Dale Junior Unedited And Unplugged About All Things NASCAR
Jun 02, 2008
CIA Stock Photo, Inc.
At one point, Earnhardt was asked his opinion on the penalties given Haas CNC Racing.
“I don’t know, man,” he said. “I’m done giving you guys my opinion on stuff, on things that ain’t related to me.”
Immediately after saying that, Earnhardt gave his opinion.
“I don’t want guys directly cheating, intentionally cheating to outrun me,” he said. “I hope if that ever happens, or if it happens in the future, it’s dealt with real harshly.
“I feel very good about how stern NASCAR is handling all these issues.
“I’ve been in that situation, too, and I feel very good about how stern they are. I like the fact that they’re harsh. I want them to be harsh.”
On concrete tracks like Dover, a place where he has three victories: “I don’t like concrete. I wish it was asphalt. I ain’t a fan of concrete. It’s real bumpy and rough. It’s just real slick and gets kind of tough to hang on to. You look at the old races they ran here on asphalt and they looked pretty fun.”
On the Pocono test session: “The track needs to be repaved. It’s real, real rough. They paved this little strip in Turn 3 in the third groove and we’re all running around on it. It was funny.
“When we first hit the track I saw that strip of asphalt and I thought, ‘Man, I bet that’s got a lot of grip. If I can figure out a way to get up there and run on it, I might find some speed.’
By the end of the test, everybody was running there. That’s going to be slightly amusing to see in the race.”
On race purses and why one driver can make more than another driver who finishes ahead of him: “There is money paid to guys who run a full schedule and money paid to guys who are on a Winner’s Circle program or have run a race, teams who have won a race and drivers who have run a race. There is money paid to guys for various decals they run on their fenders. It’s very complicated.”
