No matter what a driver does the entire year, that one fateful ‘final’ race is all that matters. No matter how consistent or great one’s driving skills have been, one mistake and it can all get undone. And former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr hopes to see it all change.

In the recent episode of Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt Jr discussed his feelings about the NASCAR playoffs pattern with Bill France. During his conversation, France said that he agrees with Dale’s points, but the motor racing playoff format is something that one just has to accept.

To this, Earnhardt said that surely NASCAR must have run through various other alternatives to find a different solution. However, he continued; “It’s still going to come down to one final race. Every round does. Every round comes down to what we had at Martinsville.”

Furthermore, he said; “And so even if you said ‘Alright, the final round between the four drivers is three races.’ That last race is still going to be where things get decided. So, I don’t know how you could go another route than we have.”

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Although Earnhardt Jr. did not exactly spell out an alternative, clearly he was not that happy about that one fateful race. Apart from that, he also discussed his ‘struggle’ with another aspect of the racing format.

Dale Earnhardt Jr on ‘elation’ and ‘heart break’

During his conversation, Earnhardt Jr. told Brian France; “I kinda struggle sometimes with the guy that’s running second. He is 10 car links away, going into three. He sees the championship right in front of him. And he came so damn close.”

However, he continued that though the drivers are so seasoned and comfortable by running the races for an entire year and already knowing where they stand in the championship, it’s still difficult. The last race is the one that decides all.

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He concluded; “What we have now is definitely more akin to what you see in other sports where it comes down to the final second of the game. It comes down to the final drive. And there is elation and there is massive heartbreak.”