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Dale Jr’s Grave Confession About NASCAR’s Charter System and team owner has taken his side: This is a battle against misappropriation
Dale Jr’s Grave Confession About NASCAR’s Charter System and team owner has taken his side: This is a battle against misappropriation
When NASCAR officials came up with the charter system in early 2016, the objective was stability. The idea was to give every charter team a place on the grid and a piece of NASCAR’s earnings. But over the years, the price to acquire a charter has skyrocketed. So much so that in 2021, even NASCAR veteran Dale Earnhardt Jr fumbled for his team’s prospects in the Cup Series.
Back then, Dale Jr harbored a mixed approach toward the debate. But now, with a billion dollars worth media rights and simmering protests, he has taken a stand. And one underdog Xfinity team owner has taken his side.
Carl Long is one of the few ‘non-charter’ team owners in NASCAR. His team, MBM Motorsports, does not have ties to manufacturer funding and or data-sharing contracts with the bigwig teams. Yet they continue to persist in the Cup landscape, although the crippling charter system makes things worse for him.
As early as 2021, Dale Earnhardt Jr had ridiculed the exorbitant prices of charters. Back then, $10 million for a charter was way out of his range to add JR Motorsports to the Cup Series. In 2024, Dale Earnhardt Jr harps on the same issue, as he sides with the underdog teams who have little legroom for financial freedom.
Dale, in his podcast, had said, “If it was a $10 Million charter buy in the Xfinity Series, I wouldn’t be in it. Carl Long and the guys, they came to show up and race this weekend [Cup race at Martinsville]. Is that realistic to be an open team, and come compete and financially be able to at least break even? I grew up in a NASCAR where if you wanted to build your Cup racing car, you built one, and you raced.”
‘Dale Jr Download Reload’ host Carla Gebhart took the cue from there and talked to Carl Long, who was the guest.
The owner’s responses revealed the bleak scenario where even the bare minimum is difficult to get. “That’s our goal, to at least break even. We just don’t have a ton of overhead like the bigger teams do. So we can offer a product for a lot less money.”
Long mentioned that finances were a top priority. “The first thing we do is we look at the payouts…And then you look at the car count, and then possibly go home if there’s too many of ’em. In Martinsville, there were no hotel rooms..and the way the schedule’s laid out, you just drive up there and drive back.”
Carl Long also added: “$50,000, $60,000 a race is kind of the low end of where people try to run at in Xfinity. And I can offer the same thing in Cup and give guys a chance to learn Cup and give me a chance to learn more about cars, be a little more competitive as we get more experience.”
The MBM team lead’s financial woes are nothing new, as one fateful incident had bludgeoned his ambitions.
Long’s Cup dreams were cut short by a technical snag
After Carl Long qualified for the 2000 Coca-Cola 600, he was on his way to a good career. He drew fan support after a tumbling wreck in North Carolina in the 2004 Cup season. But in the All-Star exhibition race of 2009, some unsavory circumstances developed. And it was that incident that crippled Long’s prospects and even kept him from having his own charter.
Just after 3 laps into the race, his engine blew. Later on, the post-race inspection revealed that Long was using an engine that was 0.17 cubic inches too large. This happened because Long was using a refurbished engine that had been leased to him.
The weekend didn’t end well for him as not only did he lose the race early on, but he was also fined a gigantic $200,000. Long believed that if not for that incident, things would have been different.
“I probably would’ve been in a position to where I would’ve been issued a charter, and my life would be way different. We were on the way of, you know, building Cup cars and running Cup full-time.”
Well, this shows that all the glamor of NASCAR is only the tip of the iceberg. In reality, many racing teams and drivers are struggling in the shadows.
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The power struggle over Christian Horner has claimed its first victim: Red Bull Key Player Leave to Make Dream team with Hamilton at Ferrari
The power struggle over Christian Horner has claimed its first victim: Red Bull Key Player Leave to Make Dream team with Hamilton at Ferrari
According to information from Motorsport-Total.com , the Brit has already submitted his resignation to the current world champion team! Auto Motor und Sport first reported on Newey’s impending departure.
The reason for Newey’s throwing down is the power struggle at Red Bull that has been raging for weeks in the wake of the affair surrounding team boss Christian Horner.
Although the 65-year-old only signed a new contract last year, the team boss’s recent behavior is said to have finally caused the design guru to say goodbye – also to himself, as Newey apparently increasingly misses the appreciation for his work and the climate between the two Brits have cooled down significantly.
There has been speculation in the Formula 1 paddock for a long time about Newey’s move to Ferrari, where the Briton could form the new dream team for Maranello together with compatriot Lewis Hamilton in the future – and should help the Scuderia to new glory with the rule changes for 2026.
But Aston Martin also believes that with owner Lawrence Stroll’s thick checkbook there is a chance of signing Newey, especially since the designer could then remain resident in Great Britain with his family. Rumor has it that Canadian billionaire Newey is offering $100 million over four years for his services at the new Aston Martin factory.
The Brit’s current Red Bull salary is estimated at around ten million per year. How quickly Newey can actually get out of his Red Bull contract and how long he will then be banned from working for the competition is currently still the subject of negotiations surrounding the termination of the sought-after design guru, who now has to decide: Big dollars in Silverstone or dolce vita in Italy?
Domino effect: beginning of the end for Red Bull?
But one thing is certain: after almost two decades, seven driver’s and six constructor’s titles, Newey’s stint in Milton Keynes is coming to an end, with the once again dominant RB20 likely to add two more World Cup trophies to his illustrious collection of titles by the end of the season: the Brit had previously also built world champion cars for Williams and McLaren.
However, Newey never made a secret of his admiration for Lewis Hamilton and the attraction of one day working with the record world champion. At Ferrari this dream could now come true.
Spicy: Not only did Newey’s wife Amanda recently like a post on Maranello is located.
Meanwhile, with the departure of the star designer, there are increasing question marks behind the future of world champion Max Verstappen: The Dutchman is increasingly being linked with a move to Mercedes , and his stay at Red Bull is said to be based primarily on the personal details of motorsport consultant Helmut Marko and mastermind Newey.
The Brit’s decision could therefore trigger a domino effect – in the worst case, the current successful team could even face disintegration due to the departure of its most important employees.
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“That’s wrong for you to ask me that.” Denny Hamlin Shocked Kevin Harvick On His Request Over Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
“That’s wrong for you to ask me that.” Denny Hamlin Shocked Kevin Harvick On His Request Over Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin was left in a dilemma after Kevin Harvick asked him to select his preferred driver from Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr. when he sat down during the Harvick Happy Hour podcast.
The eleventh Cup Series race on the calendar is due to flag off tomorrow, at 2.00 PM ET, and will be held by the Dover Motor Speedway. The Würth 400 will mark the 106th dash hosted by the 1.03-mile track
and spells of mayhem at the Monster Mile will be witnessed. Ahead of the 400-lap dash, all JGR drivers sat down with retired NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick and opined on their favorite pick.
Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Martin Truex Jr., and Christopher Bell were asked to select between the 2020 Cup Series champion Chase Elliott and the two-time Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Hearing Harvick’s “hardest question” and the hilarious expressions he threw, Hamlin was sent into a dilemma and replied (via HarvickHappyHour on X):
“That’s wrong for you to ask me that.”
He then opted for the HMS driver and the team followed in the same footsteps, taking Elliott’s name, courtesy of his 2020 Cup Series championship. However, Hamlin gave a hysterical reason behind opting for the Georgia native, adding:
“We have to answer Chase on the racetrack, we don’t have to answer Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the track.”
Denny Hamlin takes a bold stance with “we’re going to win Dover” claim He then opted for the HMS driver and the team followed in the same footsteps, taking Elliott’s name, courtesy of his 2020 Cup Series championship. However, Hamlin gave a hysterical reason behind opting for the Georgia native, adding:
The current season has witnessed Hamlin rake in two wins, two top-5s, and three top-10s, placing him sixth in the rankings. His last win came at the Richmond Raceway after a controversial overtime move initiated by his #11 Toyota Camry dethroned his teammate Martin Truex Jr. from his potential maiden win this season.
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“You’re Pissing Me Off” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Instantly Shuts Down Denny Hamlin Over What He Said
“You’re Pissing Me Off” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Instantly Shuts Down Denny Hamlin Over What He Said
Saving fuel on superspeedways and the lack of enough horsepower on short tracks have turned into big headaches for NASCAR lately. On one side while Goodyear is busy experimenting with different tire types to improve short-track racing, on the other, many NASCAR insiders, including the DBC crew, reckon that’s just the way superspeedway racing is going to roll for now, at least until some big changes kick in. However, Denny Hamlin recently floated the idea of shorter races on drafting tracks during his podcast, a suggestion that didn’t exactly thrill Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr was none too pleased when the topic of shortening races popped up on his podcast
On a recent episode, Dale Jr’s co-hosts brought up how to spice up superspeedway races, mentioning Denny Hamlin’s idea of trimming the races to 400 miles to better align the stages with fuel runs. Basically, Hamlin had argued, “What NASCAR could do is just take this take the superspeedway races down to 400 miles, and then the stages would probably line up quite a bit better. If a stage was a fuel run, we would never save because we’re always going to fight for stage points.“ But Dale Jr wasn’t buying it. He compared the idea to getting less of what you love, saying, “That’s like giving me less candy bar. That’s like giving me less Tater chips in the bag. You’re pissing me off. Stop it! You know what I’m saying? […] Don’t give me less race. ‘Oh! We don’t like our race, so let’s just do less of it’.”
Dale Jr firmly rejected the suggestion to cut down race length, proposing a different fix instead: “That’s a way to get that but I don’t think I want to have a shorten the race? Why don’t you just put enough stages in there to get that solution that you want to. […] so just add another stage don’t take away racing don’t take don’t you just said you don’t want to add another stage well don’t if you’re giving me the choice between taking away candy bar shortening up my candy bar right or taking chips out of the bag versus adding another stage, I’m gonna say just add the f*cking stage man. I don’t want less racing okay I don’t want less racing.”
Stewart-Haas Racing’s crew chief Rodney Childers also echoed similar thoughts on the matter. Childers pointed out, “If the stages were 40 laps instead of 60 laps, there wouldn’t be any fuel saving. So, if you had two 40s and whatever else or however you want to split it up“
Right now, fuel runs at superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega last about 40-45 laps, meaning stages should be around 40 laps or shorter to allow drivers to complete them on a single tank. However, things seem to be taking a turn (in Denny Hamlin’s favor) as the Coke Zero 400 will see a 35-lap first stage and a 60-lap second stage, followed by a final 65-lap dash. The first stage is under the fuel run limit, so there’s no need to save fuel early on, but the next two stages will need at least one pit stop.
However, shortening races, as Hamlin suggested, doesn’t quite solve the issue, as it’s tricky to divide a race into three parts where each is short enough to avoid refueling. As long as there’s a pit stop before a stage ends or the race concludes, drivers will have a reason to save fuel. Even eliminating stage breaks wouldn’t stop this—drivers would just aim to minimize their final stop or try to finish w,ith fewer pit stops overall.
So, what other strategies could be employed to jazz up the superspeedway races?
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The power struggle over Christian Horner has claimed its first victim: Red Bull Key Player Leave to Make Dream team with Hamilton at Ferrari
“That’s wrong for you to ask me that.” Denny Hamlin Shocked Kevin Harvick On His Request Over Chase Elliott and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
