NASCAR insiders react to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Xfinity series return: 'Reminds me of Michael Jordan'
Friday's Food City 300 for the Xfinity Series at Bristol Motor Speedway was an awesome event, and the biggest reason why might've been because Dale Earnhardt Jr. got behind the wheel again.
The interest Earnhardt Jr. brings to the sport when he's in the car is unrivaled, and it's something that insiders Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi reacted to on the latest episode of The Teardown , where the latter even compared him to Michael Jordan at the end of his Chicago Bulls tenure.
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"This is nowhere near a new opinion, and I don't know how you fix this, it's obvious, it's been this way for a long time. NASCAR, the star power that Dale Earnhardt Jr. brings to NASCAR when he races, is unrivaled, and it's so apparent," Bianchi stated . "From the driver introductions, to just the whole — like, he makes passes on the racetrack and people are cheering. What other driver does that happen for? There's just this aura, this presence. It's this star power, that's the best way to to explain it, and it's something that NASCAR is badly lacking, in that sense.
"There is no answer, this isn't new. It's been this way for a long time, but it just became — every time, it happened here last year, and I saw it again on Friday, and it just really drives home the point of like, there is no one else like him. It reminds me of Michael Jordan towards the end of when MJ was at the end of his Bulls years, and I was like, 'Who's gonna be the next MJ?' And you can't replicate that, and it's just — it's part of it. But for this sport to thrive, to elevate itself, and there's a lot of different things that go into it, but one of them, and I think the predominant thing, is star power. Drivers with personalities that fans gravitate towards and connect with.
"There are drivers who do that to some degree, certainly, but nowhere near Dale Earnhardt Jr. I don't know the answer to that question, but it just really drove it home to me this past weekend."
While drivers like Chase Elliott Kyle Busch Kyle Larson have tried to take up the mantle from Earnhardt Jr. as the sport's most popular wheelman, it's evident none are on the same level as Earnhardt Jr. with the fans. Whether that's their own fault or a bigger problem in NASCAR is up to debate, but there's no doubting Earnhardt Jr.'s connection with the crowd.
It's always a treat to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel, and NASCAR fans hope Friday evening wasn't the final time we will. He looked great at Bristol, and a couple more one-off races for the veteran would be awesome to see.
