Dale Earnhardt Jr. rips fans complaining about NASCAR In-Season tournament

NASCAR is two weeks through the inaugural In-Season Challenge. Like anything new, some fans like it and some fans hate it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in the category of those who like it, and he doesn’t understand those who don’t. He called out fans complaining that the TNT booth is talking too much about the bracket, saying, “Why in the f*ck would we not talk about this?”

“Why are you f*cking complaining about this bracket? … They’re people saying that there’s too much talk about the bracket. But it’s literally, like, these two guys — Bubba [Wallace] and [Alex] Bowman — are in this thing for $1 million. They are battling on the racetrack, spinning each other out, and whoever wins that battle is going to advance into the next round, and it’s eight drivers, then it’s four and two for $1 million. Why in the f*ck would we not talk about this?” Earnhardt said on the Dale Jr. Download. “We were listening to drivers after the big pileup between Turns 10 and 11, and they were all going, ‘Oh, man, there’s your bracket buddy. He’s all f*cked up in this one.’

“Even though the drivers and the teams are going to be like, ‘It’s not priority, it’s not the most important thing today,’ they’re still thinking about it. They’re still concerned about it. When they’re sitting there and the guy they’re going up against in the bracket is wrecked out of the race, and they’re talking about it on the radio, we’re gonna talk about it ourselves. I don’t see why anybody would be upset that we want to have this bracket.”

Round 3 of NASCAR tournament set for Sonoma Raceway

The winner of the In-Season Challenge receives a $1 million prize. For many drivers in the field, that money can be life-changing. While some drivers have downplayed its significance, others have played it up, including Ty Dillon. Dillon has knocked off Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski and has a Round 3 matchup awaiting him against Alex Bowman.

In total, eight drivers remain. The interesting thing is that none of the eight drivers have won a race this season. There’s a favorable chance the winner will be someone you didn’t see coming. The In-Season Challenge champion will be decided July 27 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.