Dale Earnhardt Jr. is crystal clear that NASCAR’s ‘nowhere near’ the ‘ridiculous’ era of Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick

JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently discussed the 'ridiculous' era of NASCAR Cup Series drivers Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick. He compared their era to current stock car racing and pointed out how the winning momentum has changed from the drivers to the organizations.

The first on the list, Richard Childress Racing driver Kyle Busch, has secured 63 wins in his 726 starts since his rookie season in 2004. He dominated the 2018 Monster Energy Cup Series and finished the season in P4. The next was Kevin Harvick, who had 60 wins in 826 starts and 31 pole positions. He amassed nine wins and secured P5 in the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Martin Truex Jr., meanwhile, dominated the 2017 Monster Energy Cup Series season, winning eight events and securing the championship title. He won 34 races in 694 starts and held the record for most stage wins (66) in the Cup Series before Larson took over this season. These three drivers dominated the tracks before the introduction of the Gen7 cars in 2022.

Recalling the "big three" drivers' success, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said (via Dale Jr. Download on YouTube, 19:27):

"In the note, it says the 'Big Three' dominating used to refer to drivers — now we're going to be talking about organizations. It used to be drivers. Just a couple of years ago, it was Truex, Kyle Busch, and Harvick winning like 85% of the races it year; it was ridiculous. So yeah, we're nowhere near that, and you still have the potential for new guys."

"There was a point in that race yesterday or Sunday, where there were a ton of dudes in the top 10 who hadn’t won races or were about to have some seriously respectable results. You saw Spire with Hocevar and those guys kind of creeping up into the top 10. I think that if the top 10 looked the same every week, and the guys running first, second, and third were always the same, then you'd have an argument," Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson won the AdventHealth 400 held at Kansas Speedway on May 11, with Kyle Busch's former teammate, Christopher Bell, finishing as the runner-up. Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney ended the race in third, and Martin Truex Jr.'s replacement, Chase Briscoe, landed a fourth-place finish.

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"Make the regular season feel like the playoffs": Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggests NASCAR adopt a new playoff format

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave the governing body a new idea for the playoff format. On his podcast, "Dale Jr. Download," the former most popular driver award winner suggested the playoffs could begin with the Daytona 500 race and end with a one-round championship race.

The new playoff format completely changes the dynamic of the sport. Following the same, drivers would start their grind from the very first race, the Daytona 500, and there would be no regular season champion either.

“Starting in Daytona with the Daytona 500, the playoffs began, and the playoffs are the whole season ending with a final one-round championship round. You know, make the regular season feel like the playoffs,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. suggested (30:18).

However, no changes have been made to the current playoff format, and with 12 races into the season, Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson leads the Cup Series standings with 469 points. In the Xfinity Series, JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier sits at the top of the standings with 471 points in 12 starts.