“NASCAR to me is number 1”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants the sport competing with viewership giants NFL

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has expressed his desire to see NASCAR compete with the NFL to garner viewership. The legendary driver feels NASCAR is the "undercard" in a world, where sports compete with other sports for the views.

The National Football League's (NFL) first season kicked off 103 years back in 1920. Since then, the sport has gained immense global popularity and millions of viewers tune in to watch the two teams fight for the win. To date, the NFL's Cowboys and Giants' Thanksgiving Day game in 2022 contributes to the most-watched regular season game with 42.1 million viewers.

NASCAR started its operations by marking its first race in 1948 in Daytona Beach at the beach road course. However, in 76 years since its inception, the high-octane motorsport hasn't been able to amass global fame like the NFL as its audience is largely from the United States of America. The 2006 Daytona 500 marked NASCAR's most-watched race ever, attracting 19.4 million American viewers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been in the sport for decades and even after retiring from full-time racing after the 2017 season, the 26x Cup Series race winner is very well connected with the developments in NASCAR. Though Junior claimed NASCAR is the "Number 1" sport for him, he expressed that the sport is not a dominant force when it is supposed to go up against the NFL in the viewership battle.

"Why not go up against the NFL? We can't ever gain those viewers if we don't go battle. NASCAR to me is number one, NASCAR to me is the best thing going, NASCAR to me can start at one freakin o'clock if it wants to, NASCAR don't have to settle for 3:00 when we all know 1:00 is the best timeslot," Earnhardt Jr. said via Dirty Mo Media on X.

"I just don't like the idea that we're settling, we're having to maneuver. Yeah, we're the undercard, that's the vibe I get," Junior added.

As mentioned by Dale Earnhardt Jr., the best time to schedule a sporting event is 1:00 PM. However, NASCAR's schedule does not race at that time. The earliest race on the 2024 calendar is at 2:00 PM.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes a dig at NASCAR's mid-afternoon start times amid Michigan race's postponement

The FireKeepers Casino 400 race was hosted by the Michigan International Speedway and marked NASCAR's 24th regular Cup Series debacle. However, after rain forced the officials to shorten the practice and cancel the qualifying the race was started at a delayed time of 4:55 PM.

But three laps after Ryan Blaney secured the Stage 1 win, the field came down to the pit road, as heavy downpours prompted a red flag. Thus, the race was postponed to 11:00 AM Monday.

Many people voiced their displeasure regarding the postponement. Among them were the ardent fans, motorsports journalists, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff Gluck penned his displeasure regarding the start time and wrote (via X).

"I understand TV is king. Really, I do. But at what point does this just seem insane? Move the start times up at tracks with no lights. Especially with the threat of rain. Please. People have work and school tomorrow and they could have seen an official race today."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. responded and said that it might give the sport some short-term gains but could be detrimental in the long run.

"Mid afternoon start times. Short term gain. Long term detriment" Junior replied.

Many fans supported Earnhardt Jr. and slammed NASCAR for their start times.