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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, speaks with the media without a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series patch on his firesuit during the Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, speaks with the media without a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series patch on his firesuit during the Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
NASCAR turns 75 in the coming year; a lot has changed from when it started in 1948 to how it is now. Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent 19 years driving in the Cup Series, and a lot more following it. He has witnessed a lot of these changes over the course of his career.
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Undoubtedly, the biggest change that NASCAR saw was the points system. Earlier, the winner of the Cup Series was the driver that had scored the most points at the end of all races; simple and straightforward.
Then NASCAR introduced the playoff system in 2004, which intended to create a final push for the Championship between the primary contenders. Originally introduced solely for the Cup Series, they slowly expanded it to include the Xfinity Series and the Truck Series as well.
As a result of the difference in systems, the 2017 season had two Champions – one Cup Series Champion and one Regular Series Champion. The latter was the driver who had the highest points heading into the Playoff.
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DARLINGTON, SC – AUGUST 31: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., JR Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro Hellmann s (8) during the running of the Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on August 31, 2019, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, SC.(Photo by Jeffrey Vest/Icon Sportswire) AUTO: AUG 31 NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity Series – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200
Similarly, the Clash – the first race of the season – was massively overhauled in 2022. The historical event was, for the first time, shifted out of Daytona; They shifted it to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Moreover, they also opened it up to all teams and drivers. This was a big change from earlier when the race used to only be for drivers who had won, at least, one pole in the previous season.
While change is crucial for sports to stay relevant for their fans, all these changes beg one question – is NASCAR going against the important rule of “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it”?
Fans find their voice in Dale Earnhardt Jr
Only recently, fans had voiced their disapprobation against NASCAR for the unnecessary chopping and changing it carried out with the Busch Clash. But on a completely distinct note, Dale Jr. also raised an issue against NASCAR.
I sorely miss the connection between the pole awards and clash eligibility.
It made winning a pole for any driver mean more.
It made getting into the clash an exclusive accomplishment.The origin and identity of the clash itself was pole award winners. https://t.co/MkMQtzEj26
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) December 5, 2022
Fans agreed with him fully. Here are some of their tweets –
So True, now it's just another gimmick race that just fills time before the regular season starts. I wish that it would go back to being an exclusive race for pole winners. But really what do I know, I'm just a paying Nascar fan from the ol skool, not the future fan of Nascar.
— Troy Lee (@trkdrivinman) December 5, 2022
Me too @DaleJr 💯 https://t.co/1xKUWkgU4A
— Mark Martin (@markmartin) December 5, 2022
I don’t miss a lot about the past, but I do miss the exclusivity of the Clash/Shootout. If you didn’t win a pole, too bad. But the way Newman stunk up the show in qualifying in the early 2000s kind of forced hands to me. https://t.co/YPyMgEyTqN
— Phil Spain 🤫 (@philenespanol) December 5, 2022
Do away with the current crap. The charter system,being back the original point system. Junk this 'new' car. Run the seasons as if it were 1992. That was racing and the fans would return. Nascar is dropping off quickly. The stats don't lie
— Clayton Goines (@ClaytonGoines) December 6, 2022
It was an exclusive club of pole winners that added a little shine to winning the pole. Just like some never win a championship, some never win a pole.
— racinlady (@racinlady1) December 6, 2022
Now the Clash is nothing but another all star race https://t.co/drk0mMIYQZ
— Dr. LimeShine (@lesmiller64) December 5, 2022
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Is NASCAR taking too many risks with its fans? A middle ground needs to be found quickly!
Written by
Edited by
Akash Pandhare