In NASCAR’s most recent All-Star race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently gave his thoughts on the topic of “run what you brung.” Speaking on his podcast, the Dale Jr. Download, the former NASCAR driver stated that he still views the All-Star race as a crucial event on the sport’s calendar. Earnhardt went on to address those who oppose the All-Star race and want it to be eliminated completely. He stated that while social media criticism is “a small part of the entire conversation,” it must be measured. Dale Earnhardt Jr. went on to express his ideas by saying: “It’s the All Star race, is an awesome opportunity for us to try to learn something, for NASCAR, for the teams, for everyone to not look at it as a place to discover and give a few ideas, some real testing, that’s what this race should be about. There’s no points on the line. I’m not enough of an engineer or a crew chief, I’m not smart enough, I don’t know enough about this car to sit here in front of you and say, ‘Well they should’ve just tried this, should’ve tried this, and should’ve tried this.’ But there are some people who have some great ideas and I think that this is the race to throw some of that stuff out on the racetrack.” [9:05]
Junior questioned whether NASCAR ever spoke with teams, sitting them down to discuss the same thing. According to him, the All-Star race is much like any other race in which teams invest money and the regulating body issues regulations. He asserted that the teams race if they choose to participate and won’t if they don’t. Dale Earnhardt Jr. added, though, that teams would have to fulfill their commitments to sponsors and partners. A million dollars, however, is “too much to ask” and a significant sum for any team to spend on organizing a single event, according to Junior.
Denny Hamlin’s $2 million overstating expense of running run what you brung is minimized by Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Denny Hamlin stated in a recent episode of Actions Detrimental that teams would have to pay about $2 million if they adopted NASCAR’s “run what you brung” strategy for the All-Star race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not believe that this statistic was accurate. “Hamlin was ‘overstating’ his estimates,” the JRM co-owner said in an interview with the Dale Jr. Download. Earnhardt stated that although teams would incur some expenses as a result of the idea, it would not amount to $2 million. “I simply don’t think so. “Yeah, this is why we didn’t want to do it,” is, in my opinion, only an excuse. Also, I believe he is exaggerating the price to make a point. Will it cost money? He’s already mad about the damn purse being $1 million for 30 years. He said that over and over. That’s fine, that’s a great argument.” Dale Earnhardt Jr. added that the All-Star race should have a prize money of $3 million instead of the $1 million it has as of now. In fact, on the subject of the purse, Junior said that Hamlin had ‘a valid point.’
