Dale Earnhardt Jr. took issue with NASCAR penalizing Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski for a blend line violation during last weekend’s Brickyard 400.
During the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download, the NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee ripped into NASCAR for the decision to penalize the two former champions, disagreeing with the call wholeheartedly for a myriad of reasons.
“There were a couple of things that, if I wanted to criticize NASCAR, there were a couple of penalties, and I think Brad and Chase Elliott received these penalties,” Earnhardt Jr. began. “So, when you exit pit road, you’re on the run-off lane. It’s this little strip of asphalt that’s separated from the race track. But right in between Turn 1 and Turn 2, it’s connected to the racing surface. A lot of drivers swing out, crossing a couple white lines, to get a good angle of attack on this run-off, this exit lane, through Turn 2, so they could accelerate down the back straightaway. So, this is a really common move. Very common. Some drivers are more aggressive than others, in terms of how far they swing out, but it’s never been a topic of conversation.
I know that NASCAR gave them some content, some explanation, about what they expect the drivers and teams to do in this area before the race. It really says pretty much what we all knew, ‘You can swing out, you can come off line and get out there a little bit close to the race track.’ It did not designate any specific line, or anything that you couldn’t cross. … I’ve seen so many cars go where they went.”
Evidently, Earnhardt Jr. had a gripe with NASCAR all of a sudden cracking down on cars making this move, while it’s never been a huge deal in the past at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
“This is something that I had a little bit of a problem with. It’s never really been something that was heavily officiated before,” Earnhardt Jr. stated. “This sort of swinging around wide, to better your angle of attack for Turn 2 on that lane, the access lane, has been a common, common thing, that drivers have done for a long time. I don’t believe that it’s ever been something that was strictly governed.
Now, to pop a couple drivers in the middle of the race, when others, we know, are probably doing and are doing the same thing, it just felt loosey-goosey. It’s not a great look. It’s frustrating, when you know you’re being black-flagged. There’s no way you’re going to talk your way out of this. NASCAR, rarely do they ever admit fault or a mistake, but you saw or you know that you’re not the only one doing this. You know that this has been a common thing that’s been done at this area. So, it’s been a few years since we’ve raced the over. A little bit of, maybe some turnover up in the booth. Different opinions about how things go, or should go, on the track. Some different perceptions. That’s the challenge. That’s the frustration, I think.
“This is not consistent. It is what it is, it’s over and done. I mean, Brad was still in position to win this race, albeit on some terrible fuel strategy. The No. 9 was able to rebound. … This was just not a great decision or call, because it wasn’t really well defined, in my opinion, beforehand.”
Alas, it’s easy to see why Dale Earnhardt Jr. was frustrated, as well as Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski. Thankfully, both wheelmen were able to recover nicely, but it certainly put a damper on their afternoon when they were penalized.
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