247 - Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Keeping the Whole Sport Honest

A frigid weekend at Martinsville Speedway didn’t make Door Bumper Clear shy away from offering hot takes on this episode. Brett Griffin, T.J. Majors and Freddie Kraft start by discussing T.J. reuniting with his former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. to spot in the Xfinity Series race, only to be surprised by the man himself. Dale Jr. makes his first DBC appearance and shares what made him nervous heading into his only start of the year on Friday night. He and the guys then shift gears to their thoughts on the Cup Series race at Martinsville, where drivers were shifting every lap with the Next Gen car. They discuss why that, along with a multitude of other factors, has created lackluster short track racing so far this year. Dale Jr. then dives into his Xfinity Series driver Sam Mayer getting into a post-race scuffle with rival Ty Gibbs. Hear how Dale and the spotters reacted, and why it's making Dale want to get his drivers fighting lessons.To start Spot On, Spot Off, the crew discusses Denny Hamlin’s struggles during the Saturday Cup Series race and his comments about the Next Gen car needing a complete redesign.Next, they talk about why neither Austin Dillon nor Joey Logano roughed up William Byron during the overtime restart. Hear why the guys think the bump and run may not be as effective with the new car and if they had a shot to begin with.Ty Gibbs is back in the news after Sam Mayer bumped him out of the way in the final corner of the Xfinity Series race as they battled for the 100k bonus. After questioning whether Gibbs could dish it and take it last week, the guys got their answer and breakdown the fight and its implications moving forward. Hear what Dale said to Sam afterwards.Roush Fenway Keselowski lost its penalty appeal for modifying a single source part. The crew talks about NASCAR needing to set the precedent from this ruling and if they could have avoided the penalty altogether. Also, should all penalties be made public again? The crew debates.Everyone shares their displeasure of having to race on Easter Sunday at Bristol Dirt. They talk about who ultimately has the power to make the decision and why the answer may surprise you.They continue their discussion of Bristol Dirt talking about Kyle Busch’s comments about wanting to “cut the cord” on the race. They bring up Richard Petty’s thoughts about NASCAR continuing to race on dirt and if there are other alternatives to taking away a regular Bristol race.Finally, hear their thoughts on TV not showing victory lane interviews after Mike Joy tweeted explaining the TVs reasoning. Dale shares insight into why networks made the change and provides a solution that he thinks would appease everyone.Dale sticks around for the remainder of the show and hears what the fans have to say in Reaction Theatre. Hear a song about Dale, how many people are mad at Gibbs for leaving his helmet on, reactions to moments from the TV broadcast, and more.Lastly, Xfinity returns as a sponsor on DBC with their new segment. Plus, Dale and guys give out their What an Idiot awards.Thank you to our presenting sponsor Offerpad and partner RacingUSA.com for making this show possible. Want more DBC? Check out and subscribe to the new DBC YouTube channel! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.