Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs in on NASCAR’s global push with a strong stance: “We still got growth to have in the US”

One of the most popular voices in the world of stock car racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his thoughts on NASCAR’s push to take the sport on a global stage with races in multiple countries. While he is not opposed to the idea of going international, Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes that there is still a lot of growth still to be had in the USA.

In the past couple of years, NASCAR has been clear about its intention of taking stock car racing to other countries, especially to places like Mexico and Brazil. The success of NASCAR’s return to the Bowman Gray Stadium in 2025 has only helped in furthering this cause. In a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver shared his thoughts on the same, saying:

"I am not opposed to taking the sport and racing it in other countries. We had our peak popularity in the mid-2000s. I mean massively larger than we are today. Still, I feel like we got a lot of work to do here. NFL plays a couple of games overseas. How's that working for them? ...Their success in the states is allowing that. NASCAR for me, we still got growth to have in the US."

When co-host TJ Majors asked him how can the sport achieve the said growth, Jr. responded by saying:

"I don't know if the answer is going overseas. if you're talking about taking the sport and saying, 'Hey man, let's have the Clash in Brazil, let's have the Clash in England,' I love that," he added.

However, Majors said that he doesn't like the idea of having just the season-opening exhibition race at a short track outside the USA. When Dale Jr. followed up by asking if he wanted to have points-paying races outside America, Majors suggested that he would prefer to see a 'bigger track' with a bigger in-field.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed up by asking if Majors would be okay with losing races in the USA to add races in other countries. Majors responded in the negative. Jr. then asked if Majors would be okay to see NASCAR have 15 road courses on the calendar ten years from now, because he believes that other countries are not going to build oval tracks, as that is something unique to America.

---

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens up about his team's debut in the Cup Series

Dale Earnhardt Jr. along with his sister Kelly, runs the JR Motorsports Racing team in the Xfinity Series. He has four full-time drivers in the national series and his team has been quite successful since its debut all the way back in 2005 with four championships under its belt. And now, his team is set to make its very first appearance in the Cup Series in the Daytona 500 weekend.

The team will enter the Cup Series with reigning Xfinity champion Justin Allgaier, who will drive the No. 40 Chevy Camaro. Dale Jr. recently shared his thoughts on entering his team in the Cup Series and what it means for the Earnhardt siblings.

"It’s still sinking in. I did tell Kelley (his sister) that I wanted to be present for all the moments. ...I want to be involved or at least a witness to everything," Dale Earnhardt Jr. was quoted as saying by NBC Sports.

"I’m going to be on pit road when the car is pushed out for qualifying. I’ll be there when it’s going out for practice. I’ll be there when they unload it on Wednesday at the race track. I want to go through tech. I want to see everything. I don’t know what’s realistic because there will be some other obligations, but I’m approaching this like it’s a one and only opportunity, a dream come true," he added.

If Dale Jr. wants his team to compete in the Daytona 500, Justin Allgaier will have to qualify the No. 40 Chevy in the top 40 spots to make the starting grid.