The NASCAR Cup Series race at the Nashville Superspeedway set a new record for the most number of overtime restarts. There were five of them, adding 30 more laps and 40 further miles to the race (including cautions). There have been several debates over whether the number of overtime restarts should be regulated. As far as Dale Earnhardt Jr. is concerned, there is nothing to debate as he was not against the multiple restarts.
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Several cars had issues with fuel due to all those extra miles they were forced to run. Had there been a red flag in that situation, that would not have been a problem at all. Junior was asked that question on his podcast but he was not a fan of the idea. It did not take long for the track to be cleared at any caution in Nashville. To get a red flag out for a delay of three to five laps was not fair for the teams and their strategies.
“I am completely fine with unlimited attempts. This five overtime attempts isn’t happening every other week,” he said. “(On red flags) If it’s a typical crash…it’s going to be three to five laps of caution then I wouldn’t throw the red flag. You don’t want to manipulate someone’s strategy.”
JOEY LOGANO WINS AT NASHVILLE SUPERSPEEDWAY!
HERE ARE THE WILD FINAL TWO LAPS FROM QUINTUPLE OVERTIME. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/0J3gBNgjnw
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) July 1, 2024
Junior’s not the only one who was supportive of NASCAR’s multiple overtime restarts at the Nashville Superspeedway. At least it was not as bad as what happened at COTA a little over a year ago.
Eminent insider stands with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
NASCAR journalist Jordan Bianchi alluded to the 2023 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix while speaking about the Nashville race. Back then, the race kept on going to overtime due to drivers’ stubbornness and lack of respect for competitors. It left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. What happened at Nashville had more to do with hard racing.
“It wasn’t like these guys were doing stupid things after stupid things. This wasn’t a COTA situation where you’re like, ‘Oh my god, stop going five wide into the corner.’ I really wasn’t offended by this,” Bianchi explained.
It is unlikely that NASCAR will make any changes to the overtime procedure at the moment. Like Junior said, it’s not like something like this was happening on a weekly basis. Then it would be cause for concern.
