“Nothing about this pissed me off”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. had no complaints with NASCAR following controversial end to Brickyard 400

While the Brickyard 400 became the reason for several drivers' disappointment, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has revealed having no complaints with the officials about the controversial restart at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Junior highlighted that even if another caution was prompted, he didn't expect anything out of the blue to surface in the closing laps.

The crown jewel's return to the 2.5-mile oval was one lap away from deciding the winner when Kyle Busch lost control of his #8 Chevy and spun into Turn 3 to bring out the caution. From there onwards, a tandem of chaos ensued starting with Brad Keselowski running out of fuel momentarily before the race went green on Lap 162.

As a result, Kyle Larson hopped on the front row while Ryan Blaney's #12 Ford became the control car in the outside lane. The Team Penske driver didn't expect NASCAR to let the race go green when Keselowski pitted but contrary to his belief, Larson was allowed to place his #5 Chevy in second place.

Per Ryan Blaney, NASCAR "gave" Kyle Larson the inside lane but according to Dale Earnhardt Jr., he didn't expect to "see anything extraordinary" if the race were to go yellow again as the #12 Ford driver yearned. However, another restart did happen after the first overtime pileup, which included John Hunter Nemechek, Daniel Hemric, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Briscoe, prompting a red flag. Still, Kyle Larson braved the final restart for his maiden Brickyard 400 win.

Speaking on the controversial end of the crown jewel race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he was not "pissed" with the officials' take on the matter as he outlined having "enough" of the extended run.

"The yellow comes out, and my phone lights up with all my buddies going, 'That was atrocious.' I didn't have that reaction. I could've taken a caution or no, race is over, I'm fine with that either way," Earnhardt Jr. said via Dirty Mo Media on X.

"I didn't think I was gonna see anything extraordinary if a caution comes out and I had already had enough," Junior said giving his take on the first overtime restart. "Nothing about this pissed me off. I've had enough I was pushing back from the table. I don't know how else to say it, my opinion is flawed, it's just my opinion," he added.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes Brad Keselowski's abrupt exit during the yellow flag "is not enough" to waive off the start

Amid the circulating notions that NASCAR should've called off the restart and let the drivers rechoose their lanes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has given his take on the officials' decision following Keselowski's situation.

“I would have not had a problem had NASCAR waived off their start, but they usually just don’t do that. If a car runs out of gas, or if Brad just runs out of gas and pulls to the side like he did entering pit road, that to me is not enough to waive off the start or get in the way of what’s playing out with the green flag,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dale Jr. Download via YouTube 08:00).

NASCAR expressed that even if they would've waived off the start, the drivers wouldn't be allowed to re-elect their lanes and this is what the situation finally came to when Kyle Larson jumped to the front row beside Ryan Blaney as the RFK Racing driver steered to the pitlane.

Blaney was on the outside lane while Larson was on the inside. The IMS has no banking on the straightaway with a 9.2-degree elevation on the turns. This meant that even if the restart got called off, Larson could steer faster into the turns than Blaney, and this is apparently the reason behind Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s verdict of not expecting anything extraordinary from the caution.