Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made clear that he believes electric SUVs would ‘kill’ what is now called the NASCAR O’Reilly Series but agrees the second-tier division needs updates and has a solution for that too.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer and co-owner of JR Motorsports discussed the topic this week on his Dale Jr. Download podcast amidst a Sports Business Journal report that stated an interest from the Sanctioning Body to use a Crossover body in one of the three divisions.
Advertisement
“It’s my belief that absolutely the electric car and that body style and all that is something NASCAR is looking at as a possibility for the future of the O’Reilly series,” Earnhardt said. “The O’Reilly Series has got a lot of good things going right now. Viewership is continuously on the rise and our cars, we can all kind of relate to those cars when we look at them and we see them on the racetrack. I think making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake and it would probably be the end of the rise.
“Things are going well. We got a great TV partner, we got great numbers, we got great fan engagement, and I think any kind of change like that so dramatic as that would be, would destroy the series as we know it. I would not be interested in that, I don’t think JR Motorsports would be interested in that. I’m certainly not interested in that car or that body or any of that. I think they need to leave well enough alone, quit fiddling with everything, and feeling like everything needs to be improved, fixed, changed.”
NASCAR has been on the defensive this week, merely stating that the body style and not the electrification is what the league is considering but Stock Car purists want traditional looking cars and less of the Sports Car looking NextGen or even Crossovers.
Advertisement
Earnhardt conceded that parts and pieces for the 15-year-old platform are getting harder to come by so he would just prefer an upgrade to the current platform rather than a completely different look.
Read Also:
FOX leverages NASCAR Kansas TV audience to boost IndyCar Long Beach
NASCAR official explains overtime decisions at Kansas
Dale Earnhardt Jr. weighs in on Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch spat
“There is an issue with parts and pieces. The parts and pieces we use aren’t being developed or made at a rate that the series can sustain itself,” Earnhardt said. “What I would love for them to do — and this is a big conversation to have — but what I would love for them to do with the O’Reilly car is take that 9-inch rear end out of the car that we’re running and make me a modern version of that.
Advertisement
“Take all the front suspension off of our car and make me a more modern version of that — not an over-engineered hub or rear end like we got in the current Cup car. I don’t want any of that that’s in the current Cup car. I don’t want no influence at all that the current Cup car has. If you want to do anything to the O’Reilly Series, take the parts that are in short supply and let’s figure out how to make a newer, modern take on that specific part.”
But the struggle with this concept would be getting OEMs on board, with Ford all but out of the series now, and the league looking to make all three national tours appealing to prospect car makers.
To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.
Read the full article here
