There was a huge uproar when Richard Petty said back in June that road course racing isn’t really NASCAR. Despite the negative reception that his words carried, Dale Earnhardt Jr. went on his podcast and extended support for the legend. Now, several weeks later, he has revealed that he shares the same opinion as Petty, and why he is hesitant to express it.
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His admission came on the recent episode of Dale Jr. Download. First off, he agreed solemnly that his opinion would be in the minority and only around 10 percent of the fan base would side with him. He stated, “I like two road courses. I like Sonoma, I like Watkins Glen. Looking at NASCAR, in its 75-year history, it was born out of dirt tracks and the short-track, half-mile style facilities.
“I’m not talking about NASCAR’s heritage or its past. I’m only referencing things like when you think about what style of tracks, what type of racetrack was the sport born out of? It was an oval series.”
So, getting more road courses on the schedule moves the sport further away from its traditional roots, according to him. And Junior is not comfortable with losing that original identity of the sport.
He mentioned Petty’s interview and paralleled his thoughts with ‘The King.’ But where he differs from many is in his understanding that the younger generation does not have to think on the same lines as him. He explained that he doesn’t go on social media to make his case on this matter since what he wants to have isn’t “realistic” in the environment that we have today.
“I realize I’m 50 years old and there’s a lot of 40, 30, 20 [year-olds], and teenage kids that are big fans of the sport now,” he added. “They make up a huge part of the fan base and may want something different. They don’t look at NASCAR the way I look at it. They look at it and see a different identity. A different history.”
So, at the end of the day, Junior would be able to live with seeing four road course races on the calendar. That’s still fewer than what NASCAR has right now. What fans and drivers need ultimately are entertaining races that don’t bore anybody, either at home or in the stands or in the driver’s seat. If road courses are what do that, then they must be the way to go.
