Last weekend’s doubleheader at Bristol — covering both the Xfinity and Cup Series — drew heavy flak for its apparent lack of suspense due to Kyle Larson’s sheer dominance. With Larson leading in 277 of 300 laps in the Xfinity race and in 411 of 500 laps in the Cup event, many believed the outcome was a foregone conclusion. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped in on his podcast to set the record straight, offering a different perspective on the so-called lackluster show.
Advertisement
Junior pushed back against the backlash, calling it harsh and unfair to knock Larson simply for doing his job at the highest level. He argued that fans were barking up the wrong tree by blaming the driver rather than identifying the actual issues that dulled the spectacle. According to him, NASCAR has seen its fair share of dull races in every era, and Larson’s dominance wasn’t a new phenomenon.
To drive his point home, Dale Jr. pointed to the 1973 Bristol race, where Cale Yarborough led every single lap [500 laps] without a single caution to shake things up, a feat he duplicated at Nashville in 1978. Junior recalled that to make matters worse, Yarborough won back in the day when cars routinely blew engines, fell apart, or wrecked left and right. Even then, they ran green all day.
He also recalled how Darrell Waltrip once went on a tear at Bristol, stringing together seven consecutive victories between 1981 and 1984 while driving Junior Johnson’s iconic #11 machine, eventually racking up 12 wins in just 52 starts at the track. By comparison, Junior felt the recent Bristol races, though lacking in drama, still offered more action than some of the yawn-fests of the past.
That’s why Dale Jr. emphasized, “So, I mean there’s been dominance, sustained dominance. This was you know Larson going in there, won. I mean Larson’s won a few races there but when he hasn’t won like six straight. There’s been worse cases I guess of what we saw. And I don’t mind the dominance. That didn’t bother me… I love to see a real ass-kicking.”
Still, as someone deeply invested in keeping short-track racing alive — whether through Late Models or his involvement with the CARS Tour — Earnhardt Jr. pointed out that instead of laying the blame at Larson’s feet, fans would do better to focus on the deeper issues affecting the product on track.
Dale Jr. identifies main issue with the short tracks
According to the seasoned driver, the real issue wasn’t Larson’s supremacy but the lack of action throughout the field. What caught his eye was how static the running order remained, particularly when he was following Josh Berry — one of his personal favorites. Junior observed that Berry hovered between 12th and 16th all afternoon, with an average position likely right around 14th.
Dale Jr. explained that for extended stretches, no one seemed able to make a move. Drivers sat nose-to-tail, locked in a holding pattern — unable to pass, unable to break free. He described it as a race where the field was stuck in quicksand, each car trapped behind the next with little room to breathe, let alone battle.
He pointed out a critical factor fueling this stagnation — the lap times. Across the board, they were virtually identical, meaning everyone was running at the same pace. That, in his view, is the crux of the issue plaguing short-track racing under the current car package.
While Junior didn’t sugarcoat it, he admitted the situation is what it is — and at this rate, there’s no silver bullet on the horizon for now.
