Ever since the Winston Cup era, fans have always wanted those golden days of the sport back. While modern NASCAR continues to move away from it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes that the old-school identity doesn’t have to change with it. Keeping the tradition intact, he wants to bring back the same feel of that golden era through his co-owned series with Kevin Harvick.

CARS Tour gives Winston Cup vibes

In a recent interview with FloRacing, Earnhardt Jr. shed light on how fans enjoyed the CARS Tour back in the day, and compared it to the NASCAR Winston Cup or the Busch (Xfinity or O’Reilly Auto Parts) Series. As it seemed to have turned into a memory now, the co-owner of the series wants to act and take the legacy forward.

“I hear a lot of this from competitors, fans,” Dale Jr. said. “Our series reminds them of what they experienced in either the NASCAR Xfinity series or even the Cup series back in the 80s and 90s. It has that feel. And that’s really kind of been the identity of the CARS Tour, and we want to hang on to that identity as we grow. We still want to hang on to that feeling, that culture. And it’s doable.”

One big reason the fans feel a connection between those two is due to the short-track racing culture. While Winston Cup in the 80s and 90s featured a lot of short tracks, such as North Wilkesboro Speedway and Hickory Motor Speedway, the CARS Tour is entirely built on that same foundation.

Following this, Dale Jr. focused on how he grew his NASCAR team, JR Motorsports, from scratch. He wants to follow the same formula as he hopes to bring back the same 1980-1990’s quality of racing in the CARS Tour.

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“I compare it to JR Motorsports when we have a very family-oriented atmosphere in junior motorsports, and it’s been difficult to hang on to that as we’ve grown from 10 employees to 160 employees, but we still have that culture. And everyone there that works there feels it. And so I think that we can hang on to this identity and continue to have that vibe about us as we grow and mature as a series,” Dale Jr. further added.

Notably, Dale Jr. co-owns the zMAX Cars Tour along with former NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick, Spire Motorsports owner Justin Marks, and former NASCAR driver and NBC analyst Jeff Burton.

Formerly known as the USAR Pro Cup Series and CARS Pro Cup Series, the CARS Tour was formed back in 1997 and became instantly popular among race fans. Initially, it used the Late Model Stock and Super Late Model cars, but in 2023, it changed to Late Model Stock and Pro Late Model.

With such cars, the series brought in high-intensity “old-school” racing, which was also accessible to a wider section of fans, thanks to cheaper tickets. Moreover, the series brought together generations of racers, from racing veterans to rising youngsters, giving the fans a wholesome experience.

Dale Jr.’s comment comes amid talks about fans losing interest in NASCAR due to its artificial racing, which comprises stage racing and excessive cautions. With that said, it will be interesting to see how Dale Earnhardt Jr. manages to continue the popularity of the CARS Tour.

However, he is also worried about a Spire Motorsports driver, who has yet to face the wrath of his teammates.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. left a warning for Carson Hocevar

A fan of the young driver initially, Dale Jr. left a stern warning for Carson Hocevar days after the Spire Motorsports driver wrecked Christopher Bell during the Autotrader 400 at the EchoPark Speedway last Sunday.

Criticizing the move, Dale Jr. warned Hocevar to face something similar on days when he will be having a “good race.”

“Carson Hocevar racing aggressively.” Dale Jr. said in the Dale Jr. Download podcast. “We’re here right now to talk about whether this is his fault or not his fault. And I think it’s clear that he bears the responsibility for everything to happen. Does this come back on him? We don’t know. We do not know. I feel like that, eventually, yes, somebody will do something. And it may be Denny, that says, ‘You know what? I’m not having a good race today. And you are. And it’s my chance.’”

Nearing the end of the race, Christopher Bell was leading the pack, and Hocevar was right behind him. While finding a gap, Hocevar bumper-drafted Bell, and put him against the fence, and as a result, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver had to finish his race in 21st place.