In the Next Gen era of NASCAR, one of the biggest talking points which could qualify as a problematic point is the short track package. For one reason or the other, the racing on the short tracks just hasn’t been that good. So in order to deal with that, NASCAR scheduled a test at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a select few drivers. But in that group of drivers who were scheduled for the test, there was not a single senior driver. This decision from NASCAR was something Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently tried to rationalize with the example of Kevin Harvick.
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The Hall of Famer recently opened up on the subject of the group of drivers NASCAR chose to take part in the New Hampshire test for the short track package of 2024. And he explained why someone like a Kevin Harvick wasn’t a part of that group.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on why Harvick wouldn’t be a good fit for the New Hampshire test
During a recent episode of his podcast show, Earnhardt explained while someone like Kevin Harvick would’ve been a great addition to the “very capable” group of William Byron, Christopher Bell, Harrison Burton, Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, and Erik Jones for the test, his inclusion wouldn’t have made that much sense.
“Harvick, he’s going out. Think about it, he’s on his way out. He won’t have an agenda. Harvick would’ve been perfect for this because he’s going to be thinking about the objective at hand for this particular test what really needs to be achieved. And he might also be able to corral the guys that are there to keep them on task, ‘Guys, we need to make sure what we’re trying to accomplish here,'” Junior said.
He further pressed on the “heavy responsibility” that comes with the test and urged everyone to “keep their eyes” on it.
NASCAR admits their short track package isn’t good enough
NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, Elton Sawyer, recently admitted that their new short track package, while it produced some good results, just wasn’t good enough.
“Our short-track package, we’ve had some good races, but it’s probably not to the level that we as a sanctioning body and our fans have expected over time,” Sawyer said as per Motorsport. He explained how they took “a huge step in downforce reduction” at the beginning of the season.
But after looking at it post a few races, he isn’t sure if that’s made “a huge difference,” which ultimately brought the need for a new and better short-track package for 2024 on the surface.
