“He’s a Sim Racer,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Explains Why F1 Star Max Verstappen Belongs in NASCAR

Asked on FOX’s Speed with Harvick & Buxton which Formula One driver he would most like to see race in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not need much time to answer Kevin Harvick’s question. He quickly named Max Verstappen. He pointed to Verstappen’s sim-racing background, his racing obsession, and the sense that he already belongs to the same broader motorsports culture.

In Earnhardt’s telling, Verstappen is not just a global superstar who would attract attention. He is “one of us,” the kind of driver whose identity is rooted in competition itself. NASCAR fans have heard crossover fantasies before, but this one lands differently because Verstappen is not being sold merely as a celebrity guest.

Earnhardt Jr. called the 28-year-old a serious racer with the mentality and preparation habits that could actually translate. Currently, Verstappen is still under contract in Formula One, but he said late last year that his long-term future would depend on whether the new rules make the cars “nice and fun.”

He had added that if they are not fun, he does not see himself hanging around and could “leave the sport easily tomorrow.” That does not mean NASCAR is imminent, but it does mean speculation about life after peak F1 is no longer purely fictional.

1. Earnhardt Jr. Explains Why Max Verstappen ‘Would Be Fun’ in NASCAR

Earnhardt Jr. said one of the things he likes about Verstappen is that he is “a sim racer,” and that sim racers feel like part of the same community. It was Earnhardt’s way of saying Verstappen already shares part of NASCAR’s modern racing language. Earnhardt Jr. said, “The thing I like about Max is he’s a sim racer, and so I feel like somehow or another all sim racers feel like they’re part of the same community, so he’s kind of like part of our community.” Earnhardt Jr. added, “He’s like us, he’s one of us when it comes down to it. He just loves to race.” He went on to explain why the idea of Verstappen trying NASCAR does not seem as unrealistic as it once might have. “I don’t think it’s such a huge leap that it might have been 15-20 years ago for somebody to come from F1, or IndyCar even, and be able to acclimate really well,” Earnhardt Jr. said. He then added another reason Verstappen stands out as an interesting crossover candidate, saying, “But he’s a name that I think would be fun because he’s very young still, and he’s opinionated.” Earnhardt Jr. concluded, “He’ll tell you what he thinks.”

2. From NASCAR Royalty to an F1 Superstar, A Crossover Idea With Real Star Power

Earnhardt Jr. himself is a NASCAR Hall of Famer whose résumé includes 26 Cup Series wins and two Daytona 500 victories, in 2004 and 2014. On the other hand, his larger place in the sport was cemented by years as its most visible fan favorite and one of its strongest modern ambassadors. Notably, 10 of his 26 Cup wins came at Daytona and Talladega, underscoring how respected he was as one of stock-car racing’s best drafters. He spent years competing at its highest level, built JR Motorsports into a successful organization with multiple Xfinity Series championships, and has remained one of the sport’s clearest modern voices as a broadcaster and podcast host. In other words, when Earnhardt Jr. says Verstappen feels like “one of us,” it sounds more like a respected NASCAR insider identifying a genuine racer’s racer. On the other side of the comparison is Verstappen, who is a four-time world champion with 71 Grand Prix wins, 127 podiums, and 48 pole positions, numbers that place him comfortably among the elite drivers of his era. F1’s own historical coverage has described him as a generational talent who entered the sport in 2015 as its youngest-ever competitor and quickly rose into the championship tier. His career arc also helps explain why NASCAR figures keep bringing him up. Verstappen’s four straight titles from 2021 through 2024 turned him into the sport’s dominant benchmark, and even after narrowly missing the 2025 championship, He finished the season with a powerful late run while Red Bull recovered strongly over the back half of the year. That résumé gives him the rare mix of credibility and curiosity that makes fans wonder how his talent would look outside the F1 paddock.

3. Max Verstappen to NASCAR No Longer Feels Impossible

For all the buzz, there is still a lot of distance between an intriguing podcast answer and an actual NASCAR start. Verstappen remains tied to Formula One through 2028, and there is no confirmed plan for him to race stock cars in the near future. That reality should stay front and center. But the reason this topic has traction is that Verstappen himself has not exactly shut the door on a different future. His public comments about leaving F1 if the sport becomes less enjoyable make it easier for people in NASCAR to dream out loud, because they suggest he is motivated by the experience of racing, not just by remaining in one series forever. That mindset lines up neatly with Earnhardt Jr.’s description of him as simply “a racer.” The through line here is not brand synergy or corporate crossover. It is the idea that Verstappen’s identity is broad enough that he could eventually want to test himself elsewhere. Even if it never happens, the conversation itself says something important about NASCAR’s confidence. The series increasingly sees itself as a destination worthy of elite global talent, not just a parallel universe separate from Formula One. Earnhardt Jr.’s answer reflects that ambition. This is an inference, but it is well supported by how openly NASCAR figures now discuss Verstappen.

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