The latest flare-up in the NASCAR community came on The Dale Jr. Download, where Dale Earnhardt Jr., TJ Majors, and producer Travis Rockhold went back and forth over Hall of Fame worthiness, tossing names into the discussion and drawing lines in the sand over who belongs and who does not.
But the real spark came when Dale Jr. floated Justin Allgaier as a future candidate if he adds another O’Reilly Auto Parts Series title to go with his 2024 run. Rockhold stepped in and threw cold water on the idea. “I don’t think Xfinity, O’Reilly, Busch, Nationwide should count,” he said, taking aim at the ladder series as a path to the Hall.
But Dale Jr. did not let that slide. “Are you serious? Why would it not? It’s the NASCAR Hall of Fame, not the NASCAR Cup. It’s under the NASCAR banner. It’s not the NASCAR Cup Hall of Fame?” he shot back, before summing it up in blunt terms as “a pretty sh*tty take.”
Fans did not take long to weigh in, and the reaction came in waves. One comment on X read, “Absolutely terrible take by Travis. And comparing NASCAR with other sports is again stupid. NASCAR IS NOT BALL AND STICK SPORT.”
Another piled on, writing, “Demolished that man’s soul live on camera,” as the clip made the rounds.
Rockhold’s effort to draw a parallel with other leagues failed to gain traction. “But Major League Baseball includes everything,” he said, only to be met with a rebuttal that cut through the noise.
Not every response came with a hammer. One fan struck a softer tone while still pushing back on the argument.“I feel awful for Travis here. Hate to spike on a good dude, but that’s not a very good take. NASCAR is so much more than Cup.”
And while it looked like the discussion ended there, it was just getting started. The debate went up to the Door Bumper Clear host, Freddie Kraft, as well, who jumped into the altercation, stopping what he was doing to record an eight-minute response.
“Had to drop by today just to say I’m appalled at our friends Travis and Tim’s. What are you guys doing? I’ve said a lot of dumb stuff on Dirty Mo platforms, Dirty Mo shows, but this may take the cake. The take that Cup-only guys should be the ones nominated for the Hall of Fame is borderline ridiculous,” Kraft said.
He doubled down in a comment on Dirty Mo Media’s X post, sharing his video, writing, “Who gets nominated is half the battle. I think we need to change the way we vote for those nominees.”
However, not everyone lined up on that side of the fence. Kenny Wallace backed Rockhold’s stance and drew a thick line between Cup and the rest.
“You mean to tell me you’re going to put a one or two-time O’Reilly Auto Parts champion or a two-time truck champion right next to Richard Petty, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. in the NASCAR Hall of Fame? You’ve lost your marbles. You really have. You cannot compare the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Truck Series to the NASCAR Hall of Fame,” Wallace said.
He went a step further, suggesting separate halls for each series instead of placing them under one roof. At the same time, he left room for outliers, pointing to Kyle Busch and his 100 wins in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series as a case that could stand on its own.
Still, Wallace held firm, even calling on Mark Martin to weigh in. “Should an O’Reilly Auto Parts driver who wins one championship in 30 races, should he stand right next to Dale Sr. with the same jacket, same ring, same trophy? No way in hell. No way.”
In the former NASCAR driver’s view, the bar should be set high. He argued that drivers from the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series or the Craftsman Truck Series would need around 40 wins in their series and three or four titles to warrant a place alongside names such as Petty, Johnson, and Earnhardt.
And if the door is opened wider, then drivers such as Kenny Schrader, Jeff Burton, and Ricky Craven would also have a case, given their runs across Cup, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and the Truck Series.
What do you think about this? Let us know your opinion on Discord or X. Don’t forget that you can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
