"I was never scolded"- NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr rubbishes rumors about NBC fallout

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NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300
JR Motorsports owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images)

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr has slammed the rumors about his fallout with NBC Sports, as he settled the dust around the drama.

Back in 2018, when Earnhardt Jr parted ways with competitive NASCAR racing, he joined hands with NBC as a broadcaster. Since then, the 49-year-old has been with the same partner for six years until the end of the 2023 season. It meant that he was without a contract for the current season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr is supposedly set to take the 2024 season off before joining his new partners at the office and apparently informed NBC Sports of his decision last month. The 2x Xfinity Series champion will be seen broadcasting for Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, from 2025 onwards (via The Athletic).

However, Earnhardt Jr's immediate switch to another platform didn't really sit right with a lot of fans, following which, a Reddit post making bold claims about Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s fallout with NBC created havoc in the NASCAR community.

The post claimed that the former NASCAR driver was asked to call races from the company's remote studios in Charlotte. It also mentioned that he clashed with the network as he preferred to watch out of the booth's windows rather than call the action from the TV monitors (via YardBarker).

Nevertheless, the former NASCAR driver came forward, rubbishing all the rumors birthing because of his out-of-the-blue move on NBC Sports.

Earnhardt Jr cleared the air on X (formerly Twitter) account, where he wrote in his reply to a now-deleted reportedly making the aforementioned claims:

"This is all untrue. NBC is not considering a remote booth and I was never scolded for anything. NBC was amazing and everyone there taught me a ton. I promise that’s the truth. Nothing but respect and love for everyone there that I came in contact with."

Dale Earnhardt Jr reveals the aspect of a broadcasting job that he will never do

The son of the 'Intimidator' ventured into the realm of stock car racing in the 1999 NASCAR Cup Series Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Having collected 50 NASCAR wins across the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series over two decades, it's safe to say that Dale Eanrhardt Jr has made himself well-versed with the ovals.

A few weeks back, Earnhardt Jr officiated his exit from NBC to partner up with Amazon Prime and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, starting in 2025. However, during his six-year stint with NBC Sports, Junior probably felt the need to be on the racetrack more than anything else, as is evident from his words.

On the Dirty Mo Media podcast, Junior shed light on the style of commentary he'd never do as he disclosed the reason behind his preferred way.

His opinion was shared by Dirty Mo Media on X (formerly Twitter) last month:

"If I continue to broadcast in NASCAR, I want to be at the racetrack. I'm never going to work a job where they're like, 'Man, you know, we're going to have you here in Charlotte and call the race from this remote location.'

The North Carolina native added:

"I need to see the track, I need to see the energy, I need to feel the fans. All that really makes me better. I'm a fan, I want to be at the race watching it. I want to look out that window and see the race."

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Edited by Aniket Rai
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