Dale Earnhardt Jr. rips NASCAR over Richmond following 2025 schedule leak

Earlier this week an alleged leak of the NASCAR 2025 schedule made the rounds on social media, and while NASCAR officially condemned the leak and said it had inaccuracies, that didn’t stop Dale Earnhardt Jr. from chiming in.

Earnhardt Jr. specifically bemoaned the purported loss of a second race at Richmond.

“That’s an unfortunate thing for Richmond but we kind of saw the writing on the wall with the short-track package being as crappy as it’s been over the last handful of years since the NextGen car came on,” Earnhardt Jr. said on the Dale Jr. Download.

Richmond, of course, is the home to the latest major drama on the NASCAR Cup Series circuit. Austin Dillon made it so when he wrecked both Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin in the final turns to take the win.

He was later penalized by NASCAR and stripped of his playoff eligibility based on the win.

That second race at Richmond won’t exist next year, though, if the alleged leak proves accurate. NASCAR will axe that in favor of bolstering its short-track package, which has not been up to snuff, according to Earnhardt Jr.

“I’m not going to go easy on that, it’s been terrible. Atrocious,” he said. “You can saw what you want about Richmond, the racetrack, the facility, how they’ve performed in terms of modernizing comparable to other facilities and what kind of draw it might be, but the lousy way that the short-track package has been going for a while is the No. 1 reason why that racetrack doesn’t have two dates.”

The former NASCAR driver also provided thoughts on a few other tracks.

“Wilkesboro’s still an All-Star race, can’t wait to hopefully see a points race there,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’m ready for the All-Star race to move somewhere else and for Wilkesboro to get a 400-lapper, something like that.”

Two other races caught his eye.

“Chicago’s still there and Sonoma’s moved into a different part of the year, which I think I’ll be doing that,” he said. “So Amy will be happy.”

Finally, Earnardt Jr. chimed in on the playoffs, which feature a new track. It’s one he was thoroughly surprised to see, though not necessarily against.

“The playoffs are wild. How in the hell did St. Louis end up in the playoffs?” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I would love to know, I’m not … it’s bizarre. It’s fine. I mean there’s no sort of, ‘Oh you don’t deserve this’ kind of vibe, I just wonder how that even happened. I didn’t think it had a chance of getting in the playoffs ever. Not ever. It just still feels like it just got here in terms of the Cup Series. And now it’s in the playoffs. So I’m wondering where the, what the reasoning is, what the reasoning is why.”