Dale Jr. Pushes Back on NASCAR’s EV Racing Suggestion for 2030

NASCAR Executive Vice President John Probst’s proposal for electric vehicles by 2030 has not sat well within the racing community. Many insiders sound off about this change, fearing it might lead to the downfall of the sport. Dale Earnhardt Jr is one of those.

Probst announced the possibility of introducing its Cross Utility Vehicle (CUV) EV in the NOAPS. According to him, this will help the series get a better brand identity, as it currently tends to be identified by its title sponsor rather than its car. But Junior disagrees.

On the latest episode of his Dale Jr Download podcast, Earnhardt Jr. said, “The O’Reilly Series has got a lot of good things going right now. Viewership is continuously on the rise and our cars, we can all kind of relate to those cars when we look at them and we see them on the racetrack. I think making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake and it would probably be the end of the rise.”

Dale Jr. further added, “Things are going well. We got a great TV partner, we got great numbers, we got great fan engagement, and I think any kind of change like that so dramatic as that would be, would destroy the series as we know it.”

The numbers back Dale Jr.’s stance. The O’Reilly Series has steadily on the rise, especially in terms of viewership with The CW. The Rockingham race saw an 11 percent increase compared to last year. Darlington also saw a 4 percent increase. If EV takes over, Earnhardt Jr. also mentioned that he would not be interested in the Series.

NASCAR has come out to explain that it is only the body of the car that is being considered and not the electrification of the series. Dale Jr, however, has offered a solution for that.

Dale Jr. talks about upgrading the current car

In the same episode, the JR Motorsports owner spoke about how he believes the 15-year-old cars could use some upgrades rather than completely changing their look.

He said, “Take all the front suspension off of our car and make me a more modern version of that — not an over-engineered hub or rear end like we got in the current Cup car.”

Dale Jr added that he does not want to see any influence of the current Cup cars. The only flaw with Dale Jr’s proposal would be getting all the OEMs on board, as Ford has significantly reduced their presence in the series.

Read more at RFK Racing Digest!