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Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the racing: ‘This is incredible what we’re able to do’

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint All-Star Race - Practice

CHARLOTTE, NC - MAY 21: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the #88 Mountain Dew Chevrolet, prepares for practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 21, 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

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Saying drivers could race each other in ways they couldn’t last year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. praised the racing in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star Race and said on his weekly podcast that it will keep improving.

Earnhardt, who finished third in the event won by Joey Logano, was thrilled about what drivers could do in the event.

“From what I could tell on social media, nobody complained about the racing and that’s important,’’ Earnhardt said on the Dale Jr. Download. “We’ve got that racing going, and we can make that even better. There’s a lot more gains to be made. NASCAR is certainly working in the right direction.’’

Earnhardt said a key factor was how Logano chased Kyle Larson in the final segment and passed for the lead with two laps to go. It marked the latest lead change in a Sprint All-Star Race in seven years.

“When I saw (Logano) get up to (Larson) and not get stuck behind him, he was actually able to drive all the way up to his bumper and get on his quarter panel and stuff, that’s stuff we couldn’t do last year, the year before,’’ Earnhardt said. “We haven’t been able to do that in years.

“We’ve been so limited because of the big hole these cars were punching. We couldn’t even get to each other. We’d get stuck three, four, five, 10-car lengths behind a car without any chance of actually being able to drive up to their bumper. So this is incredible what we’re able to do this year, in my opinion. We’ve got that going in the right direction.

“That’s a very good thing, something to be excited about. Yes, the All-Star race was kind of goofy, there’s a few too many gimmicks in the sport for my taste, but the racing is getting better and hopefully the good racing and the quality racing is going to continue to bring people to the race track and get people to turn on the television.’’

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