Both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Petty are sons of NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers. They also are race-winning drivers.
However, one of them has won two NASCAR Championships, multiple Most Popular Driver awards and is in the Hall of Fame with their father. Earnhardt Jr. also own his own race team of JR Motorsports, and has a growing media empire of Dirty Mo Media.
So, when these two are at odds over a topic, people sit up and listen.
Earnhardt vs. Petty, But Not on the Track
This time, they are in disagreement about the NASCAR Next Gen car and the racing product it produces. Petty thinks it’s great, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — not so much.
During a recent appearance on the “PRN Live Podcast,” Petty shared his positive take on the Cup Series cars.
“The NASCAR Next Gen car is a huge leap forward, so let’s embrace the change,” he said. “Why cling to antiquated tech when the racing is only getting better? We’re seeing some spectacular stuff.”
Disgruntlement Is Growing Each Week
Two weeks ago at Iowa Speedway, dubbed the World’s Fastest Short Track, the NCS race produced hum racing with very few passes and battles for position. Last week at Watkins Glen, Shane van Gisbergen won his fourth-consecutive series’ race on a road course doing so by 11.1 seconds.
A main complaint is the Next Gen car lacks competitive racing on both the short tracks and road courses. Drivers, media and fans turned up the volume on their complaints after those two races, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. was right there with them.
“It’s a sports car, it’s not a NASCAR Stock Car,” he said on “The Dale Jr. Download Podcast.” “This is tough sport for me, I love being a broadcaster in this sport and I’m a big believer and fan of NASCAR.
“I read a lot of the dialogue on line from people I respect. I believe what they say and I see what I see with my own eyes. I want to say, I don’t love the Next Gen car…but, it’s here.”
He then added how the diffuser, big rims, low profile tires and other aspects of the car make it more like an IMSA car. The basis of his problem is the NCS isn’t racing Stock Cars anymore. Petty had a response to that comment on the PRN Live show.
“We don’t race stock cars, we race NASCARs,” he shared. “This is the NASCAR car that we have today. People complained in the 70s when they went to tubular chassis. They complained when we went to radial tires.
“They’ve complained all along as the progression of the cars.”
Earnhardt Jr. Tries to Walk the Fine Line
To his credit, Earnhardt Jr. knows he has a certain responsibility to viewers when he’s working a broadcast.
“I don’t know what to do about it,” he said on the DJD Podcast. “So, when I’m in the booth working there’s this feeling of I’m part of trying to pull this thing in the right direction, and I’m part of trying to show the racing is good.
“I see things during those races. Like when William Byron chops down on Eric Jones going into a corner and takes the air away from him. That’s when I hate this car.
“Then there’s moments when I enjoy watching the races and I don’t mind the car, it puts on a great show. It doesn’t do me or anyone any good to sit here and b*tch about the car.
“Would I have ever built a NASCAR Stock Car that had a diffuser? No.”
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