After Christopher Bell won the Ambetter Health 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, his crew chief Adam Stevens talked about the differences between racing in Atlanta and Daytona. Stevens raised some critical points about racing in the Daytona 500 and its flaws. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won at Daytona twice, has responded to the remarks.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Seconds Adam Stevens’ Daytona Criticism
Earnhardt has agreed to the claims Stevens made about the differences in driving on Arizona and Daytona superspeedways. Journalist Bob Pockrass shared a clip of Stevens talking to the media after the race. Earnhardt shared the post saying, “I agree with all this. Thanks Adam for articulating it so clearly.”
Stevens noted that the fuel window is a major distinction between each race. While drivers could push hard in Atlanta, they had to conserve fuel during last Sunday’s Daytona 500. As a result, there was a significant dip in quality at the Daytona 500.
I agree with all this. Thanks Adam for articulating it so clearly. https://t.co/mIA4t0X0BS
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) February 24, 2025
“I think it’s horrendous and I wish we could do something to change it,” Stevens said. “The simplest thing we can do to change it is change the run length to match the fuel cell. … You saw that in stage one today, where you didn’t see a bunch of people limping around, scared to make a green flag stop, you saw a bunch of people running hard.”
According to Stevens, the track length is another factor affecting racing quality. While Daytona’s 2.5-mile layout gives drivers more breathing room, the compact 1.5-mile Atlanta track gives drivers little room to lay low.
“You don’t need seven or eight cars to be fast and it takes away the manufacturer allegiances because it’s just not a pack-style race. The whole field is in a pack, but you can’t separate and make decisions for the benefit of six or seven or eight or 10 cars,” Stevens added.
The comments caught Earnhardt’s attention and the ex-NASCAR star quickly approved the message Stevens was conveying, adding credibility to his case.
Earnhardt Believes NASCAR Can Make Daytona Great Again
Earnhardt was not happy to see the level of competition at the Daytona 500 this year. He said it isn’t entertaining to see cars taking a conservative approach for optimal fuel management. Instead, the 50-year-old wants to see drivers leaving it all on the track to finish first.
“I’m not going to worry about that because I think we can fix it, if we can take this issue seriously and really go after trying to make it different and improve it,” Earnhardt said recently on the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast.
Better, but different, days might be ahead for the Daytona 500.
