"It's reality of situation" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks down owner challenges as Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson face off for Championship contention

Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott are set to face off for a place in the 2024 Championship 4 at Phoenix. NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his opinion on the challenging situation from an owner's point of view on his Dale Jr. Download podcast.

With three drivers in the Round of 8, HMS had a tricky situation on its hands for the grand finale. Adding to the team's woes were the South Point 400 and Straight Talk Wireless 400 races at Las Vegas and Homestead Miami respectively, where Larson, Elliott, and William Byron were unable to maximize their results. With two berths remaining for the 2024 Championship 4, both Larson and Elliott are in a do-or-die situation.

Being a racer and a NASCAR team owner himself, Earnhardt Jr. shared the challenges HMS is facing ahead of the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway.

"That's you know, it's reality of situation. That's not the wrong way to approach it I don't believe. They're underneath the same roof. And we have this sort of happening at JR Motorsports from time to time we're all here, we're all in this together," he said (22:37 onward).

"We all are going to have access to all of the same tools, all of the same information. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, as we prepare to go to this next race. It's all here. Nobody's hoarding anything in the corner and it's pretty transparent," Dale Earnhardt Jr. added (22:59 onward).

Here's a look at the entire Dale Earnhardt Jr. podcast from YouTube:

As of now, Hendrick Motorsports driver Byron is just on the edge of the playoff Round of 8 elimination bubble, while Larson and Elliott are inside the bubble. All three are fighting for the final two spots, with Larson and Elliott in a more critical situation.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. criticized Ryan Blaney's move on the final lap at Miami

In a last-lap battle between Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick, the latter emerged victorious at Homestead Miami. However, iconic NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. criticized the defending Cup Series champion for making the wrong move on the penultimate lap.

The Hall of Famer spoke about Blaney's move during his Dale Jr. Download podcast.

"Tyler Reddick makes the pass on the outside. Has anybody really saw any kind of a comment from Blaney on what he was thinking about going to the middle of the track? So when he goes into the corner and you can hear the dejection in his voice if you listen to the in-car (radio). I wonder what after the fact if he thinks he should have ran the fence," Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented (0:00 onward).

"Every race that I've ever watched there in the Xfinity car and any other car, I see that pass happen in nine out of ten times. If the lead car goes into the third lane, middle lane, wherever you want to call that, I'm definitely expecting the car that Reddick's driving to make that pass more often than not. What about with the next-gen car that gives Blaney the confidence that his choice, his lane choice was the right one? Even though he didn't succeed," he added, explaining the technicality (0:19 onward).

A video of the aforementioned interaction was shared on X by Dirty Mo Media. Here's a look at the post, captioned:

"Tyler [Reddick] or Kyle Larson, if they are behind you, those guys are going to the fence. You take that away no matter what."

This allowed Reddick to secure a place in the grand finale at Phoenix, while Blaney is near the bottom of the Round of 8 elimination bubble.