“Tomorrow is gonna be an epic environment”: Dale Earnhardt Jr gives his approval for the NASCAR All-Star race at North Wilkesboro

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hyped up for Sunday's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway, after witnessing the heat races unfold on Saturday. Both the qualifying races provided exciting action, with NASCAR mandating the use of wet-weather tires for the first time on a paved oval.

Daniel Suarez won the Heat Race 1, which was completely run on wet weather tires. Chris Buescher won the Heat Race 2, which saw the drivers transition from slicks to wet tires midway through the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. enjoyed watching the heat races and expects an epic showdown on Sunday. He shared his thoughts via a tweet that read:

"Enjoyed watching the heats tonight. The tire deal was interesting as were the drivers comments about them. Tomorrow is gonna be an epic environment."

Some drivers found pace on the wet weather tires while the rest thought slicks would be faster. Chris Buescher, who won the second heat was on the latter side as he didn't want to put the wet tires. Joey Logano also struggled on the wet weather tires, burning them early in the stint.

While the wet-weather tires saved the show on Saturday, the weather forecast for Sunday predicts no rain. This indicates that slick tires will run the show in the All-Star Race and tire management will be important.

The 0.625-mile oval has similar characteristics to other short tracks, so managing the tires will be the key to winning the race. However, the aging tarmac on the North Wilkesboro Speedway could throw a curveball during the race.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits that the North Wilkesboro track surface must be repaved

North Wilkesboro Speedway

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had championed the efforts to revive the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway. After spending multi-million dollars on upgrading the facilities, the track surface still remains the same.

The 0.625-mile short track was last paved in 1984, making it the oldest track surface on the NASCAR schedule. The 40-year-old tarmac on the track is plastered with sealers as a temporary remedy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits that if NASCAR wants to return to North Wilkesboro next year, then the track has to be repaved. Earnhardt said to Fox Sports journalist Bob Pockrass:

"Our cars, our program and our style of race can deal with a lot of imperfection, but the Cup crowd, it will not put up with problems and problematic surfaces. One little problem, one car has any kind of an issue from a rock going through their radiator or whatever, you can’t have that going on."

He added:

"It’s a big risk that they’re taking now with this surface for this Sunday. I think they won’t want to take that risk again. I’ll be surprised if they do."

The races on Sunday will be a major test for the aging track, as it gears up to host the 100-lap All-Star Open race followed by the 200-lap All-Star Race.