After The Checkered Flag

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is heading into his sixth season covering NASCAR on NBC. This week, and on the eve of the Peacock taking over coverage from Fox for the rest of the 2023 Cup Series season starting at Nashville, the Hall of Famer previewed the upcoming broadcast season on his popular podcast, including talking about how he's changed as a broadcaster over the years. In a separate interview, he talked about his excitement for covering the remainder of the '23 campaign, and interestingly detailed what his role as an analyst is when the racing action might not be exciting. And that's when the two-time Daytona 500 winner fired an unexpected and not-so-subtle shot at Fox and its coverage, which fans have been complaining about all season. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Dale Jr. Download Photo Credits: Getty Images

Kyle Busch is known for not sugarcoating what's on his mind. Other drivers, fans, and the sanctioning body have all been Rowdy's targets in the past. This weekend at Sonoma, the two-time Cup Series champion met with the media and sounded off on a couple of the hot topics this season — car safety and penalties. And unsurprisingly, he didn't hold back, dropping a couple of truth bombs, including suggesting that NASCAR is heading in the wrong direction when it comes to addressing safety issues on the Next Gen car, and when talking about penalties, candidly admitting that all teams are still cheating and trying to see what they can get away with on a regular basis. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Jeff Gluck Photo Credits: Getty Images

Bubba Wallace has been in the headlines a lot recently, and not just for his quality finishes, which includes four consecutive top fives, including the All-Star Race. Unfortunately, the 23XI Racing driver has been in the news for his penchant to display the middle finger — once on national TV, and another time on the track, which Aric Almirola took exception to and confronted the 29-year-old driver about it. Last weekend at WWT Raceway, SiriusXM NASCAR reporter Claire B. Lang interviewed the driver and talked about his habit of flipping the bird. He vowed to stop going forward because it's not a good look. What's interesting is this week the reporter replayed interviews from 2020 that she had with drivers about using the middle finger and got a variety of answers. However, one common theme was how Wallace is No. 1 using the No. 1 sign and other drivers have fun using the gesture with him. Interestingly, Jimmie Johnson said something similar about his usage of the sign since the early days of his racing career. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Audio Credits: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Photo Credits: Getty Images

Kyle Busch was uncertain about his future at Joe Gibbs Racing this time last year. He admitted late in the summer that there was a big change coming. He also suggested it included a change to his family's lifestyle. This season is a definite change for the two-time champion, racing and winning on a consistent basis with Richard Childress Racing, earning his third victory in the season's first 15 races on Sunday at World Wide Technology Raceway. Up until now, what that lifestyle change looked like was unclear. That changed recently when the driver's home went on the market for a staggering price. While selling his home is noteworthy, it's made all the more intriguing because his realtor has a familiar last name and is connected to his not-so-distant past. Video Credits: NASCAR.com Photo Credits: Getty Images Canopy MLS

NASCAR has undergone significant change over the last couple of seasons. The biggest coming in the form of the Next Gen car. Except this new car was dramatically different from those in the past because it also came with a new set of rules and, more importantly, a much more stringent plan for enforcing them. Numerous teams have tested the boundaries and found out the sanctioning body was not kidding, receiving a loss of points, fines, and suspensions. This week, NASCAR elevated its game by handing out an L3 penalty to Chase Briscoe and the No. 14 team, the biggest such punishment to date. There's clearly a battle going on between the teams and NASCAR, and according to veteran announcer Dave Moody, it's a culture war that is going to get ugly before it gets better and he expects it will include plenty of casualties. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Audio Credits: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Photo Credits: Getty Images

Denny Hamlin is never one to shy away from sharing what's on his mind. Even his own 23XI Racing drivers aren't immune from criticism. That's exactly what happened last year when the team co-owner expressed his displeasure with Bubba Wallace following the ugly incident at Las Vegas with Kyle Larson. This year, Hamlin has had plenty of positives to talk about with Wallace, who is currently on the best run of his career, including three top-five finishes in the last three races, not including a runner-up finish at the All-Star Race. Unfortunately, after North Wilkesboro, the headlines weren't about the performance of the No. 23 car, but a hand gesture displayed by the driver in the post-race interview. On Monday at Charlotte, it happened again. This time, the bird flip resulted in a response from Aric Almirola, who was caught on camera shoving Wallace during a rain delay. Less than 24 hours after the incident, Hamlin addressed the situation on his podcast and called out his driver for his "childish" behavior. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images Audio Credits: Actions Detrimental podcast

Bubba Wallace and Aric Almirola get heated during rain delay, with Stewart-Haas Racing driver shoving the 23XI Racing driver before a NASCAR security official intervenes. Credit: @jenloves1123

Kevin Harvick will join the Fox NASCAR broadcast team in 2024. He had another practice session on Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Drivers-Only broadcast, that was dramatically different from years past due to a lengthy weather delay that forced the drivers to fill the time with discussions on a variety of topics. During one of those conversations, the 2014 champion admitted to a prank earlier in his career that he played on someone during a rain delay. Never could he have known those words would come back to haunt him. They did later in the broadcast, when the Fox pit reporters, including the drivers acting in those roles, all pulled the same mischievous move inside his motorhome. It was a hilarious moment and part of an overall broadcast that proved to be more entertaining than anyone could have imagined. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

For months, one of the main storylines in NASCAR has been the sanctioning body and its ongoing negotiations with the teams on the upcoming television contract, which renews in 2025. According to multiple reports, talks appear to be trending in the right direction. A recent report not only confirmed progress is being made, but provided a detailed plan of NASCAR's vision for the future. Interestingly, it's a dramatic shift in how fans will consume the racing product and it comes with unintended consequences, as some fans will unfortunately be left behind. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

Bubba Wallace scored a career-best fifth-place finish this past weekend at Darlington, just a week after doing the same at Kansas. You would think after back-to-back top fives the 23XI Racing driver would be happy about his on-track performance. He was, but it was tempered — hot-tempered. The driver talked with MRN and didn't sugarcoat what he thought about the finish and how it could have been better had it not been for what he viewed as a questionable reset on the car order by NASCAR on a late restart. What's interesting is when that caution happened, the 29-year-old voiced his displeasure over the team radio and even apologized in advance to team co-owner Michael Jordan for what he planned on saying after the race and how he expected it to result in a fine from NASCAR. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

Thanks to Factor 75 for sponsoring today's video. Go to https://strms.net/factor75_afterthecheckeredflag and use code FACTORSE35177 for my special Factor75 discount and to support my channel! #ad *********************************** Ty Gibbs has had a solid rookie season so far in 2023. That includes four top-10 finishes in a row. Off the track, he's kept a lower profile and avoided making headlines like his first two seasons by steering clear of conflict and not saying inflammatory things. Until now. That changed this past weekend at Kansas when the 20-year-old, who was recently nicknamed the Ice Man by Fox's Mike Joy, lost his cool late in the race when he made contact with a Hendrick Motorsports driver and sent him for a spin. Moments later, the JGR driver ripped the HMS driver for being a "dumbass." Not long after his heated remarks, Karma answered back and put the young driver in his place. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

Chase Elliott has been in the headlines multiple times in 2023 not for his on-track performance, but his six-week hiatus due to a knee injury and surgery, and his recent eye-opening comments regarding the safety concerns of drivers following the violent crash of his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson with Ryan Preece at Talladega. On Sunday at Kansas, Elliott's remarks once again were a topic of conversation, but it wasn't for anything the 2020 Cup Series champion said to reporters, but what he said to Noah Gragson after the race, which was one motivating factor for the Legacy MC driver in confronting Ross Chastain on pit road. And unfortunately for the rookie driver, those words spectacularly and painfully backfired in his face. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

Martin Truex Jr. snapped his 54-race winless streak with a victory at Dover on Monday. He was understandably relieved and happy during the post-race celebration following his 32nd career Cup Series win. Interestingly, during that celebration, the 42-year-old unexpectedly brought up his retirement plans in an interview and even more surprisingly admitted that he already has a specific driver in mind who he wants to replace him when he hangs up his helmet for a final time. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Audio Credits: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Photo Credits: Getty Images

Denny Hamlin finished fifth at Dover for his second top-five finish in three weeks. You'd think the Joe Gibbs Racing driver would have been happy with the result. He was not. After the race, the three-time Daytona 500 winner didn't hold back in an interview when he unleashed on his No. 11 pit crew, calling them out for repeated mistakes over the last several seasons and cheating him out of wins. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

Chase Elliott has been NASCAR's most popular driver five years in a row. Despite that popularity, he's never been the most vocal or outspoken driver. However, in the last year or so, that's changed with the introduction of the Next Gen car. The 2020 Cup champion shared his thoughts several times in 2022 in discussing the new car's performance and concerns of the drivers regarding safety issues, including multiple drivers suffering concussions. This year, the 27-year-old has continued that role and this weekend at Dover, didn't hold back when expressing his concerns about the car's safety following last weekend's violent crash at Talladega between his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson and Ryan Preece. Elliott said what happened is troublesome on a "multitude of levels" based on the photos he had seen and the alarming info he had heard. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports AB Dynamics Photo Credits: Getty Images

Kevin Harvick has been sounding the alarm bells on safety concerns with the Next Gen car since 2021, a year before the car ever made its debut. He, along with other drivers like Denny Hamlin, rang them multiple times in 2022, and the collective group rallied together, offered a unified voice, and NASCAR responded this past offseason, making changes to reduce the harsh impact from rear impacts in the car. Those problematic crashes from a year ago have been non-existent in 2023. Unfortunately, a different type of impact is making headlines this week for its violence and what it did to Kyle Larson's car and Ryan Preece's body. This week the future first-ballot Hall of Famer talked about the accident on NASCAR Race Hub and could not emphasize enough how violent the impacts are for the drivers inside the second-year car. During those same remarks, the 2014 Cup Series champ made an alarming revelation about specifically what happens to the drivers inside the car at the moment of impact. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports AB Dynamics Photo Credits: Getty Images

Kyle Busch was understandably in good spirts after winning on Sunday at Talladega. The day before when he met with media, Rowdy was feeling a little rowdy. He talked about his run-in the weekend before with Corey LaJoie at Martinsville, and had a few choice words for the Spire Motorsports driver and then called out NASCAR for not penalizing the No. 7 pilot for his comments earlier in the week. Upon closer inspection, Busch is absolutely right. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Peter Stratta Dirty Mo Media Photo Credits: Getty Images

The majority opinion of fans after the NASCAR Cup Series race at Martinsville last weekend was it wasn't a good race because it didn't have a lot of passing. Except there's one problem, it did. This week and just days after sitting up in the Fox broadcast booth describing the action or lack thereof, Mike Joy appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, where he talked about the race, including the negative feelings held by a lot of fans. He disagreed. Interestingly, during the interview he went on to detail what he saw in the booth was a lot of passing throughout the field. Unfortunately, that action didn't make it onto the television screens of NASCAR fans. And therein lies the problem. The very network that Joy works for is providing a sub-par broadcast product to race fans watching at home that doesn't accurately reflect what's happening on the track. Dale Earnhardt Jr. chimed in on the subject this week on his podcast. He said it's an issue for all broadcasters and NBC tries its best to cover all the action and battles throughout the field. That's something you can tell Junior genuinely believes and it's reflected in that network's broadcast. It is not evident at all in Fox's coverage. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Dirty Mo Media Photo Credits: Getty Images

For weeks, everyone has been looking forward to the return of Chase Elliott to the NASCAR Cup Series after missing six races due to injury. As a result, the return of the five-time Most Popular Driver at Martinsville on Sunday was a top storyline coming into the race. After finishing 10th at The Paperclip, reporters unsurprisingly focused on questioning the 2020 champion about his injury and how he felt following the race. However, one reporter asked what Elliott thought about the overall racing product. The Hendrick Motorsports driver didn't mince words, and it wasn't what NASCAR officials wanted to hear. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Noah Lewis Dirty Mo Media Photo Credits: Getty Images

Kyle Larson is undeniably a great driver. He wins in all forms of racing. He won 10 Cup Series races in 2021 and earned the championship. However, since that year, the Hendrick Motorsports driver has made some questionable on-track decisions. Last year alone, he made four specific moves that angered drivers and left fans scratching their heads. This year on the Bristol dirt, the 30-year-old did it again in a move with Ryan Preece. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was understandably unhappy and made it clear in his response. Unfortunately, he's just the latest to fall victim to a move by Larson. And according to Denny Hamlin, he won't be the last. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Dirty Mo Media Photo Credits: Getty Images Motorsport Images

If there's one way to describe Hendrick Motorsports drivers – they let their actions do the talking. None of the drivers are known for being loud and making headlines for what they say in the media. That changed this past weekend at Bristol. Kyle Larson, William Byron, and Alex Bowman all visited with reporters before Sunday's race on the dirt. Bowman and Byron voiced their displeasure on the same topic – the latest penalties from NASCAR. Meanwhile, the 2021 Cup Series champion added his name to the unhappy list on two separate occasions, not sugarcoating his thoughts about racing on the dirt and later voicing his frustration over a developing conflict with Ryan Preece. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Noah Lewis Frontstretch Photo Credits: Getty Images

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Bristol dirt this weekend for the ninth race of the season. Many fans will attend at the half-mile track this Easter Sunday while others will watch on television. However, according to the most recent ratings numbers released this week, not nearly as many fans will be tuning in to watch on TV as have in the past. Through the first eight races this year (including the Clash), every single one has seen a decline in total viewership from the year before. And even more concerning is most of those drops have been in the double digits from 2022. It appears the novelty of the Next Gen car has worn off. And according to longtime NASCAR voice Dave Moody, it's something that should be concerning to everyone involved. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Photo Credits: Getty Images

2021 NASCAR Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes sits down for a Q&A session with ATCF, where the 26-year-old ThorSport Racing driver talks about speeding tickets, that memorable championship press conference, and his thoughts on a future racing in the Cup Series. Photo Credits: Getty Images

Kevin Harvick announced in January that 2023 would be his final season in the NASCAR Cup Series. That news was understandably a big blow to Stewart-Haas Racing. That loss has already been magnified early this season, as the 2014 champion has been the only car from the organization that's consistently run up front, scoring four top-10 finishes in the first seven races. In addition to planning for life after Happy, SHR officials have had even more heartburn in recent weeks with rumors swirling that a longtime Harvick sponsor would be leaving after the season and joining another team. Multiple sources recently confirmed to After the Checkered Flag that sponsorship deal is happening and it's a bad sign for SHR's future. Video Credits: NASCAR NASCAR.com Fox Sports NBC Sports Audio Credits: SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Photo Credits: Getty Images