Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares take on NASCAR's new rule for rookie stripes
NASCAR will no longer require drivers to have rookie stripes on their race cars starting in 2025. Last week, it was reported that NASCAR would go away with the long-time tradition, and it seemed pretty surprising that it disappeared. The sport claimed they were "unnecessary," as "these are the highest levels of stock car racing."
Some people were confused and not in favor of NASCAR's rule change, including one of the sport's most popular drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his opinion on NASCAR no longer requiring rookie stripes on his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, and disagreed with the decision.
"It shook me up there for a second because it's such a cool tradition, and a lot of people are going, 'Well, it's not necessary now, the drivers, they kind of know who everybody is.' It's not for the drivers, it was for us," Earnhardt said. "It was for me and you. In like 1980, for example, when you went to the Daytona 500, there were probably 70 to 80 cars trying to qualify for the Daytona 500. Multiple, 20, 25 rookies, maybe. That is when it was necessary. It's kind of changed in terms of what purpose it served. But man, some traditions, what's wrong with them? That was just a thing that didn't have to go away."
Truthfully, Earnhardt is right. NASCAR didn't need to go away with the tradition, as it wasn't significant enough to warrant change. Sure, teams can still put rookie stripes on the cars, but not all will choose to do such a thing. Now, NASCAR will no longer have the long-time tradition of rookie stripes moving forward.
More:Kyle Larson's comments show two big flaws in NASCAR's playoff format
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