Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals How Goodyear Is ‘Going Against Their Business Interest’ to Fix Next-Gen Car Racing Issue

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was full of praise for Goodyear after the tiremaker did something for NASCAR that others would never do.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals How Goodyear Is ‘Going Against Their Business Interest’ to Fix Next-Gen Car Racing Issue

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via IMAGO)

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NASCAR’s Next-Gen car is not a fan-favorite. The Gen 7 machinery has failed to deliver exciting racing, particularly on shorter tracks. However, at last weekend’s race at Richmond Raceway, tire supplier Goodyear stepped up to create more action on-track. NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. praised the tire giant for making such a move.

This year, Goodyear brought a different tire configuration to Richmond. The right-side tire remained the same ‘option’ compound as last season. However, the tire supplier decided to use a softer compound for the left-side, a configuration first introduced at Martinsville last season.

Such a combination leads to a quicker tire fall-off over the course of a race, triggering more pitstops and interesting strategies. The Richmond race was won by Austin Dillon.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. claimed that for Goodyear, making a tire that falls off quicker was not in the best of commercial interests. In the past, several tire manufacturers have refused to even bid to supply sports like Formula 1.

The tiremakers claim that making tires that get degraded within half a race is apparently not good for their business. Currently, Pirelli is the sole tire supplier for F1.

It’s not in Goodyear’s best interest to make a tire that’s failing. I’ve read about tire manufacturers that aren’t in F1, some of these big players in the tire manufacturing world were asked why they don’t want to be in some of the bigger series in motorsports. They said they want us to make a tire that degrades over the course of the race, and that’s not good for our business.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Dale Jr. Download

Dale Jr. didn’t really understand this excuse since most tire giants are selling tires to millions of people every year. However, he urged fans to be grateful to Goodyear.

If you’re a world tire manufacturer and you’re trying to sell *** street tires to millions and billions of people… I don’t love [the excuse], but I think we need to say thank you Goodyear.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added

Dale Earnhardt Jr. exposes fear of tire manufacturers

The NASCAR veteran seemed to go on a rant over the perspective of tire manufacturers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. simply wants to see some exciting racing, even if it requires high-degradation tires.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via NASCAR.com)

Dale Jr. claimed that he appreciated Goodyear for understanding that fans would not just reject its products simply because they brought high-deg tires to a NASCAR race. Earnhardt claimed that is what most tiremakers feared.

If a driver lashed out at the tires for degrading quickly, it could lead to a PR disaster and consumers might look elsewhere. Dale Earnhardt Jr. asserted that such tire suppliers only care about business and are not concerned about creating better racing.

We appreciate you for being understanding that the fans can tell the difference between if I see your tire struggling on Sunday, that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna go buy it for my truck on Monday. That’s what tire manufacturers are afraid of. If they have a bad day at the racetrack and drivers get out and go, ‘*** this tire, what a terrible tire,’ then nobody’s going to go buy their shit at the store. That’s why they’re here; they’re here to sell *** tires to the consumers, not to make racing awesome.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained

Certainly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed to be fed up with the attitude of tiremakers. Luckily, Goodyear has not shown any resistance from bringing high-deg tires to the Cup Series.

The Richmond configuration was even used at Bowman Gray, Martinsville, and North Wilkesboro earlier this year. Thus, fans can expect tire strategy to become critical even at races that might not deliver a lot of on-track action due to the Next-Gen cars.

Read More: Denny Hamlin Declares NASCAR Has “Too Many Races in the Schedule”