Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't 'give two s**ts' about NASCAR approval process, names real problem after Katherine Legge controversy

When it comes to new drivers coming to the NASCAR Cup Series the issue isn’t approvals, but something else Dale Earnhardt Jr. says. There could be a much simpler solution than making the approval process more complicated.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is blaming a lack of practice, not the approval process. A driver like Katherine Legge was given no time in the car except a short 45-minute practice prior to qualifying.

That is not enough time for a new driver. It isn’t enough time for a part-time open team to make good adjustments for a race.

On the Dale Jr. Download this week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. talked about the Legge controversy. Or lack of controversy as it were.

“The conversation around practice, right?” Earnhardt said. “Is one that hasn’t gotten enough attention until probably the last 48 hours. There was Katherine Legge at Phoenix, stirred up a lot of conversation around the approval process for drivers in NASCAR. I don’t think there is a problem or a perfect solution for the approval process. I’m sure there’s things you can change. I don’t really give two s**ts about it to be honest with you. Somebody’s going to make a decision, somebody at NASCAR is going to say yes or no and that’s that.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants more practice in NASCAR

For Dale Jr. the issue lies with not having practice. The sport isn’t saving money by not having extended practices, either.

“What I believe better serves that conversation is by talking about how practice might have helped her and the team improve the car. … The teams aren’t saving money by not practicing,” Earnhardt continued. “Let’s just say the teams are spending a million dollars less to not practicing comparable to what they were doing in 2019.

“Well, they’ve taken that million and spent it somewhere else. They didn’t save it and put it in their pocket. That isn’t what’s going on. They hired two or three more people, to the guys on Door Bumper Clear, to their point, they’ve hired more people and they’ve hired more tools to basically practice during the week. Within sim, engineering and all these other things to try to continue to get better.”

So, it seems clear. Practice is a big part of motorsports. No other series does it like NASCAR and restricts so much regarding testing and other sessions. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants the conversation to focus on that, not approvals.

“I was frustrated that practice was never brought up in that whole conversation around Katherine and Phoenix and the approval process and all of that. … Anyways I was frustrated that this conversation was not happening instantly after the Katherine Legge deal. But then it started to pick up a little momentum.”