Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals His Biggest Peeve With NASCAR’s “No Name Chicane” Letting Him Down

“That’s what a well-designed track is going to provide – those overtaking opportunities.” Speedway Motorsports CEO Marcus Smith offered this primer before drivers challenged the reconfigured Charlotte Roval. However, those ‘overtaking opportunities’ were more like ‘crashing opportunities’—a stack-up leading into Turn 7 sent Austin Dillon spinning and Tyler Reddick in the air after Stage 2 of the Bank of America Roval race. So Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not particularly fond of the changes.

Owning two wins at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is well-familiar with the 1.5-mile oval. However, the 2.77-mile track was introduced in 2018, after Junior’s retirement. And the veteran is still grappling with liking the road course, offering a nickname for NASCAR’s newest innovation there.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. just named a Roval Turn as “Heartburn Turn”

The 17-turn road course carried the primary objective of more thrill when it debuted in 2018. But NASCAR wished to switch up that intensity as it announced a reconfigure in May this year. Along with a new Turn 6 and a sharper Turn 7, the track featured a sharper apex in Turn 16 of the final chicane.

But officials did not have any name for the chicane or other passing zones, as the Watkins Glen had its ‘Bus Stop.’ Marcus Smith simply called them “two distinct braking zones” that would allow a driver “to play with the brake pedal, the gas pedal and the steering wheel.”

However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not a fan of this innovation. In an episode of the Dale Jr Download, the 26-time Cup Series winner denounced the chicane’s impact on drivers. “The one thing I don’t like about the Roval is watching the cars go through the chicane on the frontstretch. Looks so awkward and almost impossible…There is a passing opportunity coming into that chicane…But it’s such a bad chicane. It’s like an off-brand, no-name chicane…It’s the sh-t-brand, store-brand chicane.” 

But that is not the only peeve—drivers had to consume Tums on Turn 1, so Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a special name for that. “If you take that chicane out, then the passing opportunity then comes down to Turn 1, which I still like to call Heartburn Turn.”

These two tricky portions of the Roval made things difficult – and Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes their combo would be deadlier. “Imagine if the chicane was there on that damn Turn, they’d be putting each other on the wall.” But after Reddick’s crash after stage 2, the 23XI Racing driver redeemed his position and toppled Joey Logano in terms of points.

So Dale Jr. agreed that these innovations make for interesting race finishes. “The only issue with that is that you take a passing opportunity out right before the finish line. So if you got your cars racing to the end, you don’t have what we had with Truex and Jimmie Johnson…You take away a dramatic moment to the end of the race.”

This is not the first time NASCAR’s Roval changes scraped Dale Earnhardt Jr’s mind. He has always voiced his displeasure with the Charlotte Roval track.

The veteran draws a line

When the Charlotte Roval was a figment of one’s imagination, Dale Earnhardt Jr. proclaimed his love for its sister track. In 2000, he won the All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway thanks to a pit stop that allowed him to rally through the field on fresh tires. He had his weak moment on the track in the 2011 Coca-Cola 600. Dale Jr ran out of gas between Turns 3 and 4 while leading on the final lap, finishing a heartbreaking 7th. Despite the different experiences, Dale Jr confessed that Charlotte meant a lot to him in 2017. “This track has been real special to me. This is one of the few tracks that I probably never missed a race since I was a little boy.”

However, that same sentiment was not reflected in the Charlotte Roval track. “I was never a fan of the (Charlotte ROVAL),” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. He admitted that the Charlotte Oval frequently produced less drama due to its plain nature. But even then, he would not choose the road course. “I feel like, you know, we got the ROVAL because of how bad the product was at Charlotte. It’s terrible, and so you know, he had to do something. And the Roval was good out of the gate, the same way in which racing at the Coliseum was cool the first time, but for me, after one or two, I’m done.”

Evidently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is keeping up his dislike for the 2.66-mile, tricky road course. The track played out well for Kyle Larson though, who won the race and now dominates the playoffs.