Dale Earnhardt Jr. on lug nut rule: 'Step in right direction'
TALLADEGA, Ala. – Before Tony Stewart brought up the topic of missing lug nuts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his concern over what seemed like a growing problem.
But unlike Stewart, Earnhardt wasn’t fined for his comments.
“I don’t know what I did different, but it was cool,” he said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway.
Either way, the rule was revised Monday in the wake of Stewart’s safety rant – a change Earnhardt called “a step in the right direction” but “not all the way there.” Officials will now require all five lug nuts to be on the car before and after the race and will attempt to monitor them during the race – but enforcement will be random based on the lack of officials on pit road.
“The only way we can fix it today is to put all the officials back on pit road, and that’s not an option,” Earnhardt said. “Facing that, I think they did what they could do today.
“For awhile you had half the people arguing it policed itself and you had another group over here that thought it was a safety issue and it appears we have everybody on the same team (now), which I think is great for moving everybody in a better direction. So I’m happy they’re making some choices that are good for the drivers.”
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Lug nuts again were a topic in media sessions throughout the day, as they’ve been for the last couple weeks. NASCAR removed its enforcement of the rule before last season, but teams started securing fewer lug nuts on the wheels and drivers like Earnhardt and Stewart expressed their concern.
But Stewart apparently went too far and was fined $35,000 – though he insisted Friday he still didn’t know exactly why.
“I’ve been trying to figure out how many more $35,000 rules changes I want to make,” Stewart said. “I’m glad that something has been done. … You hate to have to pay $35,000 to get somebody’s attention to do something, but apparently that’s what it took.”
Stewart added he now has NASCAR CEO Brian France’s phone number and has been encouraged to have conversations with the sanctioning body in private. One way will be through the drivers council, which is scheduled to meet again with NASCAR on Friday night. Stewart is on the nine-member council.
But the three-time NASCAR champion said the sense of urgency regarding some issues means “sometimes you’ve got to shake them.”
“The crazy part was I wasn’t the first person that brought it up,” Stewart said. “I was down the food chain of guys that had already discussed it and talked about it. I talked about it and got my hand slapped.
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“When it comes to something like that that is a safety issue, fine or not I think you’ve got to speak your mind and you’ve got to be honest about it. I hope this doesn’t discourage drivers for standing up for what they believe and what they think is right for everybody, not just their selves.”
Though Stewart was penalized for his comments this time, he was not penalized in January when he made comments critical of France.
At the time, Stewart said France does not show up at the track enough and drivers don't feel like they're being heard.
"I want to see Brian France at the track more," Stewart said then. "I want to see him walking through the garage more. I want to see him being more active than just showing up and patting the sponsors on the back and going up in the suite. I want to see him down there in the trenches with everybody and understanding what’s truly going on. I think that’s where he needs to be for awhile."
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