Dale Earnhardt Jr. Argues Against Inducting AJ Foyt to NASCAR Hall of Fame

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shared his thoughts on IndyCar and stock car racing legend getting NASCAR Hall of Fame nomination.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Argues Against Inducting AJ Foyt to NASCAR Hall of Fame

AJ Foyt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via indycar.com and imago)

With four Indy 500s, a Daytona 500 and multiple USAC Stock Car Series championships, AJ Foyt is one of the most legendary racers from the early days of NASCSAR and IndyCar. This is reason why he was nominated for a NASCAR Hall of Fame entry. But Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t think it’s right to give the nine times Cup race winner one of the sport biggest honors.

The 2021 NASCAR HOF Inductee in the latest episode of his podcast, shared his thoughts on the Foyt nomination. He doesn’t believe the legend is one of the best racers the sport has ever seen, despite the success. Junior highlighted how alongside the wins, there were multiple years where the veteran really struggled to perform.

I think a lot of people just say, he’s one of the greatest drivers ever, and he races with us [at NASCAR]. I’m not sure I agree with that… AJ came at times, had success and won. But there were also times when he was cantankerous and difficult, and problematic.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast.

The veteran pointed out that the problematic nature of the racers career is discouraging him to cast the vote. According to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. the voters needs evaluate not just how good the racer was on the track, but also the overall positive impact he has had in the sport, before inducting him to the HOF.   

It doesn’t weigh a ton into my decision, but I do weigh… were they problematic? Did they create issues? Were they in trouble? Did they tear us down? Did they lift us up? Did they go around talking about how much freaking badass it is to race in NASCAR? Were they a person who talked positively about it?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added via Dale Jr. Download.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. insists NASCAR is on the right direction with the new Darlington car package

In the same podcast, Junior talked about how impactful was the new car package at last Sunday’s Darlington race. He believes the changes made put NASCAR on the right direction, despite the fact that the race on display wasn’t anything extraordinary.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jim France
Jim France and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via dailydownforce.com)

I was good with it. I’m fine with it. I think they can move forward with this. It didn’t do anything bad. It didn’t produce anything extraordinary, but I think it’s Darlington… And so, they should continue to go in that direction. I’m a believer in that.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

Furthermore, he highlighted the impressive job Goodyear has done with the new tires and how that to a small extent fixed the overtaking issues. He is hoping for something similar when the Cup Series in back on the track next-time.

And all of that is a great direction. Goodyear done some great work on the tire. We had guys that were able to pass, able to make moves… I feel like I watched a traditional Darlington race that I would tune in again next year and hope to see something similar.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

The comments from the veteran shows the sport is on the right direction, but needs to make a lot of progress before settling on a package. It would be interesting to see how everything is going to playout for the sport with the new Next-Gen car package.

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