Regan Smith‘s final lap maneuver for the win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday was met with praise and outrage alike from fans. Some called Smith’s move, which bumped then-leader Alex Tagliani out of the way, a necessary part of racing, while others deemed it dirty.
RELATED: Tagliani says he doesn’t respect Smith’s win
Smith’s JR Motorsports car owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. addressed the last lap frenzy during his weekly “Dale Jr. Download” show on Dirty Mo Radio Tuesday.
“I myself have to say in all the decades of stock car racing, that move has been made millions of times,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “And it will be made millions of times after. It’s part of stock car racing, you know. They have bumpers and fenders and if it’s the last lap and that’s the lap that pays, and if you get moved out of the way, sometimes it’s not fun being on that end of it.
“But if you’re going to win the race, it’s definitely worth it in my opinion.”
Junior went on to cement the difference between Regan’s move and wrecking someone for the win on the final lap.
“I don’t believe in spinning a guy out, I don’t believe in putting a guy in the fence,” Earnhardt said. “But if I can move you out of the way to win the race and hey, you come home second, third, somewhere in the top five, that’s just how it goes. I’m sorry.
“And I wouldn’t be happy if I was Tag because that’s definitely no fun to lose that way. But that’s always kind of been part of our sport. So, I’m not making excuses for Regan.”
Earnhardt also explained that Tagliani’s last-lap driving style left the door open for Regan to make a move, whether it was welcome or not. For the team owner, it came as a surprise that Tagliani, as dominant as he was, didn’t put more distance on the No. 7 machine in the final minutes.
“On that last lap, Tag was underdriving the car quite a bit and then I think when he noticed he was underdriving it, he went into whatever the hell that corner is and overcooked it in the entrance of that corner and got loose,” Earnhardt said. “You can see his hands in the car moving — ‘swattin’ flies’ is what I called it on Twitter. But you can see him chasing the back of the car into that corner and he missed the line completely.
“And that’s an invitation in stock car racing. I know that’s not how they drive in open-wheel, but it’s how they drive in stock cars.”
For Smith, the element of career uncertainty also played part in his decision to move Tagliani out of the way for the win, Earnhardt said. The former Sprint Cup Series driver hadn’t won in 52 races and his contract with JR Motorsports expires at the end of the season.
“Regan’s definitely working for his future,” Earnhardt said. “He’s a guy that’s trying to claw his way back into the Cup Series. And he’s got to try and do what he needs to do for himself.”
Earnhardt then likened Regan’s move to one that a now-famous Sprint Cup Series driver performed more often than his competitors preferred.
“I had a driver before Regan that would move a guy out of the way to win if he needed to win the race,” Earnhardt said with a chuckle. “And that was Brad Keselowski. And look where he ended up.”
Earnhardt, Keselowski and the rest of the Cup Series drivers have a busy few weeks ahead of them, as they prepare to go short-track racing at Bristol this weekend (Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN) before heading over to Darlington during Labor Day weekend. In honor of the track moving back to the race’s traditional Labor Day weekend slot, the Darlington race weekend has taken on a old-school theme, with several drivers wheeling throwback paint schemes.
“Darlington’s going to be a bit of a throwback weekend,” Earnhardt said. “I think even the broadcast is going to go throwback — I’ve heard some good things from Steve Letarte about that.”
The No. 88 driver also hinted that his team will be unveiling several new schemes in the near future.
“We’ve got a throwback paint scheme that we’re going to unveil soon. We’ve got all kinds of crazy stuff happening with paint schemes,” Earnhardt said. “Everything next year might be new. Been doing a lot of work with that and seeing a lot of cool ideas. So, I’m excited to share all that as soon as we can.”