Since its inception in 1949, NASCAR has come a long way and had its ups and downs. In the modern era, there are plenty of fans who fondly reminisce about how NASCAR was in the old days. Speaking of which, in those days, the rules were not at strict as they are now. The lack of policing did lead to some great battles, and one person who brought the entertainment aspect was Dale Earnhardt. This was something that his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr, could attest.
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On one occasion, Dale Sr was battling with Darrell Waltrip and they entered the pit lane side-by-side. Around that time, the officials had now fixed the pit road speed limit. Hence, the duo was racing each other in the pits. The best part was that both of their pit stalls were one behind the other. So their race soon transferred to their pit crews as they desperately tried to get their driver ahead of his rival.
How did Dale Earnhardt Jr, and other NASCAR fans react?
Dale Jr retweeted the clip of the pit lane dogfight, but other fans had a variety of opinions. According to some of them, battles like these were what made NASCAR a great racing series. Others wondered about the pit road speed because Earnhardt and Waltrip were traveling very quickly. Some people rued how old they were, lamenting that the lack of a Twitter handle for Dale Sr clued them in.
Make nascar great again
— Tillman 40 (@Tillman_40) December 26, 2022
What was the pit road speed? It looked like they were flyin down pit road…
— Bob Gaspar (@BostonOkie63) December 25, 2022
The most striking think about this tweet is it made me realize Dale Sr. never had a twitter handle and now I feel old. RIP #3
— Adam P. (@AdamPE21) December 25, 2022
Flying Aces spanked them on Pit Road.
— Ronnie Campbell (@driver84and26) December 25, 2022
Right but everyone got mad at Ty Gibbs
— Logan Iliffe (@IliffeLogan) December 25, 2022
Few people even pointed out the hypocrisy of the scene, that everyone was praising Dale Sr. At the same time, they were condemning Ty Gibbs for his pit-lane antics. He had bumped into a rival on pit road. They observed that it was a miracle that more NASCAR drivers managed to get away with such antics in the pit lane.
Imago
10 Feb 1999: Dale Earnhardt #3 races his car during the Daytona 500 Speedweek at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida. Mandatory Credit: David Taylor /Allsport
It’s a miracle that more guys didn’t get dinged on pit road back.
— derf winsor (@derf_winsor) December 26, 2022
@DaleJr crazy how different pit stops are. Slow. Leaving right front tire. So different now.
— Shane Bagley (@SugarShane79) December 25, 2022
Before the days of pit road speed limits… crazy good ole days!
— Michael (@goflyers30) December 25, 2022
Clearly no rule about staying in box in order to win on the car, loved this style racing
— misplacedvol (@misplacedvol) December 25, 2022
Cant imagine the reactions if that happened now 🤯🤣
— Don (@DaytonaDon3) December 25, 2022
A few observers noted how slow the pit stops were during those days. Fans even noticed that a few cars were not even fully in their pit box while being serviced. Considering that this was an era when pit lane speed limiters were not enforced, many fans enjoyed the dogfight.
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