‘Why did it take so long for NASCAR to penalize Kyle Busch for the tape on his front grill at Richmond?’ This was the question on everyone’s lips after the race in Richmond, and it is quite a fair question. However, on the other side of the spectrum, one might wonder, ‘Did Kyle Busch’s team know of the tape on his car?’ For those who are curious about this question, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has an answer.

In the recent segment of Ask Jr. of his podcast, the NASCAR Hall of Famer explained whether the Joe Gibbs Racing team knew of the infringement on their car. And if they did, why didn’t they do anything about it?

“Well, I think that, even if they did, even if it was a mistake, and they realize, say, that they make the mistake, they probably know it immediately, they probably see it happening,” Dale Jr. said. “The crew chief is standing there, watching the stop. And he’s gonna go, ‘That’s at the wrong spot.'”

“But if the car pulls off pit road, he’s gonna wait, see if NASCAR noticed anything. ‘All right, NASCAR’s not seeing nothing so let’s just let this go, okay? And everybody kind of, don’t touch it, don’t talk about it, don’t even mention it on the radio, on the digital and as long as NASCAR doesn’t have a problem, we’re gonna leave them out there.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr on how big an advantage a small piece of tape provides to a racecar

While something as small as a piece of tape might look like nothing, when put on a racecar that goes almost 200 miles per hour, it adds a lot. Dale Earnhardt Jr emphasized that having tape on the front grill is “absolutely an aerodynamic advantage.”

“Anytime you add tape on the grill, boy, your car is way better,” he added.

“It adds overall downforce, not just grip on the front or aero advantage to the nose. That air that is now hitting the piece is not only pushing down on that piece right and creating additional downforce for the front of the car, but it’s also sending more air over the car, over the rest of the car, onto the rear spoiler,” Dale Earnhardt Jr continued.

“The whole car improves.”

Also Read: Robert Wickens Tells Dale Earnhardt Jr. How Racing Simulator, iRacing Helped Him Drive Again