Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his feelings clear about Chase Elliott’s home track: “Feels like everything is on edge”

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shared his thoughts on the weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the home track of former Cup Series champion Chase Elliott. Dale Jr. described racing at Atlanta as "mentally tough" for the drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., into NASCAR, debuting in the Xfinity Series in 1996 and winning back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999. He secured 50 wins across NASCAR’s top two divisions but never won a Cup Series title, while his father boasted seven championships.

Earnhardt Jr. only managed to secure one victory at the 1.540-mile quad oval speedway throughout his Cup Series career in 2004, the same year he secured his first Daytona 500 triumph. Following the end of the race, the two-time Xfinity Series champion shared a post on X that read:

"Man this racetrack has something special. I'm tensed up! What these drivers are doing is so mentally tough. Feels like everything is on edge."

Hendrick Motorsports #9 driver Chase Elliott, competing at his native track for the 14th time in the Cup Series, had an underwhelming day in Atlanta. Elliott, who started the race in P18, was an innocent victim of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Chase Briscoe's tussle, as they crossed him between turns 3-4 before Stenhouse Jr. lost balance and nudged the #9 driver into the wall. Despite rejoining the race, Elliott could not recover from the setback.

Meanwhile, following his retirement, Dale Earnahrdt Jr. is the proud owner of four-time Xfinity Series title-winning team JR Motorsports. Furthermore, after winning the Xfinity title last season, their championship-winning driver Justin Allgaier drove JRM to its debut in the Daytona 500 earlier in the month, marking a historic moment for the team, and the Earnhardt legacy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals JR Motorsports’ future plans following impressive Daytona 500 debut

Justin Allgaier piloted the #40 Travellers Whiskey Chevrolet in the Daytona 500, delivering an impressive top-10 finish in JR Motorsports' debut at the event. Following the strong performance, JRM co-owner and two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his thoughts on the team’s future in the Cup Series.

In a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said:

"I guess the thing is, everybody's wondering what's next for Junior Motorsports, I think that Traveller and those folks had a really great time. If they feel like it's worthwhile for them to put in another investment, to go run another race with that car at another track you know, Daytona or Talladega, maybe Daytona later this year that's to be determined. If they want to do that, we would probably do it, we'd probably just rerun it, and rack it up. So that's a possibility, we'll see."

Meanwhile, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell grabbed his first win of 2025 and his first at Atlanta Motor Speedway with a victory in the Ambetter Health 400, locking in his spot for this season’s playoffs early.