“I do not love every choice NASCAR makes”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his feelings crystal clear about the Atlanta controversy

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has expressed that he was unbothered by how the Ambetter Health 400 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway finished under caution. The superspeedway delivered nail-biting final lap action between Kyle Larson, Carson Hocevar, and Christopher Bell. But the Joe Gibbs Racing driver bested his rivals after finding his #20 Toyota ahead during the final lap caution.

While the frontrunners battled for the win, chaos erupted on the backstretch, as Josh Berry, Justin Haley, and Ryan Preece collided during the overtime. The officials raised the yellow flag and Bell was declared the winner. Despite NASCAR following the rulebook, many criticized the officials' call, claiming it ruined a potential photo finish.

Denny Hamlin, however, voiced in favor of NASCAR's ruling that prioritized safety over the adrenaline rush. The JGR driver clarified that the sanctioning body did nothing wrong and it was the right thing to do, given the wreck-fest on the iconic superspeedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. echoed Hamlin's take. The legendary driver remarked that even though he doesn't admire every decision NASCAR takes, he stands by the caution that saved drivers from a potentially "deadly" ordeal.

"I was totally unbothered by how the Cup race ended. I do not have eyes on the back straightaway to know if somebody's sitting broadside on the racetrack, but I've seen enough things in the 30 years I've been around the sport to know that if there's even the potential of that, it's deadly. We don't even need to have that conversation," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dirty Mo Media.

"It's a human choice, I'm leaving it up to the people in the booth, I do not love every choice they make, but in that scenario, Denny said it best, 'Safety prevails,'" he added.

Despite the controversy, Dale Jr. was pleased with NASCAR reaching its 'peak' racing at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens up about Carson Hocevar's NASCAR future after hard racing in Atlanta

Carson Hocevar made headlines during the season's second points-paying race weekend, however, at the expense of Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Ross Chastain, and more. The #77 Spire sophomore stood strong throughout the race but his hard racing concerned some veterans.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had plenty to say about Hocevar's aggression. He said that from Busch's perspective, the Spire driver's move was "frustrating," however when viewed from a fan's standpoint, Hocevar tried his best to claim his first Cup Series win.

Junior highlighted that the 2024 Rookie of The Year would stick around in the pinnacle of stock car racing for a significant time, but would need to tone down the aggression.

"He's wild, he's young, he's fast, he's gonna stick around," Junior said. "The veterans need to get him in a headlock in the garage and say, 'Look, man, you're great, you got talent, (but) you need to clean this s**t up.'" (0:29).

It's worth mentioning that Carson Hocevar presented a clear stance that he's not here to make friends at the expense of his NASCAR career.