What Makes Atlanta’s Racing So Damn Good Right Now

Summary

Podcast Summary: "What Makes Atlanta’s Racing So Damn Good Right Now"

The Dale Jr. Download
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM
Episode: What Makes Atlanta’s Racing So Damn Good Right Now
Release Date: July 1, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of The Dale Jr. Download, NASCAR's popular driver and broadcaster Dale Earnhardt Jr. delves into the current state of racing at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Joined by co-host TJ Majors and guest Chase Elliott, they explore the recent reconfiguration of the Atlanta track, its impact on racing dynamics, and the broader implications for NASCAR's fan engagement and scheduling.

Reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway

[03:17] Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
Dale begins by discussing the transition from the Amazon 5 race schedule to the TNT 5 race schedule, highlighting the challenges and adjustments made by the broadcasting teams. He emphasizes the necessity of reconfiguring the Atlanta track to rejuvenate fan interest and attendance, which had been waning under the old layout.

Key Points:

• Old vs. New Atlanta:
  The old Atlanta layout was beloved by drivers for its challenging, sliding turns but struggled to attract fans, leading to low ticket sales and an ailing track ownership. The reconfigured track aimed to enhance spectator experience and revitalize the venue.

• Broadcasting Adjustments:
  Dale mentions the initial difficulties faced by the broadcasting team due to unexpected weather changes, necessitating last-minute relocations of pre-race setups. Despite these hurdles, he remains optimistic about the broadcast team's potential for improvement and success moving forward.

Impact on Racing Dynamics

[05:00] Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
Dale elaborates on how the new configuration has transformed racing at Atlanta, making it more exciting and fan-friendly. He contrasts the aggressive, fuel-mileage-driven strategies at Daytona and Talladega with the more dynamic and action-packed races now seen at Atlanta.

Notable Insights:

• Unique Racing Style:
  Atlanta’s layout, featuring tighter corners and a dogleg, creates balance issues that lead to more handling challenges and strategic tire changes during cautions. This fosters unpredictable and thrilling races, distinguishing Atlanta from other superspeedways.

• Driver Adaptation:
  Drivers are now required to be more aggressive in taking runs, similar to drafting techniques but tailored to Atlanta's unique demands. This shift has introduced a younger demographic of fans and encouraged more competitive racing.

• Long-term Development:
  Dale envisions Atlanta as a catalyst for further development around the track, similar to Kansas Speedway, suggesting that enhanced amenities and infrastructure could bolster both the racing experience and local economy.

Strategic Comparisons with Other Tracks

[18:00] Chase Elliott:
Chase provides a detailed analysis of the strategic differences between Atlanta, Daytona, and Talladega. He points out that the Atlanta track's tighter corners necessitate more aggressive handling and tire strategy, which contrasts with the more straightforward fuel strategies at Daytona and Talladega.

[22:25] Chase Elliott:
He highlights how Atlanta's frequent cautions and handling issues introduce additional variables, requiring teams to make dynamic pit decisions that can influence race outcomes more significantly than at Daytona.

The NASCAR Bracket Challenge

[54:13] Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
Dale introduces the ongoing NASCAR Bracket Challenge, a bracket-style competition inspired by college basketball's March Madness. He credits Denny Hamlin for initiating the idea and praises its popularity among listeners, with over 20,000 participants signing up.

Key Discussions:

• Bracket Validity:
  Dale defends the bracket system against criticisms, emphasizing its role in adding an extra layer of excitement and engagement for fans during the "dog days of summer."

• Participant Insights:
  Chase Elliott endorses the bracket challenge as a fun and engaging activity that enhances the NASCAR viewing experience, despite some technical disagreements on track selections.

Race Highlights and Driver Tactics

[36:19] Chase Elliott:
Chase recounts key moments from the recent Atlanta race, particularly highlighting strategic maneuvers and the importance of aggressive driving to secure victories. He discusses specific driver interactions, such as his own approach to overtaking and the cooperative tactics employed by teammates to win.

[44:55] Chase Elliott & Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
A detailed debate ensues about driver decisions during the race, particularly focusing on Chase's decision-making process and its impact on teammate dynamics. Dale emphasizes the importance of individual aggression in Atlanta's racing style, while Chase defends his strategies as necessary for winning.

Notable Quotes:

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. [03:17]:
  "The reconfiguration was necessary, and the product that it puts on the racetrack is drawing a lot of interest to unlock these processes of development and excitement just around the property."

• Chase Elliott [18:02]:
  "They're going to change their stat book. Then what are they going to do?"

Future Outlook and Scheduling

[74:12] Dale Earnhardt Jr.:
The conversation shifts to future scheduling and the potential placement of Atlanta as the final race of the regular season. Dale supports the idea, highlighting the unpredictable nature of Atlanta races and their suitability for a climactic season finale.

[77:07] Chase Elliott:
Chase agrees, noting that Atlanta provides ample opportunities for unexpected outcomes and keeps the championship battle exciting until the last lap.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a mutual appreciation for the reconfigured Atlanta Motor Speedway, recognizing its role in revitalizing NASCAR racing and enhancing fan engagement. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Chase Elliott express optimism about the future of Atlanta as a premier racing venue and its potential to influence NASCAR's scheduling and competitive landscape positively.

Final Thoughts:

• The reconfiguration of Atlanta Motor Speedway has successfully transformed the racing experience, making it more exciting and engaging for both drivers and fans.
• The strategic complexities introduced by the new track layout have fostered a new era of competitive racing, distinguishing Atlanta from other superspeedways.
• The NASCAR Bracket Challenge continues to be a popular and engaging activity, adding an extra dimension of excitement to the racing season.
• Future scheduling considerations may see Atlanta taking a pivotal role in determining season outcomes, benefiting from its unique racing dynamics.

Overall, this episode provides an in-depth analysis of Atlanta's resurgence in the NASCAR scene, highlighting the intricate balance between track design, driver strategy, and fan engagement that makes its current racing season particularly thrilling.

Transcript

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey Everybody, it's Dale Jr. For another episode of the Dirty Air Dale Jr. Download with my co host TJ Majors. We got Chase Elliott calling in today. We're going to talk about Atlanta and the the bracket and all the fun stuff going on in the sport and should be a lot of fun. Got dirty Modeau ass. Junior. Let's get to it.

[TJ Majors]

Hey, Dale.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yo.

[TJ Majors]

What are we doing for lunch today? I'm getting kind of hungry.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I'm already on it. It's actually going to be delivered soon. Arby's out. Angus cheesesteak with a side of curly fries is on the way. It's the ultimate meat and cheese combination for steak lovers like you and me. It's actually the perfect balance of quarter pound of Angus steak, melted American cheese fire roasted peppers and onions with a nice garlic spread to tie it all together. It's a must try. That's gonna be our lunch sandwich.

[TJ Majors]

Sounds delicious. But there's one thing I've learned is if you're talking about food, I gotta trust you on this. You've never failed me yet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I. I have not.

[TJ Majors]

No, you've nailed it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, there you go, man. This sandwich has it all. When I first tried this, I was at the shop checking on the race cars and stuff, seeing if the guys needed anything. We ordered up some Arby's and when this Angus cheesesteak arrived, I was blown away by how much steak is actually on this thing. Definitely big enough to satisfy your hunger. Tastes like a true American classic. Everybody check out your nearest Arby's today to try this Angus cheesesteak. And if you want it delivered like we do, use code dale for $0 delivery when you order through the Arby's app. That's code D A L E on the app, available for a limited time at participating U.S. locations. While supplies last, your skin goes through a lot each day.

[Chase Elliott]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Chase Elliott]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It at your favorite store. The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. I'm still sour, man that I wasn't your best man at your wedding.

[TJ Majors]

When will you start mentally, like getting ready for the race?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Can you not tell I'm mentally ready.

[Chase Elliott]

Travis has some dumb ideas, but I agree with him on this one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It doesn't sound like you know what you're talking about.

[Chase Elliott]

You haven't scratched the surface yet there, boy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, what the do you want?

[TJ Majors]

I. I just think the last few laps it was just like stop every time.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You ain't your picky. This ain't walking in and have it your way, mother. All right. St Burger King. Travis is like, wrap this up. They don't have no fun around here. Hey everybody. Stell Jr. Back again for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download. And we're doing this show remotely and. But we got our co host back, TJ Majors and he's also remote. How you doing tj?

[Chase Elliott]

I'm good. Pretty good. Missed you last week. Well, gateway was a fun test.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

So glad to be back.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Good to have everybody back together. I've been looking forward to doing this show. Feels like it's been a while. I don't know why going into.

[TJ Majors]

I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Guess last week felt extremely long because we were. I was Transforming from the Amazon 5 race schedule to the TNT 5 race schedule starting in Atlanta. I was excited, but at the same time, you know, had never worked with most of the people that are going to be on this TNT production. And as we said many times with the Amazon 5 race schedule there was a kind of like a top layer of Amazon people and then underneath that, in the actual bulk of the cake were a lot of familiar faces from NBC. So that's, you know, that's why that, that's kind of why that worked as well as it did in such a short span. When I worked with NBC, we had 20 races and we would spend half of that time working out little kinks and never really feel like we were doing our best work or at least I felt like I wasn't doing my best work till later toward the end of the year. We got five races here to, to get this right. So pretty smart for Amazon to, to bring in some of that experience that NBC has. The weather threw us some curveballs and we had this stage that we were going to use behind pit wall we didn't get to use. We had to rush our pre race team up to a booth that we weren't planning on using and it just, I hated it because it just didn't give us a chance to get off on the right foot. We had a plan that I thought was going to be great and we didn't get to utilize it as we had prepared and expected with all that said, you know, I feel like that we've got some really great ingredients. We got all the right people in terms of talent to have a great show. And I was really happy with how the race was cut. I really am happy also with the temperament and approach of the producer. So I think we're going to make a giant leap forward. I was pretty pleased by the end of the day with what we did as a broadcast team. And I was. Obviously, the race itself was incredible. No matter where or no matter where that race was broadcast, it was a great race. But I feel like that, you know, we. We've. I've talked to a lot of people in the past 24 hours with our TNT team and. And I expect there's a. There. There will be a big chunk of a big leap forward, I think, in. In how we do the job and how well we do it. Anyways, I was glad to get one in the books for tnt. I'm ready to go on to Chicago. With all that said, let's look back on. On Atlanta just a little bit. There's an interesting sort of. And I don't think this is a big deal. Listen. Old Atlanta versus New Atlanta. I think that judging just kind of by surface level peaks into social media and things like that. I feel like that 80% or more like new Atlanta. Old Atlanta, worn out was a blast. As a driver, you loved it. You moved all over the racetrack. It was fun as hell, Cars sliding all over the place. But those races were hard to watch as a viewer and there ain't no denying it. The crowd was suffering. We weren't selling any tickets. And Marcus Smith, who owns that racetrack, was in a spiral. If he didn't make a change. There was. There wasn't much opportunity or any kind of neat idea or anything that was really going to bring that interest back to Atlanta without a big shift and a big change. So the reconfiguration was done. A lot of pushback from drivers. Oh, no, don't we love it? Of course we did. I loved it. I loved Old Atlanta. But they needed to do something to get some new energy and have people go. Let me take another look at this. I hadn't been. I haven't really paid Atlanta much attention or I hadn't really. I don't rank Atlanta very high on my list. Let me take another look. And it's produced the best, most exciting show that we have currently. Now that could change in the next year or two. Something else might be awesome or Atlanta might sort of revert back to its old self. I think that's happening, actually. But there's this sort of, you know, post race, there's this sort of conversation, I think, happening of, you know, people just will. Some people will see that race Sunday and have a problem with it, which, you know, or say that it's. It's not. Not the kind of product or kind of race that they. They want to see or they don't like what, you know, they saw all the cars crashing and half the field get knocked out and that kind of stuff. So, you know, I feel like that people have to. You know, people have to understand. I had to think about it like this, too. Like, I won't. I want Atlanta to survive. Not only do I want the track itself to work and function in nascar, but I want the area around the track to develop. You know, when you look at the success of some of these racetracks, you know, you could kind of check out the property and see Kansas. Yep, Kansas is a good one. Casinos, hotels. There's a potential project of big development that I believe is already on paper and ready to go for Atlanta if the race can return to its sort of peak, you know, peak demand and peak audience. We had a really good crowd this past race. Probably they think, they said the best crowd in the last 10 years. Those are good signs, I think. Nascar. I think that's kind of all a NASCAR thing where crowds are getting better everywhere. But that's a good sign for the future of Atlanta. So the configuration was necessary, and the product that it puts on the racetrack is drawing a lot of interest to sort of unlock these. This. This process of development and excitement just around the property to really bring all of that up, right. And make the race even more of a. Of a great experience. Imagine, like, when you go to a race, if you're camping or you're tailgating outside and you want to run down to the Arby's or something, but it's 20 minutes away, right. If you want to go grab you a breakfast sandwich or something for lunch or, you know, you forgot something or you want to add something to your tailgate. The development. The development right around or in near proximity to the racetrack makes that an easier process and a better experience, I think, for the weekender. Honestly, though, I'll say this. They did not. They did not have to change the banking or the width of the track to have this kind of racing, the kind of racing we're seeing right now at Atlanta. They probably don't know that, and they probably don't really care at this point. But if you had repaved the old Atlanta and put this package on the racetrack, we would probably see the exact same race. The racing at Atlanta is unique to itself. We could, we, we've, we've let sort of this, this younger demographic of race fans, people your age, Travis, come in to the sport. Right. And welcome you in. Right. You're a new fan. You've been a fan for how many years now. And there's a lot of other younger fans coming in and y' all come in and this is something I got to get used to as an old head. Y' all change some of the language. You know, you'll name things different. Like a long time ago, restrictor plates came into the sport and we, we called those tracks where they random restrictor plate tracks. But Atlanta got reconfigured and we started seeing a similar style of racing there. And it's not a, they don't have restrictor plates anymore. They have, you know, carburetor spacers and different things and different ways to limit the horsepower. We didn't know what to call Atlanta because it's not a restrict plate track. They don't, they don't really, those parts and pieces aren't around anymore, so we call them drafting tracks, which I hate. But it is what it is. I don't get to choose. But we don't really see the same type of racing at Daytona and Talladega that we see at Atlanta. Atlanta is its own thing and it has a little bit to do with the shape of the track and, and the, the how short it is. It has the dog leg. All those things produce a unique style of racing we see nowhere else.

[TJ Majors]

See, that's why I think calling it a drafting track is a disservice because people didn't group it with those and it's, it's not the same racing. So like, yeah, you shouldn't. We need to not do that because I think it's maybe hurting what people's perception.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It was a, I would say, I would say just one day and this happened just recently when they reconfigured Atlanta. Somebody decided, well, what are we going to call this, what we don't do? What are we drafting tracks? It's just really low hanging, fruit lazy way to sort of describe these three tracks together. And so unfortunately for Dayton Talladega, we no longer will reference them as restrictor plate tracks. That'll go away over time. But it's just a little gripe that I have because the problem is you're you know, Austin Hill's winning a lot of races at Atlanta. He's winning races at Daytona, Talladega, he should be celebrated for that. This is not a knock on Austin Hill, but now they have lumped in the stats that me and dad had from Daytona and Talladega into the stats at Atlanta of the new configuration of Atlanta and they're compiling this sort of statistical, you know, scoreboard if you will. And at one point Atlanta's going back to this old worn out, non drafting style of racing. At some point it will that surface and it's going to happen in the next two, three, four years. You're going to go off in the corner and you're not going to be able to be that close in proximity to the car behind you because of the lack of grip. You're going to have to really get further away from each other, really run in different lanes and it's going to be more similar to what we see at Kansas and other places.

[Chase Elliott]

They're going to change their stat book.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Then what are they going to do? What are they going to do? They're going to just decide at some point some random race, well, it doesn't look like drafting anymore.

[Chase Elliott]

So our, you know, it should never have been included.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Agree. Should have never.

[Chase Elliott]

Never even been included.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Never. And so they need to, they just need a way to be able to give you statistics about this driver is good at these style of tracks where you know, the racing is similar and you know, but without really altering the scoreboard, if you will. So Austin Hill is a hell of a race car driver and damn good at Daytona. Talladega in Atlanta. But yeah, I've come conflicted on what do we, you know, we've added this Atlanta race into that restrictor plate track sort of scoreboard and now eventually it's coming back out. It's not a statistic that is, you know, who decides when that happens? That's not a governing body decision. And so like what stats will go into the, you know, the drafting track pile and which stats won't, that's decided by some stat guy, I suppose or some network executive in a, in a production meeting, you know, in just, in just, you know, in just general conversation. Well, should we not call it that anymore? All right, we got enough, we got enough votes in the room. Okay, we won't, we won't call it that anymore this week and going forward that's going to be the way it goes. So anyhow, I've kind of got off on a rant here but the, you know, the way I was a little surprised that the racing we saw at Atlanta was still somewhat similar to, you know, the style of racing we used to see at Daytona, Talladega. But I think it's shifting further and further away, less and less grip, more and more abrasive of a surface which I think we'll still have awesome racing there. I think even as the surface gets worn, it'll still be captivating and wild and fun. But you know, the reason why we don't see what I would say next is why don't we see what we see all at Atlanta? This awesome race that we all loved. So many passes for the lead, just frickin lap after lap after lap. New leader. Why don't we see that at Talladega and Daytona or how come we don't see that? Boring. We see at Daytona and Talladega at Atlanta. Like how are they? Since they are apparently the same style of racing. How come at Atlanta we get what we want at Daytona, Talladega?

[Chase Elliott]

Well, it's, I mean, I know the answer to that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, what's your answer?

[Chase Elliott]

They lift. They have to lift for the corner at Atlanta. Yeah. I mean everyone's screaming. Everyone started that race screaming loose and they were lifted. You can see him backing it into the corner and having handling issues going up the track. Couple guys brushed the wall. We don't see guys brush the wall at Atlanta, you know, or Talladega.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Daytona.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah, yeah. I mean I just think there's a lot of handling issues. Like there was a point where we were debating two tires and you know, Bowlin's really wanted to do it and Brad was, Adam, he's like, no, I want four, I'm getting four. This is getting like he. Because he's in the seat and if he's, if you got drivers begging for four tires because they know, they, the feeling they feel, you know, when they're driving that's characteristic of a good, you know, they're having handling issues. So that makes it more exciting, more dicey. Like you saw guys that couldn't hold the bottom. You saw guys that, you know, obviously struggled on the top as well. But that's why you see those gaps in the middle of the corner form, you know, and stuff like that. And then the runs for him on the straightaways. Does he have enough to clear him? I mean it's just, it's fun. I mean it's exciting racing. But those drivers had their hands full, man. Like, you know, I remember Brad telling me he could barely Turn the wheel down to somebody. If they got inside him, it was hard for him to cut the wheel because he's loose. So he said that during the race and you know, hard to do.

[TJ Majors]

So what about it is from the track is making them have to lift and have that. Is it what's on the track surface or what is it the dimensions?

[Chase Elliott]

I just think it's the radius of the corners. There are tighter corners in Talladega, obviously, so you have to get under that corner. You can't make it wide open.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

There are tighter corners at Atlanta. You misspoke. Start using your head. Tj.

[Chase Elliott]

My bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm all confused.

[Chase Elliott]

Sorry.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Fuse that everybody. You know, it is that it is the fact that the tight, the tighter radius cornered Atlanta creates some balance issues or challenges amongst the way the cars feel and drive. And the other thing too is fuel. Like for some reason, you know, the team's race at Daytona and Talladega to minimize the time it takes them to put fuel in the car. You don't have the balance issues that TJ's talking about. So we don't have to. We don't feel like it's absolutely necessary to change tires every time the caution comes out because we're not screaming to get new tires. At Daytona and Talladega, there's no real bad handling issues that aren't. You know, there is some spots you can get your car in that are bad. That's all aero. The next lap you'll go through there and be fine because the tire is not even anywhere near wearing out. So. But even if you did need tires, it still takes so long to fuel the car. Fueling takes far longer than changing the four tires. So fueling is the liability. So if fueling is a liability to winning, you have to limit how much fueling you do toward the end of the race so that your guys on pit road the least amount in that final stop so that then you can be up toward the front. And so you race the race by packing the fuel in the end of the car early. And so when you leave pit road, you don't need to. You don't need to come back down and. Or you can leave pit road sooner than the other guy who has to add the fuel or add more fuel at the end of the race. So, you know, that's how they run Daytona, Talladega, that's. They've scienced it out. You know, props to the teams and crew chiefs and engineers and everybody for understanding the best way to get the best result in those Two races. And so I still think that we need to look at ways to change or eliminate that strategy at Daytona and Talladega. I think the team, the teams will be fine with it, but they have no choice but to use what is best to win the race. But I think if you could eliminate the fuel mileage racing at Daytona, Talladega, that teams would totally embrace that. And I don't know. I don't know. There's a million ways to do that.

[Chase Elliott]

But we were still working on fuel at Atlanta. But the, the amount of natural cautions and the amount of handling issues drivers make, their teams are making different decisions. So you have a lot more variables in there as well.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

For sure. Yeah. I mean, if that race played out to where the teams felt like it could go caution free, absolutely. They're, they're starting to think about how to be the one that has, is in the best situation fuel wise. But there was. And when that, if that ever gets, if, if Atlanta ever does sort of morph into this race where the big crashes are less common and we're having longer green flag runs, then yes, teams are going to start going, oh yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

We were there when it first. We were already there when we first started racing there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

And then we've getting to me, we're getting further away from it because of the handling, because of the track, you know, because of the tires wearing out more and handling issues becoming more, more of an issue. We're getting further away from the, the natural. Okay, we gotta run. We're gonna put under green here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Somebody was arguing on social media that we should not race at Daytona, Talladega twice a year because of the product on the racetrack. And my opinion to that would be we make a lot of mistakes by leaving racetracks because the racing isn't good. And that is the wrong approach. You should make the racing better, not leave the track, especially those locations. Them two tracks right there are quite unique and very historic. So I would propose actually making the racing so good that you're glad you go there twice a year, not stop going to the racetrack because the product isn't good, it's not the racetrack's fault. And I would say the same thing about Richmond. You know, there was also a conversation on social media about the schedule and how it's obviously in flux right now and a lot of rumors around where we may go next year. We've talked about it on this show. San Diego is a street course. There's, you know, is absolutely on the table. Where does, where do we go? Back to Mexico? Where would it be on the schedule? Is there, Is the race up in Canada and Montreal still a possibility? Do we, you know, there. We likely don't go back to Chicago as a street course and does that mean we go back to Chicago land? Could you go back to Chicagoland? I know that Josevar was goofing around over there the other day taking pictures and had everybody thinking, even me, that maybe NASCAR had him over there for a purpose. But I think he honestly was just curious. So with that, all said, do you take Atlanta and put it as the last race of the regular season? I know that, you know, I don't think that means you take Daytona and put it where Atlanta is. We've already went through this where the city of Daytona. So the Daytona race was the July 4th event. Once it was moved away, the city of Daytona went, man, we like this. We don't need it to go back to that, you know, we don't need it to go back to the way it was ever again. Because now we have two holidays. We have July 4th when we get a lot of people because it's July 4th, then we have the race later where a lot of people come into town. We don't need them on the same date. So the city loves how things are now. So I don't know that you moved Daytona back to July around the 4th, but could Daytona just move to another part of the year? I think absolutely it could. And, and having Atlanta is the final race of the regular season to me sounds like a no brainer. What do you think?

[Chase Elliott]

I don't know. Why, man, Atlanta. Oh, gosh, man, that is a. I mean, I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Between Daytona or Atlanta, what would you pick? Why would you pick Daytona?

[Chase Elliott]

Because Atlanta, at least you can. At least you got a chance to really. I mean, yeah, I like Atlanta because you got a chance to get away from others a little bit and you can kind of control your own destiny a little bit more at Atlanta. Even though I know the end of the race ended up with, with teammates helping each other. But it wasn't like, I don't know, it's still, it's still really hard for me because if you look at the last, some of the Atlanta races before, like if that big wreck doesn't happen, you know, do those Penske cars control the top three lane or top two lines like they did, you know, before?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let me ask you this too, T.J. that's a great point. So if Atlanta is the final race of the regular season, are drivers, do drivers race differently? The Drivers race scared. Do they we not get the action that we've gotten at Atlanta?

[Chase Elliott]

No. Honestly, I feel like. I feel like you're going to have. They're going to race. There's going to be a little bit more give and take because nobody wants to be the guy that takes out a championship guy. I don't think you ever want to be that guy. But also, man, Atlanta opens the door for a lot of guys to have good runs and put themselves in position. You see, Zane Smith was running up front, taking big runs that he would get. I thought Ty Dillon, you know, Travis's enemy there, had a really good, solid start. He was running up in the top 10 almost all race. You know, there's guys that the. You know, that can run up front more at Atlanta still. But, you know, the. Like, it always happens, though. The cream kind of rises the top at the end of the races there and. But I do. If I had to pick one, I think Atlanta is doable. I just like the handling issue. Like, you have a chance to get your car better.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

To get away from other cars. So. And you have the excitement of the draft with the big run still. But, you know, let me ask you this, though. If this race ends, say, you know, when Brad got the lead with four or five to go, nobody could get.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

A run on him.

[Chase Elliott]

If Alex Bowman doesn't show up and there's no change for the lead at the end of that race because they start racing for second, which happens at plate races a lot. The guy gets out front, second and third get to racing side by side, nobody can get through. Is this race nearly as exciting if Chase Elliott doesn't get pushed to the lead, you know, at the end? Is it. If Brad leads the last five laps and there's no lead change, is it exciting still?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, but I don't see that happening at Atlanta.

[TJ Majors]

What's the odds of that?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It ain't no, man. Ain't gonna happen.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, two guys could have easily got side by side to me at the end of that race and each other.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I mean, I just haven't. I'm not seeing the logic because the races at Atlanta have either been three wide across the finish line or absolutely having a pass on the last lap. I mean, until you give me a race at Atlanta where I see a car not get challenged with three laps to go.

[Chase Elliott]

Well, but you sat in the beginning of this show and said, the racetrack's changing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, it's. It's not going yet. I said to.

[Chase Elliott]

Not going to be Able to have three wide at the line. There's no way. I don't, I don't think you could have had a three wide finish on Saturday night. The way those cars were handling in the way they needed a racetrack.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I agree with you.

[Chase Elliott]

So I think it's going to keep trending that direction.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I agree with you. But I mean it ain't there yet. You could put it. I'm just saying for next year. Would you put it there to final race of the year or the final race of the regular season? I think you could do it.

[Chase Elliott]

I would, I would definitely take it for next year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And I think you're to your point. As it evolves, it doesn't need to stay there because yes, the racing is going to continue to change and the gaps between the cars are going to get bigger because of the handling. But that's still another minimum two years, probably four years down the road. I was told when I mentioned to Steve Latart, man, this place has changed. We started the race and I was like, steve, we might be in for a little different of a show. It ended up being just what we expected. But at first I was like, I wonder if this thing's a little slicker than we think. We started hearing about all the drivers complaining about the balance. And I'm like, I was picking up on that. And I'm like, dude, this thing might be a little different than what everybody's expecting, so let's be ready for that. But then, you know, toward the end of the stage, you know, they got all on top of each other and could race just fine without really having big problems balance wise. And it was not a problem, no issue. Right. But you could start to see some of the old Atlanta kind of creeping back in. But I still. And I said to Steve, I was like, man, this place is going to really be back to its old self pretty soon. And he said, now they've got a lot of downforce still to put back into these cars. So he said they've got a. There. There's still a long way they can go to get comfort in the car and get them keep them tight and pack racy before old, old Atlanta comes back. Right.

[Chase Elliott]

I don't think, I don't think they're as far away as what he says they are. I don't. I think everybody. I think a lot more going for handling. Um, it's been going that way and these teams are usually pretty up on that stuff. I think people are using more downforce than what, what Steve Thinks they're not trimmed out? I don't, I don't think so anyway. I don't think they're as trimmed out as, as you could be. And I do see old little bit of old Atlanta coming a little bit here. I mean, we'll never be out of the throttle like we used to be at the old Atlanta, but the way they have to drive the cars and these drivers are getting smarter and, and figuring it out where the runs. Like we're managing the gaps differently in your mirror because you're, you're trying to prevent the run on the straightaway, the next lap. So you might, you know, you're just managing stuff differently. As these races go on, the drivers are learning and adjusting as the race goes.

[TJ Majors]

Hey, T.J. i like that phone. Is it new?

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah, I got, got this awesome new phone. I've recently joined the consumer cellular family and they hooked me up with a great phone and great service.

[TJ Majors]

You're telling me that your phone actually works at the racetracks?

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah, my phone has been excellent at the racetracks. And hon, you can't beat the consumer cellular service and the offers they have going right now.

[TJ Majors]

I mean, that's cool, but I'm assuming that it's probably kind of expensive, right?

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah, that's funny. Consumer cellular is a steal of a deal. I don't know why more people have not made this switch. Nationwide service, fraction of the price. The 2 for 60 plan, no long term contract. I mean, it's awesome.

[TJ Majors]

All right, I'm in. So how do I get this deal?

[Chase Elliott]

They basically have an elite pit crew on standby waiting for you to call and make the switch. It's 100% US based customer service takes around 20 minutes and it'll be one of the best decisions you ever make. And now it couldn't be a better time to switch a consumer Cellular and get $25 off with code DJD25. That's DJD25 for 25 off. When you switch consumer cellular, go to consumercellular.com DJD and use promo code DJD25.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Whether you've got one shelf or a whole wall dedicated to NASCAR diecast, there's always room for more. And nobody brings the excitement to the track and to your collection like Lionel Racing, the official die cast of nascar. From the legendary rides like the three good wrench car to the paint schemes of today's hottest stars like Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain, Lionel racing die cast are built for true fans. Every car is authentically detailed and most are available in both 124 and 164 scales. Whether you're after race wins, special finishes, autographed pieces, or the elite premier editions, Lionel has you covered. And right now, for a limited time, fans of the Dale Jr. Download can get free US shipping on their next order at Lionel Racing.com just use the promo code DJD25. That's promo code DJD25LIONEL RACING.COM so Reddick had an opportunity, had a big run down the front straightaway and chose to bounce off the back bumper. Brad, because Laowski, who is leading, I really feel like Reddick gets out of the car, says, man, I didn't make good decisions. I have to believe that that's the one he's talking about, where if you have a run, especially in this race with the way this car is, you have to take it. He thought, I'm going to assume that he thought, oh, I'm in the, I'm in the right spot being behind Brad. Well, he is, he is in the right spot being behind Brad if it's the very last lap. But he thought, man, I'm going to stay right here and hold this position. That's unrealistic because the next guy is coming by the next. You know, everybody that got runs is taking them. No one's going to be idle and let Redick sort of wait for his turn, you know, wait for this last lap to happen so where he can make his final move. He's coming down the front straightaway and he. And I'm like, I'm. I'm getting ready to call it. Reddick to the inside and he run in the back of him. And I was like, oh, no, yeah, he messed up.

[Chase Elliott]

See, I don't, I don't think he messed up. I don't think he had enough. I don't think he had enough to clear through one and two. If that was turn three, I think he could have taken it, but he didn't have somebody. Chase got to him too late on the straightaway to give him enough of a run to clear into one. Chase, when Chase made his passes into one, he had immediate help off of four and had like on the white flag lap, Chase had, was getting pushed three quarters away down the straightaway. Chase got to the back of Redick right at the flag center after. And Chase has to let him go as soon as they come out of the second dog leg to get down to the corner. And I don't think, I just don't think. Tyler, if that was turn three, I think he can do it. Because you can wash the guy up easier in three and four in turn one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't understand what you mean. I still think he has to take the run.

[TJ Majors]

You gotta, you gotta try it, right?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, if he doesn't, he doesn't take the run. And then he bounced off the back bumper of Brad. His car has lost all the momentum. He's now vulnerable to everyone behind him, which he was gobbled up and someone else drove around him and went up when won the race. So does he pass and clear? Maybe, maybe not. But he has to take the run. You have to. And, and you know, he can run Brad up the racetrack side, draft his best down the back straightaway, hope to get saved if he's not clear and he's stuck on the inside. Hope that he gets saved down the back straightaway or is still in a position into turn three to be battling up front. I know it's not a given TJ that the pass clears and he any and he's going to go on and win the race. But I think that he has a better chance at winning the race by taking that run instead of just deciding, I think I'll. I'll just push Brad and stay in second. Chase Elliott, with a lot of help from his teammate Bowman was able to. To get the win. Big win for Chase in Georgia. Got a tweet from Atlanta Braves of congratulations. That's a big deal. Yeah. You know, you know, had that had to make Chase feel pretty good. The. The pool hall rang the siren. Now the pool. Yeah, the pool hall will tell you that it's a siren. Now I'm, I want to be educated on this because I would always have called it the siren. Like. Yeah, you know, you ring, you know, the siren at the, at the fire department or whatever. Right. Or the siren of the police car. Whatever. Right. It's a siren. What's. What is the actual proper. I never even heard of a siren. Where does that even come from? But they're, they're adamant that you call it a siren. But either way, the, you know, I think you know, Alex Bowman. Steve pointed this out at the end of the race. Alex had a real shot at winning the race, but it got put. He got taken three wide by Chase Elliott down the front straight away. Chase, we'll overlook that Chase took every run, even against his teammates.

[Chase Elliott]

And I'm imagine if Alex took a run at Chase on 58 there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He should have.

[Chase Elliott]

We never got the opportunity to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, he didn't. So this is the thing, man. I've when that. That the racing at Atlanta was. I think I would be good at that. Because you can get away with being selfish and not get in trouble, not get score, you know, not get, you know, nobody cussing at you at the end of the race. Your owner's not mad at you. Your other, you know, the other crew chiefs and other. Other teammates aren't mad at you. Because to be good at Atlanta in the way. The style. The style of the racing, you have to be selfish. You have to make it about you. You have to take every run, even against your teammates. You have to do everything you can to be that leading teammate. Because if it comes down to it and we're on the last lap and the 48's in front of the 9, then the 9's kind of in a position where he kind of has to help the 48. Same way that 17 of Chris Buescher was in that sort of the same spot with Brad late in the race, he's like, you know, if it's not Brad Keselowski in front of him, he's probably not helping him. He's probably taking some of these runs to go around him, but he's sitting there going, I can't do this to my teammate owner. And so, you know, it's a tough spot to be in. I think Alex, you know, Chase is like, you know, I like Alex, but, yeah, that won't go in this damn race. And that's what he thought since the green flag dropped and you could see him, he took Alex 3 wide more than once in that race.

[Chase Elliott]

So let me ask you this. What's Alex's best chance to win that race on the white flag lap, in your opinion?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He doesn't have one.

[Chase Elliott]

What's the best. Like, if something were to happen, what can he do to maybe create a situation that he can win the race?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Chase is pushed clear, and I guess if. Disregard the fact that Chase is his teammate, I think his best shot would have been able to maybe push the nine up there and get them. Get those guys side beside me and the six. I'm sorry, the six. So he could push. Push Brad up there and maybe they get, you know, the. Brad. Brad and the nine get side by side and choke each other down because they're gonna side out of each other.

[Chase Elliott]

Oh, they're gonna race into three hard, and, you know, you don't know what's gonna happen there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. And that's. That's the 48 chance.

[Chase Elliott]

But, like, okay, if you're talking about these drivers being selfish if that's Alex's best chance, why doesn't he be selfish? I mean, Chase was selfish when he passed him.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He wasn't. He's not selfish.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, to me, I mean, I get why he did it, but like, to me, if I want to win that race, I'm going to shove the car in front of me and try to make. Try to get that put. I'm going to try to create a bad situation in front of me. So Alex sacrificed his. Alex pretty much sacrificed all his chances of winning the race off a two when he pulled out to pass.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's right.

[Chase Elliott]

So. But I don't know if Alex gets the same. I don't know if Alice gets the same treatment.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're. You're probably right. I don't know if he does either. But Alex also is in a tough spot.

[Chase Elliott]

He is. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Career wise. He needs, you know, he. If he had won four races this year, maybe he does that. He pushes that six forward and says, that's my best shot. I'm gonna go give you another win. But he's got a. You know, he's got to go. He's got to think about, all right, what kind of a position am I in long term?

[Chase Elliott]

So what? Get what. What boosts Alex up the charts? Does a win boost Alex up the chart or pushing a teammate to a win up the chart? What's. What's more important for Alex?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I think you got to ask yourself which one's more probable? The chance that I push this six into a situation where he battles the nine and I win. That's. That's a high risk shot.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah. I think it's probably 80 to 90% chance that Brad clears Chase with a push.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

But there's. There's also that 1 out of 10 that they're an Alex. It was a race.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. But it was a 100% chance that he would get the attaboy for helping Chase win the race. That's.

[TJ Majors]

That's the other thing is right now.

[Chase Elliott]

Does attaboy get you a contract?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay.

[TJ Majors]

But Rick Hendricks play. How Rick Hendrick views Alex Bowman and how we view him is probably different. And he's going, I've got a driver here that does what I need for my franchise. The sponsors love him. He does everything the right way. I'm going to treat him a little different than, like me as an owner. I'm going, I want you to go win. But I'm not Rick Hendrick, not at.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The risk of hurting us both.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

If he pushes the six to victory. Oh, boy. He's basically Alex. Yeah, he's basically chiseled his name on the tombstone. I, you know, so I can't blame Alex for being the way he was at the end of that race. And honestly, man, if I'm his owner, I say, look, you did the right thing. I know you want to win races, but in that scenario, I want you to help us win. And he did. And so he did the right thing. I, I think that it's just such a tough spot to be in because Chase can be Chase Chase and go out there and be selfish and do what he wants for himself and he should. Alex isn't really afforded that same leeway because he's not won enough races to. Or a championship for.

[Chase Elliott]

Still a little bit unfair.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They've won the same amount of races honestly, kind of in the last couple of years. But Chase is most popular driver and also the champion. And he's got long term equity built up in that team. Alex does too.

[Chase Elliott]

But Alex is a good teammate.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, but it's no different than Busher and Brad in that one scenario. You know, late in the race where Busher was kind of like, crap, I don't want to be in this spot, but here I am. So I kind of got to help Brad. And that's.

[Chase Elliott]

Oh, I mean, that's not. No back. We walked out Daytona. Brad pushed Chris to victory at Daytona a few couple years ago.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I hear you. And what, what Chris did in that moment is absolutely part of why Brad was in position to win the race late. But where was Chris at? That's just the kind of tough part about this style of racing is when you. That's why I was like, hey, man, at the end of the race, you got to be the lead teammate. You got to be Brad or Chase. You can't be Alex or Chris. You got to find like if, if you're Alex and Chris and it's 10 to go, you should be looking around going, how in the hell do I get in front of the six or the nine? Because that's my only shot to win. Because I need to be in front of those guys so that they're forced to be the teammate. Yes, me. And that was the way it was at dei, man. We'd be running those races and, you know, the 15 would be leading at some points or I would be leading at some points. But we kind of both knew like when we get inside of 20 to go, I don't want to be pushing him because that means I'm probably got to stay. I got. Got to stay committed to it.

[Chase Elliott]

So I got a question. If Chase. If the winner is not Chase and the winner is whoever, pick any, any other car out there. Did the fans get robbed of a. Of a solid. Of a finish, you know, maybe a better finish they deserved in the three now?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't think so.

[Chase Elliott]

Because if it's any other car than Bowman behind the six, he pushes him and there's. We're all. We have this high pressure moment in the three. Who's going to do what? Are they going to make it out? We never got opportunity.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Both are great races. I'm not going to complain in a race. In a world where it was a good race. Yeah. I still think it gets a 90 percenter from. From Jeff Gluck either way.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, it was definitely.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you trying to say that the, The. The good race poll was influenced by the winner?

[TJ Majors]

No, never.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah. Why would it ever do that?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Y' all. Really. So.

[Chase Elliott]

Yes, it's absolutely influenced by the winner.

[TJ Majors]

Go see when Denny wins, it's. It's less than if Chase wins.

[Chase Elliott]

Well, that's natural.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I mean, it's Denny, but it can.

[TJ Majors]

That's what I'm saying, though. It goes both ways.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, it. Yeah. I mean, Chase or Chase. Or I would say if Chase wins, I could put 12 other drivers in Winter Circle and the poll would be the same.

[Chase Elliott]

No, absolutely not.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. No way, man. I've heard that the gaps closed a little bit on what in, like where Chase is and where other drivers are.

[TJ Majors]

Hit at 1 in 44 races. I don't know. Like, it's been a while.

[Chase Elliott]

A little bit.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But.

[Chase Elliott]

Dude, do you hear the crowd?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, no, no.

[Chase Elliott]

When they listen to driver intros, I mean, good lord. The place goes crazy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That's his home track, TJ and hence.

[Chase Elliott]

Why it's over 90% too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. You think that was all Atlanta people voting?

[Chase Elliott]

I think it had. I think it has a lot to do with it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't think it's that big of an influence as you think.

[Chase Elliott]

I think Chase Elliott's name on anything's a big influence.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Not like it was six years ago.

[Chase Elliott]

Like it was six years ago. It was a good race. But I do think it. I do think the poll is aided wins the race.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Like by the. Didn't they just come out with a thing? It says Larson sold more souvenirs this year. Or he's higher. He's like number one. He's number one on the list. They put out a list of souvenir sales and I think dad's eighth and I'm ninth and Justin Allgaier seventh. It was funny. NASCAR put themselves at number one because they basically claim to be on every piece of every item sold. So they're, they're like, well, we're number one because we're on every item. But Chase was two.

[TJ Majors]

So like let's Kyle's one. Chase is too on the okay. It's not like he's 10th.

[Chase Elliott]

So I'm just saying that says is that if Kyle Larson wins the race, it's going to be a high percentage poll that way as well.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You think so?

[Chase Elliott]

I think if Joey Logano wins that race, it's probably low 80s, high 70s now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, Joey's not hated, but he's not exactly the most popular guy.

[Chase Elliott]

I think you put him in him and Denny in the same bracket.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes, I would too. But I, I, I still say that I could take Chase out of victory lane and put 10, 12 other guys in Victor Lane and I get a 90 percenter.

[Chase Elliott]

I don't know if it's that many. I think I would not five.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I would not put logano and Denny in that 12.

[Chase Elliott]

No, of course. I think Chase and you know, like the higher they are on the, the souvenir sales, the popular they are, the higher that poll is going to be, in my opinion. Whether it's 5%, 7%, 10%, I don't know. But I do think it, I'd say.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I would say a large center Chase win influences the good race poll by less than 5%.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, I really don't know what it might be 5, it might be 4, it might be 11. I don't know. But I know it influences it.

[TJ Majors]

I think five is a fair number.

[Chase Elliott]

Well, that's more than he was willing to admit a few minutes ago because he didn't think it influenced it at all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Five or less.

[Chase Elliott]

I go five, five or more.

[TJ Majors]

Tj when you saw that run coming and Brad didn't have a Ford, what, what's going through your mind there is basically he's done for.

[Chase Elliott]

I knew Chase's run when I saw them get together off of well, when I saw the 48 clear the 45 and 4, I was like, that's not what we need.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

And they got that runs unstoppable. I mean, you couldn't stop it. But the best thing you can do at that point is regroup and try to get a run for three.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Regroup and get your ready for Chicago.

[Chase Elliott]

That's pretty much it. Yeah. I mean, whenever I saw Bowman coming up behind Brad, I'm like, yeah, I even told Brad on the radio he's not going to push you. And like, a couple seconds later, I'm like, oh, inside, of course. Like, I think I might even have said something like that. But, I mean, I don't know. When I look back there and saw the 40, I'm like, anybody. But if it would have been Reddick behind us, Reddick would absolutely shove Brad as good as he could have. And that was our chance right there. But, man, that's just part of how things time out. Sometimes you're leading the race and cautions come out and you get the win. Sometimes they get to racing behind you, and you don't even get. You don't even get a shot at someone passing you. And sometimes they get runs the timeout just right and it works out.

[TJ Majors]

Hey, Dale.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yo.

[TJ Majors]

What are we doing for lunch today? I'm getting kind of hungry.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I'm already on it. It's actually going to be delivered soon. Arby's Angus cheesesteak with a side of curly fries is on the way. It's the ultimate meat and cheese combination for steak lovers like you and me. It's actually the perfect balance of quarter pound of Angus steak, melted American cheese fire roasted peppers and onions with a nice garlic spread to tie it all together. It's a must try. That's going to be our lunch sandwich.

[TJ Majors]

Sounds delicious. But there's one thing I've learned is if you're talking about food, I got to trust you on this. You've never failed me yet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I have not?

[TJ Majors]

No.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You've nailed it. Well, there you go. Man, this sandwich has it all. When I first tried this, I was at the shop checking on the race cars and stuff, seeing if the guys need anything. We ordered up some Arby's, and when this Angus cheesesteak arrived, I was blown away by how much steak is actually on this thing. Definitely big enough to satisfy your hunger. Tastes like a true American classic. Everybody check out your nearest Arby's today to try this Angus cheesesteak. And if you want it delivered like we do, use code dale for $0 delivery when you order through the Arby's app. That's code D A L E on the app, available for a limited time at participating US locations while supplies last.

[TJ Majors]

This is an ad by BetterHelp. Workplace stress is one of the top causes of declining mental health. With 61% of the global workforce experiencing high stress, most of us can't wave Goodbye to work. But we can start small with the focus on wellness. Therapy can help you navigate whatever challenges the workday or any day might bring. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it works with an app store rating of 4.9 out of 5 based on over 1.7 million client reviews. It's convenient, too. You can join a session with the click of a button, helping you fit therapy into your busy life, plus switch therapists at any time. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Our listeners get 10% off their first [e-mail] dalejr that's betterhelp.com dalejr let's talk about the bracket.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Lot of a lot's been made of this bracket.

[Chase Elliott]

Travis's favorite driver got knocked out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Denny got knocked out. So there are 16 drivers remaining in the bracket. Chase Elliott is the only driver left in the bracket with a win.

[TJ Majors]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, let's, let's, let's go through these names. Dylan, Keselowski. Bowman. Bubba, Wallace. Nemechek. Elliott Jones, Stenhouse, Gragson, Priest. Josevar. Reddick. Almondinger, Gibbs. What a group. Busher. Zane.

[TJ Majors]

Murderers.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Busher. So if you looked at the names. Yes. See, I came in here with the attitude that the bracket was fine, the races, where the races are was fine. But I can look at this list of names and the matchups for Chicago and go, okay, maybe Atlanta wasn't the best idea. Well, out of first off, forget. Let's not talk about Atlanta just yet.

[Chase Elliott]

Why is it not a good idea, though?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, let's wait. I'm gonna let you do this.

[Chase Elliott]

Ah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let you get there. I know. Hang on to it. Let's start. Let's start just with the bracket alone, tj. There's people out there that think the bracket's stupid.

[Chase Elliott]

They don't have to follow it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, but, I mean, why would you even. Why would you. I don't understand why you could. Why you would go, oh, this is dumb. We ain't, you know, we ain't college basketball.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, some people are die hards and they don't like it, but we hate fun.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We did this. We created this bracket. Danny Hamlin. Come on, Danny Bros. Yeah, Give Danny some credit.

[Chase Elliott]

Give Danny some credit.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Denny Hamlin created this idea and said, man, this will be fun. We do something and we did it. We put it on A website. All of our. All of the people that follow Dirty Mo Media. We had like 20,000 people sign up do it.

[TJ Majors]

Did it for two years.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's fun as hell.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, you know what? NASCAR took the idea carbon copy and well, carbon copy enough that I think Denny ought to be like, hey, man. Yeah. But I mean, they already in court. Why not just kind of tactic.

[Chase Elliott]

Even my bracket bridge harder.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Tack that one on to the end.

[Chase Elliott]

Trade your bracket for a charter.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So the. The bracket's cool. I mean, if you don't. If you're not into it, just don't, you know, just don't even say don't.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah. You don't have to follow it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

Who cares?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just.

[Chase Elliott]

It doesn't change your life.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just enjoy what you enjoy about racing NASCAR and don't worry about it. But it's fun. It's. I think it's fun as hell. And so like me and Steve and Adam and the guys in the booth, everybody, we're all genuinely like, yeah, man, I've made the right decision ever. I picked Busher. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. He's still alive. And he's going up against Zane Smith in Chicago. Man, I feel pretty good about that one. And so. And then I assume he's going to have to go up against one of the two. Gibbs and Almondinger.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And then that gets a little tougher for me at Sonoma, but I still feel pretty good about it because Busher's ran well there. This is fun. We need a little something right here in the dog days of summer that just.

[Chase Elliott]

Extra.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's extra. Here's another little side game.

[TJ Majors]

Here's another thing, Dale, is if SVG runs away with Chicago, you have all these matchups of drivers throughout the field that there's something to talk about too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It is going to be fun. I hope NASCAR continues to do it. It's a million bucks, which is a lot of money. It's life changing for a lot of drivers in the. A guy like Denny Hamlin or somebody like that might not feel like it is a. Is a. You know, it's still a cool prize, but you know, for most of the.

[Chase Elliott]

Drivers, say they were going to divvy it up and stuff and give back and stuff. So.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, look, for most of the drivers, it's. It's a big deal for sure. And it's been fun listening to some of them actually subscribe.

[Chase Elliott]

Crash.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Actually talk about how much they're enjoying it.

[TJ Majors]

So that's why I like Atlanta as.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The start for this Actually, that's another question. Like, the tracks, I don't really give, you know, and it. Listen, the, the whole thing is only for enjoyment and entertainment. This is absolutely not anything that needs to be too serious. Like, we don't need to worry about, like, oh, man, what track should be in it. Oh, this is a bad idea. Yes. Everybody's bracket got blown to mine, too. I lost. I didn't, you know, I didn't get a lot of things right. My guys, my overall, still alive. That's really all that matters, I think, at this point. So I kind of like the fact that the bracket isn't. I mean, that the races are that unpredictable.

[Chase Elliott]

Not easy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They're not easy. So easy.

[Chase Elliott]

Just like the tournament in college, like the NCA NCAA tournament. It's not easy. Yeah, so there's upsets and I like, I think Atlanta is perfect for it because Atlanta gives the opportunity for upsets.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey, it's Dale Jr. Did you know that we've got brand new merch from our Star Stripes and Beers collection available now? We've got tanks, tees, beach towels and more. Just in time for summer. Check it all [e-mail] all right, we got Chase Elliott here, the winner in Atlanta. Chase, awesome race. Great. You know, great finish, great, great energy, great excitement. Everybody seemed to really enjoy it. I want to ask you, you know, from the start of the green flag, I don't know what it was, man, but it looked like you were just taking every run you could take. You put everybody three wide several times down the front straightaway. I wouldn't. I just. I don't know, man. I mean, I know you can't really do those kind of things at any other racetrack, even Daytona and Talladega, and you're kind of restricted on how hard you can run at Daytona. Talladega. But what was the mindset going into that race? Because it looked like you were just on attack all night long.

[Travis]

Yeah, I mean, I feel like I've, I feel like I've tried to be that way at more than just Atlanta. I, I think that, you know, the tough part is, and, you know, something that I definitely struggle with in this car is sometimes even at Daytona and Talladega, not taking the run is the smartest play that you can make. And I thought that that was the cool thing about Atlanta was it wasn't a death sentence to go three wide bottom and it not work. Like, okay, you know, I'll, I'll fall back in line here in a minute and I'll get another shot at it. And if it works, then great, you got two for one. But that's just not normally the case. Even at some of the mile and a half or two mile tracks that we go to, you know, it doesn't always work. It looks pretty and sexy when you go three wide bottom, you know, getting into one on a restart. But okay, guess what? Nobody goes with you. And now you've lost four rows and you look like an idiot. You know, so it's, I think probably more a product of just the way the racetrack was racing and the fact that you, you know, you weren't signing yourself up for a death sentence if, you know, if that one of those big, you know, bold moves didn't totally go your way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You seemed a bit surprised when you got out of the car that you were able to pull it off. Was there a moment, I guess, in the last five laps where you thought, crap, I'm not in the right spot?

[Travis]

Oh, for sure. I mean, eighth with eighth with what, seven to go or. Yeah, or whatever it was. I mean, I was doing the math and it wasn't quite mathing at that juncture. And then also too, I was looking around and hell, I don't think there was anybody in the top 15 that had won a race.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Travis]

So I'm like, boy, this we're getting down. You know, we're also not mathing there either. We're going to run out of spots. So, yeah, just somehow, some way, you know, I, I think it was almost kind of a, A blessing just because you could not hold the lead. I mean, I, I don't care who you were, you, you could not hold the lead. I tried every which way I knew how to try to maintain and control lanes and you might can do it, but I, I certainly couldn't figure it out. So I think just the runs timed up perfect. You know, got two for one there, getting into one and, you know, Alex gave me a couple great shoves. One by the 45 and then, you know, obviously one by Brad. They're getting into, you know, getting into one and yeah, fortunately it was good enough.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The. What would. The, what has the conversation with Alex been since the race is over?

[Travis]

Yeah, you know, obviously I appreciate his respect in those situations, but honestly, very normal. I feel like Alex and I have always shared a lot of respect on the racetrack and moments where, you know, teammates become crucial, you know, whether the shoe's on the other foot or if it's on my side. But yeah, I think as, you know, as a Racer, you log those things, you document those things. And when people show you a sign of respect on the racetrack, honestly, no words need to be said. I understand the positioning, and I recognize it, appreciate it, and intend to make sure I do my part when the opportunity presents itself. And it will. It will, for sure.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know that a lot of drivers, yourself included, weren't going to have a second thought about the. The bracket challenge, especially going into a track like Atlanta.

[Travis]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Now. Now that you're through that track and you can look at Chicago, Sonoma, Dover, Indy, and understand, you know, what style of racing you'll see there, how. How competitive you feel you might be, who you're up against. We're whittling this down quickly, and that's a million dollars, you know, sitting out there. At what point, I guess, will you start to go, I might like to win this? Or has that already happened?

[Travis]

No, I. I would have liked.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

My.

[Travis]

My mindset of wanting to win was already there, you know, even going into the race last weekend, you know, and. And it's kind of one of those things where at least my viewpoint on it is it's not that I didn't want to win it. It's just that it's not going to make me try any harder than I'm already trying. So I just want. I want that to be super clear. Like, I'm already doing everything I can do every week that, you know, in my power and then, you know, within my abilities to. To perform my very best for my team. That's. That's the whole reason I go. So, you know, I don't need. I don't need another, you know, factor to help make me want to perform. That's just not how I am. But of course I want to win it. Yeah. I mean, a million dollars or. Or not a million dollars, you know, I. I still want to win it. And, yeah, I feel like we have a, you know, have a real shot to do that. And. And, you know, we're going to race hard over. I don't know how many more weeks are in that deal, but however many it takes, and hopefully we're, you know, the last one standing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I think you're up against Nemechek this weekend. If you actually prevail, I believe you would face either Stenhouse or Erik Jones at Sonoma. So it's a reasonable path forward to be able to find yourself in the semis at Dover. I think that, you know, you. You've had a really solid year this year. We've talked about that quite a bit in the past couple of weeks at the. At the consistency, which is really, you've done it better than anybody this year, and now you have the win. Do you feel like, I guess, that you guys are where you want to be? Are you feeling overlooked because of your consistency? Your average finish is better than anybody else. So, I mean, as far as performance across the board, you guys are at the top of the game. But where do you feel like you are?

[Travis]

Well, I. You know, number one, I don't necessarily care if we are overlooked or not. You know, I. We as a team and myself individually, man, we've just been doing this long enough to know, like, it all kind of starts and ends with us, you know, and we, you know, we have to make sure we're doing our part, and I'm doing my part and just bringing everything I can possibly bring every single week. And we know our strengths and we know our weaknesses, and it's the honest conversations that we have on Monday mornings that are either going to make us better or make us fail. Right. And, you know, I just think that our group is. We've been together a long time. We know each other really, really well. I think all of the, you know, all of the pieces of the puzzle are there from. From a team side. I think I can do it. You know, I just. I feel like we're. We're working on the right things. I think I'm asking for the right things out of the car. And I think that the team's been doing a really good job of giving me what I'm, you know, what I'm looking for in a. In a feel. And so I'm proud of where we're at. I'm really proud of our team for just sticking together. I think there's been so many times that we could have thrown in the towel and really kind of fractured from the inside. And, you know, it's a really important thing for me to now have climbed that mountain and stood on top of it with AG and we've kind of fallen off that hill. But getting back to the top with him and with our group and doing it together with the same people you've had success and failed with, I think is a really important thing to do in sports. When it's easy to kind of look the other way. Just not giving up on one another, I think is a really important piece. And we have so much respect for one another as a team that, you know, we're going to continue to make each other better as we Push forward.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, man, we appreciate your time today. Congratulations on the win. Gonna be fun watching y' all go forward and try to carry this momentum that you got going, you know, the next several weeks and yeah, we'll see you at Chicago.

[Travis]

Yeah, man, appreciate it. We'll see y' all.

[Andrew]

Folks, right now the headlines are chock full of data breaches and regulatory rollbacks, making us all vulnerable. But you can do something about it. Deleteme is here to make it easy, quick and safe to remove your personal data online. Travis, Deleteme is an easier way to deal with data breaches.

[TJ Majors]

It does all the hard work of removing your personal online data. And Deleteme isn't just a one time service. They're constantly working to ensure your personal info stays off the web. Because you don't want that stuff just out there for everybody. I kid you not. These websites, it's kind of scary because I once matched with this girl online dating app. She asked if I was married. I told her no. Why? Why are you asking? Well, she had searched my name and a website pulled up and said that I was married. And I'm like, no, never been married, never engaged. But it's scary that these websites kind of have information, some of it real, some of it not. And it's just out there for everybody.

[Andrew]

Well, I think that's Travis's way of saying that he's single. But back to delete me, all you got to do is provide them with exactly the information you want deleted. Then their experts do all the hard work wiping you and your family's personal information from data broker websites. Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for Deleteme now at a special discount for our listeners today. Get 20% off your Delete Me plan by texting DALE to 64000. The only way to get 20% off is to text DALE to 64000. That's DALE to 64000. Message and data rates may apply. Let's talk about underwear for a second. We all know summer is amazing. Sunshine, road trips, beach days. But it also means one thing, and that is sweat. And if you're not wearing the right underwear, that can get real uncomfortable real fast. Luckily, there's meundies. Travis, I'm wearing me undies right now.

[TJ Majors]

I am too.

[Andrew]

Oh, really?

[TJ Majors]

It's the. I tell you what, it's awesome. It's awesome and it really is important. The summertime, man, you're out, you're moving around, you're sweating the Last thing you want to be doing is having the wrong kind of underwear on because you're going to notice and it's going to be a problem.

[Andrew]

I got me a pair of pineapple patterned ME undies and then I also, I'm wearing the s' mores pattern right now. So it's very summer esque.

[TJ Majors]

S' mores in the summer.

[Andrew]

S' mores in the summer. It's like the best time to do it. I guess.

[TJ Majors]

You could do a campfire.

[Andrew]

And you know what you could do too, because my girlfriend loves these, these meundies. We're getting matching pairs. Alright? We're gonna, we're gonna stock that drawer full of meundies.

[TJ Majors]

That's the way to go. I mean, that's the thing is it's not just for men. They've, they've got, you know, boxer briefs, they've got cheeky cuts, they've got bralets. Whatever you need, man or woman, they've got you covered.

[Andrew]

They do. They really do. I mean, it is super soft fabric, breathable somehow stays cool even when it's 90 degrees and your AC is losing the battle. So your underwear drawer deserves a vacation right now.

[TJ Majors]

As a listener of the Dale Junior download, you can score sizzling summer deals like up to 50% [e-mail] dalejr and enter promo code dalejr.

[Andrew]

That's meundies.com dalejR promo code dalejr for up to 50. 50% off me undies comfort. That's made for summer.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, well, let's do some ass Junior. Hey everybody, it's Dale junior Here at the Dale junior Download, another segment of Ask Junior. And I got my buddy TJ Majors here and Andrew Travis is here as well. I don't know if he's going to talk, but Andrew usually does all the questions. But we'll see. We got to let you know that Xfinity WI Fi is sponsoring this segment of Ask Junior as they do most every week. Xfinity WI fi is actually what we're using right now to send all this stuff your way so you can stay connected. It's booming. You'll hear the drivers talk about how Xfinity WI fi is booming, especially in the Xfinity series of. Drivers love getting out of the car and talking about Xfinity mobile, Xfinity WI Fi and all of the great services that Xfinity provides. It's got the power and speed of NASCAR right in your home. You choose the right plan for you and you're off to the races with the best streaming experience for all NASCAR fans and all of your favorite sports. They don't just raise the bar. They stream in overdrive. And they're a proud premier partner nascar, and we're very thankful to have them here as part of the Dirty Mo media family. So thank you, Xfinity, for everything you do. Let's get to it.

[Andrew]

Yeah, absolutely. The YouTube chat is populating. It's good to see everybody. It's booming. That's the word tj, but lots of familiar faces. That's good to see. But let's go to this first question from Barry. Jerry. I'm gonna mispronounce his name. Travis Bruckheimer. Bruckheimer. He confirms that a Days of Thunder sequel is in the works. So what would you like the second movie to be about?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I keep seeing little, you know, quotes and stuff of people, you know, like Tom Cruise, you know, doing a little. He had, like, a little post about Days of Thunder and his experience making that movie. And Jeff Gordon's had a couple of comments like, hey, if they ever do do it, we'd love to be involved. I think that.

[Chase Elliott]

Is there a spotter role? Can I. Can I be a spotter in it?

[TJ Majors]

Oh, I like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Probably. I don't.

[Chase Elliott]

You can be in it. You'll drive.

[Andrew]

I'll spot like old tj. We want. We want people to watch it. Sorry.

[Chase Elliott]

I have a face for radio. Andrew.

[TJ Majors]

It's perfect.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I would. I would absolutely. The. The more of the original cast members, the better. And I'll say this. So this is very similar, I think, to like the Rocky series and the remakes for Rocky. Right. But eventually Rocky is too old to fight, and then they had to shift to this creed. Right. That was difficult for me, just as somebody who had watched all the originals and the whole thing, you know, 1, 2, 3, and 4 and all that. I would need Tom Cruise to still be racing.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Tom Cruise not in a race car for the entire movie. Doesn't work for me. Right. So he can't be an owner now. I think Rowdy Burns could be an owner. I could see Rowdy Burns at this point in the storyline. He's aged out, no longer driving, and he's now maybe some owner in the sport. But I would bring back all the original cast members and. And have them at least make a brief appearance in the movie, if not have heavy roles. The Russ Wheeler character, even. He. I would love it if he was still racing. I don't know really where he's at. And what he looks like these days, but if he's taking good care of himself, I think you could pass him off as a veteran driver. But. And I feel like we're not. I feel like we're going to have to accept some younger cast members.

[Chase Elliott]

No choice.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, there's no choice. They're gonna be. There's gonna be this young driver.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Now, there's a. You know, very similar to what we're seeing in the F1 movie, where you have the old guard and the new guard. Right. I just can't see any way around that. But that'll be a part. That'll be a part that either makes or breaks the movie. Right. And so that. That star outside, the person that's probably the most important to the storyline outside of Tom Cruise, getting that cast correctly and having the right person in that role, that's believable and truly will do the work that, like Tom Cruise has done to. To. To understand nascar. So I've told the story before, but Tom Cruise came by Dale and Hart Incorporated, back when it was just the deer head shop. So we really. Yep. They had the deer head shop and one office, and there was nothing else there. This is way before dad built dei, so it's just a building with the Xfinity team in there. I was really young, and this was before they had ever started shooting Days of Thunder. And so I'm. I have a shoot. Man, I must have been 12 or so. Pretty young. Well, we're told. So Tom Cruise just finished Risky business. Maybe. What's the movie where he's.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where he slides across the floor.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah, that's it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Chase Elliott]

Travis, look at who you're talking to over there. They're not gonna know.

[TJ Majors]

I know what it is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So whatever. That he was still, like, on the back end of the success of that movie. And dad told Kelly and I that. That this actor, Tom Cruise, was coming by later in the afternoon to talk to dad. And so there were. It was dad and maybe. Maybe Teresa and me and Kelly and the people that. The four or five employees that worked at the shop. Tony Senior. No, not a crowd. Just a couple of us there. Well, Tom drives up. He was with someone else. They get out of the car. They walk in. Tom Cruise is not as tall as I expected him to be.

[Chase Elliott]

And he's not as tall as them cardboard cutouts either.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's got a face. He's got a face full of pimples. And. Yeah. And he. And dad, he's really young at this point, but he and dad go into Dad's office, and they talked for like an hour, hour and a half. Long time. And then they came, they come out, shook hands. Hey, man, great time. I. I got to say hey to Tom Cruise, and he leaves. And so Tom Cruise basically came by to sit down and talk to dad because Dad's character was Rowdy Burns. And they. They. They used a lot of the sort of, you know, the same vibe, I guess, of. Of dad to. To. To. To do the Rowdy Burns character. And they. And dad even said after that conversation that in the conversation with Tom Cruise, Tom mentioned that dad should play the role. And. And dad was like, you know, the way this sounds is he's the bad guy, and I really don't want to be the. The villain. That's not my style. And dad is not an actor. And that would have not been as good as. As what the end result was. Right. So I remember vividly dad saying that they had a conversation around the possibility of him actually playing the role, but I don't think that that is absolutely realistic, to be honest with you.

[Chase Elliott]

You don't think he could have done it?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, and I don't think. I don't think even if Tom had offered it to him or mentioned it in that conversation that it would have actually happened if dad had said yes, because I think that the. The people that actually produce and direct and make all those decisions would have had a problem with that because Dad's not an actor. But anyhow, Tom came there and just picked Dad's brain. Tom drove race cars, went to Daytona and drove a race car in a test with. With Paul Newman. And. And so Tom did all, as we know now after hearing all the stories about Mission Impossibles and Top Guns. He does all the stunts, all the hard work, all the. All the homework. Right. To truly make the movie great.

[Chase Elliott]

That's why he's so good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And, like, I'm confident that if they make Days of Thunder again, it'll be a great representation of really where the sport is and how it is, because they. Because he will do the homework to go. This is authentic. This moment is authentic. This set's authentic. The scene is authentic. And, yeah, so, like, when Tom Cruise played Cole Trickle, like, it was believable. He, to me, was any cup driver in the series in the 90s. Like, he was. He played that part so well. His. His style, his look, his.

[Chase Elliott]

He did. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The way he spoke, everything. Yeah. His attitude. What's so funny?

[Andrew]

Someone in the chat said tom Cruise to the JRM Number nine, question mark.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Jesus. Well, yeah. Anyhow, those are. That was a cool deal, man, for, as a kid to see your favorite sport that you thought that no one cared about or liked. Everybody at school thought NASCAR was stupid. All my friends, not my friends, but all the people that I was in school with didn't like nascar, thought it was dumb. Now they're making this big movie.

[Chase Elliott]

Same here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I was like, hell, yes. And then they came out with the Nintendo game Days of Thunder. It was sucky, but I still played the. Out of it, man. That was a big deal.

[Andrew]

Would you, if asked, do a cameo in the days of Thunder two?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No question. Yes. That's automatic. Yes. I would damn sure be interested in doing that. And, you know, and I think that's the way that anybody feels in the industry. Right. If you're a current driver, you'd absolutely want a opportunity to be a part of that.

[Chase Elliott]

So maybe you can be a driver in it. And then we'll be. I'll be the spotter, and Tom will get into you and wreck you or something.

[Andrew]

TJ's just trying to find a way to get in the movie.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah. I want to be the spotter.

[Andrew]

And then we talk about how you got wrecked by Tom Cruise on the movie version of the Dancing the Download. Yeah. So that. Well, this can be in it, too.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This movie, if ever made. If ever made, will. And I'm putting myself. Put my neck out there. But this movie, if ever made, will need at some point in the movie, some broadcasting chops, you know, and so there'll be a lot of people eager to find out whether they're the ones that get called up for that. So. Yeah, I don't know. I would do anything they asked me to do to try to support it.

[Chase Elliott]

And for sure make it authentic.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. But because I feel like. Yeah, because I feel like it's what you're supposed to do. Yeah.

[Andrew]

We got time for one more question. This one's from Lee. What was it like driving Dwight Howard around the track?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Great. What you didn't get to see, I guess, is Malik. Neighbors got to take him around, too. He's a. He was a rookie last year. Yeah, he was a rookie last year for the Giants wide receiver. Great fan to Jaden Daniels. So kind of cool to be able to chat with him a little bit about his career and their friendship and what he's going to do this next season. Hopefully he doesn't beat the commanders, but the. With. With, you know, with tnt, we're doing a lot of social content so we're going to do some, I think we'll do five ride arounds over the next couple of weeks and yeah, so that's lined up.

[Chase Elliott]

Can you tell?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know. We don't have the next several. We don't have the next ones lined up. But that was the two they brought to Atlanta. So this is. So TNT and Bleacher Report are connected. They're the same. And so like a lot of the stuff we're going to work on will be on Bleacher Report and that'll be. We just, I took those guys around the racetrack for about 15 minutes. We asked, I just kind of did a little interview, asked him a lot of questions, just being curious. And then we went about 130 for a lap and dang, had a good time.

[Andrew]

Yeah, that's cool. Was there anyone like that you've driven or given a ride around the track before that you were like nervous of like, oh, I want to make sure this is like a good experience for him.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

My wife Amy.

[Andrew]

Oh yeah, yeah, that would make sense.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Latart.

[Andrew]

Oh yeah, I know you've talked about that one, but I know that was like very like meaningful for him just because he's like, he kind of like could understand what you were feeling behind the seat, right?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Exactly.

[Andrew]

Yeah. Well, that's cool. That is a good place to wrap up Ash Jr this week.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Thank you. To Xfinity Wi Fi. In racing and in life, speed isn't optional. It's expected. As a driver in the Xfinity series, as a team owner in the Xfinity series, I rely on things to perform at their peak under pressure. And that's why I go with Xfinity WI fi. Especially when we're doing live Ask Junior segments. We want our WI fi to be fast and no disconnections. So it's dependable Internet and yeah, no contracts, no slowdowns, no nonsense. Xfinity is a proud premier partner of nascar. We're very thankful. So appreciate you Xfinity and we'll see everybody tomorrow.

[TJ Majors]

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[Chase Elliott]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Place your bets, ladies and gentlemen. Place your bets. All right, that was a great. Asked junior a lot of great questions there for Andrew. I was a little nervous when he. When he went off script and said, man, I'm just going to start reading the chat. I'm like, big freaking mistake.

[TJ Majors]

That makes me real nervous.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Big freaking mistake, pal. And anyhow ended up okay. Time for some dirty mo dough. We got Tampa Tim's here and also Russell the professor. This segment of Dirty Modo is brought to you by fanduel. Fanduel's just straight up kick ass. I like using fanduel. Our manufacturer parlay didn't exactly go well.

[Travis]

Damn it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We're not deterred, though. We're gonna keep doing this. I hope everybody's dim. If anybody is tailing these, just put some pennies down. Let's be careful till we figure this out. Kyle Busch, Austin, Cedric, bub Wallace, they were nowhere to be found at the end of that race. But it was Atlanta. It's to be expected. Tim's. Did you have a pretty good Saturday?

[Chase Elliott]

I had a great Saturday.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right.

[Chase Elliott]

Three zero matchups had Chase to win. It was a good Saturday.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn, buddy. That's probably pretty rare for Atlanta. We're going to head into Chicago. It's a little more predictable, I think. Russ, who are the drivers in tier one and tier two?

[Chase Elliott]

Alex Bowman.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey, Bowman is. Here we go. Here we go. Bowman's a good. Bowman's got a good matchup.

[Chase Elliott]

Don't get him going.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let's go. Top of the board, svg.

[TJ Majors]

Then bell.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Kyle Larson, William Byron, Chase Elliott, and Stevie's favorite, Ty Gibbs. Yeah, Die Gibbs has been up front at Chicago. He's been running well at the road courses. Ran good at Mexico City. I like Ty Gibbs for a top three, top ten, top five finish. He could possibly surprise us with a win. SVG is going to be tough, though, on the street course. Super tough. And Christopher Bell is SVG was driving a colleague car last year and got fenced. Am I. You know, and so, you know, we don't know how that would have played out, but I think colleague wasn't great last year. Colleagues better this year. That's not a knock on them. But I think he's in a better car this season as he was last year. So let's look at some of these bracket matchups, shall we? All right. You got Keselowski and Dylan out of the gate. I don't think of Brad is a really great road course racer. Tj, how do you guys feel about it here lately?

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, last year we were actually pretty quick at Chicago. It was one of our better.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You. Are you ready for Todd Dillon? Because Todd Dillon was up in the top 10 in Mexico City all day.

[Chase Elliott]

I hope we can't. I hope we prevent another Dylan knock your favorite driver out video.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I think Travis and Denny Bros are going to get their revenge on your ass. Todd Dillon is going to help Diddy bros get some revenge on on tj. And so I think I honestly feel like, you know, you ought to be sweating, man, because Todd Dillon ran good at Mexico City. Tj, I'm not.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean, hey, you never know what's going to happen.

[TJ Majors]

You guaranteeing a victory.

[Chase Elliott]

I just know that we had decent speed there last year, so I'm going to hope that we go back decent speed a bit more and run good. Yeah, like top five or six or whatever we ran.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

TJ sounding like Denny Bros on Twitter after an Atlanta race.

[Chase Elliott]

I'm optimistic.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't have you being top 10.

[TJ Majors]

Speed at Chicago just so you're.

[Chase Elliott]

That's fine. You also didn't have Alex Bowman winning or running good at Mexico City either and he showed you wrong.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let's go with the Priest and Gragson. To me, I give Gregson's struggled on the road courses. I'm going to give it to Priest. Dude ran strong at Mexico City. That's. That's a minus 150 to a plus 110. I think it's way, way bigger than that. Russell. I agree.

[TJ Majors]

Pre start on the outside front row at Mexico 1, Stage 1.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The only thing I'd say for Gregson.

[TJ Majors]

Is, you know, he, he did finish better than Priest once at Chicago, so. So he does that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He has outrun him here. So. Yeah. All right, well, Bowman and Bubba, that's a pretty tight one there. But I definitely give Bowman the edge. Bowman. Bowman's gonna, you know, listen, Bowman won the race last year but that was because they called it because of the darkness. His strategy, he had to come back to pit road at some point to get fuel to be able to finish that race.

[TJ Majors]

Yeah, you know how I feel about this one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But. And they have a lot of history, too. Like, remember that this is where Bubba got in trouble here last year for slamming after the race. Yep, yep. All right. And Bowman also hooked Bubba back at.

[TJ Majors]

The Roval in 2019.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So do you think Bubba beats him outright?

[TJ Majors]

No.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Reddick. Reddick versus Reddick versus host of our. I think Reddicks. Reddick ran good at this race last year. I like Reddick on the road courses over Hosvar. Totally agree, Chase. Sally Nemechek, I think Chase Elliot, you know, goes out there and gets it done. Almendinger versus Gibbs. That's a tight one, but I got to give it to Gibbs. Gibbs has been really strong on the road courses. Ran up front at Mexico City, ran up front here last year. He's ran up front at both, both the Chicago races and ended up driving himself back into a top three, I think, last year. So after that strategy was kind of working against him, he still had fast enough car to get himself a good, good result.

[TJ Majors]

I like his best finish on at Chicago. 17th.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Well, we've only got two races to go by. I mean, you could say those are coincidental, but yeah, I think colleague's better this year. He'll. He'll be up in the top 10. But I think Gibbs best sim by a couple positions. If it all just went perfectly for both guys, I think Gibbs has the other hand. Jones versus Stenhouse is an interesting one. They're both at minus 115.

[Chase Elliott]

Man, this is a close match up here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do you think that, you know the improvements by. By the. The club, Legacy Motor Club. Do you think their improvements this year have. Are enough to give Jones the edge?

[Chase Elliott]

I do. I think Eric's driving with a little extra right now as well. He's been pretty decent the last few races, and I'm giving the edge to Eric.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You got to factor in the 50% probability that host of our wrecks in house again.

[Chase Elliott]

Yeah, there is that. There is that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[TJ Majors]

Jones has finished better than Stenhouse the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Last five races, too. There you go. All right. Bush or versus Smith. I got my man Bush moving on through. I mean, he's going to win it all, so obviously he does move on through. That's right. That's right. That's right.

[Chase Elliott]

Eat my Cinnadel.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. All right. Well, I like Those. I like those matchups which got Tim's.

[TJ Majors]

What matchups do you have your eyes on?

[Chase Elliott]

I'll be honest, I. I do love Erik Jones over Ricky Stenhouse. I think he should be a little bit. He should be the favorite. It just shouldn't be a coin flip to be honest. Based off Mexico City as well. He ran. He was a top 15, I feel like all day.

[TJ Majors]

And then for the to bet svg obviously a heavy favorite. How do you weigh betting someone like that when it's such a heavy favorite?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh man.

[Chase Elliott]

He dominated by like what, 16 seconds.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's tough to.

[Chase Elliott]

As long as you get a plus sign next to it, I feel like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'Re in good shape.

[Chase Elliott]

You got stop with this stuff. Mexico City was a new venue for a lot of these guys. Every time we go to a new venue, it's road course. He's going to be way out in front. Do you think he's going to go to Sonoma and win by 16 seconds? I mean do you really think he's going to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He could.

[Chase Elliott]

I mean. Yeah, he. No, he can't. He could. He was going to win last year before he got caught up in that wreck by 16 seconds. I know about 16 seconds. But I mean you start going to these tracks that we've been to a few times now, our drivers are really are better than what you think. We go to a new venue. The first year everything worked out perfect with the rain and all that street core single file restarts. Everything was great for him. But you go to these other tracks. I mean he's. He looks human at these other tracks. What we've been to Chicago. I don't know he was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He. I don't think he's. I don't think we're there yet at Chicago.

[Chase Elliott]

I don't not know. We're closer but we won't be. He should still. He's definitely the favorite in my opinion. But he's not going to win by six.

[TJ Majors]

He doesn't but. So he doesn't have to win by 16 seconds. So for that bet to cash.

[Chase Elliott]

Thanks. Thanks. Good point. Yeah. Really? I didn't know that. I still think. I still think a plus sign next to his name. You bet him.

[TJ Majors]

Is there another driver drivers that you might.

[Chase Elliott]

I like Ty Gibbs.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He's got.

[Chase Elliott]

He's been consistent here last two years. Ty has adapted really well at the road core stuff and he's done. I. I think his. He came into this new car at the perfect time and he didn't know the old car so all he doesn't know all the old traits.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chase Elliott]

Right. So everything Ty knows with his new car and I think it just helps him at these places like that quite a bit. He's done great.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Let's get into our manufacturer parlay already. I think we should take SVG in the Chevrolet Gibbs and the Toyota. What's the Ford? Russell, I want you to help us on the Ford. I really just want you to outright.

[TJ Majors]

Pick the Ford Senator.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right.

[Chase Elliott]

Cinnadust.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, it's svg. Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher for the manufacturer parlay this week. And that'll be. That'll be it, man. This 30 Moto segment was brought to you by FanDuel, the premier gaming destination in the United States. Thank you, Russell. Thank you, Tims. All right, it's time for the white flag. The teardown was live on YouTube and Twitter. Following the race, great feedback and conversation around what Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi thought of the event and actions detrimental. Dropped on Monday, the race didn't go well for the Denny Bros. But still, he comes in every week, even when things are tough and delivers a great breakdown of of all the difficult moments that he faced in the race. So very gutsy. Gutsy performance and professional performance on actions detrimental by Denny Hamlin. Doorbepper clear also came out on Monday. Ryan Blaney was the guest. And every time Ryan Blaney's on, we have a great show. You won't want to miss that. My guest interview this week is with my good friend Josh Schneider. Josh is a pal of mine for years and we'll have a lot of fun, kind of looking back over some of the things we got ourselves involved in. And on Thursday, another episode of Bless yous Heart with Amy. And On Sunday, the fifth episode of Becoming Earnhardt is released, focusing on the 1980s season. Those have been awesome and loving the feedback from everybody who's been been enjoying the new series, the 1980 season of Becoming Earnhardt. So that's it. That's the show. Hope you guys enjoyed it. We'll see you tomorrow.