Dale Earnhardt Jr. liked what he saw from the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond this past weekend. On Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt reacted to the quality of the Richmond race and how the Next Gen car performed at the track.
“I watched some of the race; they were driving right on each other’s asses in the corners,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “Maybe the tire is a bigger part than I realized. …The tire may be a bigger part of this than I even realized.
“Would I have built the car this way? No, and I said it four or five weeks ago, it is what it is. It ain’t changing. We’re down the road too far. Too much money’s been spent to be too expensive to turn around and go back. …We got what we got, and Goodyear can do what they did this past weekend. Maybe we kind of have an opportunity. Maybe this is light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe this is the path toward something we can all appreciate.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Richmond was a ‘great race’
Earnhardt went on to talk about fans reacting to the Richmond race. “This one did really good on the [Jeff] Gluck good race poll, I think 83/86 percent, second overall since the polls been taken,” he said. Great race.”
The Richmond race saw 11 drivers have the lead, and Austin Dillon, who led 107 laps, came out on top. Bubba Wallace had the most led laps with 123, but a wheel issue prevented him from earning a top-10 finish. Ryan Preece and Tyler Reddick had laps led of 60 and 41, respectively.
Earlier this month, Earnhardt expressed his frustrations with the Next Gen car. “This is a tough spot for me, man,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “I love being a broadcaster in this sport. I am a big fan of NASCAR, I’m a big believer of NASCAR, and I read a lot of the dialogue online. …I want to say that I don’t love the Next Gen car, but it’s here. I don’t love the Next Gen car. It’s an IMSA car, it’s a sports car, it’s got a diffuser, it’s got low-profile tires, it’s got big rims and big brakes. It’s a sports car, it’s not a NASCAR stock car, but it’s here. Everybody’s invested.”
