“Just Incredible” – Former NASCAR Cup Champion Lauds Drivers For Avoiding Disaster in 2020 Season

Published 11/15/2020, 8:19 AM EST

The 2020 NASCAR season threw up far too many uncertainties for anyone’s liking. Recently, former NASCAR driver Dale Jarrett looked back upon the past season and revealed his takeaway. When NASCAR eventually decided to come back, it then became a matter of how many drivers and personnel would get affected.

He admitted, “The biggest thing to me was coming back with going to these difficult race tracks. Not having any practice or any qualifying, and drivers adapting to those situations. With race cars and setups, and at certain times, different tires they have run. Totally relying upon the fact that they’re used to simulation a lot.”

“They were able to go to the very first race that I thought was going to be just a disaster at Darlington…that was just incredible.”

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Despite this, they are able to go to the races and race as normal. Darlington was the acid test, as it was the first race back since the COVID-19 break. Many feared that there would be a lot of carnage, but the drivers were surprisingly civil. Now, this has become the norm and this could continue in 2021.

NASCAR took risks and most of it paid off

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Obviously, the sport did a lot of things that they would never have considered before. With regard to no practice or qualifying, the very idea would be absurd and laughed off, under normal circumstances. However, this idea has spiced up the season, and this has also had a positive effect on drivers and teams.

This is because the drivers and personnel are being encouraged to stay at home. The fans also benefit, as they are still able to get their racing fix. Admittedly, the COVID-19 virus did affect some, like a few Stewart-Haas employees, Austin Dillon and Jimmie Johnson.

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Luckily, they all recovered and they followed the necessary protocol. Once they all recovered in self-isolation, they were able to return to the fray and it was business as usual. Jarrett isn’t the only one to praise NASCAR for handling the crisis efficiently. Dale Earnhardt Jr was another person who acknowledged the sport’s efforts.

“Don’t Know How They Did It” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Praises NASCAR for Big Achievement in 2020 Season

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.