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AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: NASCAR Hall of Famer and JR Motorsports owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Justin Allgaier, driver of the #7 BRANDT Chevrolet, winning the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 09, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. has reignited discussion this week by suggesting adding a road course to the zMAX CARS Tour schedule. The conversation began on X after a fan suggested that the series should race at Virginia International Raceway.<\/p>\n
Earnhardt did not dismiss the idea. Instead, he outlined the technical and financial challenges teams would face, noting the concept is feasible under the right circumstances. As a co-owner of both the CARS Tour and JR Motorsports<\/a>, Earnhardt\u2019s comments carry significant weight.<\/p>\n The CARS Tour plays a key role in developing drivers for NASCAR\u2019s national series, and any schedule changes would mark a major departure for a tour traditionally built around short oval tracks.<\/p>\n Dale Earnhardt outlines what a road course would require<\/p>\n Dylan suggested<\/a> the series should race at Virginia International Raceway, writing, \u201cCars tour at VIR would feed families.\u201d Earnhardt responded<\/a> directly, explaining the changes needed for the CARS Tour to race on a road course.<\/p>\n \u201cWould be awesome to find a pathway to get one single road course event on our schedule. I\u2019ve learned through the Dodge deal that, on the front end, we would need different transmissions and oil pans.\u201d<\/p>\n Road courses place different demands on cars than short ovals do. Drivers brake more often, shift gears constantly, and load the car heavily through left and right turns. Without proper equipment, failures become more likely.<\/p>\n Earnhardt also highlighted the financial implications. \u201cThere\u2019s also a lot more expense per team to consider beyond that.\u201d The CARS Tour prioritizes cost control to maintain a level playing field. Required changes could increase budgets for teams throughout the field.<\/p>\n Despite these challenges, Earnhardt did not rule out the possibility. \u201cBut it\u2019s not entirely unlikely,\u201d he added. His comments addressed the obstacles involved but confirmed that the idea is being realistically considered.<\/p>\n Why VIR fits the road course discussion<\/p>\n Virginia International Raceway is a 3.27-mile road course located in Alton, Virginia. The track includes 17 turns and significant elevation changes. It features long straightaways and technical corners that test braking, throttle control, and car setup.<\/p>\n VIR has hosted stock car racing in the past, including events for what is now the ARCA Menards Series East. Those races showed that stock-style cars can compete on the circuit. The track also features named sections, such as NASCAR Bend, reflecting its history with stock car racing.<\/p>\n Adding a road course like VIR would introduce a different style of racing to the CARS Tour. Drivers would need to manage shifting, braking zones, and varied corner types. Teams would also need to prepare cars differently than they do for short tracks<\/a>.<\/p>\n Currently, no road course event has been approved for the CARS Tour. Earnhardt\u2019s comments centered on the requirements rather than specific timelines or plans.<\/p>\n Earnhardt explains road courses after Petty\u2019s remarks<\/p>\n Earnhardt addressed the role of road courses in NASCAR as recently as June 2025, following remarks by NASCAR Hall of Famer Richard Petty after the Cup Series race in Mexico City.<\/p>\n Petty questioned the role of road courses in the sport and criticized the playoff system<\/a> that allows a driver to secure a postseason spot with a road course victory. \u201cYou\u2019re making a championship situation by winning a road course, which is not really NASCAR to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n Earnhardt responded by explaining how the sport has evolved since Petty\u2019s era. He noted that road course racing was not a priority in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, when drivers focused almost exclusively on oval tracks. Earnhardt pointed out that the modern Cup Series now expects drivers to compete across multiple disciplines.<\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s NASCAR is all-encompassing,\u201d he said, citing road courses, short tracks, and superspeedways as integral parts of the current landscape.<\/p>\n That explanation mirrors Earnhardt\u2019s recent comments about the CARS Tour, where he focused on preparation, cost, and the demands placed on teams and drivers when expanding beyond traditional short-track racing.<\/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 AVONDALE, ARIZONA – NOVEMBER 09: NASCAR Hall of Famer and JR Motorsports owner, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267865,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[446],"tags":[49,48,634,82],"class_list":["post-443397","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\/443397","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=443397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}