“You gotta f**king admit that you're a dumba**”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks out against NASCAR drivers undoing their belts prematurely

Aneesh
Dale Earnhardt Jr. lashes at NASCAR drivers for safety lapse during cool-down laps (Image: Getty)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. lashes at NASCAR drivers for safety lapse during cool-down laps (Image: Getty)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has lashed out at the NASCAR drivers who unbuckle their seat belts before bringing their high-octane rides to a standstill on the pit road. This comes after Bubba Wallace deliberately door-slammed Alex Bowman during the cooldown laps at the Chicago Street Race, while the Hendrick Motorsports driver's window net was down and the seatbelt was apparently unsecured.

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NASCAR slapped the 23XI Racing driver with a $50,000 penalty for his post-race actions against Bowman, but not much emphasis was laid on whether the #48 Chevy driver's seatbelt was secured at the time of the cooldown-lap wreck or not. However, after the incident got immense attention from the NASCAR community, the officials decided to take an "additional" look into the matter.

But Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't hold back from using expletives to describe the "moron" drivers who loosened up or unsecured their belts before coming to a halt.

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"I'm gonna catch so much s**t for this but damn it, it's what I chose. Bubba hits Alex and Alex hits the wall, we are at a street course, frickin walls everywhere. He [Bowman] has his window net down and his belts off or his belts loose?" Earnhardt Jr. said via Dirty Mo Media on X.
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"I feel like a lot of drivers do that though," the co-host gave his two cents.
"No they don't," Junior replied. "Nobody unbuckles before they come to a complete stop in the pits to get the hell out. You're a complete moron if you undo your belts in a moving race car at any point. A complete idiot, you gotta stop it. You gotta f**king admit that you're a dumba** if you f**king undo your belts in a moving car, it's dangerous," he added.
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"Drivers need to be able to do those things" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. concurs with Bubba Wallace's cooldown lap door-slam

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has sided with Bubba Wallace over his post-race retaliation, which stemmed from an incident on Lap 25. As the water droplets hindered Alex Bowman's vision, he tried to activate his #48 Chevy's windshield viper, but to no avail.

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However, during his quest to do so, the HMS driver lost sight of what was happening on the asphalt and the 23XI Racing driver paid the price by getting spun at the Turn 2 exit. As a result, Wallace registered a 13th-place finish despite running among the top 10s before the mishap.

While talking about his second triumph this season, Alex Bowman revealed that he deserved being hit by Wallace and that the latter shouldn't be penalized. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has now highlighted the old times when drivers could do a slight door slam to express their rage. Moreover, he said drivers may be fined heavily in USD but shouldn't be docked any points.

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"I do like the old throwback idea that, 'Man, you know if you piss me off enough, I want to be able to drive up to your car and door you a little bit.' Drivers need to be able to do those things. And if they want to fine them, that's fine. I won't. I don't care," Earnhardt Jr. said.
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"I don't think the driver's mind is too much- 5, 10, 15 grand. Don't take points away. Don’t truly deter this. Because this sh** is what racing is about? Now there is a line, there is a line where it's too egregious, too dangerous, and you gotta know as a driver, where that's at," he added.

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Edited by Partha Sarathi Banerjee
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