Andrew Ravens · MotorBiscuit Wed, November 4, 2026 at 10:20 PM UTC · 2 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dale Earnhardt Jr. is standing by his praise for Martinsville after fans pushed back when the race went green for what he called "like 250 laps straight."
Earnhardt praised the improvements on X during Sunday's race. He appeared on Denny Hamlin 's Actions Detrimental this week and explained what he meant.
"I sent out a social media post. I said, 'Martinsville has been unwatchable. This is way better. Good direction. Whatever we're doing, keep going. Tire, car, there's been a lot of changes,'" Earnhardt said.
"And then as soon as I said that, we had like 250 laps straight of green flag run. But people apparently didn't seem to enjoy it," he added.
His actual post said Martinsville "used to be one of the hardest races to watch with the Next Gen" and that it had "greatly improved this season."
The show also brought up a statistic that surprised him.
Sunday's long green-flag stretch was the longest at Martinsville since September 1987, 59 Martinsville races ago. "I would have never guessed that," Earnhardt said.
He said Jeff Gluck's weekly good race poll was not kind either. "Below 50%. It is in the tank," Earnhardt said.
Hamlin offered an explanation. William Byron led 362 of 500 laps and won both stages on his way to the win.
"They just don't like it when someone gets control of the race and never relinquishes it," Hamlin said.
"We have to realize there's so few purists left. You know what I mean? That it's not we don't mind a good-a*** kicking here and there, right?" Hamlin added. He said "usually lead changes and exchanging of positions is what makes them feel good about that. And when you have someone dominate and lead 362 laps."
Earnhardt did not take back his praise. He credited Goodyear for being willing to try a different tire after drivers pushed for it.
"I mean, you credit the tire. It's been in a really, really good direction. I know you and a lot of the drivers have pushed really hard to have Goodyear take those risks, and it's paying off," he told Hamlin.
Byron's win was his first of the season. Chase Elliott won the spring race at Martinsville earlier this year.
Earnhardt has talked often about the Next Gen car since retiring from full-time racing after 2017 and moving into motorsports broadcasting. His timing could have been better, but he still believes Martinsville is heading in the right direction.
The NASCAR season wraps up Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Source: Sports
