Last weekend at Sonoma did not meet expectations for most, at the very least. The race saw Joe Gibbs Racing’s Martin Truex Jr speed to a win. Leading almost half of the 110 laps at the venue, Truex had 51 laps under his belt. But the concern of most drivers regarding the track lies somewhere else.

Drivers have been vocal in expressing their displeasure with the excessive grip on the asphalt. More grip implies there is little to offer by the cars regarding pace. But despite calls for change from the grid, Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr believes that this is the essence of Sonoma.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Brushes Off Shouts for Better Track Curation

Junior is an experienced player in the game. Having raced across the country on multiple tracks and in different types of stock cars, he knows a thing or two about the vehicle’s response to the road. Speaking to co-host Mike Davis on his podcast, The Dale Jr Download, Earnhardt reveals why he is not a big fan of all the whining by the drivers.

Calling for drivers to adjust to the conditions and be patient with the tire barrier, he said, “The tire barrier is down in turn 11. Easily pushed around. You know, I saw the comments, and you know, watching the race, that’s always been there. That’s always been part of it. You know, those stem tires were always moving.”

Junior then adds a sarcastic dig to his statement, considering the possibility of locomoting the tires through contact.

“And it changed the line in turn 11. You’d be coming through turn 11, and you’re like ‘ Oh man, my car ain’t handling, somebody hit a tire and move it’ and you’re like oh yeah that was perfect that helped me. That makes my car hurt and we’ll get through here way better. “

Ever since the introduction of Next-Gen cars, there has been a lot of discussion about possible car changes and improvements in the guidelines. While NASCAR has taken slow steps towards it, the drivers will be running out of patience. Discussing the new implements to the tires, the two-time Xfinity champion adds, “But they may have beefed up these tires to where now when they hit them like it’s a lot more detrimental to the car because we saw it in Xfinity and in the Cup race where you know any contact with those was a little concerning right?”

“I thought that was, you know, the tire barrier is moving around for me, he’s always kind of been part of Sonoma. They’re always going to end up somewhere different, you know, by the end of the race. “

Dale Jr’s words reflect the fact that some tracks do indeed have characteristic features to them. Be it Dover, North Wilkesboro, or Sonoma, every venue is known for its specialty.

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The Concerns Chastain, Hamlin, and Elliott Raised About the Lack of Speed at Sonomaz

“It’s definitely not the speed we wanted or the balance, we were just way too loose, Everybody’s tagging bumper-to-bumper there at the end down 11. It was all we had to hang on to 10th,” said Ross Chastain, after the race, as per NBC. Although Chastain is not someone who lets such issues drag him back, his statement sums up Sunday.

Most of the grid was stuck between the scenarios of what could have been and what it actually was.

Denny Hamlin was one of the bigger losers of the weekend. Having to return to the pits after an unfortunate contact with the fence, Hamlin had a dismal showing. A 36th-place finish for the veteran was not something he would have hoped for. Team Penske driver Austin Cindric also highlighted how his tires were the changing factor.

“We worked to make our Mustang better throughout the day with tire pressure adjustments to make the car hold on a little longer. It was obviously not the day we were wanting, but the last caution really gave us an opportunity to get some spots on the restart and some decent track position with newer tires,” said Cindric.

Returning to the #9 Camaro, Chase Elliott was the driver to watch out for. While he had a good finish at 5th, he says that it would have been more beneficial to the team if the tires were down for better support.

Speaking to NBC Sports, he said, “We had pit about six or eight laps there before that caution. We just felt like our only play was to stay out. I was really hoping that more people would do that with us so we’d have three or four rows. It still probably wouldn’t have been enough. But I do think it would have been nicer to have a couple more rows and a buffer for those with tires.”

Looks like Dale Jr. might have some convincing to do.

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