Looks like NASCAR got to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

After blasting them for the racing package at Talladega and the melee it helped create on Sunday, he backed off this week.

Talking to SB Nation Tuesday, he said he regretted saying the harsh comments, in which he said fans who want to see big crashes are "bloodthirsty", among other things -- including that he would find another job if this was how the racing was every week.

Here's how the backtrack went Tuesday.
He said he "should have checked myself a little bit before I stood up on my soap box and went off like I did. I probably should have thought a little more about the future and how things could be totally different and all that – and how all that bitching and moaning could be for nothing when we go to Daytona with the 2013 car."

He also said:
"I regret making a bit of a scene and not considering the fact we're going to be in a totally different race car for 2013," he said. "It's probably going to present a totally different style of racing at those tracks, so I probably have a bit more of a positive outlook on the potential for that style of racing to be really good with the next car "It was a bit heat of the moment, and I kind of regret getting that emotional about it. But I was just really upset about how that all went down. We'd run so good. I was really, really happy with my car in that race and I thought we should have been able to finish really good."

My take?
He shouldn't have backtracked, and I'm guessing NASCAR did have a hand in him backing off his comments.

His dad didn't like restrictor plate racing, even though he won a lot of races at those tracks, and Jr. had every right to speak his mind on this package.

This sounds kind of forced, and the fact that the cars are changing in 2013 has nothing to do with what happened Sunday at Talladega.

He didn't like it Sunday, and I'm guessing he didn't like it on Tuesday -- despite what he said.
It's too bad he couldn't stick to his guns, because he's not the only one who often doesn't like restrictor plate racing. It's very exciting, but I hate to see a race end like it did Sunday, so I'll repeat what I say after all of these races that end this way.

I'm no engineer, but there has to be a way to adjust the cars or the packages at plate tracks so that wrecks like that don't happen. I want to see good, exciting racing, not 20+ car pileups.

I'm sure Dale Earnhardt Jr. would agree -- regardless of what NASCAR might want him to say.