Dale Jr. Faces Fan Backlash Over Controversial Martinsville Next-Gen Take

A race can have a dominant winner and still leave viewers arguing about whether it was worth watching. That was the divide after Sunday’s Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway. William Byron controlled much of the afternoon, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw something more encouraging in the way the Next Gen car was performing at a track that has often struggled to deliver close racing. “Martinsville used to be one of the hardest races to watch with the Next Gen. It was follow the leader. No one could get within a car length of each other. Just horrid.