Dale Earnhardt Jr. sends warning to NASCAR community over Daytona, Talladega complaint

Did the racing at Atlanta show that Daytona and Talladega need work? Maybe, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a warning. NASCAR fans need to be careful before they start talking about taking a date away from either of the sport’s historic drafting tracks.

Atlanta is one of the best tracks from an entertainment standpoint on the schedule. Fan support for the track has changed more or less overnight after the reconfiguration was finished. Each year, as the repave ages, the racing only gets more impressive.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about the Atlanta race this week. On the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt warned NASCAR fans about wishing away a date from any race track, let alone Daytona and Talladega.

“Somebody was arguing on social media that we should not race at Daytona, Talladega twice a year, because of the product on the race track,” Earnhardt explained. “And my opinion to that would be, we make a lot of mistakes by leaving race tracks because the racing isn’t good, and that is the wrong approach. You should make the racing better, not leave the track.

“Them two tracks right there are quite unique and very historic. So, I would propose actually making the racing so good that you’re glad you go there twice a year, not stop going to the race track because the product’s not good. It’s not the race track’s fault. And I would say the same thing about Richmond.”

Richmond lost a date, partly due to attendance and partly due to the on-track product. But Daytona and Talladega are different. The racing is not what it once was, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be fixed.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is right about Daytona, Talladega

The importance that Daytona and Talladega have for NASCAR is on another level. Tracks like Richmond and Bristol used to be packed, and the short-track product was what fueled the sport. But superspeedways have lasted the test of time. They bring in the casual fans like short tracks just aren’t able to.

For NASCAR fans who have watched for years, the superspeedway product isn’t great. At least, on the traditional drafting tracks. Atlanta has changed things in the Next Gen era. But for fans who only tune in for a few races a year, mainly being Daytona and/or Talladega, do the flaws actually stick out as much as they do for the weekly watcher?

When Richmond lost a date to Mexico City this season, it was a tough pill to swallow for people like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Those older short tracks are what built the sport. But if fans aren’t showing up in the stands or on the TV, and the racing is generating more negative headlines than positive, is it worth keeping on the schedule twice a year?

It is interesting, even with 40 race weeks on the schedule, there are tracks fans don’t feel get the love they deserve. Perhaps moving to a single-date will help Richmond like it has with Michigan, Pocono, and others. But taking a date from Daytona or Talladega because the racing isn’t as good as it used to be, that’s a short-sighted decision that NASCAR hopefully doesn’t make.