Everyone keeps saying “teach ’em young,” but Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t seem to buy it. With the sport lowering the age barrier and pushing more teenagers into top-level competition, the changes have sparked fierce backlash online, and Dale Jr. has openly questioned whether the sport is moving too fast. A fan argued the driver shouldn’t even be in full-size stock cars until they are licensed. Dale Jr. didn’t back down; he doubled down, making it clear he still stands by his concerns, even as the rulebook continues to shift.
The 51-year-old shared a personal memory after reading a discussion, recalling that he wasn’t allowed to race at a local short track until he had his driver’s license at 16, and for someone who made their NASCAR debut at 22, this certainly doesn’t sit well with the veteran.
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“NASCAR once mandated that I couldn’t race at the local short track in Concord in a Street Stock car until I had a valid driver’s license at 16 years old. Crazy how much things have changed,” he said.
However, this frustration has reached a tipping point for the NASCAR Hall of Famer. And while he has always advocated for change in NASCAR, the shifting age rules are something he still finds confusing.
Now, drivers must be at least 17 to race on tracks 1.25 miles or shorter in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and that restriction includes road courses. Full clearance to compete on all tracks doesn’t come until age 18.
Ironically, this season, the youngest driver in the Cup Series is Connor Zilisch, a 19-year-old phenom who happened to be Junior’s ex-Xfinity driver. But that still doesn’t deter Junior from his thoughts on racers joining a mature racing field at such a young age.
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Commenting on the short track rule, Dale Jr. was amazed and is concerned about how local short tracks could hurt young racers.
“Hurts local short tracks. These kids aren’t ready at 17. Why the rush?”” He replied.
Junior takes this one personally due to past experiences.
Last year’s controversy sparked chaos at Dale Jr.’s CARS Tour race at Ace Speedway, and the center of it was a young, inexperienced, and underage racer.
Late Model standout Landon Huffman found himself in the middle of a shocking incident on the track. As he was fighting for the lead, a much younger driver slammed Huffman’s car hard into the wall, tearing the roof off from the impact.
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Huffman later posted the clip on X, making sure everyone saw just how severe the hit was.
Dale Jr.’s popular driver didn’t hold back on his opinion of NASCAR’s lowering age limit. Sharing a photo of the wreck, he wrote, “Led over half of the second twin and then this. Exhibit A why kids under the age of 14 should not be driving late-model stock cars.”
But NASCAR’s reason behind lowering the age is completely different. The change creates a more logical progression ladder between the truck series, where 16-year-olds can compete in the Cup Series, and comes after teams asked NASCAR to consider age limits that were excluding some talented young drivers who are otherwise ready to compete.
However, it has its downfall as well. Competing with NASCAR champions is no joke, and doing so at such a young age can definitely put the rookie drivers under a lot of pressure.
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Moreover, a certain sense of maturity and skill should be built in order to be able to handle the huge stock cars. That only comes with age, and young aces may not be able to navigate it too well. And while change is good, this one may not be in the veteran’s eyes.
Speaking on changes, NASCAR’s new format has been making its rounds, and in that discussion, Dale Junior could not help but recall how the sport almost lost his attention forever.
Dale Jr. admits to falling out of love with NASCAR
Dale Jr. has watched NASCAR’s championship format change so many times that it has become part of the sport’s identity, and the point system gave weight to the Chase; the emphasis shifted from consistency to sudden drama, and over time, that approach started to wear him down.
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While the return of the traditional points system is something Junior had been rooting for forever, the revised chase format sits just okay with the veteran.
“And when we had the full season points, you couldn’t take a week off as a fan. That race that’s in the middle of the year could be the one that loses you the championship….I had lost that…. I had gotten to the point where it was like, man, I was falling out of love with it,” he said.
However, the recent return seems to have ignited interest.
The new system blends season-long times with a playoff finish, rewarding drivers for performing well over the year rather than just surviving to the end.
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He believes that the full 36-race-point season is the best way to decide a champion, and he likes that the new format makes every race count again, from Daytona all the way to Homestead.
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