Every week, there is a different topic over which criticism flies against NASCAR and its racing product. The latest one was the underwhelming manner in which the Next Gen car raced at certain tracks this season. Many, including the iconic Dale Earnhardt Jr., leveled negative feedback against it. But after the past couple of races, they have been forced to rethink their positions.
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The race at Richmond Raceway was an exciting short-track event won by Austin Dillon. At Daytona on Saturday, Ryan Blaney went from 13th to first place in the final two laps. Overall, both the races were extremely thrilling affairs that were enabled by the Next Gen car.
This led Junior to accept that his earlier assessment of the car was wrong on X. He wrote in response to a post by Toby Christie of Racing America, “A couple weeks of criticism (guilty as charged) followed by two really solid races at two configurations of concern.
“Was last night different because we weren’t in extreme fuel-saving mode? An honest question. Richmond seemed much improved. Is this mostly due to the tire? I’d say it was a big help. I hear Richmond tire is going to New Hampshire also.”
Indeed. A couple weeks of criticism (guilty as charged) followed by two really solid races at two configurations of concern.
Was last night different because we weren’t in extreme fuel saving mode? An honest question.
Richmond seemed much improved. Is this mostly due to the… https://t.co/Xw5aEaQ9uN
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) August 24, 2025
To answer Dale Jr.’s question, it could be that the Daytona track is finally aging to the point where it complements the Next Gen car well. Or, it could be that a different kind of race went about since the circumstances were different and fuel saving wasn’t really on everyone’s mind.
Either way, the Next Gen car has shown a ton of promise over the past two weekends. It remains to be seen if it can keep this approach throughout the rest of the season and beyond.
What was Dale Jr.’s criticism of the Next Gen car?
The icon’s biggest concern was that the Next Gen wasn’t a proper stock car to begin things with. He had explained recently on Dale Jr. Download that it felt more like a sports car than a stock car.
He was also critical of how short the braking zones were and how they prevented drivers from being able to complete passes. In his words, “Would I have ever built a NASCAR stock car that had a diffuser? No.
“I wouldn’t have put a low-profile tire on it and changed the sidewall so drivers can’t feel the tire, don’t know where the limited grip is, and can’t trust it.”
Junior was also dejected at the thought that the sanctioning body wasn’t going to enact any change, regardless of how loud the voices against it got.
