NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. shocked by controversial driver comments

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has admitted he was taken aback after several Cup Series drivers criticized throwback weekend at Darlington.

NASCAR hits Bristol Motor Speedway this weekend, but last time out, the Cup and Xfinity Series raced in Darlington, where NASCAR's annual throwback weekend is hosted.

Whilst the event is a huge hit for many fans, speaking out ahead of the race, several drivers, such as Chase Elliott, explained that they felt it had lost its luster, sparking plenty of debate when doing so.

“I thought it lost it [its luster] about four or five years ago,” Elliott stated to the media when discussing the throwback weekend. “So I was way too early to that conversation, I think.

"Not to be a downer but...I joked about this before, years ago, but like, if we kept going down the road, we're gonna be throwing it back to me in like 2018.

“So, at some point, I think we got to chill on it a little bit. I think we've rode the horse to death, and we tend to do that a little bit too much.”

Elliott was not the only driver to be down about Darlington throwback weekend, with Bubba Wallace also revealing it had also run its course for him.

"The cars look cool, but move on to something different," Wallace said.

"I know it's probably cool for the fans to go back and remember some days and stuff, but for me, it's run its course.

"Doesn't mean it needs to stop. I'm just on the side of where we don't need to participate."

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Dale Earnhardt Jr reacts to throwback criticism

Now, speaking on the Dale Jr Download podcast, Earnhardt Jr. suggested he was surprised by the comments.

"The throwback weekend, frustrating to see, I guess the Friday or Saturday as we're leading into this race weekend, the conversation sort of shifted toward the value of throwback weekend," Earnhardt Jr explained.

The former Cup Series driver added: "I have an instant reaction of, 'Oh man, how can you not love the history of the sport', but then when you dive deeper into it...so I was kind of, not offended, but I was kind of taken aback that anyone wouldn't be on board with something like this,"

"I was initially like, 'How dare anybody be...why are we having this conversation, you know, this is sacred, nobody poo poos on throwback weekend," he continued.

Earnhardt Jr went on to balance things out by stating that it was an 'honest conversation' on the topic last weekend and that he himself hadn't considered the challenges that the weekend presents teams when it comes to keeping their partners happy, with some only signed up for three races, for example.

For now, it appears throwback weekend is set to continue to cause debate among drivers past and present.

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