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Chase Elliott has been voted the NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver every year since 2018. Before that, Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed the title dating back to 2003. In retirement, Junior might not get voted most popular but his popularity hasn’t waned due to his continued involvement in the sport, including work on NBC’s coverage and as the host of his weekly “Dale Jr. Download” podcast.
On the April 16 episode, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver interviewed the current one to talk about his win at Texas that snapped his extended drought, a 42-race winless streak. However, before they talked about that, the podcast host brought Elliott into the current conversation on the show — practice and if he thought it was the right amount of time.
“I think we have enough practice,” Elliott started. “I certainly can understand their perspective on guys, either running a part-time schedule or people that are running maybe full-time in Xfinity, like Shane is, and then running a few Cup races here and there.
“But when I look at just the whole argument as a whole — I look at short tracks across the country and there’s dirt-track races that happen every Friday and Saturday night. They get literally five laps of hot laps, and then they run the race.
“So, I don’t know, I’m like, okay, we’re supposed to be professionals, you know? And we’re supposed to be at the top of our class. Why should we get an hour-and-a-half when people that are trying to come up through the ranks only get five laps before the race?”
Chase Elliott’s Answer Was the Opposite of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Chase Elliott’s answer and, more specifically, his reasoning, was the complete opposite of what Earnhardt had said on the podcast just moments before. He admitted as much: “Hey, I like it. You’re convincing me to change my opinion.”
An opinion that included a detailed explanation of why he believed NASCAR should give the teams more than the current 20 minutes allowed for practice.
“But I feel like that to be able to bring the car into the garage and make significant changes if necessary, wholesale, and be able to go back out and try that,” Earnhardt said. “And maybe even a 30-minute break or an hour break to allow a team to disassemble however much of the car they want and rescale it and then send it back out for a second practice would be plenty. I think 45 minutes and then maybe 45 minutes and then another 30 minutes. Something like that, an hour and a half total, roughly.”
Elliott-Earnhardt Disagreeing on Practice Isn’t Uncommon in Garage
Elliott and Earnhardt being divided on practice is actually appropriate. It’s a divisive topic from a financial perspective as evidenced by the recent remarks of two Cup drivers and team co-owners Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski.
“I haven’t seen how we saved any money getting rid of practice, not from a team perspective,” Keselowski told reporters April 2 during a media availability at the NASCAR Production Studios. “Maybe there were some savings in other ways in the industry that I’m not aware of, but there haven’t been significant cost savings. We’ve reallocated in a lot of ways to other demands, and it’s hard for me to understand the value proposition today to not have practice.”
23XI Racing team co-owner and fellow podcaster under Earnhardt’s Dirty Mo Media brand, Denny Hamlin, took issue with what Keselowski said and addressed it on his April 8 “Actions Detrimental” podcast.
“I heard Brad. It bugs me a little bit that Brad’s like, ‘Oh, we just need to have more practice, it’s not gonna cost anymore.’ That’s not true. That sounds like someone that’s never had to make a cash call before with his race team.
“You have to buy quite a bit more. We have to come to the race track earlier, more than likely, that’s an extra night of hotel rooms. I know for a fact Joe Gibbs Racing saves significant money when they cut practice.”
It’s a debate that everyone has an opinion on. Most fans side with increased practice because it means additional on-track time and more for the fan experience. But in the end, they’re all opinions and the only one that really matters is NASCAR’s.
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