The Circuit of the Americas witnessed a racing fiasco over the weekend and surprisingly, it did not involve NASCAR. Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix was held on the track in Austin on Sunday. After Q3 was held on Friday, a host of drivers including Redbull’s Max Verstappen saw their final lap times nullified as penalty for running beyond the track limit lines at corner exits.

Leading to a drop in starting grid position, Verstappen began his race at P6. Though the driver ended the race as a winner, opposition against his penalty has been building up. Jumping on the same train is none other than NASCAR’s voice, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr gets behind Max Verstappen after FIA’s decision at COTA

After the race weekend came to an end for the two biggest motorsports series in the world, Parker Kligerman got on his Instagram handle to express his views on Max Verstappen’s penalty. Kligerman currently drives full-time in the Xfinity Series for Big Machine Racing and also works alongside Dale Earnhardt Jr at NBC. Feeling the need to explain his hate for track limits, he posted a video that detailed his thoughts, which Junior then reshared.

Underlining that Junior agreed with his views, Kligerman said, “Now cutting the course, and making it shorter, is not allowed. I agree. But the idea that we can treat arbitrary portions in the exit portion of corners just because they’ve been paved makes no sense to me. […] I’m not alone. Other pro race drivers agree, like, Dale Earnhardt Jr… I have not met a pro race car driver that disagrees with me.” Kligerman’s video comes after the duo had exchanged thoughts on “X”. Responding to a tweet from Kligerman. Junior had responded with his alignment.

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Will the controversial rule make it to the books of NASCAR from FIA?

After the Formula 1 grid collectively expressed its opposition to the penalties on Friday, the sports federation FIA agreed to widen the limits at Turns 9, 12, and 19 to enable wider margins on race day. Despite his lower rung start position, Max Verstappen ended up taking the top podium. Watching the controversy cloud over the skies of F1, one cannot help but wonder if NASCAR would be attracted to this weird rule too.

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Parker Kligerman and Dale Earnhardt Jr, however, are against the rule in all forms of racing. The former continued, “This is not tennis. This is not this is not football. This is not soccer. This game is not meant to be played within a defined area. This is professional race car driving, and the only thing that these limits have added to the sport is more infractions than a college kid on dollar beer night past 2 A.M. It’s ridiculous!”

In contrast to the FIA, which imposes strict penalties for going past track limits, NASCAR does not have such a rule currently. Drivers are allowed to use the space that they need to attempt gaining speed in tight corners. Adding to the disadvantage of having such a limit in stock car racing is the weight of the machines. Stock cars are much heavier than their open-wheel counterparts and require more area to make corners. Despite a track limit not being imposed now, short-cutting the track has incurred penalties for drivers before. However, for now, the NASCAR grid is safe from the controversial rule.

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