Dale Earnhardt Jr. Thinks Having Four Stages At Daytona and Talladega Is a Good Idea

By Gary Gastelu |

Sep 17, 2025

Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Credit: NASCAR via Getty Images

NASCAR is on the verge of making one of its biggest changes in years as it evaluates new postseason formats, one of which could go into effect as soon as next season.

There’s a final committee meeting this week to consider a variety of proposals and a decision is expected to be made within a couple of weeks.

But that’s not the only update on the table. NASCAR has also been looking at ways to improve the racing at Daytona and Talladega, where fuel-saving has reduced the action during the race. One idea is to add an extra break to create four stages like in the Coca-Cola 600.

This would allow the cars to go the whole stage without needing fuel and run harder the whole way.

Speaking on The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who won 10 superspeedway races during his Cup Series career, said he thinks the idea is worth a shot. “It adds importance to those two races, because there’ll be more points on the line,” he said.

In particular, Earnhardt said he doesn’t feel like a Daytona 500 win means as much as it did in the past. “It’s fallen from that perch, and that is a problem for me,” he said. “Is it the best solution? No. Is it the perfect solution? It is not.”

He agrees with fans who’d rather see the stages go away entirely, but doesn’t believe that’s realistic today.

“I don’t know that that’s on the table, I don’t think that NASCAR is considering that, or else I would try to use whatever influence we have here to support that,” he said.

An alternative he proposed was to keep the stages, but get rid of the stage break caution periods, which would force the teams to decide when to pit on their own.

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His co-host, T.J. Majors, who is a spotter for Brad Keselowski, threw cold water on the idea, saying it wouldn’t be good at Talladega. He explained that the front two cars could control the pace and whether or not a third lane could develop, while some drivers may sit at the back all day in the draft saving fuel just to make their final pit stops shorter.

They also talked about making the tire life shorter, as was the case at the exciting Bristol Night Race this past weekend, but Earnhardt said both tracks are already starting to age and allow the cars to slip more, which would be enhanced if they were driving faster without fuel concerns.