“Guilty as charged”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. owns up to NASCAR insider’s take on NextGen racing at Richmond and Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. responded to an assessment made by Toby Christie of Sports Illustrated. Christie, also the editor-in-chief at Racing America, said in one of his tweets that despite all the criticism the NextGen car has been facing since its inception, the last two races at Richmond and Daytona were indeed “phenomenal.”

Earnhardt Jr. agreed. The way he saw it, Goodyear did a great job with the tires, which was also mostly why the race at Richmond won hearts.

“A couple weeks of criticism (guilty as charged) followed by two really solid races at two configurations of concern,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote. “Was last night different because we weren't in extreme fuel saving mode? An honest question.”

“Richmond seemed much improved,” he continued. “Is this mostly due to the tire? I'd say it was a big help. I hear Richmond tire is going to New Hampshire also.”

The playoffs will begin in less than a week. The first race of the postseason, the Cook Out Southern 500, is scheduled for this coming Sunday, August 23, at Darlington Raceway. Notably, Joe Gibbs Racing newcomer Chase Briscoe is the defending champion of the event.

Fans can watch the race live on USA from 6 pm ET onwards, with radio updates on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

---

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to his driver getting swapped by Parker Kligerman

While it rained at Daytona and the field was sent into red, Dale Earnhardt Jr. allowed Parker Kligerman to fill in for Connor Zilisch, driver of the No. 88 car in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (currently Xfinity). JR Motorsports, the team Zilisch drives full-time, is owned by the NASCAR Hall of Famer.

Well, that must have been necessary given that Connor Zilisch is recovering from a fractured collarbone that he suffered following his victory at Watkins Glen a few weeks ago. Dale Jr. wanted to protect Zilisch’s career in the long run and, at the same time, wanted to give Kligerman the opportunity.

Reacting to the same on his Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said,

“They’re about the same size. Getting somebody in and out of the car and getting them comfortable is important. And Parker all but won the truck race here earlier this year. So, it’s just, we have a working relationship that you’re well aware of.”

“We want to give Connor the opportunity to get in the car and start, and hoping he was going to be well enough to do that, but we were never [considering] him doing any more than that. So, we needed somebody, and Parker was excited.”

As of today, Zilisch sits second in the driver standings with 863 points to his name. Reigning series champion Justin Allgaier, also Zilisch’s JR Motorsports teammate, sits atop the leaderboard.