Dale Earnhardt Jr. says no to Mexico race, admits he was wrong on Iowa, ranks NASCAR short tracks

Consider Dale Earnhardt Jr. a fan of Iowa Speedway. The NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee waxed poetic about the track during an episode of the Dale Jr. Download.

While Earnhardt Jr. was rightfully anxious about Iowa due to its unorthodox repave, he couldn’t argue with the results, as it brought NASCAR faithful an exhilarating race on Father’s Day.

“We saw the repave, the Frankenstein repave. Me, [Denny] Hamlin, everybody was a little bit questionable. We were intrigued. We were trying not to be a******* and say, ‘What in the hell did y’all do? This is going to be awful.’ But we didn’t know it would be awful. We just knew we were going to tune in, might not see what we want to see, but we’re still going to be entertained,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “… Guys could pass. Passing wasn’t too terribly difficult. They had to use each other up, which was fun. … They certainly raced it like it was a short-track. Being a little physical, a lot of contact.

“So I was really entertained. I enjoyed it. Good race. I hope that Iowa gets another date.”

One of the reasons Iowa may not get a date in 2025 is because NASCAR would like to expand their horizons and head to Mexico for a race, but Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t want to see that, especially if it means Iowa is off the schedule.

“NASCAR’s in a tough spot. They want to go to Mexico, and I don’t think that’s been announced yet. I’m hoping that it’s not going to happen, because I don’t want to go to Mexico. I’d rather go to Iowa, after what I saw,” Earnhardt Jr. added. “You know I don’t love road courses.”

Of course, Earnhardt Jr.’s love for short-tracks has been well-documented. Later in the episode, he took some time to compare Iowa’s race to the action we’ve seen at some other short-tracks, and his answers may surprise you.

Martinsville: “Way better.” North Wilkesboro: “Maybe a little bit better than Wilkesboro. Wilkesboro needs 400 laps. To be in this conversation, Wilkesboro needs the full miles.” Phoenix: “Anything’s better than Phoenix.” Richmond: “Richmond needs to be repaved.” Bristol: “I really loved that Bristol race. I don’t know if we’ll always get that. They don’t know why that happened, and if we go back and it doesn’t happen.”

Even though Earnhardt Jr. loved the spring Bristol race, he’s putting Iowa above the beloved short-track, until we see if Bristol’s tire-wear is a permanent thing, or a one-off accident from Goodyear.

“I put it at the top,” Earnhardt Jr said, regarding Iowa. “I can’t give Bristol the first-place because I don’t know if it was one-off. If we go back and have that same tire-wear issue, and they have to save and calm down and drive smart, and then you’ve got other guys that don’t know how to do that and they’re idiots burning their tires up, then Bristol’s No. 1, and Iowa would be No. 2.”

Alas, Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn’t expect to love Iowa, but the track won his heart. We’ll see what NASCAR does, but it’d be a shame for the track not to receive another date after the racing it put on earlier in June.