The 0.001-second margin that separated Kyle Larson from his competitor at Kansas Speedway last May—the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history—cast a long shadow over this year’s return to the 1.5-mile track. Could the AdventHealth 400 live up to that hype this year, too?

When you look at the numbers, it paints a dull picture. Larson dominated Sunday’s AdventHealth 400, leading a staggering 221 of 267 laps. For fans, the conversation quickly turned not to his masterful performance but to comparisons with the historic photo finish of 2024. While his margin of victory shrank to 0.712 seconds by race end due to tire management issues, the race lacked the down-to-the-wire drama of 2024.

This phenomenon of measuring every race against exceptional moments didn’t sit well with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who found himself defending what he called “prototypical NASCAR” from the burden of unrealistic expectations.

“To me, that race was prototypical NASCAR,” Earnhardt stated emphatically. “If I showed up with no expectations, I’d been a satisfied fan. I’m not going to argue Kansas wasn’t as entertaining as it had been in the past. Well, just there was some more a more drama filled finish, you know, closest finish in history. So, there were some comments from some drivers. Larson was one of them and Blaney was one of them. There’s been like six or seven duds of a race, right, up until Texas. Texas was pretty entertaining. Mhm. Right. But before Texas, we had like a stretch of races on Jeff Gluck’s Good Race Poll that was like 50 and below. Uh and that was real. There was a real concern from fans. It was a genuine complaint, right?” 

Now, the Good Race poll has been one of the staples for NASCAR fans. That’s how they show if they loved a race, and the last few results weren’t too promising. In fact, if we look at the data for the last few races, it’s simply disappointing. Texas came in at 50%, Talladega at 39%, Bristol at a sad 20%, and Darlington at 45.9%. Compared to that, Kansas’ 58.5% of voters saying it was interesting was good, right?

Dale Jr. took particular issue with driver comments that mischaracterized fan complaints.“And somebody said to Larson, ‘You looking forward to coming to Kansas after the last several weeks? And he’s like, you know, him and a couple other drivers, Blany included, were like, “Well, you know, races, if a guy kicks ass, doesn’t mean it’s a bad race.” Nobody’s complaining about asskicking. Nobody ever did complain about Larson or anyone else kicking ass and just kicking pure ass all day long. Nobody complained about that. Yeah. Like I don’t know where Larson and Blaney are going with that comment because nobody complained about the ass kicking.”

Junior isn’t making these comments out of the blue. After Kyle Larson dominated over 400 laps at Bristol, he wasn’t taking any comments about the racing being boring. He said, “Lead 450 laps and have two overtime restarts, and I guarantee the percentage is flip-flopped. That’s our fanbase.”  But that’s not what fans and drivers are complaining about.

If we look at how the Kansas race unfolded, Larson dominated most of the time, but there was good action unfolding. Chase Elliott made plays for the lead of the race. Brad Keselowski was up there, overtaking Larson. Even Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell’s finish at the end kept fans at the edge of their seats. It doesn’t matter if a driver dominates the win chart. Christopher Bell did it, and fans were behind him. And speaking of dominance, when Richard Petty dominated with wins, fans weren’t bored. The verdict is simple. It’s good racing the community wants. That’s what Junior is emphasising.

“What we complained about are the things that the drivers were complaining about and have been complaining about. The car doesn’t race well at the short tracks. The car is difficult in dirty air. It’s amazing at the mile and a half and so we’re excited to go to Kansas and Charlotte because it’s good there. That’s all we’re doing is just agreeing with what we’re hearing from drivers. We see the race play out at a short track or Talladega. We see something we see a product that we don’t not really entirely love. I think you know, the purist and the fans who truly enjoy the sport will enjoy a good ass kicking,” Junior added.

And when it comes to the Kansas race, drivers made it clear what they felt. Hamlin went on to say, “Every contender that was even close stepped on their own. I don’t know what else to say about it. It’s not his fault that we all couldn’t execute.” Even NASCAR legends chimed in. Mark Martin explained, “It was a good race. You could line them up tomorrow and get a completely different looking race,” while Richard Petty added, “Overall, yes. Because there was always that chance of the second-place car catching the first-place car.” 

As NASCAR heads into the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro and then the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte, the conversation shouldn’t be about whether a dominant win diminishes race quality. Rather, as Dale Jr. suggests, it should focus on the ongoing development of a car that performs consistently across all track types. Until then, perhaps fans should heed Earnhardt’s advice and appreciate “prototypical NASCAR” racing without the burden of exceptional historical comparisons.

Junior’s New Broadcast Chapter Begins

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his candid thoughts about Kansas, he was simultaneously preparing for his next chapter in NASCAR broadcasting. Earnhardt and former crew chief Steve Letarte were spotted at Kansas Speedway on Sunday, conducting rehearsals with Adam Alexander for NASCAR’s upcoming coverage on Amazon Prime. This behind-the-scenes preparation marks the reunion of a respected broadcasting duo that previously worked together at NBC for five seasons before Junior took last year off from broadcasting duties.

The time could not be more perfect as Earnhardt now returns to the booth at the same time when NASCAR is going through this crossroads of fan expectations. Having been involved with Letarte since their individual days as driver and crew chief in 2011, Junior comes with the outlook of a former driver and view from one who comprehends the historical setting of NASCAR.

As one fan posted online for their upcoming network premiere at the Coca-Cola 600 on May 25: “Looking forward to have Dale Jr and Steve Letarte back in the booth! They are both so much to the sport!” This feeling represents the hope that straightforward assessment – a virtue that led him to justify an “ass-kicking” race at Kansas – will continue giving the NASCAR fans the true sports commentary that the sport badly needs in the period of transition.