Sports
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Deciphers the Disastrous Impact of NASCAR’s Potential Big-Dollar Blow to Richard Childress
Richard Childress and his team have not been in NASCAR’s good books this year. With a single victory, Austin Dillon has taken the NASCAR world by storm. While some fans and the Richard Childress Racing fold may be celebrating, others shake their heads in disbelief. Dillon’s controversial bump-and-run has been churning out different opinions in the last 3 days. However, the final judgment on the matter is yet to be released, and that would ultimately determine the No. 3 RCR team’s future.
NASCAR would be behind that call, which Dale Earnhardt Jr. reckons would be a severe blow for Richard Childress and Co. Their Cup Series teams have terribly lagged behind this season, and a hefty penalty would be disastrous for their post-season run.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. delves into a dark outcome for RCR
What Austin Dillon executed at the Cook Out 400 race has precedents from the past. But they do not have good endings, like a 2010 Xfinity race. Then a driver shoved the race leader out of the way to snatch the win. Not only did NASCAR invalidate the victory, but they also slapped a $25,000 fine and a fifty-point reduction. Richard Childress‘ crew seems headed in the same direction, and it might be a dire scenario as Dale Earnhardt Jr. dissected.
The Richmond race has already cooked up an opinion on the veteran driver’s mind. Dale Earnhardt Jr. thoroughly disapproved of Dillon’s aggression, asking for an overhaul of the waiver rule if need be.
Now he gets into Richard Childress’ shoes and examines a bleak situation. Junior said, “If you come out on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, and you take a win away…Don’t even worry about the monetary fines, and say, ‘Alright man, you’re out of the playoffs with the win gone, back to 32nd. We know what that did to Michael Waltrip Racing, right? It sent them down a bad path that they could not recover from. I think even if you did it on race night, it’s all the same.”
The historic “Spingate” incident at a 2013 Richmond race sealed the fortunes of Michael Waltrip Racing. Clint Bowyer intentionally spun with 10 laps to go to bring out a caution. This benefited his MWR teammate, Brian Vickers, on the restart that allowed Martin Truex Jr. to qualify for the playoffs.
However, NASCAR was not so kind—it slapped a record $300,000 for the spin and the resulting attempt to manipulate the end of the race. So Dale Earnhardt Jr. rightly thinks that the Cook Out 400 fiasco might be detrimental for Richard Childress and Co.
RCR has already incurred the wrath of NASCAR this year. And with veterans like Dale Jr. and others clamoring for an example to be made of this, Dillon’s fortune hangs in the balance.
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A former Ferrari engineer has criticised the decision to bring in Lewis Hamilton and thinks the Brit’s presence will mean “a lot of potential for drama”.
At the age of 40, seven-time Formula 1 champion Hamilton will form a formidable driver partnership with Charles Leclerc. His big switch comes at the expense of Carlos Sainz, who has performed well for the Italian squad but who was axed so they had room for their blockbuster new signing.
But not everyone of a Ferrari persuasion is convinced that it will go well. Ernest Knoors, who spent many years as an engineer at Maranello, specialising in power units, worries that Hamilton’s presence could do more harm than good for a team that is finding its groove under Frederic Vasseur.
“A big name like Hamilton also brings a lot of politics and if politics within Ferrari are not managed well, then there is a lot of potential for drama,” he told Formule1.nl. “Hamilton has the tendency that if things do not work out, he turns his whole car upside down and starts experimenting.
“Ferrari believes very much in the big personalities and will follow him. But Hamilton is just someone you have to guide a little bit and not give the freedom to rebuild the whole car, because then it will go completely wrong. So I do not know if it is such a smart move, but of course it is nice for the sport.”
News of Hamilton’s planned move broke on February 1, coinciding with football’s Transfer Deadline Day. That the back pages of many newspapers were dominated by the decision of Hamilton to swap Mercedes for Ferrari was testament to the magnitude of the announcement.
Sainz was not surprised as he had been informed by his team of the plan ahead of it being made public. But the Spaniard responded well with two victories to date this season and five further appearances on the podium, on the way to what looks likely to be a fifth-placed finish in the championship – two spots and 54 points ahead of Hamilton.
Sainz has signed for Williams next year and, after several years of running at the front of the grid, will focus on his new challenge of helping restore one of the grid’s most historic teams to its former glory. But Knoors believes he should have been kept on by Ferrari instead.
The Dutchman added: “I see Lewis Hamilton’s arrival at Ferrari more as a PR move. With all due respect, Hamilton is not going to take that Ferrari from P6 to P1. He will get the most out of it, but what Ferrari has to do is make that car faster. And if you make that car faster, you can easily drive at the front with the current line-up.
“Besides, as a team you have to look further on the horizon. If Hamilton becomes champion in the coming years, he and Ferrari will become immortal. But if you want to build a team with talent for the next five years, are you going to build on Hamilton? No, because he will really be finished after two or three years. That is why I would have kept the very strong line-up that Ferrari has now.”
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Chase Elliott had a front-row seat for one of NASCAR’s most bizarre moments of the 2024 Cup Series season. At the start of Stage 2, the pace car dove onto pit road in front of Elliott; however, it was a tad too late. The pace car made contact with the sand barrels at the entry of pit road and caused a red flag for cleanup.
Initially, there was some speculation on the NBC Sports broadcast, even from the No. 9 team, that Elliott made contact with the pace car. Fortunately, the pace car didn’t slide across the No. 9 car’s nose, but it undoubtedly provided one of NASCAR’s craziest red flag moments in recent memory.
Below, you can listen to Elliott and the No. 9 team react to the pace car crashing into the sand barrels on pit road at Phoenix during Championship Weekend!
Reflecting on the recent retirement of 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion Martin Truex Jr., Earnhardt didn’t mince words about the toll NASCAR takes on its drivers. Speaking candidly, the two-time Daytona 500 winner admitted that the pressure to perform every week left him feeling miserable for most of his racing career—a sentiment he believes is shared by many of his peers.
“Right or wrong, racing made me a miserable person 90% of the time,” Earnhardt confessed. “And him too. I mean, ask Kyle Busch, ask anybody—unless you’re winning, you’re not happy.”
For these elite drivers, the sport is a relentless grind. A podium finish might bring temporary relief, but anything short of victory is often a source of frustration. The immense effort poured into preparation and execution rarely feels like it pays off unless the checkered flag is theirs.
Earnhardt highlighted the mental toll of falling short, explaining how the relentless focus on winning can overshadow the joy of simply competing. Even a solid performance feels hollow compared to the euphoria of a win.
“Unless you’re winning, you’re not happy at all,” he said. “You’re okay with a good run, but for the most part, all the effort it takes just to run good—it doesn’t weigh out.”
For drivers, the stakes are sky-high every week. Sponsors, fans, and teams demand nothing less than excellence, leaving little room for error or personal satisfaction in anything less than a dominant performance.
Earnhardt also shared insights into his friendship with Martin Truex Jr., who recently announced his retirement. While the two often spend time hunting together during NASCAR’s off-season, Earnhardt noted that the stress of racing even creeps into their leisure activities.
“When I’m with him during hunting season, it’s always in the back of his mind,” Earnhardt said. “It’s that stressful part of the year when he’s as miserable as he’s going to be.”
Now, with Truex stepping away from the track, Earnhardt looks forward to seeing a lighter, happier version of his long-time friend. Without the weight of weekly competition hanging over him, Truex might finally be able to relax and enjoy the outdoor lifestyle he cherishes.
“It’ll be fun to see him loosen up,” Earnhardt added.
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