"Some traditions, what's wrong with them?": Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares his take on NASCAR removing 'a rite of passage' rule

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his take on NASCAR removing mandatory rookie stripes for drivers from 2025 onwards. They claimed that having the stripes on the drivers' cars entering their first full-time season was 'unnecessary.'

The governing body deemed competing drivers as participants of the highest level of stock car racing. Hence, they don't need rookie stripes.

Speaking about this on his podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed that he was surprised to hear the update on the stripes. He touched on how most fans mentioned that 'such a cool tradition' of rookie stripes wasn't necessary anymore because the drivers know each other.

Junior said it was not for the drivers, it was for other viewers. The Hall of Famer said that in modern NASCAR, where the fields are smaller than ever, there isn't a 'robust rookie battle' anymore.

"There's some that kind of come and go. And I get why it's not as necessary as it used to be. Am I noticing the yellow stripe on the back of the car as I used to? No. But in 1980 for example, when you went ot the Daytona 500, there were probably 70-80 cars trying to qualify for the Daytona 500, multiple 20-25 rookies, lots of rookies, dozens or more. That was when it was necessary," he described.

Earnhardt Jr. said that the stripes weren't just necessary for the fans but for drivers as well, back in the day. He stated that NASCAR shouldn't have changed what wasn't broken in the first place. He said:

"Some traditions, what's wrong with them? That was just a thing that didn't have to go away. It was kind of a neat tradition that was kind of a rite of passage."

But after all of that, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that to him, NASCAR removing rookie stripes wasn't 'a big deal,' and that five laps into the Daytona 500, he would stop caring about it altogether.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives his opinion on why NASCAR doesn't celebrate rookies as much anymore

Further sharing his take on NASCAR rookies not being celebrated as much anymore, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave the examples of William Byron and Chase Elliott.

The former Hendrick Motorsports driver said that when NASCAR industry executives get excited about a rookie such as Elliott or Byron, they celebrate it.

"You got a guy like Chase Elliott or William Byron, that's a big star already kind of an established name, then it's celebrated, then it's advertised, then it's talked about," Earnhardt Jr. said.

Junior mentioned that last season's rookie crop wasn't as exciting heading into the year. And yet, he claimed it turned out to be a 'very competitive' battle and Carson Hocevar won the Rookie of the Year title.