Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to be nuanced but like everyone else in NASCAR, he is increasingly frustrated with the NextGen car, even if there are some things he ultimately does enjoy about it.
Similar to the commentary echoed by Kevin Harvick earlier in the week, where the 2014 Cup Series champion said ‘the car sucks,’ Earnhardt was equally frustrated by another short track race at the highest level that stifled passing and became a fuel mileage strategy race.
The race on Sunday at Iowa Speedway was representative of all the things that wears him out as well.
“I want to say that I don’t love the Next Gen car, but it’s here,” Earnhardt said on the Tuesday episode of the Dale Jr. Download. “I don’t love the NextGen 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.
“There’s millions of dollars already way down the road and the car’s here. It’s on the track. It’s not changing. It’s not going anywhere… It doesn’t do me any good to sit here and bitch about the fucking lack of tire fall off or the inability to pass. It’s frustrating.”
It’s a familiar story three and a half years into this platform. The car is too underpowered, especially considering it weighs more than its predecessor. The car has wider tires and a sealed underbody.
The drag creates an extreme aero tight for a trailing car. NASCAR has tried a lot to fix it, aerodynamically, but nothing has really fundamentally changed.
“I see things during those races, like getting down into Turn 1, Erik Jones behind somebody, maybe Byron or somebody,” Earnhardt said. “And Byron shut the damn air off to the 43 car and fucking up the racetrack Erik Jones went, and I’m like, ‘God, I fucking hate this car.’ But then there’s moments where I enjoy watching the races, and I don’t mind the car or the car puts on a great show.”
Earnhardt especially doesn’t understand the big brakes.
“We used to race at Martinsville, and the brakes would fade and you’d have to take care of your brakes, and the braking zone was long enough to be able to kind of charge into a corner and do things different to try to make passes,” he said.
Not with this car because the big Sports Car brakes don’t fade.
Earnhardt wants to be nuanced and fair but this car is challenging that enthusiasm on tracks that are supposed to be their best produce – those a mile or less in size.
“I believe in a successful NASCAR, and I want NASCAR to succeed and be the best thing going,” Earnhardt said.
Ultimately, and historically, NASCAR has been at its best with cars with high horsepower, low downforce, minimal grip and fading brakes. But again, not this car.
“The answers are all laying right there in our past,” Earnhardt said. “We’re worried about being modern and having a race car that all the kids are gonna love, you know, with cool diffusers and mag wheels.”
