NASCAR
Listen here for the latest NASCAR news, stats, standings and more. Sourced from leading radio shows and premium podcasts.
The Final Lap
A highlight from All Star Race / Coca-Cola 600 Recap Preview
"Talk about all things NASCAR. My name is Kerry Murphy. I'm a longtime host of all things. The final app co -host of the show is Toby Christie, founder and editor in chief at Toby Christie dot com. Yes. And before we get to the show, Kerry, we've got to thank the people who sponsor this show. Oh, I forgot about that. Do we have to rewind or anything? No, we can just do it right now. Oh, yeah, because, you know, we're the bosses. That's right. We can do anything we want to do. Let's do it now. Our sponsors are cool with that. So, yeah, let's go through this. We've got some awesome people who contribute to this show. How about the guy who was the first one to jump on and say, you know what? I'm going to sponsor this thing. Joe Bike, first guy to jump on. First guy to jump on the bike, so to speak. So there he is at the only a mattress giant level two. Thank you, Joe. We've also got Louisville Max over there at the ultimate final appers tier. We've got some shirts going out to him. I think we're going to sneak in. I don't. It hasn't known about this yet. I think we're going to sneak in a TFL and a T .C. shirt for that guy. I don't even have one of those. I know we're going to have to get a package out to you, I think. So we're going to do that. So thank you, Louisville Max as well. And of course, Devin, our latest patron that has popped into the sponsorship tier, the only at Mattress Giant level tier as well. Thank you, Devin. Thank you, Louisville Max. And thank you, Joe Bike. Let's get in the show, Kerry. Yeah, let's do it. All Star Racing Cup series action going down at someplace called the North Wilkesboro Speedway. I haven't heard of it. Yeah, it's been a while. So I think it stretches beyond before you were following the sport. Well, that six was the last last NASCAR Cup and truck series races there. It's crazy. It was. So I was there and I've got to say it was really, really cool to just kind of take in everything there because they left a lot of stuff intact the way it used to be really because it looks so modern on TV. Yeah. So they did a good job. So they did a good job modernizing what needed to be modernized, but they left a lot of stuff kind of close enough to the original. And if they did kind of do over things, they kind of kept it retro where it looked faded and stuff, even though it wasn't. Yeah, they did a really good job and it looked really, really cool. It just felt really cool to be there as a kid that was watching NASCAR last time they were there on TV to be walking in the track. I remember seeing so vividly when I was on TV, like on TV when I was younger. It was really, really cool to to be a part of. And energy the at this track, Kerry, was it was electric all weekend. There were so many people. The truck series had so many people in attendance for that race. I don't know the last time we saw a truck race stands that packed. I mean, it was it was just wild. How many people were there for the truck series race and then that transferred over to the Cup series All -Star race day. And it was insane. I mean, we went out through the concourse and the midway was so packed. I had not seen a midway that packed for so long. We had a report from Davey Siegel, by the way, who was on call in case you somehow weren't able to do this by way of jury duty. He told me that he went out to the Kevin Harvick Holler just to kind of see how diecast prices and stuff were looking and see how things are going. They had the 29 diecast there. The special paint scheme was already and diecast at the track. Wow. And they had sold out. And it was like two hundred and fifty bucks for the autographed one. Yeah, it sold out. So it was impressive. I'm telling you, it was something to see. We went to the tweet up. And I joke at not at all that this was literally one hundred and fifty, possibly 200 people at Jeff Gluck's tweet up. I mean, it was it was packed. It was insane. That's cool. Insane. It was so cool. It was so awesome to put faces to these people. We talked to on Twitter all the time. I hadn't been to tweet up in a while, but I talked to Jeff about it. And he was like, dude, I have not seen one this bid ever. Daytona 500 wasn't even close to this. I mean, it was just crazy. Wow. Wonder why it was nuts. I'm just there was just people wanting to be there. We met people from New York that drove down that were just there to be there. They didn't have tickets. They just want to be in the stands and hang out. So that's what they were doing. So it was like, wow. And in order to get the truck series ticket, you had to have gone all days. Like it was literally an all weekend package. So if you didn't buy the whole weekend, you can get in. So they were just there to take in the ambiance. And they said they were going to the Coke 600 this week, but they just wanted to kind of be there. They just wanted to say they were there. So it was really cool. I mean, it was truly something special. I know we're going to kind of get into the All -Star main event and how lackluster the product ended up being. But the entire week as a whole, I want the takeaway to be how cool it was to see this track one back and two to see the people coming out to support it as much as they did. It was incredible. It was so cool to see. Well, that's really good to hear, because like you said, the product needs some help. But the I'm glad to hear that the atmosphere was good, that the track did their their best to make it, you know, welcoming and accommodating and modern and all that stuff. So that's very cool. With the small turnaround time they had, it was only eight months that they had to try to turn this thing into a dormant, just destroyed racetrack into a usable facility. I can't
NASCAR on NBC
A highlight from North Wilkesboro: All-Star big event feel; whats next for North Wilkesboro; short-track tweaks for NASCAR; Kyle Larsons brilliance; Coca-Cola 600/Indy 500 previews
"The aspartate D.C. podcast. I'm your host Nate Ryan, joined today by Dale Jarrett, NASCAR Hall of Famer, appropriate DJ because we're coming off the all star race. I think what many would consider NASCAR's return to a Hall of Fame type track North Wilkesboro speedway returns to NASCAR for the first time since its final Cup race in 1996 hosts the all star race this past weekend. Big weekend, obviously you had Cup Series all star race. You had the truck race. You had late model racing going on and by all accounts it just seemed like a huge revival of this racetrack. I wasn't there. I was in another iconic track. I was in Indianapolis Motor Speedway for 8500 qualifying. I know you weren't there, but you were watching from afar, you guys did motor mounts this morning. So I know that you talk to people who are there and Jeff Burton and Kyle Petty. Burton said it was a lot of happy at North Wilkesboro speedway, a revival of racing as he put it. What did you see from afar and what did you make about NASCAR going back to that place? Yeah, yeah, obviously there was tremendous amount of hype leading up to it, but I think it lived up to the hype. I mean, it was a huge event. And basically, especially this day and time, that's what you're looking for. Events that make a difference, and that's people what people want to be a part of. And it's what they want to see. And I don't care. I don't even know the number of tickets that were sold. Don't care how many fans there really were in the stands there. I'm sure it was something over 25,000 probably closer to 30 somewhere in there. All I know is it was jam packed and you couldn't have put another person in there and that's a peeling to the eye. And so I know that NASCAR had to be thrilled. Certainly Marcus Smith and his people had to be thrilled with what they saw. That goes a long way. And the fans telling us what they really want and look for in events to happen. Most compelling race? No. But how many can we go back over the years of when spend the all star racist Kyle Petty made this point on our motormouth show? And that how many races were all that great? Yeah, we had some crashes at the end, people battling and things like that. But yesterday was just more about one driver showing his superiority over others and difficult situations. And the difficult situation was just a worn out racing surface. I mean, you thought 27 years basically the thing sitting there and weathering and hey, I don't remember a ton about 96 race matter of fact until somebody sent me a picture. I didn't even realize I'd finished third, but because I never thought that I did very well there. But I can always remember that it never had any grip. And so I know it didn't sit there for 27 years and gain any grip. So it was a huge challenge for the drivers and the teams, especially with these cars that are showing to be a handful on the short tracks anyway. Yeah, I mean, you'd expect a track like you said that's been sitting there for 27 years with virtually no activity. They've had a couple of races, but not a lot for a long time. They were just weeds growing through it. And that's pavement that goes all the way back to 1981 was the last time they repaved it. And Marcus Smith, chairman of speedway motor sports, it owns the track, of course, said that he intends to bring cut back there in some form or fashion, but they're trying to hold off on re paving it. So I found that interesting, but you know, you brought, you didn't have the most illustrious record. It will explore. I looked it up before we started 19 starts and you said it. Your career best was a third and that final race, that final cup points race. Maybe not the final cut points race there ever, but the most recent one they had 96. So when you heard they were going back there, were you happy about it? Obviously it's got a great kind of reputation of being a throwback old school place, but you didn't have a lot of success there. I mean, what were your initial reactions or impressions about going back to a place maybe where you weren't as good, but NASCAR kind of thrived? Yeah, I had to put my thoughts aside. You know, it wasn't that didn't like it. It was different. And I never really found a great feel for it. You know, fortunately, you know, Todd Barrett came along and got me something that I could drive around there. He knew apparently more about what I was looking for than I knew over those years. So it was nice to get one good run out of the way. And anytime you finish behind Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt on the short track, you're not too upset with that. So that was good. But when it was announced, I thought it was a great idea. I did not know what type of racing we may see. That was a concern. But again, it became more about the event. And that's what, you know, any all star event. I don't care if you're talking Major League Baseball NBA hockey NFL's going in a totally different direction with their basically All-Star Game. They're Pro Bowl. So things are it's more about everything that goes on around it. And if you happen to get an exciting race in our world out of it, then that's just a bonus. And that's certainly what this weekend was going to be more about. These cars are difficult enough on tracks that these people know. And so, you know, the majority of the guys in the race until they got there and practiced on Friday and some random the truck racial Saturday. And you know, had never been there and competed in a race at North Wilkesboro. So to throw them out there and expect and think that we might have this three wide exciting finish at the end of a little unrealistic, but it's a great venue, I like going back and celebrating the history of this sport because, you know, our country has gotten to where we don't want to celebrate too much what has happened in our past. But this, I like to see our sport, being able to do that because North Wilkesboro was a big part of why this fort continued to grow
The Final Lap
A highlight from Rick Hendrick Declares War on Ross Chastain
"Patreon paying people that go at the beginning of the show. And they are, we've got tons and tons of people total that contributed to this show, but we've got some sponsors of the show that we like to talk about. At the very top of the show and that's the, that's the crucial part of what we're doing right. This moment, Carrie. Do it. You know what? You know the people who bring this show to us, don't you? I do, I do, yeah. In fact, I interact a lot with Joe bike. He's very talkative. Yes, Joe bike is one of the folks. And I think he's the longest tenured sponsor of the show. Yes. We've also got Louisville max, our longtime fantasy racing player. He's up there. He's in the ultimate final app or tier, by the way. The only folks up in that list are him. So he'll have a T-shirt coming. We talked recently and he'll be getting that out pretty soon. We also got Devin as well. So Devin here at the only mattress giant level tier there with Joe bike.
NASCAR on NBC
A highlight from Darlington: Ross Chastain mixes it up again with Kyle Larson; William Byron continues emerging as a NASCAR star; the return of North Wilkesboro Speedway
"I'm your host Dave Ryan. Joined by Kyle Petty. Today we're both in our home studios. We're going to talk about the Darlington Raceway race today on Mother's Day first. I need to say a big thank you to my guest, Kyle Petty for doing national television and then doing the NASCAR NBC podcast. Thanks for being here, KP. I really appreciate it. No, man, thanks for having me. Listen, I do have to say this. And I said it today on TV. So it was a big day. It was a big day because we got to do the first segment. And it was myself and my dad, and I told him I said, I have done just about everything there is to do in racing. But I had never been in a booth with my dad. So it was really cool. You know, Dell Jarrett gets to do it. We got to do it when they had a couple of times and some of that stuff. And I see how special it is. It was really, it was really a big honor that they let me do it. The fox let us do it today, but for the 75th, but it was a lot of fun. Yeah, obviously I was going to start their KP. You mentioned that on air when you were on the Fox Sports broadcast, which game was really cool. Second straight year you did that, but this time with the king, who's in the booth and obviously your dad done countless interviews, TV appearances and he's probably lost track of the number of cameras. He's talked to you in his lifetime, but he hasn't done many like this. Like we're using the booth and like we saw with Bill Elliott in the third segment too. Bill Elliott hasn't done a lot of calling races either in the he and the king are intimately familiar with how to do media and interviews. This is kind of like a new realm for both of them. So what was it like? Do you think for the king and for you and for doing this new experience together? You know what? I think he enjoyed it. I tell you what he enjoyed. Enjoyed all the gadgets that you have in the booth. The illustrator, all the information that's coming in. You know, and here's the fascinating part and I said it on air. He will sit at home and he's got a computer with side of him with all the lap times and all the speed and all the information. Then he's watching it on his TV. And he'll sit there and eat popcorn. That's his son, the afternoon when he's at home. 90% of the time he's at the race track, but that's his deal with his home. First thing he did was come into booth. Look at all the gadgets and then start watching the race out of the window, which doesn't help at all when you're doing TV because you never talk about what's going on out the window. You talk about what's on the TV. So, but you know what I think he enjoyed it. Clint did a great job. I would say that Clinton did a great job leading him a couple places and you know the funny part he said and he said it before and he said it a little bit today and around about way as they went there in 1950 and they raced stock cars. Right off the showroom floor and the car that we raced or that they raced today as the most advanced car that NASCAR has ever had. But the one thing that never changes is the racetrack. And how it wears tires and how it beats cars to pieces and how there's no room to race and all this stuff. That never changes. So no matter what year it is or what decade it is or what century you're in, Darlington is always going to be Darlington. And it just doesn't change the racing. That's the same race we saw when Ricky craven and Kurt Busch comes down to the end and they're beating and banging and they're side by side that's the same race we saw with Jeff Gordon when he won the Winston million and Bill Elliott and those guys. It's the same kind of racetrack. And that's I think that's fascination with Darlington and so many ways is when you step through the gates. It is that portal to that throwback. It takes you back and the racetrack does that. Yeah, and I thought it was really cool. You asked the king that question. Yeah, track that started in 1950 and is still around today in 2023. And I think you asked him, when you were driving, did the track change the cars changed, but did you notice if the track change? That was kind of like what you're asking him, right? Yeah, and like he said, he's not really. You still have to drive it the same way. He had the race to race track. And I was fascinated that we talk, and he kind of alluded to this. And I wish we would have had more time to elaborate on some of is about passing people. You have to, you don't just run up on somebody and pass them. Like you do at Kansas. Or other places. It's a timing thing. It's a momentum thing. And it's funny because what that says to me is that all these racetracks we race now where they run high and they come off the wall and everybody talks about you got to keep their momentum up. You got to keep it going. You got to run that high groove. You've got to make that gear work. The Darlington's been that waste since 1950. And the drivers that drove it had to drive it that way. So from that standpoint, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch and Joey Logano and those guys have a lot in common with red baron and Lee petty and buck baker and all the guys that came in the 50s and 60s. Hirsch mcgriff started the first 500 was on your charity ride. It's going to talk to you about that at the end. And obviously I want to talk Darlington as well, including you and you mentioned the way that you pass people here. That was certainly a big topic of discussion. Again, with your man Ross Chastain. Of course, it wouldn't be a cow pretty appearance on the NASCAR and BC podcast if lord Byron didn't win, so all of your guys get to William Byron Ross Chastain, but first I just want to start Katie because it was 75th anniversary weekend throwback weekend at that track. You know, I think about like the petty family and obviously I think Martinsville, I think Daytona, I think Bristol to some extent. But you guys talked about this as well, like Darlington, I think, one win for the king and for you, you wanted to make it, of course, the bass pond. I mean, obviously it has a very special place in NASCAR history, but what does it mean for you? I mean, obviously you love the place, but the family didn't quite have the success there. You had other places. No, my granddad, my granddad ran there, you know, for a number of years, from 50 until what, 60. I think 60 was the last year on. I don't think he didn't run there in 61 because he wrecked at Daytona. So he ran and he and my dad raced together three times there. I think once in 59 and then I think a couple of times and 60. My granddad always beat my dad there. I will say that. We looked that up. I wanted to know who finished the head. We're going to have finished second one year. My dad finished fourth. That was as close as they got to each other. So two cars and the top 5 in 1960 was a big deal. But, you know, we just never had success there. You know, so many drivers that you go and you look at them and you're in the Hall of Fame room. And they'll talk about the southern 500, winning at Darlington. Because that was the first super speedway. You had to win there to establish yourself as a superstar. And Lee petty never did that. They played just went and won championships. He didn't win at Darlington. He just won three championships during the decade of the 50s. That was his huge accomplishment that elevated him to the top and moved him because he'd won 50 some races and that. But Darlington was never kindly petty. And it wasn't to my dad. You know, my dad had one of the worst wrecks of his career. And I just never got the hang of it. And it struck me today while I was doing TV.
The Final Lap
A highlight from Christie to Drivers: Man Up, Confront Chastain Yourself!
"You're laughing, but this is no joking man or there are people that support our show every single week and they are oh yeah, we've got tons of people here and the three that we have to mention at the top of the show each time are the sponsors of the show. How cool is that, Carrie? It's very cool that we have sponsors. Yeah, so the sponsors of this show, let's start with Louisville max. He's the guy at the very top tier here. He's got a T-shirt coming, by the way. Max, if you will message me DM me, whatever you need to do, let me know your shirt size, get me, give me a mailing address as well. We'll get that TfL W shirt out to you. And then of course, we've got Joe bike, the man, the myth, the legend he's been here for a while, and he's got a cool name because it's a transportation vehicle name. It's really, really cool, right? Yeah. Especially on a show where we talk about other forms of transportation. It'd be kind of weird if it was Joe V8 or something though. Do you think maybe he'll change do you think anybody's ever had the last name V8? I may
The Final Lap
A highlight from Truex X2 Win Dover / Thrilling Kansas Up Next
"There's a few people that like special treatment and like to be mentioned here at the top of the show and with good reason, right? Yeah, with good reason for sure they contribute to this show. I think it should be more than anybody else on the list, so we appreciate these guys. And yeah, so we like to roll the show off by mentioning them. They're the sponsors of the show after all. Why not, right? For sure, for sure. Yeah. So the three folks that we have to thank above all else. Louisville max, one of our longtime fantasy racing experts who's always neck and neck with rowdy dragon up there. I think I'm pretty close to both these guys in the standings this year, so I'm feeling pretty good about myself, although I'm sure they'll get me in the second half of the year, I'm mixing up with them right now. So I'm okay with that. We've got Joe bike as well. The only mattress giant level tier and Devon as well. The latest guy that popped up here is our sponsor. Thank you all three of you. And if you'd like to join this opening segment of the show as well. Yeah. Patreon dot com. Patreon dot com slash my lap. Sign up for the only at mattress giant level tier or higher and you'll be included as one of the sponsors of the show. Join in on the giving fun. And join
NASCAR on NBC
A highlight from Dover: Martin Truex Jr. ends 54-race winless streak; Ross Chastain in another crash controversy with Kyle Larson; impressions of attending Supercross in Nashville
"Hi, welcome to the NASCAR NBC podcast. I'm your host Nate Ryan, joined by NASCAR and NBC analyst, Steve lit, and we just finished watching the Dover race, Stevie and a lot of tire concerns coming into this race. This is NASCAR's only trip now to the monster mile annually, but I don't really think we saw a lot of those concerns. I think actually we saw a fairly compelling race. I know you're a Dover fan. What did you make of 400 miles at the monster mile today? It's the monster. Like it's not a moniker. It's not a marketing campaign. It's the damn monster. You better show up. We better show up right. It's hard. We short practices. What I love is, so I'm not a big fan when we see tire failures that abruptly end up in accidents. And what I mean by that is right front's going down, rear tires failing. I think that the teams ain't good year and everybody has a hand in that. What we saw here was a durability issue, but the issue I believe is a combination of how the teams are applying the tire, how the setups are being used, how the handling is, you know, I don't put this on NASCAR or Goodyear. You know, I think this is the challenge of Dover. I thought it was a great Dover race. Listen, I might be in the minority, but every once in a while, I like a heavyweight toe to toe, figured out sort of fight. And that's what Dover was. It had crashes early and had long green flag runs. We had ten cars on the lead lap at one point. It was old school Dover and we didn't need 500 laps of it. Look, we raised 30 6 points races. I'm sorry. You don't have to like them all. Don't like it, don't watch, don't come. Like, it's okay that everything isn't right for everyone. I like variety. I don't love the dirt, but I'm okay, we have a race. So what I saw at Dover was that, man, it was like quintessential Dover. And I think that's one of the reasons we got the winner that we did because Martin Truex Junior has found his way to not change his style, to be smooth behind the wheel, a little chipper on the radio. But in the end, back to victory lane, big weekend for the Truex family. It was a very big weekend for the Truex family Dover. This is essentially their hometown track. They're from New Jersey, the Atlantic City area, close enough, and Ryan Truex gets his first experience he went on Saturday, Martin Truex Junior wins on Monday, which by the way, he did in 2007. That was his first Cup Series victory ever. So yeah, big weekend for the Truex is, and to your point, Steve, it had a few indelible moments. We're going to get to those. I think you get three or four moments in a Cup race. That's a good race. And one of those moments was at the end, came down to the final restart, some tire strategies, varying between the lead cars at the front. I forgetting now, but in your time with Gordon or earn our junior, did you ever win? No, I took four tires and lost a two tires on Jimmy Johnson. It felt a lot like today. What I saw and I apparently didn't learn, Nate, because when the caution came out, I'll sit with a couple buddies, and I said, well, a lot of lap cars between second and third, I think you got to take four tires because even if the opposite happens, you're going to start probably in the top two. A couple of things I didn't take into account. The new four tire change is so fast, 9 and a half seconds. You know, it used to be 12, 13 seconds. You had an advantage there. I say that because Chastain took four and I thought he would have restarted second. He restarted fourth. That was a big difference with a couple more two tire changes. So listen, I'll go on record. James small, congratulations. First of all, and I was absolutely wrong. Because I was scared to death when you rolled off with two tires, miles ahead of the other cars coming off pit road. I thought you could have took four tires. I thought you should have took four tires. And here you are, standing with a monster, trophy that I never got. So I'm going to keep my mouth shut next time I go to Dover and not have an opinion because two tires, I believe, was the call. I wasn't factoring in the time it takes to change four tires versus two, and I didn't think blaming those guys could get there. So in the end, it was the right call, but I was nervous. I was nervous. Yeah, I figured it would be. I didn't really want to bring it up because it could be a sore subject for you. But yeah, I thought there was a time ten years ago where Chad and Jim E beat you and Dale junior on a call similar to this one. And I thought that Truex was still in trouble, Steve, because, I mean, 8 laps to go and Chastain's directly behind him and row two on four and Truex has got two and he's got plenty beside him on two. It seemed like it was a Rochester game moment. Were you surprised that tricks is a champion, but that he was able to hold off a hard charging Ross Chastain, which we'd seen a hard charging Ross Chastain earlier in the race custom mayhem. So, you know, what I got was I got Truex, reminding everybody that he's a badass. I don't know how else to say it. And you know, that has to happen in sports because our sports stars that we love, they age, they all lose a little step. But every once in a while, Tiger Woods will come back and win the masters. Every once in a while, your favorite player will go for four in a baseball game. Every once in a while, your favorite basketball player will
The Final Lap
A highlight from Bowman Sidelined, Dover Preview
"Hey, there are some people on our list of Patreon paying people that kind of got the lead and are sticking with the lead. They're in the lead pack, so to speak, if you want to use a racing term. They are. They are. And it's really cool to see because we've had a lot of people who have contributed to the show in the past or our Patreon page. But like you said, these three stand above the rest. So let's go through them right now, Carrie. You ready for this? All three? Yeah, let's start with the leader of the pack. Louisville max, he's the guy at the ultimate final lapper tier of Patreon page. We appreciate you max. One of our longtime players of the fantasy NASCAR game that we run. So really, really cool to see. And then sit right behind him neck and neck at P two just kind of surging ahead back and forth at Talladega. Super speedway blah. We've got Joe bike and of course Devon as well. So thank you both for being there at the only at mattress giant level tier of the Patreon page. And thank you everyone who contributes, but definitely thank you to these three who have actually become the sponsors of the show by way of their amazing patronage. If you'd like to join the list at the beginning of these shows, Carrie, you, just like everyone else, can go to Patreon dot com slash final app. And sign up
NASCAR on NBC
A highlight from Talladega: Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing are superspeedway sweethearts; the wicked Ryan Preece-Kyle Larson wreck; Bubba Wallace triple blocks
"The editor of NASCAR talk, Dustin long, who was at Talladega superspeedway. I was at the boulevard. I was on the boulevard. He was on the boulevard and as he always is. He's also on the photo stand during the race. I know he loves that perch. Yes. Pretty good place to be yesterday, Dustin with all the action happening in the pits. We're going to get into that but first I want to talk about Kyle Busch, getting his second victory of the season. Who would have thought that we'd be talking about super speedways, Kyle Busch in his first season at Richard Childress racing, this victory at Talladega for Kyle Busch, his first on a super speedway since 2008, prior to this season, the only victories he had on super speedways, both in 2008, one at Daytona, one at Talladega. He could have won Daytona 500 this year, Dustin. I mean, certainly he had a great car. He crashed in the qualifying race there, but then he came back in the race and was in the mix to try to win the Daytona 500 until that last lap crash where he got involved in it. So I know you asked in the post race Kyle Busch and Richard Childress, a lot of interesting questions about how this relationship has worked. I want to get to some of that, but let's just start with Kyle Busch is the super speedway driver. Why he had such trouble winning races the last 15 years with Joe Gibbs Racing and why it seems like suddenly he's really good at it at RCR. I think what are the challenges when he was at Joe Gibbs Racing was just the toilets just didn't always have the numbers. Now obviously they were the ones, what was it in 16 with Denny and really kind of created that teamwork mentality. And that's why they had success because everybody was kind of doing their own thing on an island. The Toyota's worked together and then lo and behold, they win the Daytona 500 and then other people started paying attention to that. And so you don't have the numbers. Some people might make the point, hey, look, you know, he's had that big hit at Daytona in 2015 where he suffered the serious leg and foot injuries, missed the first 11 races of the season. And this style of racing, you have to be super aggressive. I'm not going to say not smart because you do have to be smart, but I think you almost have to turn that part of your brain off at times and just say, look, there's a hole, I'm going to go for it. Let's see what happens. And I think Kyle probably is more measured. Now whether it's because of 2015, whether that's because he's that type of a driver, you know, he's not the only one in the toilet, you know, that was in the Toyota camp for a long time that hadn't had success in speedway races. Obviously, Martin Truex Junior has never won on his speedway race. So is it something that their styles is something because of the fewer Toyota cars? I think they could be something related to that. So Kyle's a generational talent and he can do a lot of great things. Speedway racing doesn't maybe match up as well. But I don't know if that's a bunch of a worry other than for him, just the fact that, you know, for having such a great career at this point, he doesn't have that Daytona 500 victory. And look, he's come close to winning on speedways before, you know, more often and having some runner up finishes in the past. It also says a lot Dustin, I think, for Richard Childress racing and their degree of success on super speedways. This was the 13th win at Talladega for RCR, Kyle Busch joining Clint Boyer, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt, as RCR drivers who have won at Talladega. They've had a ton of success at Daytona as well. Last year in the cutoff race for the regular season, Austin Dillon wins that race at Daytona to advance to the playoffs. So I feel as if Dustin RCR isn't a team we talk about a lot in terms of super speedway success and especially when we're talking about like the forwards and the other Chevys, but I think you're right. Like you kind of mentioned it, there's that strength in numbers in Chevrolet that Kyle Busch hasn't been accustomed to Toyota and you take that and couple it with the fact that RCR is pretty good on these super speedway programs really going back to the Earnhardt days. Well, I think what's really interesting about the RCR VA program is the last couple of years I think you look more at the Fords and you look at how well the Fords have worked together and you just think the Fords are the ones that are going to be the dominant ones and they're going to put themselves in position. We look at how good Brad Keselowski Joey Logano Ryan Blaney and some of those others are from the Ford camp on it, but like you noted Austin Dillon wins at Daytona last year with his teammate Tyler Reddick right behind him, so children's right up there at the front. And as you noted earlier too, hey, look, Kyle Busch, if there isn't over time in the Daytona 500, he leads lap 200. And the race goes into overtime and gets caught up and incident later. So, you know, childress RCR could easily have won the last three speedway races, and I'm not going to count Atlanta in that. But the Daytona Talladega races. And so this is who they are. One thing Kyle talked about is they don't have that strength right now in the short track, but this is an organization as good on the speedways and as you alluded to has had a history of being very good on the speedways. And so, you know, in one sense, it wasn't surprising to see a child's car up there. You know, one thing I noted in my Friday 5 leading into talent egg a weekend has had this graphic from got the information from racing insights and was just asking about, hey, you know, Kyle Busch's last win at Talladega was 2008. What's the longest gap between wins at a particular at Talladega? And he's had 28 races since that race and then gets that win on Sunday and that's the largest gap between wins at Talladega and for all time in the series it's third. Was it Terry Labonte had 40 some races between his victory in 1980 at Darlington and then was it 2003 or so in Darlington. So it shows in one sense how much it's as much a team game and how you are able to position yourself and to help that you get and so I think yes, childress is I think you say that this is the team to beat on the speedways right now, not Hendrick motor sports, not the Fords. It's Richard chills racing till somebody else knocks him off. Is this Austin Dillon's path again to the playoffs? Or is this another path for Kyle Busch to collect more playoff points? Here's a guy who didn't have playoff points last year, had those two engine failures with Toyota in the first round and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career. So, you know, he talked about in the press conference about just wanting to get off to a fast start. This helps and you know, see how they can continue to build at other tracks, but especially as speedways. Yeah, and no question RCR is definitely changed Kyle Busch's fortunes here early on the super speedways, but I think the big story of Kyle Busch going to Richard Childress racing this year was going to be the impact that he had on that organization. And you asked some good questions post race. You asked one of Kyle Busch about Dustin long NBC sports, Kyle 8 months ago at Watkins Glenn, you opened up about how it had been such a hard as hell year at that point. Where you were then to where you are now, to wins, what's it like to be Kyle Busch, what's your mindset now? Just having a good strong support system, obviously, you know, Samantha and brexton, my family first. But then from there, having a great bunch of guys that I'm surrounded by that when Richard made comment to Randall about there being a chance that I come over there, he was really pumped up about it and he was really excited about it and Petrie was as well too. I remember Petrie blowing me up for a couple of weeks on phone calls and stuff. So they didn't think that Kyle Busch was washed up or anything like that. And so it was really a breath of fresh air to get over there and get to work and it's trust me. I've probably done more worked harder in this year than I have in the last four. Just because of feeling like it's my
The Final Lap
A highlight from Kyle Petty Is Our Guest / Talladega Preview Blah!
"There are three people in this world that really, really like what we're doing. Yeah, man, it's really, really cool to see. Well, there are three that really like it. There are lots of people that are still like it, but not as much as these three. So let's go ahead and let our listeners know of our three sponsor to your members of our Patreon account. We've got Devin Louisville max and of course the man the myth of legend. He's back, mister Joe bike. Some kind of a weird snafu in the Patreon pipeline, but he's back and we're all good to go. So really cool to see. We appreciate you guys. And if you'd like to join these guys at the top of the show, each and every week, you can sign up at the only at mattress giant level tier or higher of our Patreon account. And you'll be included as a sponsor of the show, but really cool to see. So thank you, Devin. Thank you, Louisville