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He isn’t happy What NASCAR Did: Dale Earnhardt Jr Sparks Rumors And Exposed NASCAR Next Move
He isn’t happy What NASCAR Did: Dale Earnhardt Jr Sparks Rumors And Exposed NASCAR Next Move
Short-track racing really hits the spot for fans and drivers alike. Ideally, NASCAR should be throwing more short tracks into the mix, like they did with North Wilkesboro, Iowa, and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, instead of cutting them out. However, NASCAR’s got a bigger puzzle to solve when it comes to nailing down the right rules for these tracks. Richmond has been a particular concern, with races turning out kind of dull.
To shake things up, NASCAR is thinking about heading down to Mexico. This buzz first started floating around in early April, but it picked up steam again recently when Dale Earnhardt Jr chimed in, voicing his letdown over the move.
Dale Earnhardt Jr isn’t happy with how NASCAR seems to be drifting away from short tracks
During the offseason, NASCAR President Steve Phelps hinted that Richmond might lose one of its two annual race dates. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard such whispers about Richmond. Phelps mentioned that tracks typically hold onto their double dates if they sell out or deliver “extraordinary” racing. In recent years, NASCAR has pulled second dates from tracks like New Hampshire, Texas, Dover, Pocono, and Michigan due to underwhelming sales or performances.
Richmond hasn’t sold out a Cup Series race since 2008, and the quality of the racing there has been pretty hit-or-miss for the last decade. Combine so-so races with sparse crowds, and you’ve got a recipe for NASCAR looking elsewhere—Mexico. Dale Earnhardt Jr, a staunch supporter of short tracks, finds this shift particularly frustrating.
Junior laid out his frustration pretty straight, saying, “There’s nothing wrong with Richmond you know and we’re going to go we’re going to leave Richmond to go race in Mexico. We’re going to leave all these traditional ovals to go race a road course. […] What’s whittling away one of my favorite things short track seems to be because […] the package is not good right now. It’s uh easy for the industry to say let’s not go there. If our package isn’t good or our short track package isn’t exciting our fans are not enjoying it you know it’s the one that’s going to sacrifice.”
He agreed that NASCAR is pumped about showcasing their races to a global audience, and it’s pretty awesome for the sport to hit up a new country and strut their stuff—just like the NFL and F1 do. NASCAR is aiming big, hoping to be successful enough to take their show on the road internationally and host some killer events. But as someone who loves the old-school ways, Dale Jr admits, “That’s tough for me.”
However, whether NASCAR’s move to Mexico is actually a win for the sport is still up in the air. What if fans abroad don’t get into it as much as the home crowd, who cheer on drivers from their own backyards who’ve made it big in NASCAR?
Well, this year’s race at Richmond was pretty standard fare by their standards, but honestly, the broadcast was a snoozer. NASCAR tried to spice things up a bit—rainy weather had the cars starting on wet-weather tires, making the first 30 laps pretty lively. But then, they called all the cars in for a switch to slicks during a dull, non-competitive pit stop, which really took the wind out of the sails.
After that, the talks about NASCAR moving to a new venue became even stronger. Their options aren’t endless, though. That’s why they’re eyeing an international race for 2025, with Mexico looking like the top pick. Adding a new spot means another one might get the axe.
Additionally, the buzz is building. Thanks to that Netflix docuseries, folks from all over are tuning into NASCAR, not just the traditional fan base. Like, Formula 1 wasn’t a big deal in the U.S. until Netflix dropped its ‘Drive to Survive‘ series in 2019, and look at it now.
The NFL has been growing its fan base and raking in more dough by playing games in London since 2007, and more recently, in Mexico and Canada. NASCAR might just be on a similar track. Think about it—lots of us grew up on movies like “Cars,” and those kids are all grown up now, keeping the fandom alive. And, at every race, you see loads of kids and young adults in the stands. Maybe those “Cars” movies did leave a mark.
Or it could be those who watched NASCAR with their dads and carried that passion abroad. They’ve kept their love for the sport alive, even miles away from home. That’s why, NASCAR going international could be a dream come true for several drivers and audiences.
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Max Verstappen has once again claimed that he is the target of ‘British bias’ in the media after watching the fallout from his battle with Lando Norris. The three-time world champion’s defending was criticised by a number of drivers, including Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen and Norris shared a titanic battle at the Circuit of the Americas last weekend, but the flashpoint came at Turn 12 as the Dutchman deployed a signature tactic, lunging deep into the corner to get to the apex first before running both himself and his title rival off the road.
Norris opted to keep his foot in and overtook the Red Bull driver around the outside, although this decision landed him a five-second time penalty that dropped him back behind Verstappen in the general classification. This sparked a major debate with other drivers – Hamilton included – calling for the FIA to take action and outlaw this style of defending.
Verstappen has been frustrated by this debate. Quizzed by Viaplay in Mexico on whether he’d like to see the rules changed, he replied: “No, not really. But I have the wrong passport.” Asked if he was referring to a British passport, he confirmed as much.
“Yeah, it’s the wrong country, on that aspect… with complaining” he replied. “I love my passport but on that aspect, I should have had a different passport, actually.” The Dutchman also complained of ‘British bias’ earlier this season following comments made by Adrian Newey.
When asked about the debate surrounding Verstappen’s on-track conduct, former title rival Hamilton was quick to point out that the Dutchman has been employing these tactics for some time, dating back to their no-punches-pulled fight in 2021.
“It’s always been a grey area, that’s why he’s got away with it for so long,” Hamilton explained ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix. “They probably need to make some adjustments for sure.
“Also, we do have inconsistencies through rulings, weekend in, weekend out, obviously depending on which years it is. I mean, as a sport, we do need to level up on all areas and if you look at other global sports, they have full-time refs, for example, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a bad thing for our sport.
“I experienced it many times with Max, you shouldn’t be able to just launch the car on the inside and be ahead and then you go off and still hold your position. So, they need to definitely work on this.”
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$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
Hendrick Motorsports vice chairman Jeff Gordon teamed up with Chase Elliott and other HMS drivers in a lighthearted fun exercise for fans where they attempted to solve the mystery behind an old tweet from their current driver.
The anonymous tweet reads, “Don’t judge me, but I can’t wait to see the new twilight movie haha,” and it’s believed to belong to one of the HMS’s driver lineups, which includes Elliott, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Alex Bowman.
Jeff Gordan, who has a net worth of $200 million (according to Celebrity Net Worth), and HMS drivers tried to guess, but none of them were correct. Bowman and Elliott named Byron, while Byron went with Elliott, but it was Larson. He accepted that it was his tweet in 2011 and revealed that he likes Catherine Hardwicke’s Twilight movie.
HMS shared the video of the fun investigative activity on Instagram with a caption:
“Hold on tight, spider monkey”
Watch the Jeff Gordon and HMS’s guesses below:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBjQ7EzP3A7/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=e5182e01-3688-440a-ae00-0bf669973e15&ig_mid=01331E07-1F15-4C86-B3DB-7587302F0125
Three out of four HMS drivers are still in contention for the 2024 NASCAR Cup championship. Larson and Byron are in good position in the playoffs points table, with 35 and 27 points above the cutline.
However, 2020 Cup champion Elliott is in danger of getting eliminated from title contention, as he’s 53 points behind the cutline heading to this weekend’s Homestead-Miami race.
In an interview with NBC Sports earlier this season, Jeff Gordon spoke about the competition between their two best drivers, Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott, for the regular season championship. Gordan wanted to see both top drivers perform well and race aggressively against each other while maintaining sportsmanship in their chase for the regular season title.
However, neither Larson nor Elliott won the championship; it was Tyler Reddick who clinched the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season championship. Speaking to NBC Sports, the four-time NASCAR Cup champion Jeff Gordon said:
“I think it’s pretty clear at Hendrick how we expect teams and drivers to race against one another and how they’ve got to go and compete not only against their competitors but against one another.
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“Kyle Busch is an a**”: Brad Keselowski publicly chastised his fierce NASCAR rival in front of over 150,000 spectators
Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski birthed one of the fiercest rivalries in NASCAR. The duo had multiple run-ins throughout their careers, but the seed of their feud was sown at the 2010 Xfinity Series race hosted by the Bristol Motor Speedway. In the aftermath, Keselowski publicly castigated Busch in front of over 150,000 fans during driver introductions.
Busch kicked off his Food City 250 from third place in his #18 Toyota while Keselowski began in 13th. However, as the 250-lap battle inched closer to its conclusion, the then-Penske Racing driver held the domination while the former #18 Joe Gibbs Racing driver fought hard for the lead.
After struggling to overtake for nearly a dozen laps, Busch, with 31 laps until the checkered flag dropped, lunged ahead of Keselowski, only to be wrecked from behind and lose the spot again.
However, the JGR driver quickly retaliated and spun out Keselowski’s #22 Dodge. The move propelled the #18 Toyota to the victory lane while the Penske driver fell from a potential win to settling in 14th place.
The bitter feeling inside Brad Keselowski surfaced during the Bristol Cup Series race driver introductions the following day. After Kyle Busch introduced himself, his fierce rival took the mic and blasted Busch with his “a**’ comment.
“Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Racing Dodge. Kyle Busch is an a**,” he said.
However, when asked why he slammed Busch, Keselowski said that Juan Pablo Montoya challenged that he can’t call the JGR driver an “a**”. It’s worth mentioning that the crowd’s roar on the Penske driver’s introduction notched 104.2 decibels.
“Sometimes you just don’t like a guy”: Kyle Busch publicly slams Brad Keselowski during their 2017 title fight
The bitter rivalry between Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski was such that both made unapologetic comments about the other from time to time. Despite the latter publicly extending an olive branch to the former in 2015, their relationship remained sour.
Max Verstappen addresses ‘British bias’ at Mexican GP after Lewis Hamilton put-down
$200M Jeff Gordon teams up with Chase Elliott and Co. to decode the HMS driver behind the “Don’t judge me” old tweet
