Just when you thought the season could not have a wilder start, things took another unexpected turn. NASCAR enthusiasts are looking forward to a revamped 2026, with the settled lawsuit terms, updated championship format, and increased horsepower. It seems like a whole new era is beginning. Now, an older era suddenly came to life with a passionate rivalry – and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is hyped up.

NASCAR veteran cheers in the cockfight

“Damn let’s go. I miss these manufacturer wars. The battle is back on! I love it. Kick their ass @TeamChevy,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote in response to Jeff Gluck’s post on X. The journalist posted a snippet of a brewing rivalry between executives of Ford Motors and those of GM Motors.

The backdrop of this fight is Formula 1’s new season, when Ford is joining the grid for the first time since leaving Jaguar Racing after the 2004 season. It has worked with Red Bull to develop the new power unit for 2026. Alongside, General Motors is also joining the grid, as Cadillac becomes the sport’s 11th team.

“It’s not even close,” said Dan Towriss, CEO of the Cadillac F1 team. “One is a marketing deal with very minimal impact, while GM is an equity owner (in the Cadillac team). They’re deeply embedded from an engineering standpoint, and they were involved from day one. Those two deals couldn’t be more different.”

These words did not make Bill Ford, executive chairman of Ford Motors, particularly happy. He claimed he was “stunned” and called Towriss’s comments “patently absurd.”

Ford hit back: “I would say, actually, the reverse is true. They’re running a Ferrari engine. They’re not running a Cadillac engine. I don’t know if they have any GM employees on the race team.” He added, “Nothing could be further from the truth, in terms of our partnership with Red Bull being a marketing effort.”

And Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has been a dedicated GM racer, joined this heated conversation. Having driven the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet earlier, he has a huge interest in this rivalry. Back in 2012, Dale Jr. also opened two auto dealerships in Tallassee: the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet and the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick GMC Cadillac.

Nevertheless, Dale Jr. is rooting for Ford in other ways. For instance, he is excited to have Tony Stewart, a former Ford driver, back in NASCAR to start the Truck Series Daytona race. “He hadn’t been in NASCAR since 2016, and this will be his first Truck race since 2005. Boy, he picked a doozy. The dude don’t give a s—.”

However, fans and other industry experts are more hyped up about the rivalry at present.

Calls for more drama overflow online

As a matter of fact, the Ford-Chevrolet rivalry is over a hundred years old. The two American powerhouses have passionately competed for dominance in everything from innovation to race podiums to sales numbers. At first, the battle ensued between Henry Ford and Louis Chevrolet, the pioneers of the OEMs. Even as it has shifted to Bill Ford and Towriss, people are pumped nonetheless. “This is actually some great drama. Ford vs Chevrolet!”

Others were sad that the competition was a reality only in the F1 grid. Both Chevrolet and Ford compete in NASCAR as well, with top teams like Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske dominating the championships since 2020. “We need more OEM beef in NASCAR. I feel like we don’t get enough of it,” somebody wrote. And journalist Jeff Gluck sent his approval, rooting for the rivalry to spill over from F1. “Totally agree. Don’t save it all for F1, guys!”

Some people took sides as well, as that would incite the competition further. Since General Motors is utilizing Ferrari engines for its Cadillac F1 team, Bill Ford made snide remarks about it. A fan joined Ford’s side: “Ford vs Ferrari 2” The jokes write themselves.” Another fan was equally enthusiastic about cheering for Ford, as GM cornered it first in this battle of words. “And when did they last Camaro role off the assembly line 🤔”

Moreover, people were overall excited about the impact this would make on racing. Since racers are on contracts with their OEMs to perform well, this rivalry between their bosses would translate to the racetrack. Somebody expressed their excitement for the season: “Love this. Racing is better when the companies have breed with each other.”

Clearly, the Chevy-Ford rivalry is garnering immense attention. Let’s see if they douse the flames early or keep fanning them for the public.