Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals “The Issues” With NASCAR Racing at Superspeedways
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has spoken candidly about his frustrations with superspeedway racing, highlighting the ongoing issues that have plagued events at Daytona, Talladega, and Atlanta in recent years.
As the 2025 NASCAR season kicked off with the usual chaos at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt Jr. shared his thoughts on the growing concerns within the racing community. Echoing Denny Hamlin’s sentiment that the art of superspeedway racing has been lost, Junior pointed out that the current generation of NASCAR drivers is often caught up in overly aggressive racing.
In his latest appearance on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the JR Motorsports co-owner revealed that all four NASCAR series — ARCA, Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup — are struggling with similar issues on superspeedways. The main culprit, according to Earnhardt, is the excessive drag that has been added to the cars, making it increasingly difficult for drivers to pass each other effectively.
“We’ve choked everything down and put so much drag on the bodies that they can’t get away from each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. He elaborated on how the current cars are built, noting that no matter how good a car is or how experienced a driver is, the added drag makes it almost impossible to break away from the pack. This, he believes, leads to unnecessary wrecks and chaotic finishes, with cars frequently getting caught up in situations that could easily be avoided.
“A good car can’t drive away from a bad car. An experienced driver can’t distance himself from a [driver] who doesn’t have the experience… The cars are so draggy [now] and the engines are so stifled that everybody’s all over the top of each other. That just leads to some of the silliest crashes, that are just so unnecessary,” Earnhardt continued. He went on to explain that this problem has persisted for over a decade, a frustration he has seen unfold time and time again in races at the superspeedways.
Dale Jr. Offers a Solution
Despite his frustrations, Earnhardt Jr. also proposed a simple solution to improve the current situation. He emphasized that NASCAR does not need to overhaul everything; instead, the focus should be on adjusting the drag-to-power ratio of the cars.
“It’s really simple. It’s not hard. We don’t need to blow it up. We just need to get in a room and reimagine the drag-to-power ratio. How the cars react to each other, and around each other. We need to figure out a way to allow the car — we’ve got to change the drag-to-power ratio to where the delta between what a car can do by itself on the racetrack versus in the pack isn’t such a big range.”
This tweak, Earnhardt suggests, would allow the cars to behave differently in packs, leading to less chaotic racing and fewer crashes. Ultimately, he argues that both NASCAR and the drivers must take responsibility for the current product on track.
NASCAR Needs to Step Up
While Earnhardt Jr. called for NASCAR to step up and solve the issue, he also stressed that the drivers must do their part. Racing cleaner and more responsibly, he believes, is essential to reducing the level of chaos that has become synonymous with superspeedway racing.
According to Earnhardt, if the current issues persist, races will continue to resemble demolition derbies, which could harm the sport in the long term. His call for change is not just about improving the quality of racing, but also about ensuring that NASCAR’s future remains strong and competitive.
As the 2025 season unfolds, it remains to be seen whether NASCAR will take Earnhardt’s advice to heart and implement changes that will allow superspeedway racing to return to its roots.
