Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s New Commercial Is A Major Red Flag For NASCAR

I love Dale Earnhardt Jr. Frankly, I think he's more entertaining now than he was during his 20-year NASCAR career. The guy has a podcast empire, and is about to hop into the Amazon Prime booth to announce the next five races. 

His daddy's new Prime documentary, Earnhardt, is also the No. 1 show on Prime right now. So, yeah, everything is coming up Junior at the moment. 

Which is why, at first glance, his new IHOP commercial is good for NASCAR. It's funny. It's original. It's a bit of a throwback to the old days when folks actually put an ounce of effort into commercials. 

It's good stuff, as you'll see here in a minute. But – and I hate to be a downer on this Memorial Day Saturday – I also think it proves that NASCAR has a major problem on its hands. 

Take a look:

What happens when Dale Jr. isn't a draw anymore?

For starters, I don't know if you can all see the Twitter video of the commercial. Elon is apparently still sleeping today and Twitter's been down all morning, which is why I had to upload the awful Instagram video as well. 

Don't shoot the messenger! 

Anyway, assuming you can see it … like I said, it's a good commercial. I also get why IHOP chose Dale Jr. to be the face of their return to NASCAR. 

This ad is going to be streaming for the next month, at least, during NASCAR races on Amazon. The sport is making its debut with the streaming giant on Sunday, and will stay on the platform until the end of June. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is also making his return to the broadcast booth for the first time in two years, making him the face of Amazon's NASCAR coverage. 

And that's, unfortunately, the issue here. 

Dale Jr. retired in 2017. That's nearly a decade ago at this point. Think about that. This man hasn't raced in the Cup Series in eight years, and he's still the face you use to promote your new $6 meal deal? That's a huge issue for NASCAR. A major red flag. 

Frankly, it's been folks' biggest gripe for years now. NASCAR experienced a golden age from about the mid-90s through 2017 when it came to personalities. 

Dale Earnhardt Sr. Dale Jr. Michael Waltrip. Jeff Gordon. Tony Stewart. Carl Edwards. Clint Bowyer. Kevin Harvick. Jimmie Johnson. All easily recognizable faces, and all over your TV at any given point throughout the year. 

Remember the old Michael Waltrip Aaron's commercials? The Kevin Harvick Mobil 1? Jeff Gordon on SNL?

But now? It's just not great. 

Chase Elliott was supposed to be the guy, but it just hasn't panned out. And I'm a Chase fan! But he just doesn't seem to want any of the spotlight, despite being the sport's Most Popular Driver ever since Junior retired. 

Ryan Blaney is the guy that makes the most sense. He's a Cup champ. He's got history in the sport. He's good-looking. He's not afraid to mix it up in the garage. He's married to a former Hooters Hall of Famer. 

But, clearly, IHOP didn't see it that way. They chose Dale Earnhardt Jr. 

Again, it makes sense, but that doesn't make it right. Do you know who sold the most merchandise in NASCAR last season? 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Not Chase. Not Kyle Larson. Not defending Cup champ Joey Logano. 

Junior. 

It's a major red flag for NASCAR moving forward. At some point, the Junior effect will wear off. Don't know when. Maybe not for another five years? Maybe NASCAR milks it for 10 more years? No clue. 

But it will end at some point. 

Then what?