“It’s a waste of time”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. extremely clear about NASCAR’s Playoff change that he says will ‘never gonna happen'
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has expressed conviction about his mindset regarding NASCAR's playoff format change. While the knockout format is being heavily criticized, with many opining that the 10-race Chase system should be reinstated, the NASCAR Hall of Famer commented about the no-playoff format.
Joey Logano emerged as a title contender at Phoenix. However, after the Charlotte Roval race, the Team Penske driver was eliminated from the playoff. But he got lucky as Alex Bowman's #48 Chevy was underweight during the post-race inspection, and the HMS driver was awarded a DQ, reinstating the #22 Ford driver. Logano aced the following race at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, guaranteeing his Championship 4 spot.
On the other hand, Kyle Larson clinched six victories this season but was left out of the title fight due to the knockout format. Had the previous system prevailed, the 2021 Cup Series champion would've raced at Phoenix as a championship contender.
Following the backlash, NASCAR COO Steve O'Donnell handled the issue and talked about addressing the current format.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed that he wanted the no-playoff system back, which prevailed until 2004 when all drivers fought until the penultimate race for the title. However, he is sure that NASCAR won't return to that format. Junior said (via Dirty Mo Media).
"I want them to go back to the original system of no playoffs. Never gonna happen, it's a waste of time to spend another minute," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
The podcast's co-host Andrew Kurland contradicted Dale Jr.'s take and quoted an excerpt from O'Donnell's presser. He said.
"Here's what he (O'Donnell) did say and this is why I think the conversation is open is, 'We'll absolutely look at what form the playoffs take in the off-season.' Does that mean we could get kind of what we want?" Kurland said (0:09).
"What they're doing there is just leaving themselves the opportunity to open that door if they feel like there's a ton of criticism, ton of pushback from the fans. Because let's face it whether they will admit it or nor, NASCAR absolutely ebbs and flows due to whatever might be the loudest conversation on social media," Earnhardt Jr. replied.
As a concluding note, Junior emphasized that testing the format over an event won't suffice and that NASCAR should consider a larger sample size for accurate turnaround.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals how Phoenix Raceway's 'bar' was raised for him
Dale Earnahrdt Jr. revealed a peculiar aspect of Phoenix Raceway that has raised the short track's rank in his eyes. The venue which recently hosted the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race took the baton of the event from Homestead-Miami Speedway.
During COVID-19 in 2020, Phoenix took over Homestead-Miami as the host of NASCAR's penultimate race across all three series—Cup, Xfinity, and Truck. Since then, it has consecutively run the Championship 4 races and will be doing it in 2025.
However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels it's time to move to another venue. Though he praised Phoenix Raceway and revealed the noteworthy thing he likes, the two-time Xfinity champion said the track 'had a great run.'
"Should we race somewhere else for the final race of the year? We probably should move it around I think that Phoenix has had a great run. But I got to give Phoenix a lot of credit. They have put a ton of money into that racetrack. They have this thing called the barn of some sh** (the bar where champions are brought)," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
"That alone, I don't care what the damn finish looks like, having a bar at a racetrack raises that son of a bi**h up the list for me," he added.
Where do you think NASCAR should host its 2026 Championship 4 races?