There are a lot of things Dale Earnhardt Jr. would love to see different in NASCAR. Near the top of that list is some changes to the Next Gen car.
Earnhardt has been an outspoken critic of the car, which has struggled to produce entertaining racing on short tracks and road courses. If he were in charge, he would “tear this car apart and strip it down,” he said.
“I do like the tire, the falloff. That’s like one little thing, but there’s so many little things that I wish were different,” Earnhardt said on Tuesday’s Dale Jr. Download. “The tire this weekend — so good. More of that, please. I’ll be honest, this car — I’ve talked in length about this car on this show. Things about the car physically that I just don’t think belongs on the car. The underbody and all of that stuff. I would really tear this car apart and strip it down, get rid of some sh*t. I would not touch it in its current form for the mile-and-a-half and stuff.
“But for the car I’m gonna take to Martinsville, it would be like the unplugged version instead of the full band. It would be the unplugged version of the Next Gen. You don’t need all that sh*t. It’d be so basic and dull, you’d beat the sh*t out of it. Go out there and beat the sh*t out of it. It could look the same to you on TV, but underneath the shell, it would be a much, much simpler, leaner version.”
Earnhardt didn’t stop at the car. He discussed NASCAR’s new media rights deal, which is in effect from 2025-2031. The new deal has Cup Series races airing on FOX, FS1, Prime Video, TNT, NBC, and USA Network. Ratings have been down this season, particularly during the playoffs.
“People say that where we are on television is a big deal, so that’s a conversation to have. How do we make it simpler to find us?” Earnhardt said. “That’s the message from fans on social media is that we took the best deal financially, but maybe there’s some detriments to that. But then I hear people say, ‘Well, we need to be on a big network.’ The CW does really well with the Xfinity Series. It’s easy to find, it’s in a lot of households, and it’s all on the same channel. Some people will tell you, ‘Man, we need to be on the big networks.’ But then there’s other people that say, ‘Well, you gotta be going to streaming. We relate to the party there. We relate to that.’
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“So, you have people who think if you were on big FOX every week… that would be better. And then you have other people saying, ‘Well, if you would have gotten to the streaming side, if you would have done that sooner and embrace that quicker.’ So, what’s real? Can you go back and put yourself on big network and stay there while everyone else is going to streaming?”
Beyond the race broadcasts, Earnhardt believes the sport would be better off if it had a weekly show on TV. Earnhardt sees value in the buildup to the race itself, which could be used to create conversation around the sport.
“That’s another part I think we’re missing is the buildup, weekly shows. Get home from work, turn on the television and watch 30 minutes to an hour of talk, conversation around the sport,” Earnhardt said. “This podcast is fun to do, but we need like that pillar show, like RPM 2Night. We need that one show that’s like the all, catch-all.
“We also need practice and qualifying — storylines, we need a little more. I know the drivers don’t care for more practice but some do. It gives you an opportunity of what to expect come raceday and gives you an opportunity to talk and tell stories and stuff about what you could see.”
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