Ahead of the race at Iowa Speedway, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about the quality of racing on the short tracks in the NASCAR Cup Series. Dale Jr. believes that the Next-Gen cars are not at fault concerning the short-track problems.
In an interview with FOX Sports' Bob Pockrass, former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed that the Next-Gen car isn't the core of the problem in the quality of the racing at short tracks like Richmond, Martinsville, Bristol, and newly returned Iowa Speedway. The short-track package involves controlled high-speed racing with a specific package of aerodynamics, tire compounds, and engine power. While the new aero-package was introduced to reduce safety concerns, it certainly did change the quality of the racing.
"I don't think the tracks are broken. And I don't really necessarily believe the car is broken. They’ve tried everything with this car. They've stripped the downforce away. They've done all the things they can do at the test. The drivers feel nothing when they're making these changes. So I'm not 100 percent sold that the car is the problem," Dale Jr. said.
However, the two-time Daytona 500 winner believes that tires could be a potential solution to the short-track problems.
"We can certainly learn a lot by messing with a tire and Goodyear seems to be willing to be a bit aggressive with the tire."
However, there wasn't any "desired result", according to Dale Jr. after Goodyear introduced a different tire combination at the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Dale Jr. claimed that it did provide NASCAR with some input, nonetheless.
"They(NASCAR) did learn from it. And I think the drivers are open-minded and have given a lot of great input and feedback on what they're feeling with the tires as they start to change the compound. And so I'm hoping that Goodyear can continue race by race to push the envelope on a softer compound and a tire that will give us the racing that we want." Dale Jr. added.
Dale Jr. also admitted that he, along with the fans of the sport, has been critical regarding the short-track packages earlier on his Dirty Mo Media podcasts. He felt that everyone has a different opinion on this looming issue.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s livid reaction to short-track package after Martinsville race
Last month, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. was critical about the Cup Series race that took place at Richmond and Martinsville Raceway.
In an episode of the "Dale Jr. Download" podcast, Dale Jr. talked about tracks like Richmond getting left out of NASCAR's schedule and emphasized improving the short-track package. Dale Jr. said:
"Everybody wanted to take a date away from Richmond last week. Silliest sh*t I've ever heard in my life. But now, we're finally urging about getting the short track package right."
"It really made me angry that we walked out of Richmond and said, 'Man, that track don't need no second date, we need to go to somewhere else.' That's not true," he added.
According to Dale Jr., tracks like Richmond Raceway are on the list to be replaced by road courses in the upcoming Cup Series schedule. These races turned out to be tough races for the drivers and teams, where it became difficult for drivers to overtake. Thus, resulting in a decline in viewing experience for the NASCAR community.
Dale Jr. emphasized that the "panic button" regarding the quality of short-track races was used by him a year ago. In the same podcast, Dale Jr. said:
"And then we have the race at Martinsville, and now everybody hit the panic button. Dude, I was hitting that fricking button a year ago. It's beyond panic time alright? It's panic time last week when you're taking about taking a date away from a racetrack."