Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants NASCAR to follow the NFL model to fix race timings

The race timing uncertainty is one of the things that annoy Dale Jr. the most.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants NASCAR to follow the NFL model to fix race timings

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Credits: countrymusicnation.com)

It only took six minutes for the race to start after the fans tuned in for the NASCAR Cup event at Nashville on NBC.  There was no-grid walk or pre-race interview, as the drivers were already on the heat laps. It was mostly due to the late-night start of the race hard. Hall of Famer and two times Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. is annoyed by the lack of consistency in race timings.

The Junior Motorsports co-owner pointed out that having uncertainty over the race timings is pretty annoying as he has to look up when the race is on every race weekend. He then gave the example of the NFL, which hosts games only in the pre-determined timeframe. There are two slots for the NFL games 1 pm ET or 4 pm ET on Sunday. He wants NASCAR to follow the model.

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“More annoying than anything, yeah. I love the thought of knowing a race is going to start at 1 o’clock. And I know the start times have gotten a little more predictable, but they’re still like 2:30, 3, 3:30, 4, 7,” Dale Jr. told Jeff Gluck of the Athletic.

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“I know when an NFL game starts: It’s the 1 (pm ET slot) or the 4 (pm ET slot) on Sunday. There’s no variation. And that’s what I want out of my sports. That’s what I want out of everything in life. So to have to look on my phone and go, ‘I wonder when that race starts? Is it 3? 3:30?’ I don’t want to have to look,” Dale Jr added.

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Having a standardized time will be a win-win situation for NASCAR

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Charlotte ROVAL Road Course Race (Credits: NASCAR.com)

Dale Jr. has just shared one of the biggest demands NASCAR fans have been making for years which, for some reason, NASCAR has yet to give attention to. But having a fixed time for race starts comes with several benefits.

For NASCAR, they can easily schedule their whole operation according to the time limit set, while the fans can also plan their trip to the race track. The fans watching races on Television won’t have to reschedule their weekends every time for the race; instead, they can have a proper routine.

NASCAR can also use this to its advantage while landing a new broadcasting deal which will allow the media companies to allocate the right window for streaming the race and can offer extra NASCAR content as well.

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