Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes NASCAR’s rumored increase in practice time could be especially valuable for drivers and teams trying to find performance gains before race day, even if it also gives the sport’s strongest organizations more opportunities to sharpen already competitive cars.
With a recent report from Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic claiming that NASCAR is considering more practice sessions and potentially doubling the amount of practice available, Earnhardt sees that as a positive development, even with the possibility that additional running could tighten the field.
The biggest reason behind his support is the opportunity for teams actually to learn from practice. In particular, citing Connor Zilisch is a prime example. Earnhardt explained that Zillisch’s practice performance at North Wilkesboro showed why more track time can matter.
“He [Zilisch] had more goofy sh*t happen on pit road on Sunday. But that driver, that guy that come off of the Xfinity series with ten wins or whatever last year going into a rookie year, needs practice. Guys like him need practice. I can’t say that strongly enough.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Of course, Earnhardt did acknowledge that organizations such as Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports will likely benefit from additional practice, as they have the resources and personnel to make the most of every extra minute.
However, he believes the competitive benefit could be significantly greater for teams that currently have less room for error.
In fact, he prefers every driver to have the same opportunity to run at the same time. “I do not like the groups. I like them all out there. I like them qualifying together, racing together, practicing together. We don’t race in groups. I don’t understand the group, but that’s not for me to decide.”
“They can show up and take some risks and some gambles on their race day setup, but can they really learn anything and try to really dial in some stuff on their car?” Earnhardt said.
That is why he is willing to accept the possibility that more practice could make the field slightly tighter at the front.
Earnhardt sees the extra track time as a chance to improve the overall quality of competition, particularly for drivers who need more experience and teams that do not have the same margin for error as NASCAR’s powerhouse organizations.
Even the financial argument does little to change his position. The teams already spend heavily on simulation and other forms of preparation, and Dale Jr. believes some of that investment could simply be shifted toward actual time on the racetrack.
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