In his long-standing career in motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has worn many hats. Starting with grassroots racing, he later made his NASCAR debut and quickly became a fan favorite—a position he held until his final race in the series.

Beyond his time on the track, Earnhardt owns several race teams and a racing tournament, runs a media empire, and has worked with NASCAR in various roles. He has experienced more sides of the sport than most.

On one episode of his podcast, Earnhardt sat down with McLaren boss Zak Brown and revealed why he has stayed away from NASCAR’s official governing body.

Zak Brown’s Road Before McLaren

During his appearance on “Dale Jr. Download,” Brown talked about his journey to becoming the leader of one of the biggest racing teams in the world. Long before his time with McLaren, Brown was building a name for himself in karting. From there, he switched formats, series, and even continents to find his place in the racing world.

After about a decade as a racer, Brown transitioned to the business side of motorsports. He founded Just Marketing International in 1995 and grew it into one of the largest motorsports marketing agencies in the world. Alongside that, he started his own racing team, United Autosports.

After selling Just Marketing International to Chime Communications, Brown became the CEO of the company, a role he held for three years before McLaren came calling. On the podcast, Brown shared that before his McLaren role, he had a different path in mind.

He said, “I actually thought I was going to go to Formula 1. I had an offer from Formula 1, and then things happened at McLaren. It was always my favorite racing team.”

Brown explained that if he had taken the Formula 1 job, he would have worked as the number two to then-CEO Chase Carey. After Carey stepped down, Brown would have been in line to run the biggest motorsports league in the world.

“I think the path was ultimately to run Formula 1 if I had done a good job, but then when the window opened up to go to McLaren, that was better. It was better ’cause I like the race part.”

A team owner himself, Earnhardt said that if he had to choose between owning JR Motorsports, running another team, or working as a NASCAR official, it wouldn’t be an easy decision.

While both agreed on their love for racing, Earnhardt was clear about one thing. “I’ve seen what it’s like on the organizing body side of things. I don’t know if I want any of that. It’s all headache.”

He added that on a good day, working as a motorsports official could feel normal. But when things go south—when the politics heat up and there are so many contrasting opinions in the room—it can get tough fast.

Morning 3 is a quick roundup of stories we think you should know about to start your day. Check out those stories, and more, below.

Historic North Carolina speedway up for sale just weeks after NASCAR returned

Rockingham Speedway just hosted the Xfinity, Truck and ARCA series on Easter weekend.

More on the track here.

Ardrey Kell principal announces retirement weeks after being suspended

The principal wrote that her decision to retire came with her “deepest sadness.”

Read the full story here.

Uber driver violently assaulted in Uptown Charlotte, records show

A security officer said the suspect was “intoxicated to the point he barely could walk.”

More on the case here.

Weather: Strong storms to end workweek in Charlotte

Quick-moving thunderstorms are expected Friday afternoon into the evening.

Read the full forecast here, or watch below.

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Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping spending bill that would enact the White House’s policy agenda.

Passed on a razor’s-edge 215-214 vote, the federal budget bill delivers new tax breaks on tips and car loans, and boosts spending on the military and border enforcement. But it also reduces funding for non-defense programs, impacting social programs, schools and hospitals.

Access to mental health resources improves the safety, well-being and academic success of students. In order to help the school-based mental health workforce, Indiana Sen. Todd Young and two Senate colleagues have reintroduced the Mental Health Excellence in Schools Act.

The American School Counselor Association recently reported that Indiana has a student-to-counselor ratio of 694 to 1 — the highest in the country. Schools employed about 1,500 counselors statewide for more than 1 million students.

The legislation is a needed step forward to addressing critical workforce shortages, expanding access to comprehensive school-based mental health services — especially for students in underserved communities.

But another bill co-authored by Young — the Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act — intends to give taxpayer handouts to motorsports facilities. Congress shouldn’t allow this one out of pit lane.

Most racetracks are small operations that don’t generate huge amounts of economic activity, and large tracks that host IndyCar and NASCAR events earn big payouts just one or two weekends per year. Congress shouldn’t give a special tax preference to motorsports facilities. Instead, it should pass comprehensive tax benefits that help businesses around the country.

The Motorsports Fairness and Permanency Act concerns depreciation schedules under the tax code. Many of the investments that motorsports facilities make have long depreciation schedules that could stretch out over decades. Beginning in 2004, Congress made a temporary carveout for racetracks that reduced that to seven years, allowing them to write off their investments faster.

But in 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made the shortened period of seven years irrelevant by allowing businesses to write off 100% of the cost of many investments immediately, including those made by racetracks.

If Congress wants to encourage all businesses to make capital investments, it can do it in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act now before the Senate. A permanent and fair tax code, with depreciation schedules for all businesses, would better serve the country than writing side deals for individual industries such as motorsports.

The Mental Health Excellence in Schools Act, on the other hand, underscores concern for students grappling with mental health challenges at unprecedented levels. Lawmakers must listen to school professionals and act boldly on this bill. The nation’s students, particularly those in Indiana, depend on it.

After completing its longest distance of the season in the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series will race Sunday at Nashville Superspeedway, which produced its longest race in duration last year.

The 2024 race lasted a marathon 4 hours, 3 minutes and 54 seconds because of five overtimes that extended the distance by 31 laps — an OT record for the Cup Series.

Joey Logano capitalized on his sterling fuel conservation to earn the victory that locked the No. 22 Ford into a playoff run to last year’s championship. Logano, Kyle Larson (two) and Denny Hamlin (three) have won the past six Cup races on concrete surfaces.

Larson is the only Cup driver with four top 10s at Nashville since the track returned to the circuit in 2021. The Hendrick Motorsports star’s has a personal-best average finish of 4.5 at Nashville.

Halfway through the 26-race regular season, eight drivers have clinched playoff spots with victories. Coke 600 winner Ross Chastain became the third driver in the past four races to earn his first victory of 2025.

AJ Allmendinger enters Nashville after finishing a season-best fourth in the Coca-Cola 600.

Details for Sunday’s Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway

(All times Eastern)

START: The command to fire engines will be given at 7:09 p.m. … The race is scheduled to begin at 7:19 p.m.

PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 4 p.m. … Driver introductions are at 6:30 p.m. … The invocation will be given at 7:01 p.m. … The national anthem will be performed by Sgt. Elizabeth Marino, 2D Marine Aircraft Wing Band at 7:02 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 300 laps (399 miles) on the 1.333-mile oval.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 90. Stage 2 ends at Lap 185.

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 39 cars entered at Charlotte.

TV/RADIO: Prime will broadcast the race starting at 6:30 p.m. … Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.

FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Partly cloudy with scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon, a high of 83 degrees and winds from the west at 5 to 10 mph with a 40 percent chance of rain. It’s expected to be 80 degrees with a 24 percent chance of rain at the start of the Cup race.

LAST TIME: In a key moment during his championship season, Joey Logano seized the lead in the third overtime and hung on to lead the final nine laps through two more overtime restarts.

Tyrone Kemper Jr. began racing go-karts at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana, when he was six years old, and the sport has turned into passion for the 12-year-old.

He currently competes nationally against some of the best young drivers on the national kart racing circuit.

Kemper is a New Orleans native who began racing for fun with the help of his dad. What started out as a way for a father and son to spend time together has turned into the pursuit of a professional racing career.

After showing steady improvement over the last six years, Kemper now travels throughout the country to compete in various kart races and has multiple national wins to his name.

“I’m most proud of (Kemper Jr.’s) perseverance,” Tyrone Kemper Sr. said. “When we started coming here (to NOLA Motorsports Park), it was only a father and son thing. It was never meant to be where we are today. Once we started traveling and racing, I’ve seen him progress and progress.”

The Kempers travel with a trailer stocked full of karts and the necessary parts to race in national events. The racing facility at NOLA Motorsports Park has given Kemper Jr. the time to practice and improve his skills behind the wheel.

“I’ve learned a bunch throughout my six years of racing,” Kemper Jr. said. “Learning how to race and sometimes as a mechanic on the kart. A lot of that help came from my dad having me help with tires and if he needs help taking things apart or putting stuff back together.”

After competing in his first regional kart race when he was 8, Kemper Jr. was forced to move to bigger karts at age 9 due to his above average height, which meant he had to race against kids older than him.

Kemper Jr. most recently competed at the SKUSA Pro Tour in Cincinnati during Memorial Day weekend. He finished fourth on Saturday and eighth on Sunday against fields of over 40 drivers.

“I was one of the tallest drivers on the track, which affected me a lot when I was younger,” Kemper Jr. said. “I was worried (about racing older drivers), but it now feels more common to race with them. Saturday (in Cincinnati) was a really good day. I was fast all day.”

Next up for Kemper Jr. is a trip to Amarillo, Texas, as part of a championship battle that could result in a free ticket to compete in the SKUSA SuperNationals. His passion for racing began while watching Formula 1.

“My passion really came from F1, seeing all these drivers go really fast,” Kemper Jr. said. “I told my dad I wanted to do it, so he brought me out (to NOLA Motorsports Park) and bought a go-kart. We were planning on doing it for fun, but we ended up getting deep into racing. My dad helps me stay motivated even if it gets hard at times.”

Kemper Jr. attends school at Lycee Francais in Uptown New Orleans and speaks French fluently. The Kempers plan on traveling to France next year to race.

“My French is really going to help over there,” Kemper Jr. said. “(Lycee Francais) is really helping me balance racing and school. I’ll be doing my homework and anything that I’ve missed, and I’ll be doing that all weekend after we get back (from racing).”

The Kempers are a first-generation racing family. They credit NOLA Motorsports Park and the local racing community for support.

“NOLA Motorsports Park is where our heart is at,” Kemper Sr. “That’s what helps keep us going. You can’t really buy that time you spend with your family. Having that one-on-one time in the truck, it means everything. We’ve been welcomed with open arms into the culture of racing.”

Competing in high level kart racing has proved challenges at times due to financial requirements. Kemper Sr. puts the money he earns working into Kemper Jr.’s racing career.

“Financial is what holds us back,” Kemper Sr. said. “We can’t afford to have two motors and a new chassis every weekend. We have to use what we have, but we’re competing. We have NOLA Motorsports to practice (on track). We’re going to (race) until we can’t do it anymore.”

Kemper Sr. is originally from Chicago but has been living in the New Orleans area since the 1990s. He and Kemper Jr. bring New Orleans cuisine with them when traveling to races.

“We bring our culture with us everywhere,” Kemper Sr. said. “We bring shrimp to the races up north, we bring gumbo. We bring a lot of New Orleans with us, and we’re known for being competitive. It’s been positive for us. Where we are now, we’re in a good spot.”