Dale Earnhardt Jr. Rips NASCAR For Racing On Easter: 'People Are Doing S--t'

Dale Earnhardt Jr. keeps winning, despite retiring from full-time NASCAR Cup Series racing years ago. 

Junior – rightfully so – torched NASCAR for once again racing on Easter Sunday this year, taking to his ultra-popular Dale Jr. podcast to rip the decision-makers a new one for another dumb decision. 

By my count, this past Sunday's race at Richmond was the third straight NASCAR race on Easter Sunday. The previous two were held on the Bristol Dirt, and were the first Easter NASCAR races since the 1980s. 

"Racing on Easter is not helpful," Earnhardt said this week. "I know other sports play on Easter and other things happen but I’m not going to those. I’m not ever going to be at a sporting event on Easter holiday, I’m not. Not happening. 

"It’s not entirely necessary that we do that. That is not going to help your walkup crowd, your ticket sales, that is not going to help. And I don’t think it really helps your TV audience. People are doing s--t on Easter."

NASCAR needs to ditch the Easter race

Amen, Dale Jr. Raise hell, praise Dale!

Look, I love NASCAR. I'll take a NASCAR race any day of the week, and I'll watch. But I feel like there are a couple days throughout the year the sport should just take a rest. 

Easter and Mother's Day are the two that come to mind, and both used to be sacred. 

That stopped a few years back, and now we inexplicably race on BOTH holidays. Why? I would assume it has to do with money and TV ratings, but, as Junior points out, is it worth it at this point?

The initial NASCAR return to Easter Sunday a few years back saw a big spike in ratings because it was the first dirt race in years. That naturally brought eyeballs to the screen. 

But last Sunday at Richmond? Eh. 

Not great, not awful. Just … meh. The grandstands, as Junior pointed out, weren't exactly sold out, either. 

"I suppose that works when it’s tradition," he continued. "Like when you, every Thanksgiving you’re going to turn on the NFL and you’re going to see Dallas and the Lions play, every freaking year. I always remember, Dallas and the Lions playing, Dallas and the Lions playing, I’m like ‘Damn it, this is boring as hell.’

"My point is, that’s a tradition. You’re not going to just all of a sudden hammer this round peg in a square hole and, ‘Hey man, we’re doing it.’ I don’t know, this is probably pointless to make this argument. But I hate to see all of these things that work against Richmond."

There are a billion races during a NASCAR Cup Series season. It lasts FOREVER. I'm talking February-October. That's a long season. Plenty of time to take a week off here and there. 

I'm not Dale Jr. (spoiler alert!), but maybe give the fellas Easter Sunday off next year?