Among the three top-tier races that NASCAR hosts every year, the Cup Series probably holds the greatest prospect for full-time drivers. And the finals of the Cup Series championship is right here. In other words, there is just one race until the playoffs commence. And with prominent names in the sport still stuck inside the bubble, the Daytona race comes with a number of what-ifs and maybes.

Every Cup driver is feeling the spike in their blood as the round of 16 inches is closer and closer. After the qualifying laps of the Truck Series at Indianapolis Raceway Park, NBC analyst and former Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed what intrigued him the most about these few weeks.

Dale Junior warns his former team and the Toyotas against a formidable opponent

Driving the number 17 Ford Mustang, Chris Buescher has won two back-to-back races in Richmond as well as Michigan and finished P7 in Watkins Glen. The No. 17 Ford Mustang driver improved on his previous year’s performance, earning two wins and playoff points.

The Fords are slowly improving their game, and it has not missed the attention of the Hall of Famer. Dale Earnhardt Jr. said, “Fords have made a resurgence over the last several weeks, especially winning two races in a row with Chris Buescher. I think he’ll actually have a good run…”

The Fords have only won four times this year: Joey Logano and Aric Almirola in the duels at Daytona(Feb), again Joey Logano at Atlanta, and finally Ryan Blaney at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The rest of the wins were seized by the Toyotas and the Chevrolets.

Dale Junior admitted, “The Ford performance across the board is interesting because it was a Chevy Toyota battle throughout the first half of the year, and having the Fords find some speed and pace, has been a good thing for the parity in the sport.“

He did not miss the big question lurking in the minds of the fans of Hendrick Motorsports. Will their golden boy make it to the playoffs? Regarding that, the two-time Xfinity Series champion said, “There’s a few races left for Chase Elliott, one of our sport’s most popular drivers, if not the most popular driver, to try to win his way into the playoffs. I don’t think he can do it on points, so he’s got to win one of these races.”

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Dale Junior is eager to see how the number 9 Chevy star runs his next road course race at Daytona International Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. feels like this year’s playoffs will be unique

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This year, the Cup Series Championship is going to be extra special in terms of international reach and foreign inclusiveness. Speedsters from other countries like Shane Van Gisbergen (New Zealand), Brodie Kostecki (Australia), Mike Rockenfeller (Germany), Jenson Button (England), and Kamui Kobayashi (Japan) will be sharing the track at the Indy Road course.

This just goes to show how much respect NASCAR is getting from other racing leagues and countries. All things considered, it is safe to say that NASCAR will achieve global appeal in 2023, regardless of the results of the Cup Series.

Read more: Big Blow for Chase Elliott: Just One Point Could Be Proving Dale Earnhardt Jr Right

To this Dale Earnhardt Jr. also exclaimed, “We have a lot of international talent coming in into this race. That’ll be racing with us from Japan, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia. That’s unique, that’s certainly a very good thing, doesn’t happen every year. I am very excited to see that.”