Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been a vocal critic of the issues surrounding short track racing in the Next-Gen cars.
NASCAR introduced the Next-Gen cars in the 2022 season with the main objective of enhancing fairness and competitiveness in racing. While they have achieved these goals, it has come at the expense of exciting short track racing. The current aerodynamic package and tier combination make it difficult to overtake on short tracks, resulting in less appealing races.
The governing body has been working on improving the cars, tiers, and tracks to enhance short track racing. One of the most effective solutions so far has been the aggressive updates to the tiers. In a recent interview with Fox Sports, NASCAR Hall of Famer emphasized that the poor race quality at short tracks is not due to the Next-Gen cars being flawed.
He pointed out that short track racing improved when Goodyear, NASCAR’s official tire developer, took a more aggressive approach to tire development. Therefore, he disagrees with the notion that neither the track nor the cars are the cause of the decline in short track racing.
In 2023, Junior ended his long-standing broadcasting agreement with NBC. He subsequently signed with Amazon and TNT as a broadcaster for their streaming services, starting from the 2025 season. He is curious about how this new partnership will unfold for him.
Junior is intrigued by what his future holds in the broadcasting industry with the streaming giants and how it will impact his legacy. It will be fascinating to see how this new venture will shape Dale Jr.’s career.