano shed light on how he had to pay in order to run the Bristol dirt race with ThorSport Racing back in April this year. Despite leading 138 laps of the 150-lap race and winning it, the #22 speedster had to pay for his spot on the roster. While talking to Kenny Wallace about it, he expressed how he had wanted to run more but couldn’t. “I wanted to run more, but I couldn’t find the money,” he laughed.

Wallace, however, didn’t find this funny at all. On the contrary, he found this quite alarming. Wallace referred to it as ‘breaking news’ when Logano stated, “I hate to say it’s a broken system. Because you gotta have cash. I can’t go drive a truck without bringing money to the table.”

For a former Cup Series champion, it is indeed a matter of regret. Logano said, “You would think, you win a couple Cup championships that you can drive whatever you want, whenever you want.”

“Nope, nope. I gotta bring money to go race still,” he sighed.

Read more: Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals How NASCAR Robbed Him of a Championship in 2014

According to the two-time Cup Series champion, the goal of the business model should be for a driver to get to the ARCA, Trucks, or Xfinity side of things. “Doesn’t matter what your resume is, you’re gonna have to pay to go play,” said a downhearted Logano. What are your thoughts on this sponsorship problem for the Cup Series drivers? Do you still think that it’s the Buckwhacking rule that prevents the drivers from participating in the lower-tier races?