Dale Earnhardt Jr. delivers crystal clear stance on what NASCAR did at the Bowman Gray Stadium for The Clash

Former NASCAR Cup Series driver turned Xfinity team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his views on what he thinks NASCAR achieved by returning to its roots at the Bowman Gray Stadium for the first time since 1971. He praised NASCAR for the preparations it did at the track for hosting the season-opening exhibition race and how that effort paid off in what he described as an entertaining weekend.

Through the practice sessions and the Heat Races on Saturday to the Last Chance Qualifying (LCQ) race and the Cook Out Clash on Sunday, fans saw some really exciting action on the track, including local hero Burt Myers getting crashed out, and Ryan Blaney pushing all the way up to the runner up spot, having started last in the Clash. It must be said that the track which is famously known as the 'Madhouse' lived up to its expectations and Dale Earnhardt Jr. thinks exactly the same.

Speaking on the latest episode of his popular podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt Jr. said:

"They did a really fantastic job, NASCAR did a really good job on the racetrack. They wiped it up, cleaned it, now there was nothing wrong with it, it was certainly serving its purpose, but to take the cup cars there, they shined it up a little bit and you know the cars, in terms of the package of the cars and the tire allowed for the drivers to have some handling issues, (they) have to be smart and it ended up being a really entertaining weekend." (8:10 - 8:46)

He also discussed the fact that many fans had mixed feelings about the whole weekend as some parts of it were a little too intense and crazy like the Last Chance Qualifying race, which saw 9 cautions in the course of just 75 laps. But on the other hand, some parts of the race saw extremely good behaviour, like the second half of the main event where drivers were not taking too many risks.

"You got to take the good with the bad," Dale Jr. shared. "I didn't love the main event, I want them to be more physical, I wanted that all right. But I'm not going to poo poo on the whole thing because, 'Oh, I didn't get exactly what I wanted in the main event'. You know, I didn't want Chase (Elliott) to get spun out but Chase didn't get roughed up for the win," Dale Earnhardt Jr. added (10:50 onwards).

Despite the little things that weren't perfect during the weekend, Dale Jr. still thinks that NASCAR should return to Bowman Gray in the future.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants Bowman Gray to be the home of the Clash

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared an idea for keeping the Bowman Gray Stadium on the NASCAR schedule. He believes the Madhouse should host the all-star weekend to encourage drivers to race more aggressively as a million dollars is on the line.

"I would even consider moving the all-star race to Bowman Gray Stadium. Think about how good it raced. Imagine that track with some temp in it and a million dollars on the line. I think everybody would be a little bit more aggressive. You go back to Bowman Gray and do this again next year to start the year off is a great way to get everybody excited about Daytona... to continue racing at Bowman Gray, they can have the all-star race there," Dale Jr. shared.

He even spoke about the North Wilkesboro Speedway, a track he advocated to be on the calendar for a long time, to host a points-paying race during the season. Right now, Wilkesboro hosts the All-Star Race, another exhibition race like the Clash.

"I was hoping that would mean that Wilkesboro would get a points race... Wilkesboro's been cool but I don't think we've really untapped the potential of what Wilkesboro can really be because the race there isn't long enough," Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

The next race, the Daytona 500 is scheduled on February 16, and it will officially kick off the season as the first points-paying race of 2025.