Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs impact of NASCAR fining Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Austin Dillon for race manipulation after Martinsville

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared some interesting thoughts about NASCAR fining Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon for what they did at the Cup Series playoff race at Martinsville on Sunday. On Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt reacted to the drivers being fined for race manipulation.

“I saw Jeff Gluck comment immediately he didn’t think this was enough, and I can understand that. It’s kind of how I felt,” Earnhardt said about the Wallace, Chastain and Dillon teams being fined $100,000 and losing driver points. “…I honestly don’t know much $100,000 hurts. …I think in some cases drivers have paid their own fines, in other cases, the team has backed them up.”

Earnhardt continued, “I think it’s a lot of money, I think the points are a lot, that’s for sure. But I still stand by the idea that to really get someone’s attention, I think parking them a race is the way it goes. Some people have said to my idea of parking the drivers, ‘Oh no, no, no. The drivers were just doing what they were told.’ Yes, you’re right.

Dale Earnhardt shares more thoughts on the penalties to Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon

“Is parking the drivers a little bit misguided? Absolutely. But what it does is it will be enough of a deterrent for someone to not do it again. It’s not a death knell or a death sentence to a team. There’s no one here with a great idea or way to penalize the manufacturer or deter them. People say, ‘Oh go after the manufacturer’s points.’ I don’t know if that really matters, does it? We don’t seem to care about these 50 points for the drivers. Do we know they care about that?”

Wallace, Dillon and Chastain were not suspended, but each will lose their crew chief, spotter and team executive for the NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix on Sunday. Dillon and Chastain ran together behind Chevrolet teammate William Bryon during the final laps of the Martinsville race. Byron was looking to have a strong finish to clinch a spot in the championship race, so Dillon and Chastain were serving as blockers.

While that was going on, Wallace was seen slowing down, seemingly to allow Christopher Bell to pass him. Bell also was looking to clinch a spot in the Championship 4, and he did that as he and Byron finished in a tie for points with Bell earning the tiebreaker. However, Bell was penalized for wall riding, leading to him being eliminated from playoff contention and Byron gaining the spot.