Dale Earnhardt Jr discusses the controversial NASCAR Overtime Line

Dale Earnhardt Jr: “We should have the overtime line only at Daytona and Talladega.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr opens up the NASCAR overtime line discussion, “So we had a little more overtime line controversy. This has been something that’s starting to become habit.”

The overtime line has come into effect twice, this month alone. Most recently at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Kasey Kahne crossed the overtime line on a delayed yellow flag and was declared the winner.

2017 Brickyard 400 finish explained
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – JULY 23: Kasey Kahne, driver of the #5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet, takes the checkered flag under caution to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motorspeedway on July 23, 2017 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)

Dale Earnhardt Jr is one of the key players that put NASCAR’s overtime line in place. He stated, “The overtime line, I’ve talked about this before. I feel like I have to take some credit for helping to implement the overtime line idea into the driver council a couple years ago. Because, if I’m going to talk bad about it today, I definitely gotta admit that I was part of it’s inception.”

Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr has left the NASCAR driver council

Why did Dale Jr feel NASCAR needed an overtime line? He gives the basis for the rule, “The reason why this all came up for discussion was because of what happened with Austin Dillon wrecking at Daytona. In July, where he goes flippin’ down the front straight-away into the grandstands and all that bad stuff.”

Related: Austin Dillon Daytona crash video

Dale Jr NASCAR overtime line
Dale Jr at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

It’s preventing chaos, “We’re trying to come up with a way to end these races at Daytona and Talladega. That’s a bit of a middle ground for the fans and the drivers. As far as safety goes. We want the fans to see some sort of a finale, or end, that they can be happy with. But we also want to keep the drivers from crashing down the front straight-away in spectacular fashion.”

Dale Jr describes his idea for the NASCAR overtime line a bit different then it’s being used. Stating, “I thought that we should have the overtime line only at Daytona and Talladega. It wasn’t really necessary to have it anywhere else. But, NASCAR wanted some continuity and thought ‘If we’re going to have it, we’re going to have it everywhere.’ ”

I don’t think that the way it is today, is here to stay.

-Dale Earnhardt Jr

“They implemented this rule. I wish it had worked out. But, I’m not sure that it’s here to stay. I don’t think that the way it is today, is here to stay. As opinionated as the media has become about it, as opinionated as the fans have become about it, it’s something NASCAR is definitely going to have to address. It’s something they can’t ignore.”

“[It will] be interesting to see how that works out. If they get rid of it completely or whether we go back to what we used to have as far as green-white-checkered’s [being] unlimited.”

“I’m not really concerned with having unlimited green-white-checkered’s at any race track. Except for Daytona and Talladega. With the pack racing and the speeds and how the tendency to get airborne it’s just a really dangerous game to be playin’ ”

Dale Jr concluded, “With everything’s that being implemented. The stages and overtime line and double-file restarts. All these new things that have been sorta infused into the sport over the last several years. It’s brought up a lot of opportunity for debates like this. And, I don’t see it going away anytime soon.”

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