“Makes Me Proud as a Race Fan”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Lauds Ben Kennedy for Going the Extra Mile for NASCAR

At Darlington this weekend, NASCAR took a hard look in the mirror. Ben Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer, joined a group of senior leaders for a “secret shopper” run through a race weekend, trading VIP passes for a normal ticket and stepping into the shoes of the people in the grandstands. Their aim was to walk the same path as fans, identify snags, and note where the experience falls short.

Fixes will not land overnight, but the effort drew praise from Dale Earnhardt Jr., who backed Kennedy’s decision to go through the front gate like everyone else and experience the whole process first-hand.

“They did it. They did everything. They experienced everything, all while taking a lot of mental notes….” Dale Jr. said on Dirty Do Media.

“He (Kennedy) said to me, he’s like, there’s a lot we can do to make it easier to buy a ticket. There’s a lot we can do to make it easier to find where you’re supposed to park. All of those things he thinks need to be improved.” 

“And I think it’s really, really cool that he himself tasked him, you know, him and his team to go through this experience and this process… But I told him I said, ‘Man, this is the kind of stuff that makes me proud as a race fan. This is the kind of stuff that I think his family was very, very good at.’ This is not rocket science. This is not hero. The dude, but it’s just cool that he goes he cared enough,” he continued.

The group ran the full route, from purchase to parking to the seat, without leaning on access or perks. It was a ground-level check of how the sport meets its audience on race day, with an eye on the points where the process slows down or breaks down.  Behind the scenes, Kennedy and his team bought tickets through various public channels to test how the system holds up under normal use.

Our team went as fans for the day to @TooToughToTame. Incredible time and pages of notes from our experience. Think we’ll be doing this more often! pic.twitter.com/RLvYJvXkP4

— Ben Kennedy (@BenKennedy33) March 23, 2026

They stood in concession lines, moved through the venue, and experienced the same wait times and service as any fan. They walked the parking areas and saw firsthand how finding a spot can turn into a maze.

Kennedy and his team spoke with fans face-to-face, gathering reactions that do not always surface in surveys or focus groups. After the race, they sat down for a two-hour debrief to break down what they saw, what worked, what didn’t, what felt smooth, and what felt like a struggle.

The findings pointed to a series of small hurdles. Ticket buying lacked a clean path. Parking did not guide fans from the entry to their parking spots easily. Moving from one part of the day to another was frictional. None of it stands alone as a deal-breaker, but together, it takes away the patience of the fans over the course of a race day.

And Dale Jr. sees big value in Kennedy’s approach. The sport thrives on repeat visits and word of mouth. So, smoothing those edges can pay off over time.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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