NASCAR Driver Defends Apparent Gaffe That Hurt Nostalgic Fans & Suggests, “Dale Earnhardt Jr Does the Same Thing”

Published 06/08/2023, 8:51 PM EDT

Dwarfing its European competitors, the NASCAR Cup car was a sight to behold at the Le Mans test last weekend. The modified Camaro ZL1 by Garage 56, courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports, posted quicker lap times than any GT2-spec car. Looking comically out of place, the Garage 56 car will be a part of the upcoming iconic endurance race.

Technically belonging to a different class of vehicles, the Camaro isn’t eligible to claim trophies. Its participation is more of a showcasing of innovative machines. With the whole motorsport community excited to see the Cup car break records on the other side of the Atlantic, a recent tweet by Autosport explaining the four classes of cars in Le Mans has hurt a few NASCAR fans. However, the Xfinity driver for Kaulig Racing, Landon Cassill, soon joined in to defend the seemingly harmless tweet.

It doesn’t hurt anyone: Landon Cassill responds to fans after they call out Autosport’s tweet about NASCAR

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Recently, Autosport explained the four types of vehicles that run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The tweet was captioned, “Yep, you’re not seeing things, that is a NASCAR on a Le Mans class explainer.“ However, instead of calling the Garage 56 entry in the Innovative Car class a Garage 56 car or even a Cup car, the tweet simply called the car as “NASCAR.”

This was enough for several fans to attack the apparent gaffe in the comments section. They expressed their repulsion to the NASCAR Cup Series car being listed simply as NASCAR. Kaulig Racing driver Landon Cassill defended the gaffe, responding to fans. Cassill commented, “NASCAR” is also acceptable when describing NASCAR-sanctioned racecars in my view” and “I like calling it a Busch car every once in a while for old time’s sake. I think Dale Jr does the same thing. It doesn’t hurt anyone.”

Commenting on the Twitter thread, Cassill clarified that the Cup car getting mislabeled as NASCAR isn’t a big issue. The Kaulig Racing driver feels there is no need to belittle anyone as it it a harmless error. Iterating his view, Cassill said that he himself refers to Cup cars as Busch cars occasionally, similar to veteran racing driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hence, there is no need to blow this issue out of proportion.

Here are some of Landon Cassill’s reactions to the fans’ comments.

I like calling it a Busch car every once in a while for old time’s sake. I think @DaleJr does the same thing. It doesn’t hurt anyone
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 7, 2023

“NASCAR” is a true acronym, not an initialism. We say it as a word rather than spelling out the initials.
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 7, 2023

Because those are initialism acronyms, not “true” acronyms (where you pronounce the acronym as a word).
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 7, 2023

I think it’s a great way to be more specific to the type of NASCAR to which you’re referring, but I’ve always felt the idea of saying “this is the only way” is a bit elitist. I think there’s a reason casual/new fans call it a “NASCAR” and I think it’s because it makes phonetic…
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 7, 2023

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I am 100% okay with calling it a “NASCAR” and do not feel like it’s necessary to tease or belittle people who say it that way. Phonetically it makes sense.
Sure, it’s a “Cup” car if you want to be even more specific, but “NASCAR” is also acceptable when describing NASCAR… https://t.co/jz413AYXdl
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 7, 2023

The Garage 56 Camaro will hit the tracks of the ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ this Saturday.

NASCAR’s 75th anniversary coincides with the 24 Hours of Le Mans centenary this year

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NASCAR is all set to take over Le Mans this weekend with Hendrick Motorsports’ #24 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1. Behind the wheel of the Camaro will be 7-time NASCAR Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, the 2010 Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller, and the 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.

2023 marks the 75th Anniversary of NASCAR and The Centenary of the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Centenary celebrations will commence on Friday. The Grand Centenary auction will kick off the celebrations with 21 cars that have previously raced at Le Mans going under the hammer. Bob Sinclar will be making an appearance before the night ends with a fireworks show. NASCAR’s participation in Le Mans this year is a great cause of celebration for motorsport enthusiasts all over.

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With the discontinuation of the Camaro this year, this crossover is the perfect farewell to a machine loved both on and off the track.

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Written by:

Naman Neeraj is a NASCAR Author at EssentiallySports. This Motorsports buff has completed his undergrad in English Literature and has now set out to make a name for himself in the journalism field. Although he is new to the scene, he has been following motorsports for over a decade.

Edited by:

Nischal Kandpal

NASCAR Driver Defends Apparent Gaffe That Hurt Nostalgic Fans & Suggests, “Dale Earnhardt Jr Does the Same Thing”

It doesn’t hurt anyone: Landon Cassill responds to fans after they call out Autosport’s tweet about NASCAR

NASCAR’s 75th anniversary coincides with the 24 Hours of Le Mans centenary this year

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