Dale Earnhardt Jr talks Charlotte PJ1 usage

Dale Earnhardt Jr: “I was really disappointed that they sprayed that stuff down and it didn’t work”

Charlotte Motor Speedway listened to the drivers and took a gamble running last weekend’s race in the daytime. Unfortunately, it appears that PJ1 trackbite might have messed up the day race experiment.

“The officials there decided to move the race to the day time. I don’t know particular’s, I don’t know exactly what’s happening. But, I know the track isn’t doing well, because of attendance, it’s way down,” Dale Earnhardt Jr stated via the ‘Dale Jr Download’ podcast.

They are in, or near, panic mode.

-Dale Earnhardt Jr

“The removed a lot of grandstands from the back straight-away and so forth. They are in, or near, panic mode. To, sorta re-vive this racetrack.”

“They decided, after hearing all this conversation and advice from the drivers… to move this race, to the daytime. Great idea!”

Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr is excited to run Charlotte day race

Charlotte Motor Speedway attendance
Charlotte Motor Speedway attendance

Charlotte PJ1

“Well, they added the PJ1 because they had did this last year. And it seemed to do ok. But for whatever reason, the way they applied it. How it re-acted. Whatever happened in the next several hours between being applied and the cars getting on the track.”

“When we went out there to practice [on] Friday, that stuff was slick. What we’ve seen in the past, at Bristol and so forth is, it has more grip than an area that’s not had it applied. As the cars run on it and heat it up, it activates it in some way. Then it becomes even more grippier and tackier.”

“We flew into the fence. I thought the right front tire blew or we broke a suspension part. The car just went right into the wall, there was no stoppin’ it. Kyle Busch, a couple other guys, hit the wall [too] and had trouble with this stuff.”

“It wasn’t good. It was bad that this stuff was so slick and you couldn’t even run up there. You were in fear of even getting into it and using it. It was a bad, bad deal on Friday.”

I’ll give the track credit. They listened to a lot of advice.

-Dale Jr

“I’ll give the track credit. They listened to a lot of advice. They used the tire draggon which would start to engage or activate this PJ1 to improve it’s grip. And it did. You saw the Xfinity cars run the middle in their race. You say the Cup cars run the middle. But, for whatever reason we never were able to get right up against the wall. That stuff up against the fence still wasn’t quite engaging, similar to Friday.”

Charlotte Motor Speedway PJ1 usage
CHARLOTTE, NC – OCTOBER 08: Martin Truex Jr, driver of the #78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, leads Kevin Harvick, driver of the #4 Jimmy John’s Ford, during the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on October 8, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Sarah Crabill/Getty Images)

“That was really disappointing. Because, I like that line. I was hoping to run it the entire weekend, because this race is being moved to the daytime.”

“We crashed our primary car. We got our backup out. We ran two laps in practice, we ran two laps in qualifying and that was it.”

Related: Brad Keselowski is running a Dale Jr tribute paint scheme at Talladega

Kyle Busch - Heat stroke and carbon monoxide - Charlotte Motor Speedway
Kyle Busch rests on the ground next to his car following the Charlotte Motor Speedway NASCAR race

“It was a really hard day as a driver. I know you guys want it to be hard and it should be hard. But, it was hard for all the wrong reasons today,” Dale Jr stated via Periscope after the race.

“Hopefully they don’t spray that PJ1 on any other racetracks for awhile. I think they need to research that a little bit more before we use it again.”

The track went out on a limb to move this to a day race.

-Dale Earnhardt Jr

“The track went out on a limb to move this to a day race. I knew all along that this racetrack would race a whole lot better in the daytime than at night. Had they not put the stuff down on the track, we’d a been driving all on the fence and everything. Trying to find grip and haulin’ ass up there. But, we just couldn’t get up there and use it.”

“I was really disappointed that they sprayed that stuff down and it didn’t work. It’s easy to say that after the fact. I’m not trying to get too hard on the racetrack. But, man, I just want this place to see it’s real potential.”

Dale Jr on PJ1 trackbite
Dale Jr on PJ1 trackbite

“It hasn’t been a great race here, in a long time. I just know, it can be a great race here, during the day. I know the fans probably don’t like it. 85-90 degree day, it’s not a lot of fun. But, I think the race would be fun to watch if they would run the 600 in the daytime here.”

“I know it probably was a difficult race to enjoy. I don’t really know for sure. But, if we hang in there and get it right. It’s going to be pretty awesome.”

Hopefully, we learned a lesson

-Dale Jr

“Hopefully they don’t spray that stuff anymore, the rest of the season. we don’t need that at Martinsville and Texas and crap. Hopefully, we learned a lesson, not to do that the rest of the year.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr finished 12th on Sunday. He’s crew gained 6 spots in the final pit stop.

Related: Dale Earnhardt Jr explains late race bump to Brad Keselowski

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Charlotte Motor Speedway
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