1.
When you wreck the Most Popular Driver, you get
booed and called a “dirty driver.” When the Most Popular Driver wrecks you back
two weeks later, he is praised for “standing up for himself.” Do not attempt to
make sense of these two statements.
2.
Most NASCAR fans are less interested in what
happened than who did it.
3.
That’s because “fan” is short for “fanatic” and
fanatics are generally not the most logical people on the planet.
4.
Fans root with their hearts, not their heads.
And that is a wonderful thing, even though it makes them a little crazy
sometimes.
5.
Hang around this sport long enough and you will
hear the words, “Red flag! The wall is on fire.”
6.
Kevin Harvick is lurking like a vulture on a
low branch right now. He’s not the hottest driver in NASCAR, but he might be the
hottest driver on Sunday night. And that’s all it takes.
7.
Of all the drivers I expected to see shed tears
in Victory Lane, Matt Kenseth was ranked 272,603rd. And it was
awesome.
8.
Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., arrived in
NASCAR at the same time. And it is somehow fitting that they appear set to leave
together, as well.
9.
I hate the fact that Kenseth is effectively
being forced out of his ride, in favor of a younger driver. And if I was Joe Gibbs,
I would almost certainly make the exact same call.
10. Complaints
are a dime a dozen. Solutions are tougher to come by.
11. All
you Hendrick-haters, enjoy it while you can. Because Jimmie and Chad aren’t going
to take this lying down.
12. Father
Time is undefeated.
13. During
driver introductions, the best thing to hear is cheering. The worst thing to
hear is not booing, however. It is silence.
14. Kenseth
telling “Dad Jokes” in the post-race press conference? Pure gold.
15. Those
who dislike the “winner take all” championship format at Homestead Miami
Speedway are too young to remember when the late Dale Earnhardt showed up at
Atlanta Motorsport Speedway for the season finale wearing the champion’s
leather jacket he earned two weeks earlier.
16. Or
when Jimmie Johnson showed up at Homestead Miami Speedway needing to finish
27th to clinch the title. #Exciting
17. Trevor
Bayne hit the wall so hard, it hurt ME.
18. There
are two kinds of NASCAR fans; those who say they get charged-up by the wrecks,
and liars.
19. Brad
Keselowski is playing with house money this weekend at Homestead. And that
should worry the competition.
20. Daniel
Hemric and Cole Custer raced their asses off Saturday in Phoenix -- with a
playoff berth on the line -- and nobody got wrecked. Nicely done, boys.
21. My guy
is a saint. Your guy is a jerk. Nothing will ever change those facts, so stop
expecting it.
22. This
sport needs more guys like Landon Cassill and Matt DiBenedetto. You know…
goofy.
23. “What goes
around, comes around” is more than just a cliché. It is the truth, especially
in a sport as volatile and testosterone-rich as stock car racing.
24. Avoid clichés
like the plague.
25. Ryan
Blaney is going to be a huge star in this sport.
26. The same
goes for Kyle Larson, Erik Jones, William Byron, Daniel Suarez and a bunch of
other kids under the age of 23.
27. In
fact, I’m not sure NASCAR has ever been as flush with outstanding young talent
as it is today.
28. No
offense, but remember when guys like Kevin Conway won Rookie of the Year in the
Cup Series just by showing up for some of the races?
29. Austin
Cindric is an aggressive, rookie driver whose exuberance and desire to win
sometimes put his fellow competitors at risk. This pisses of some of those
fellow competitors, who did exactly the same thing when they were rookies.
30. Many
of those fellow competitors seem to be harboring grudges against young Mr.
Cindric, which is disconcerting for anyone betting on him to win the 2017
Camping World Truck Series championship this weekend at Homestead Miami
Speedway.
31. Is it
just me, or does William Byron have that “All American Boy” thing, down-pat?
32. If
Chase Elliott wins the season-finale at Homestead, it’ll be okay with me. The
kid’s due.
33. Denny
Hamlin winning would be good for a few extra storylines, as well.
34. And
while we’re at it, Brendan Gaughan parking it in Victory Lane in what is
(almost certainly) his final NASCAR start would also be a bit of a heart warmer.
35. JR Motorsports
has quietly assembled an Xfinity Series dynasty. Compared to where they were
five years ago, three cars in the Championship Four is an amazing achievement.
36. Kyle
Busch is getting along with everyone this season, and contending for a
championship. Those two statements have something to do with each other.
37. In
sports, you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you earn. If that were not
true, Martin Truex, Jr., would be a MENCS champion by now.
38. And
Elliott Sadler would have a half-dozen Xfinity titles on his mantle.
39. You
cannot feud with your fellow drivers and win a championship at the same time.
40. Austin
Cindric, read No. 39 again.
Did you bring these tablets down from the mountain? They speak volumes about our sport. You can change the names and these truisms can be inserted in every division at every track and series in the country!
ReplyDeleteIt's a great day to be a NASCAR fanatic, for these 40 reasons.
ReplyDeleteI think the Hamlin/Elliott feud is just beginning. I know Coach doesn't like to mix it up but Kenseth kept the last hope Chevy had for getting into the Championship out of the show. Hamlin won't forget what happened at Phoenix in spite of his comments after the crash and he doesn't seem to care about being the most popular driver on the track.
ReplyDeleteThw wild card in all of this is Busch. Next week may be his second championship if the racing is clean and there is no interference from the Chevy drivers. Just my opinion.
One last thing. Jr is going to be missed in the sport, not because of being a fan favorite but by being a class act most of these younger drivers should aspire to. I hope the sport survives without him.
Pistonhead in Texas
I hate the winner-take-all playoff format and I do remember when Earnhardt clinched the title in 1991 by simply starting as well as when the same thing happened in 1986 and 1987 as well as 1994 and the other seasons where the champion was clinched well before the last race. The answer to that issue was never a playoff format, it was simply increasing the point total for each race win and increasing the point bonus for most laps led per race - make wins and laps led erase the points damage of DNFs and thus incentivize going for the win, no matter the race.
ReplyDeleteGreat advice about silence toward drivers during intros - it's why I say nothing when a driver I don't respect is introduced.