Sport or not a sport? A never-ending debate surrounding NASCAR continues to go on. However, in a recent episode of the Barstool Sports podcast, one of the hosts’ contentions on NASCAR being a sport forced Dale Earnhardt Jr to jump into the comment section.

During the podcast, Alex Bennett shared her recent experience at a NASCAR race. She said; “This girl at the NASCAR race was like talking about how hot the drivers were. But if you take any athlete and put them in a bar setting, I don’t think a lot of times people are gonna think that they’re hot.”

However, within no time this discussion about NASCAR drivers traversed to the debate of it being a sport. After Bennett shared her race experience, her co-host jumped in and said; “I was just really thrown off guard when you said NASCAR. Because my only thought was their bodies are hot. And then you said a NASCAR driver and I’m like. Well, that man’s just driving a car.”

And this statement sent the three presenters into a sport or no-sport debate. And of course, Bennett decided to prove how NASCAR is an actual sport while her co-presenter Jordyn Woodruff joined her. Highlighting how difficult it is to stay on a track for such long hours, Woodruff said; “You stay on a track for 3 hours. You kidding me?” 

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Furthermore, Bennett jumped in to support Woodruff and stated; “They sweat out 20 pounds. No, you have to watch these documentaries. Dale Earnhardt Jr died (while driving in NASCAR). What other sport could cost you your life?”

Yes, Bennett claimed Dale Earnhardt ‘Jr’ was dead!

Here’s how Dale Earnhardt Jr reacted to the statement

During her conversation with her co-hosts, Alex Benett was determined to defend NASCAR and its long-time debatable position of being a ‘sport.’ However, no matter how pure Bennett’s intentions were, her one innocent mistake made her the butt of all jokes on NASCAR Twittersphere.

After all, declaring Earnhardt Jr dead was never going to sit well with his fans. But just like a ‘sport’ that he is, Dale posted a confused GIF of himself trying to announce his presence.

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And after his reaction to Alex Bennett’s statement, NASCAR fans tweeted a flood of hilarious replies. Some Twitter users called it a Halloween miracle, while others got a bit more creative with their reactions. While Bennett tried to turn this mishap into an opportunity by asking Dale to join in on her podcast.