NASCAR icon admires Verstappen: 'We should celebrate this'

His father was one of the greatest - perhaps even the very best - drivers to ever race in NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Sr. became a champion in the Cup Series no less than seven times. The dominance that the American, who tragically died while racing, enjoyed for years was reminiscent of the current period in Formula 1, where Max Verstappen dominates. According to Dale Earnhardt Jr, a successful driver in NASCAR himself, Verstappen deserves more credit for his achievements than he gets from some.

Last Grand Prix in Japan, Verstappen was unbeatable. The Red Bull Racing driver drove away from the field unchallenged to finish more than 12 seconds ahead of runner-up Sergio Perez. Critics find F1 boring and predictable thanks to Verstappen, but Earnhardt Jr. actually enjoys his performance.

Earnhardt admires Verstappen's supremacy

In the podcast Drive to Wynn, the American makes the comparison with Martin Truex Jr, who once won a NASCAR race in Kentucky with a 13-second lead. Earnhard Jr. can remember people thinking this was terrible. "But I'm thinking, 'Why don't we think this is amazing? This team went and set themselves so far apart from anyone else. Why aren't we amazed and just in awe of what he accomplished tonight?' But instead, we thought, 'Oh man, this is the worst. Gosh, I hope this never happens again.'"

In his father's time, on the contrary, there was widespread applause for a driver who managed to excel like this. If it is up to Dale Earnhardt Jr, it will happen again with Verstappen now. "It made that person an icon and somebody we would remember forever. It's not always going to be that way, and when it does happen, whoever deserves the credit, either Max or the car or the developers, all that should be celebrated."