As NASCAR continues to reshape the 2026 season with a reworked playoff format, schedule shifts, and key competition tweaks still being finalized, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has made it clear he doesn’t see the rulebook as settled. With the sport already in the middle of a significant reset, Junior stepped in publicly this week with a blunt, no-nonsense wish list of his own, aiming it squarely at NASCAR’s decision-makers and weighing in on several long-debated issues before the new season even begins.

It started with a simple question from a NASCAR journalist on social media: “Which additional change would you like to see before the start of the NASCAR season?” Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s response was anything but vague, and it read like a checklist NASCAR executives probably didn’t love seeing go public as the final contours of the 2026 Cup Series package continue to be finalized.

• “Numbers! Put ’em where ya want! (Between the tires, of course)
• Overtime. One attempt. I’d love to see it go, but fans would be big mad when one ends under yellow.
• Boot? Yes, if we can run the current course under yellow.”

First up: numbers. Since the Next Gen car debuted in 2022, NASCAR mandated that door numbers be moved forward to accommodate the car’s smaller quarter panels and create more sponsor real estate. While the logic made sense, the look has divided fans and teams alike.

Earnhardt’s stance isn’t about reverting to the past but more about flexibility. He’s pushing for teams to have more freedom in number placement, as long as the numbers remain between the tires for visibility. In other words, loosen the rules and let teams get creative.

Then there’s overtime. NASCAR’s current format allows unlimited green-white-checkered attempts until a race finishes under green. Dale Jr. has long been skeptical of that approach, and here he lays out a compromise: one overtime attempt, and that’s it. If it ends under yellow, so be it. He openly admits fans wouldn’t love it. However, in his view, manufactured drama shouldn’t outweigh racing integrity.

Finally, the “Boot.” At Watkins Glen, NASCAR typically runs the shorter layout, bypassing the extended section added in 1971. Dale Jr. wants the full course back in play, but with a key caveat. NASCAR must allow the race to continue under yellow without constantly shortening the track. For Junior, it’s about honoring the challenge of road racing instead of trimming it down for convenience.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

It’s a short list from Dale Jr., but every item hits a long-running NASCAR debate right on the nose.

Dale Jr.’s NASCAR Hall of Fame fix

A separate NASCAR debate also pulled Dale Jr. into the comments section this week. This time it was about the future of the Hall of Fame. Speaking on social media, Kenny Wallace suggested NASCAR could eventually hit a wall when it comes to worthy inductees, comparing the sport’s situation to Major League Baseball.

“I don’t see how you’re gonna put somebody in a Hall of Fame every year unless we don’t pay attention to stats. And that’s where I come in.”

Dale Jr. didn’t agree with the premise, and he offered a solution that immediately shifted the conversation. Instead of narrowing the definition of greatness, Junior argued NASCAR should widen it, especially by honoring veteran drivers who built the sport outside the Cup Series spotlight.

“Larry Phillips, Ray Elder, Sam Ard, Jack Ingram, Butch Lindley. Ray was a 6 time Winston West champion. Beat the Cup boys twice when they came out west to Riverside. He was racing NASCAR and building the western foundation of the sport long before it was popular to do so. So many dudes who won hundreds of NASCAR-sanctioned races in their careers,” he wrote.

The resumes back him up. Larry Phillips was the first driver to win the NASCAR Weekly Series national championship five times, doing so between 1989 and 1996, while also collecting seven regional and 13 track titles. Ray Elder dominated what is now the ARCA West Series, winning 47 races and six championships despite limited Cup opportunities.

Sam Ard was a Busch Series powerhouse, winning two championships in three seasons. Jack Ingram, the “Iron Man,” captured two Busch titles and 31 wins. Butch Lindley won back-to-back Sportsman Division championships in the late 1970s.

Dale Jr.’s point is simple: NASCAR history didn’t start (or end) with Cup wins. If the Hall of Fame truly represents the sport, those foundational careers deserve a permanent place in it.