Dale Earnhardt Jr. offers genius solution to All-Star Race

Everyone in NASCAR is talking about how to fix short track racing and the All-Star Race – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a plan. Earnhardt, a co-owner of the CARS Tour fielding Pro Late Models and Late Model Stock divisions, knows how to put on a good short track race.

While it isn’t as polished as the NASCAR Cup Series, you can’t beat a good CARS Tour race these days. Short tracks right in the heart of stock car racing country are putting on incredible racing with this series on a consistent basis. Including North Wilkesboro.

For the last two years, North Wilkesboro, reawakened from two decades of slumber, has hosted the NASCAR All-Star Race. The CARS Tour, when weather has permitted, has acted as the midweek prelude to the Truck and Cup Series.

So, how do you fix the All-Star Race? Well, here’s what Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on the Dale Jr. Download.

“I got a solution. This All-Star Race is, it’s an exhibition, no points,” Earnhardt said. “And I know that, and this will never happen, but for the last handful of years, there’s been some conversation – when the All-Star Race was at Bristol a couple years ago before Wilkesboro came back, there were some calls and conversation going around of getting Jeff Gordon, myself, and some other drivers into the All-Star Race. Jimmie, and we were going to – how much would it cost, what would we demand or all that. You know, so there was a real conversation, um, that didn’t go farther than that.

“And fans will say, you know, man, in that All-Star Race, I wish Harvick and all these other drivers could come back and run it. The way for that to happen that would be more financially reasonable is to run a cheaper car. So, there’s all kinds of different options for that, but I think the Late Model Stock is not a terrible idea.”

Of course, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has fallen in love with the Late Model Stock in recent years. He competes a handful of times each season. If only Dale Jr. was in charge of NASCAR and not the CARS Tour.

Dale Jr.: ‘Leave the f***ing Next Gen at the house’

As Earnhardt continued, he acknowledged his plan was out there. Like way out there. There is no way that NASCAR would let it happen. For one, a Late Model Stock race of just Cup drivers would kick too much ass compared to the Next Gen. Especially at North Wilkesboro.

“This is way out there in left-field, never going to happen, but for a team to – there’s plentiful teams out there that have Late Model Stock Cars, and you could field the you know, the entire All-Star, you could field cars for the entire All-Star event for all the current Cup guys,” Dale Jr. explained.

“You could basically just leave the f***ing Next Gen at the house. Everybody shows up and we race Late Model Stock cars. Then you could have a conversation around getting a Jeff Gordon or, maybe not Jeff, because he probably wouldn’t do it either way. But you could probably then turn it into the true exhibition you want it to be and more of a celebration of our sport.”

It’s not going to happen. I wish it could, but it won’t. However, Dale Jr. did mention the cost. When it comes to money, the Next Gen cost $300,000 per car. Teams have seven cars per door number. To purchase a LMS from a team and get it race-ready could cost less than $50,000 per car.

While NASCAR won’t do it, why doesn’t Dale Jr. get something together? His new buddy Cleetus McFarland could help. Put on an All-Star style race with the CARS Tour.

Unfortunately it would have to be in the NASCAR offseason to make it work for enough Cup drivers. That prize money would have to be massive, too.