Dale Earnhardt Jr tells NASCAR how they can fix relationship with 'p****d off' fans

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has offered the stock car racing series a solution to repairing its relationship with 'p****d off' fans.

In recent history, NASCAR has come in for a lot of criticism from its viewers, with fans critical of several things, from the next-gen car to the playoff format.

The latter has been a particularly controversial subject in recent seasons, with many feeling that the current one-race championship decider has not necessarily always crowned the most worthy driver as champion.

More recently, the 23XI and Front Row lawsuit against NASCAR has thrown the series and its executives into the spotlight once again, and the optics have not been good.

All in all, rightly or wrongly, there is a feeling of disgruntlement towards NASCAR right now, and only the stock car racing series can fix it.

Earnhardt Jr suggests NASCAR olive branch

Earnhardt Jr. believes that one solution could be the return of the popular 36-race championship format.

Changes are expected to the championship format for 2026 after NASCAR consulted with a playoff committee throughout 2025, although no plans have yet been confirmed.

Whilst the series could simply extend the championship round to include more races, there have been growing calls from fans to return to a full points format where the winner is determined by who earns the most points across the entire season.

“NASCAR is going to have a new playoff point system next year. They’re probably gonna make what would amount to a significant shift,” Earnhardt Jr. explained on his Dale Jr Download podcast.

“I doubt that we'll get [the] 36-race full-season deal,” he continued. “It's probably going to be a playoff of some sort, but more than likely I'll be satisfied … it won't be one race, I’m pretty sure.”

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Although he is sceptical the 36-race format will return, Earnhardt Jr. suggests it would be a great way for NASCAR to get fans back on side.

“NASCAR is also taking a beating publicly in terms of perspective,” he said, with the lawsuit ongoing at that stage. “And that’s unfortunate.

“It would be a good opportunity for them to bring back the full season 36 race schedule as an olive branch to the race fans that they p****d off.”

Denny Hamlin’s heartbreaking championship loss at Phoenix in November once again highlighted the flaws of the one-race championship format, as did Connor Zilisch's defeat in the Xfinity Series, where he missed out on the title despite a record-breaking, dominant season.

With the lawsuit over, the NASCAR community now awaits news on next season's championship format with a high degree of anticipation.

It will certainly be interesting to see where NASCAR ends up, particularly given the wide range of views on the topic.