"What have you done?": Dale Earnhardt Jr. points to NASCAR's 'mistake' with handling The Clash over the years

NASCAR Next Gen test car at Bowman Gray Stadium - Source: Getty
NASCAR Next Gen test car at Bowman Gray Stadium - Source: Getty

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared his thoughts on the modern version of the NASCAR Clash. The Clash is the season opening exhibition race which kicks of the almost year-long season of stock car racing into action.

This season's Clash will take place at Bowman Gray Stadium, one of the most iconic venues in the history of the sport. Prior to this year, the Clash was held at the LA Coliseum for three-years. And before that, it was at Daytona, after which the Daytona 500, the points-paying race would officially kickstart the competitive NASCAR season.

Speaking about the time when NASCAR would host the Clash at Daytona, Earnhardt Jr. recalled on his podcast how the field was continuously expanded to get in more partners and sponsors in the race.

Junior further claimed that the rules of eligibility were usually adjusted to 'basically kind of include any team', because of which there were jokes and the race began to lose it's uniqueness.

"The Clash, as I’ve mentioned a million times, was about pole winners. … You would even hear drivers mention it in their interviews as they won the pole. Drivers no longer go, ‘Hell yeah, I’m in The Clash.’ When you lost that, what have you done? You’ve made a mistake. I guess what I’m saying is this feeling like it’s necessary to make sure everybody’s always a part of it, takes away the challenge of achieving," Dale Earnhardt Jr. described.
youtube-cover

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his take on NASCAR's playoff format after Joey Logano's third title in 2024

NASCAR's playoff system attracted a lot of criticism from fans and insiders alike after Joey Logano won the championship in 2024 at Phoenix. Logano, who finished 15th in the regular season, won three race in the playoffs on his way to his third Cup title.

This was something Dale Earnhardt Jr. also commented on during an episode of his podcast in November. Earnhardt said that if there's a problem or a gripe, it is that whether everyone is okay with the kind of the regular season performance that Logano produced in 2024. It's worth mentioning that apart from a solitary win at Nashville, Logano only had three top five finishes in the entire regular season.

"Nobody's complaining about the Wild Card teams being in there and he was literally kind of a wild card team in this format. Do I love the format? No. I think there should be more than one race run to the title. We can all talk in circles about that. I want them to go back to the original system of no playoffs," Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed.

With that said, it'll be interesting to see whether NASCAR makes some or any adjustments to its playoff format ahead of 2025, and to The Clash format for 2026.

Quick Links

Edited by Tushar Bahl
Sportskeeda logo
Close menu
WWE
WWE
NBA
NBA
NFL
NFL
MMA
MMA
Tennis
Tennis
NHL
NHL
Golf
Golf
MLB
MLB
Soccer
Soccer
F1
F1
WNBA
WNBA
More
More
bell-icon Manage notifications