![\"Dale](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Dale-Jr-at-Desk-e1755040026201.jpg\")
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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. doing some race analyst for Prime Video.<\/p>\n
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he was shocked to learn NASCAR<\/a> executives viewed the Superstar Racing Experience<\/a> as a threat. The comments came during a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast<\/a>, following details revealed during the now-settled antitrust lawsuit involving NASCAR and teams including 23XI Racing.<\/p>\n Court testimony and internal text messages showed concern from NASCAR leadership about SRX drawing drivers, sponsors, and tracks. Earnhardt Jr., a NASCAR Hall of Famer and longtime industry voice, said the reaction made little sense given SRX\u2019s size, scope, and financial limits.<\/p>\n He explained how the series was designed, why it struggled to survive, and why he never believed it posed any real risk to NASCAR\u2019s business or future.<\/p>\n Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains his view of SRX<\/p>\n Dale Jr. explained that SRX co-founder Ray Evernham originally wanted to bring back something similar to the old IROC series.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he started talking about SRX and what he wanted to do, in his mind, he wanted to re-create IROC, Earnhardt said.\u201d \u201cThe initial idea of SRX as a series that would go into these local markets, and you would bring out these retired guys and some unique personalities, different forms of racing, and offer up a car to the local hero.\u201d<\/p>\n Earnhardt said he respected the idea but had little personal interest. \u201cI will say, though, I wasn\u2019t interested in it, personally. Out of the gate, I just didn\u2019t have the bandwidth to get into it. I wasn\u2019t a fan; I didn\u2019t really watch too much of it, he said<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n He stressed that his lack of interest was not meant as criticism. \u201cNo offense to anybody out there that was SRX fans or anybody that worked in the series\u2026 but I wasn\u2019t into it.\u201d<\/p>\n Why NASCAR\u2019s reaction surprised him<\/p>\n Earnhardt said the lawsuit revelations showed NASCAR leaders were worried about SRX pulling Cup drivers, sponsors, and even tracks. That concern surprised him.<\/p>\n \u201cTo hear that they were even remotely the least bit threatened is so surprising to me because they\u2019re this giant that\u2019s NASCAR, and SRX is just this little thing, Earnhardt said.\u201d \u201cThey were like 12 cars just barely getting by financially.\u201d<\/p>\n He pointed to SRX\u2019s operating costs and TV struggles as proof the series was not sustainable. \u201cThey\u2019re tearing up so much shit, they had no idea they were gonna tear up so much shit,he said.\u201d \u201cIn the end, they couldn\u2019t make the money work.\u201d<\/p>\n Earnhardt added that ratings curiosity did not equal long-term danger. \u201cSRX went away because it\u2019s expensive to operate and the viewership numbers didn\u2019t justify the TV contract,he said.\u201d<\/p>\n Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he was surprised by internal NASCAR comments suggesting the sport needed to act against SRX, questioning why executives felt threatened by the small series. \u201cI am surprised by the some of the comments I read from O\u2019Donnell and a couple people of, \u2018Man, we gotta put an end to this or we gotta go take a look at this,\u2019 Earnhardt said.\u201d \u201cWhy are we worried?\u201d<\/p>\n North Wilkesboro and missed chances<\/p>\n Earnhardt also addressed NASCAR\u2019s move to secure North Wilkesboro Speedway, which SRX had explored using. He said the track\u2019s revival did not come from NASCAR leadership.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what I do know, is that North Wilkesboro came back because of Marcus Smith, Earnhardt said.\u201d \u201cNASCAR, you know, they didn\u2019t play any role.\u201d<\/p>\n He credited state funding, local government, and longtime volunteers. \u201cThe government, our local government, and the town, a lot of volunteers, he said.\u201d \u201c20 years of volunteers, people just like even keeping the grass mowed for 20 years.\u201d<\/p>\n Earnhardt said NASCAR could have studied SRX instead of reacting defensively. \u201cI would\u2019ve looked at what they were doing\u2026 why do people like it, and can we work together? he said.\u201d<\/p>\n He noted that drivers like Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin raced mainly for fun. \u201cChase goes over there to race with his dad, Earnhardt said.\u201d \u201cThey were getting paid to go out there and do it for a little bit of money.\u201d<\/p>\n The comments offered rare insight into how NASCAR viewed even small outside ventures during a period of legal and business pressure.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tDogli Wilberforce<\/a> is a sports writer who covers NASCAR, Formula 1 and IndyCar Series for Heavy Sports. With bylines at Total Apex Sports and Last Word on Sports, Wilberforce has built a reputation for delivering timely, engaging coverage that blends sharp analysis with accessible storytelling. Wilberforce has covered everything from major football transfers to fight-night drama, bringing readers the insight and context behind the headlines. More about Dogli Wilberforce<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on NASCAR\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty Images Dale Earnhardt, Jr. doing some race analyst for Prime Video. Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295549,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-344714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344714"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344714\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}