Dale Earnhardt Jr. flatly ‘disagrees’ with Kyle Larson’s verdict on NASCAR’s NextGen cars

On the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast on YouTube, former Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently talked about Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson's take on NextGen cars. During the podcast, Dale Jr. pointed out how he "disagrees" with the 2021 Cup Series champion's verdict on the NextGen cars.

Dale Jr.'s co-host, TJ Majors, pointed out that Larson recently claimed that the NextGen cars are producing satisfying results and feel "good." However, following his experience, the former Cup Series driver highlighted that the cars don't match his levels of expectations.

Reflecting on Kyle Larson's opinion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. further explained [01:21:28 onwards]:

"I don't know, man. I mean, Kyle's Kyle has Uh, Kyle. I really, really respect Kyle. Think the world of him. Um, and I appreciate his opinion, but I would just disagree that the car doesn't produce what I expect. Again, going back to 75 years. I know Kyle's been around a long time. The car doesn't produce the kind of racing that I know we are capable of at road courses and short tracks."

"The car does not produce the type of racing that I think should be our standard, and I know what we're capable of at road courses and short tracks. And I would not stop at trying to achieve amazing great racing at those style of tracks until we achieved it. I wouldn't stop trying to get there. And I don't think we're there. And I think it's mainly due to the race car. Right," Dale Jr. added.

Kyle Larson has secured 16 wins since the introduction of NextGen cars and currently ranks fifth on the Cup Series points table. Additionally, he has secured three wins, 14 top-10 finishes, 11 top-five finishes, and a pole position in 24 starts this season.

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Kyle Larson got candid about F1 cars relying on DRS and gave his verdict on the same

Earlier this year, the NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson was featured in a podcast on the That Guy Garf YouTube channel and compared Formula One racing to NASCAR.

The HMS ace pointed out that Formula One racing features billions of dollars and well-recognized celebrities at major race events. The racing series also works on the top-notch technologies available. However, according to the former Cup Series champion, F1 is not pure racing, and if anyone wants to witness one, then NASCAR is the best option.

Following the same, the 32-year-old took the use of DRS as an example and stated via YouTube [26:55 onwards]:

"But if you're looking for, like, pure racing, our product is amazing. I mean, there's actually passing, there's battles for the lead. It's tough to pass in Formula 1 — they have to have DRS to even allow passing, so that kind of makes it fake in my opinion."

After an unsatisfactory P39 finish at Watkins Glen International, Kyle Larson is set to compete in the Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway on Saturday, August 17. USA, MRN, HBO Max, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will broadcast the 400-lap event live at 7:30 p.m.