Dale Earnhardt Jr. Insist the Current NASCAR Format Is “the Hardest” Way to Win a Championship

The debate around the NASCAR playoffs format and the legitimacy of the champions is at the peak, as the 2025 season comes close to the finale at Phoenix Raceway. Two times Xfinity Series champion and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. have recently made a point that might influence critics to hold back of questioning the validity of the winners.

In the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, JR Motorsports co-owner and broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his thoughts on the playoff’s drama. He pointed out that the champions of the current era shouldn’t feel like their title is less valuable than that of the previous winners by declaring theirs was the most difficult to win.

I do not want it to make a Joey Logano, a Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott — I don’t want them to ever feel like that means that the championship they won under whatever format is less than. The way we do it today is the hardest, most difficult way to win a championship.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said via Dale Jr. Download.

He backed his bold argument by highlighting how tough is to win the finale. One race is determining the champion, and the four drivers in the championship-4 that are in contention has to work extra hard in the 36^th race of season, execute perfectly and might also need some luck to get over the line first. No other format demand something similar from the drivers.

To put four guys on the track and you only have one race, and it has to go right, the odds are against you in this format more so than any other, in my opinion. I say that to help those guys feel like they’ve achieved something difficult.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits he still doesn’t like the championship format

But the admiration doesn’t mean, the legendary racer is a fan of the format or it is his favorite way of crowning the bets stock car racing driver in the world. He wants the old full-season championship format back, but at the same time, he finds it disrespectful that some fans use the format change to discredit the current winners.

Is it my favorite way? No. Do I prefer another way? Yes, but it doesn’t mean that championship that they got and that trophy they got in their house isn’t as valuable or as neat or as cool or as appreciated as any trophy or championship that was won in the first 50 years of the sport.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

In the same conversation later, the ex-Hendrick Motorsports driver shared his thoughts on how the playoffs so far has played out in the 2025 season, with the R-8 being confirmed after the Charlotte Roval Cup playoff race.

He wasn’t a fan of how everything played out this weekend, with alleged race fixing and drivers finishing P20 to progress in the next round being the biggest storyline.  The veteran admitted that he hasn’t seen anything that is exciting so far in this season and he is exhausted watching the 2025 post-seaso.

I’m ROVAL’d out. I am ROVAL’d the hell out… But man, I am exhausted. Something about this particular year’s playoff is just not doing it for me.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

One of the major reasons behind the intensity of anti-playoff criticism is the exhaustion Junior mentioned, as many drivers in the community is experiencing the same. It would be interesting to see how all these dramatic comments going to influence NASCAR’s decision making in the coming years.

Also Read: Hall of Famer Wants NASCAR to “Tear Next-Gen Car Apart” and Fix It

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