Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently made his firm stance on NASCAR’s limited practice sessions known, arguing that the lack of track time is a significant issue affecting driver performance. He truly surprised himself by the response he received from NASCAR fans.
Fans Support Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Demand for More Practice Sessions
In a conversation with TJ Majors on The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Earnhardt spoke about Katherine Legge’s recent struggles at Phoenix as an example, emphasizing that even drivers with impressive resumes can struggle without enough practice.
He explained to Majors, “I gotta say this, man. We don’t have any practice. The lack of practice and the problems that that creates are glaring. It’s in our faces every other week, but we kind of choose to ignore it because there’s a lot of drivers they’d rather not have practice.”
While some teams do not desire to practice with a car they know is tuned to their liking, some could use the practice time to further fine-tune their vehicles to create a tighter field, according to Earnhardt.
Earnhardt posted a clip of the podcast on the Dirty Mo Media X account with the caption, “Raise your hand if you’d like to see more practice every weekend.” To his surprise, NASCAR fans rallied behind his stance, voicing their desire for more practice sessions. Surprised by their overwhelming agreement to his views, he replied, “Dang, a LOT of you really want more practice, huh.”
Dang a LOT of you really want more practice, huh. pic.twitter.com/rifnBmkYUo
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) March 13, 2025
One fan replied, “I don’t think there is any other sport that limits practice time for the athletes – it makes no sense to me.”
Another fan said, “The fans should get more on-track action with what they pay for a ticket. Give them as much on-track as possible. I’m always big early to watch everything.”
“Should go back to how it was before Covid ruined things,” expressed a fan.
A NASCAR fan shared, “Limiting Practice HURTS ALL TEAMS. [It] hurts rookies [and] newbies, leads to poor races, increases risks, mechanical issues. We need testing, practice to improve racing!”
Limiting Practice HURTS ALL TEAMS, hurts rookies, newbies, leads to poor races, increases risks mech issues. We need testing, practice to improve racing!
— Jessie Collins (@JessieLC24) March 13, 2025
A fan posted, “Kyle Busch used to talk about lack of practice keeping his team from getting a good evaluation of the car.” The fan was referring to similar views expressed in the past by Busch on practice sessions.
As the debate continues about NASCAR’s practice sessions or lack thereof, Earnhardt’s comments have reignited discussions about whether NASCAR should reconsider its approach. And whether more driver preparation on the track will help prevent future situations like Legge’s.