Dale Jr. makes his feelings clear about Cup Series racing at Rockingham amid valid concerns from the fans

Dale Jr. weighed in on the growing fan concerns about NASCAR Cup Series returning to Rockingham Speedway. The Hall of Famer pointed out how the Next Gen car's aerodynamic demands don't suit the track's layout.

This past weekend, NASCAR returned to Rockingham Speedway, hosting its first Truck Series race in 12 years and the first Xfinity Series race in over two decades. The move followed a track repavement project that was completed in December 2022. As part of the renovations, the track's length was reduced to 0.94 miles, classifying it as a short track instead of its previous status as an intermediate one.

During a podcast episode of Dale Jr. Download, the NASCAR icon shared his take on the track's viability for the Cup Series.

"At that race track there's really nowhere to go to get clean air. In the Next Gen car, you really can't run behind another car, the lead car's got a lot of grip but also you need that air going underneath your car to get to the diffuser, so you can't follow another car. How are you gonna do that and go around the racetrack at Rockingham? People's concerns about the Next Gen probably not racing well there are valid," he said.

These concerns follow NASCAR's recent outings at short tracks like Martinsville and Bristol Motor Speedway, two events that saw dominant victories with minimal lead changes. Denny Hamlin led 274 of the final 275 laps at Martinsville to post his first win of the season, while Kyle Larson turned it up a notch and led 411 of 500 laps at Bristol.

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Dale Jr. opens up about mixed feelings with Rockingham Speedway

Dale Jr. has endured a challenging relationship with Rockingham Speedway, finishing outside the top 10 in eight of his nine stints on the track. His last bout at 'The Rock' gave him some respite, bookending his track record with a fifth-place finish. Unfortunately, the event also marked the track's final Cup Series race in 2004.

Reflecting upon the same, the 50-year-old shared his thoughts in a recent episode of Dale Jr. Download.

"I hated that place until the very last race, and now I'm almost sad that I didn't get more shots at running there. It was hard, and that, you know, it just made me have a hard time appreciating the track because of how brutal it could be," he said.

During Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Rockingham Speedway, Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports experienced an eventful day, as the team's driver, Connor Zilisch, was stripped of his pole position after a post-qualifying tire change. Meanwhile, driving their No.8 Chevrolet, Sammy Smith was declared the race winner after Jesse Love was disqualified from a post-race inspection.