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Dale Earnhardt Jr Becomes the Butt of the Joke as NASCAR Claps Back After Constant Criticism

Published 04/04/2024, 1:01 AM EDT

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NASCAR has been coming under fire quite frequently lately from one of the sport’s most popular veterans, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Only a few days ago, the JR Motorsports owner shared his concerns over the officials’ decision to turn a blind eye to Hamlin’s jump start. But that wasn’t the only gripe he had. When NASCAR’s official page tweeted out about Joey Logano’s 550th start and Christopher Bell’s 150th start, Junior had just one question. “When do you get a tweet? and when should your start be celebrated?” To which he got a hilarious answer from the official NASCAR account on X.

NASCAR’s official X account hilariously retaliates against Junior’s comments

In one of the new episodes of the Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt Jr sat down with his co-hosts and Amy Earnhardt, when he brought up how NASCAR doesn’t seem to have a criteria for posting their ‘X number of starts’ updates on drivers. Compared to Richard Petty’s breathtaking 1186 starts that are worthy of celebration, Junior felt Bell’s 150 may have been a little too low. The JR Motorsports owner also believes a number close to his starts, around 500, would be ideal.

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Earnhardt Junior was clear with his gripes as he stated, “So they put out a tweet last week about Christopher Bell, congratulations on his 50th start, which is literally like four years of racing and I thought, ‘that ain’t worth a damn Tweet!’ 150 starts? Okay. You just pass that one and keep going, you don’t acknowledge (it).” This also prompted the co-hosts to joke about NASCAR not making a post about Erik Jones’s 262 start.

While the jokes were clearly flying one after another, it looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr may have forgotten some of his statistics, as he found himself becoming the butt of the joke as soon as NASCAR dropped a ‘celebratory’ poster about his Xfinity start later this year. The Official X account highlighted Junior’s Xfinity career as they shared, “Daydreaming about @DaleJr’s historic 147th Xfinity Series start in September!”

At that bombshell, Dale Jr was rather shell-shocked as he shared: “Oh my. Y’all got me. 😂😂😂” Certainly, the NASCAR Twitter account had delivered a marketing masterclass, engaging the NASCAR community into a hilarious back and forth at the expense of one the sport’s biggest personalities.

The NASCAR community rubs salt on Junior’s wounds

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After hearing Dale Jr’s grievances with NASCAR’s choices for celebratory posts, the official account couldn’t have come up with a more playful response. With that said, some fans were awe-struck by how influential Junior seemed to be, “I hope one day I have as much pull as you haha.

At the same time, some fans were impressed by Junior’s stats in such a short period. A user shared, “Wait… 2 championships in less than 150 starts… Sometimes, the lack of stats is the impressive part. 2 Championships in 4 years is a 50% success rate. How many drivers can say that, huh???”

However, most fans were certainly pleased with how NASCAR had clapped back, joining in on the jokes. A fan commented, “Hahaha, you did ask for it, Dale. Walked right into it. But, gotta admit, this is pretty good. HUGE milestone!” While another ramped up the banter – “😂😂😂 How Many “False Starts” Like Hamlin?

At the end of it all, the NASCAR social media team had come out on top. Users one by one commended the admin for the witty banter: “Somebody at @NASCAR is a Dale Jr Download listener!” As another added, “The interns did good LOL”

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After hearing what fans had to say about the post, it’s safe to say the account handle seems to be in safe hands. This fan chimed in to share, “NASCAR media admin knows what they’re doin’ over there”. But unfortunately for Earnhardt Jr, the community just couldn’t shake off how the tables had turned. Users now pointed to Junior and stated; “Not even 150… disappointed… 😆 🤣” and “147 is such an impressive number. Totally worthy of a Tweet 😂!”

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After taking a look at how the tides turned against Dale Earnhardt Jr ever so quickly, do you think his 147th Xfinity Start could also be his last?

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Written by:

Kabir Bajaj Ahmed

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Kabir Bajaj Ahmed is an F1 & NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports. Known for his storytelling and extensive research skills, he has covered multiple stories on Dale Earnhardt Jr and his legendary dad, allowing readers to relive the thunderous days of 'The Intimidator'. Being a racer himself, Kabir can resonate with the motorsport world better than most.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta