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Former NASCAR Cup Series driver for Rick Hendrick's racing outfit, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has come out and spoken about how he thinks driver interviews should be conducted in the highest echelon of stock car racing.
After last weekend's GEIC0 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, fans were seen enraged on social media after a photo of Sunday's winner Tyler Reddick included FOX Sports reporter Jamie Little in the background. This happened due to the tradition of interviewing the winning driver as soon as he gets out to celebrate on the track, mostly on the front stretch, rather than waiting to go to victory lane.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his preference among the two on a recent episode of his popular podcast The Dale Jr. Download. He elaborated on the podcast's Ask Jr. segment and replied to a fan's question asking the same and said:
"As a fan, I probably wouldn't love the front stretch interviews much. I liked the driver going to victory lane and that being where we saw them first because it's weird to me that they get out, they're animated and then they go to victory lane and they're animated all over again. Probably fine for them either way."
He added:
"The thing that going to victory lane and doing the winner interview there often gave us the chance to get second or third place, get a little bit of a post-race built up. I see a ton of fans on our social media begging for more post-race."
With Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s broadcasting career with NBC Sports after retiring as a driver, the Xfinity Series team owner's words could spark a change in the sport starting with the networks broadcasting the sport itself.
Where did Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Late Model entry finish at Orange County Speedway?
Driving the #8 entry fielded by Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team JR Motorsports in a Late Model Series he co-owns, Carson Kvapil managed to finish the Orange Blossom 250 with a third-place finish to his name.
The full-time CARS Tour driver and part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series entrant blitzed the field as he drove through from the back on Saturday, earning high praise from the former Cup Series driver once again.
Ticking off his third consecutive top 5 finish, the young 20-year-old driver is set to return to the zMAX CARS Tour on May 3 at Ace Speedway in North Carolina. Meanwhile, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover Motor Speedway this coming weekend for the 11th race on the 2024 calendar.
