A quick roundup of the media center happenings Friday at Texas Motor Speedway…
Chase is still pissed
Chase Elliott, who has been declared as the “People’s Champion” by Texas Motor Speedway, made it clear he is still upset with Denny Hamlin following their incident at Martinsville last week.
“Definitely not happy about it and I don’t think a whole lot has changed,” he said. “But no, I am not going to answer your questions about whether I am going to get him back or not. Don’t even ask, because you are not going to hear it from me. Just don’t go there.”
OK then!
But Elliott did answer some questions about the incident, saying he’s not out of the playoff picture on points despite being in a 26-point deficit to the cutoff position, that the fan support after Martinsville was “definitely unexpected” and the People’s Champ banner was “definitely strange.”
Elliott also said he hasn’t paid any attention to the Martinsville fallout this week, only turning on the TV to watch Netflix and refreshing his Twitter so he could see college football news, because “as you all know, the Georgia Bulldogs are ranked No. 1 right now in the country.”
“I was more consumed with that than this other stuff,” he said.
“We weren’t happy with each other,” Blaney said. “Both of us had our conversations and what we were upset about. I felt like we handled it fine. It was a stern talking-to (from Harvick).
“I have a lot of respect for Kevin. He helped me a lot when I got started a couple of years ago. It is just Martinsville racing, pretty much. We had a talk and I think we are fine. I am sure we are over it. Those (jabs) were just to reassure that we were good.”
Dale Jr. got a horse (kind of)
You knew Eddie Gossage was going to go big on the Dale Jr. retirement gifts, and he definitely did by riding a horse into the media center.
But the horse wasn’t actually a gift — it was to signify the track is sponsoring a therapy horse in Earnhardt’s honor.
As far as actual gifts, Gossage gave Earnhardt the top of the scoring pylon from his first Texas win, lit up with a No. 8. That was a pretty badass present, actually.
And to finish off the gifts, he gave the Earnhardts a custom-made baby stroller in the shape of a pink car.
Bubba — and NASCAR — get a sponsor
NASCAR had been working to help Richard Petty Motorsports find sponsorship, and a deal with mortgage brand Click n’ Close was apparently the result of those efforts.
RPM announced it will have three races of sponsorship from Click n’ Close, and NASCAR announced the brand will become the “Official Mortgage Provider of NASCAR.”
Anyway, Click n’ Close will sponsor RPM’s No. 43 car for the Daytona 500, as well as a Phoenix and Texas race next season. So although RPM has a ways to go to fill out the car with sponsorship, at least it’s now three races closer.
As a side note: The car was unveiled as a Ford, but Ford put out a statement before the news conference saying it has not received a commitment from RPM to return to the manufacturer next season.
Jimmie Johnson isn’t worried
Despite having the worst season of his career — at least in terms of average finish (15.5) — Johnson says he can make it to Homestead after entering Texas three points below the cutoff.
“I do feel good about getting in,” he said. “I think we are all just so used to momentum and we haven’t had that extremely high positive momentum, race-winning momentum on our side just yet. One thing I know about our team is when we get hot — and we can get hot quick — great things can happen.”
Also…
In news that didn’t take place inside the media center, Team Penske announced Miller Lite is reducing its sponsorship of the No. 2 car from 24 races to 11 next season.
That’s a big yikes, considering Miller has been such a longtime and loyal sponsor.
But Discount Tire will step up to fill the void on Keselowski’s car next season, sponsoring 10 races — including the Daytona 500 and Homestead.
These 12 Questions-style fan profiles are one of the rewards offered as a tier on my Patreon page. You can catch up on the other profiles so far this season here.
I grew up as a Jeff Gordon fan. My grandfather was working for Goodyear and we used to go to many a dirt race. He told me this kid from Indiana was the best Midget racer he ever saw and that I should become a fan. Needless to say, the 24 didn’t disappoint.
I’ve followed Chase for awhile, as a friend of mine is from near Dawsonville, Ga., and I’ve visited numerous times. We actually watched Chase one time in a go kart and talked to him when he was probably 10 or 12 years old. I’ve also met members of the Elliott family, and they are such a great racing family and seem very humble.
5. Who is your most disliked driver?
Jimmie Johnson.
6. Why don’t you like him?
First off, Jimmie is an amazing person and is one of the most humble and gracious winners I have seen.But from a racing standpoint, I dislike him because he has without a doubt taken away many wins and probably a championship or two from Jeff Gordon. I view it probably how Dale Earnhardt Sr. fans felt about Jeff coming into the sport in the mid 90’s. I’ve always felt that Jimmie hasn’t done a great job of acknowledging that without Jeff, he would quite possibly never had a chance at Cup, let alone a chance with the infrastructure Hendrick has provided. With that being said, I have met Chad Knaus, Earl Barban and Jimmie before, and they were incredibly down to earth and seemed like great people.
A quick funny story: When I met Chad, I was working for University of Kansas athletics at the time, where there is quite the tradition when it comes to basketball. Chad and I were talking about what I do for the sports teams and how they are similar to his race team. He mentioned he thought we had a great football team and had no clue that KU had a basketball team! He then reminded me all he did was eat, sleep and s–t racing. Makes sense why those two have been incredibly successful!
7. What is your favorite track?
Darlington. Can’t beat the history of that track and the uniqueness.
8. What is one thing you would change if you were in charge of NASCAR?
Pick a point system and rules package and stick with it for a while. Minor changes are surely needed every now and again, but as fans we can’t get accustomed to one package for very long before it changes again. I’m in the minority, but I loved the old points system! I know it’s never coming back, though, and I think what we have now is the second-best option.
9. What is one thing you would keep the same if you were in charge of NASCAR?
The accessibility of the drivers. I have noticed a difference through the years as teams become less and less available, but for the most part drivers still go out of their way to sign and greet fans.
10. How often do you yell at the TV during a race?
Not a bunch, really. I’m a pretty low-key guy, but when Jeff had a chance to win at Martinsville a couple of years ago, I was pacing around the living room.
11. Do you have any advice for other fans?
Just be involved. Racing to me isn’t a sport; it’s a lifestyle. I don’t mean that to be a cliche, but it truly is. I work in the athletic world, and I love the stick and ball sports such as football, basketball and baseball. But racing is completely different. Get involved with going to appearances and getting to the track early and supporting your driver’s sponsor when you can. The NASCAR community truly is one big family and we as fans play a very important role in that family.
12. What else do you want the NASCAR world to know about you?
My one fun fact about myself and the NASCAR world is that I have sung the national anthem a few times at Kansas Speedway and was able to do it for a Cup race. It was an amazing experience and I was able to meet many a driver and team members.
Each week, I ask a member of the racing community to shed some light on their social media usage. This week: Ryan Truex, who drives for Hattori Racing Enterprises in the Camping World Truck Series.
I see you’re on most of the forms of social media that exist. Can you rank them from your favorite to least favorite?
It changes weekly depending on how things go. I like Instagram because I don’t get a lot of rude comments on there when I post stuff, and usually the stuff people say to me is nice. I’d say Instagram and Twitter switch back and forth between first for me, and those are the two I use the most.
I honestly don’t post that much on Twitter. I use it more to kind of just talk to people and kind of annoy my friends and say dumb stuff to them — like people like Landon Cassill. On Instagram, I feel like people are nicer. It’s definitely between those two.
I used to use Snapchat a lot. Honestly, I kind of just forget about it now. I don’t get on as much. Facebook, I’d say I probably use the least. I barely ever post on there. Honestly, I just forget. Twitter and Instagram are just so much easier to jump on it, kind of jump into a conversation, kind of push whatever you want to push.
That’s weird though, because you say that you’re on Snapchat, you use Snapchat a lot to look at other people’s feeds, but you don’t think to post your own content there?
I don’t like to say stuff just to say stuff. I don’t tweet just to tweet, you know? If I want to say something, I want it to be something good that I can get across properly.
I really just like to respond to people and annoy people. That’s the most fun. I’m a very sarcastic guy — I don’t know if you realize that — so I try to make sure that I portray that properly on Twitter. A lot of people just think I’m an ass sometimes. (Laughs) My friends think that, too. Honestly, that’s probably their number one opinion of me. But that’s just how I am.
I love Twitter because I can just jump into any conversation if I want to. I think that’s the best part about it, that you can be a part of any conversation you want and really get your opinion out there, which I don’t do that very often because usually I get a lot of crap for it.
So your friends’ number one opinion of you is that you’re an ass. Is that really true?
Yes. (Laughs)
That’s not sarcasm.
I don’t know, maybe it is.
Why do you think people are nicer on Instagram than on Twitter?
I don’t know. I guess because Instagram, your profile is just pictures of you going about your daily life. It’s not so much you just having 140 characters to say something about somebody or tweet at somebody or respond at somebody with something negative. I mean, (Instagram) comments are negative sometimes, but usually those guys aren’t following you if they don’t like you. They’re not gonna actively search your Instagram page and go to a post and say, “You suck” or “You’re an idiot,” whatever.
But with the tweet, especially if you tweet your opinion about something or try and jump into a conversation, then you have 20 or 30 people jump in and tell you how dumb you are. But that’s all part of it. That’s the beauty of Twitter, everybody has a voice.
I don’t like the people that say stuff just to say stuff. If you can be funny about it, or you have a good point as to why you don’t like me or if I did something to you or something like that, then that’s fine. But if you say something just to say something or whatever, that’s when I get the itchy block finger. (Laughs)
I do notice that when you pick your spots to jump in, it’s usually like less than 10 words probably. Like you just drop a little comment in there, kind of just sneak in and shoot a little dart. Sometimes, like you said, it’s very sarcastic. Do you know that people are going to take it the wrong way? Are you trolling people a little bit?
Yeah, sometimes, but it’s never anything like too crazy, you know? I mean sometimes people take it the wrong way, but people that know me know how I am, know what I mean, and yeah, it’s never anything too serious. It’s not like I’m pushing anybody’s buttons the wrong way.
But yeah, I’m a man of few words. So that’s why when I do post or when I do tweet, I make sure it’s right, because it’s usually 10 words or less, and I’m a believer that less is more.
So you talked about the itchy block finger that you get sometimes. It sounds like you’re a blocker instead of a muter when somebody rubs you the wrong way?
Yeah. I used the mute feature a lot, and sometimes I’ll use it, say if there’s a sports event going on or something I don’t care about, a lot of people I follow are tweeting about it, I’ll mute them. Then sometimes I’ll forget (they were muted).
And then they’re lost forever in your feed.
Yeah, because when they tag you in stuff or mention you, you don’t see it. And I’ve probably hurt some feelings if I said everybody I’ve muted before. I forget a lot.
Honestly I block more people for talking about Martin (Truex Jr., his older brother) than anything, just because I don’t care to see it. I don’t care if they talk about me or say stuff about me, but I think it’s the ones, people that tweet that don’t understand or don’t really know what they’re talking about (who get blocked).
Life’s too short to clog your brain up with stuff that doesn’t matter like that. So if it’s something dumb or uncalled for, stuff like that, then yeah, I’ll block them because I have no need to ever see that person’s opinions anymore. It’s not gonna affect me positively, so I try to just block all that out. But like I said, if it’s funny and it makes me laugh — even though it’s mean — I can respect that.
So if you’re going to be mean, at least be funny about it.
Yeah, exactly. There’s plenty of accounts I haven’t blocked that constantly troll me. But that’s fine. Not everybody’s gonna like you. I don’t aim to please everybody. I know there’s people that aren’t gonna like me and that’s fine. There’s no need to try and please everybody, because then you’re not really your true self. So that’s my number one thing: I try to be myself, whether that’s me being quiet or staying out of something, or jumping in and being sarcastic. Whatever it is, I try not to stray away from my true self too much.
Do you find it funny at all when people troll you with the “Ryan Truex Jr.” type stuff, or are you just like, “Come on, guys.”
Speaking of that, I’m gonna show you this. So my “Go Ryan” shirts have been really good, and people really like them. And I’ve been trying to think, this whole “Ryan Truex Jr.” thing, how can I spin it that direction? So I came up with this shirt here.
This says “Ryan Truex Jr.” and has a red X through the “Jr.” This is going to be a big seller, I think.
I hope people like it. See, this is like the less is more approach to me. It’s the same with the “Go Ryan” shirts. There’s barely anything going on, and I feel like it’s to the point and gets the message across. At the end of the day, that’s what I’m all about.
Let’s talk about the “Go Ryan” shirts, because that’s something that did pretty well on social media. It got a lot of attention, it’s still getting a lot of attention. I mean, Dale Jr. wears the shirt. A lot of people tweet about buying them. Have you been surprised at that whole reaction?
Yeah, honestly, I really have. I came up with the idea last year. Originally, I had an 81 on it, and I kind of sat on it for a while. My girlfriend was the one who came up with the idea of me drawing something. She thought it would be original and nobody’s ever really done that, so I drew it up and I decided to just throw “Go Ryan” on the side because I thought it was corny, kinda funny.
I sat on it for a while, I sent it to a few friends and kind of just got opinions on it, and everybody loved it. So eventually I just went for it. Really, was the Junior retweet that got it viral. So thanks Dale, for sure. But him and Amy both, they got them and they started wearing them, and then everybody wanted one. Everybody wants to be like Junior, you know? He’s the guy.
Like I never asked him to tweet about it or anything. There’s times where he would respond to people’s tweets with him wearing the shirt and say like, “This is the most underrated shirt” and stuff. I’m like, “God, man!” Every time he (tweeted) it, it was already sold out, so I couldn’t even do anything with it. Yeah man, it’s been awesome, and it’s really cool.
My whole career, I’ve never had apparel aside from hats that I get made. I’ve never had a T-shirt before. I’ve always wanted to have them and I kind of didn’t have really anybody helping me do that kind of stuff, so I just had to do that on my own — and I can only do so much with my God-given artistic ability. (Laughs) So yeah, I built my website by myself and set everything up. And it’s kind of just a one-man show.
So it’s been really cool that people like it and have reacted positively to it. I still get surprised when I see people wearing them at the track, because it’s just crazy to me that I came up with the idea, put it on a shirt, put it on a website, shipped it out and people like it and show up with their support. So it’s been awesome and I hope this new shirt does just as well, because this one really gets a good message across that I’m not a “Jr.” (Laughs)
That’s very clear. So you also have this clothing company that’s you’re a big part of with Ryan Reed. I think it’s just you guys, right? STGR Supply. So do you use social media for those purposes as well? Do you operate any of those accounts or anything like that?
Yeah, I operate all of them. Honestly, I kind of don’t have time for everything. It’s tough. It’s nice running trucks because we get some off-time and it kind of works out perfectly for me to jump around. But that stuff, I haven’t been able to be as hands-on with it as I want to be. I mean, I’ve been hands-on through the whole process, but sometimes I get sidetracked. You can see sometimes on the social side, it gets behind.
Really, the biggest thing that’s helped is Martin wears the hat like every single weekend and I’ve never asked him to. I just gave him one and he loves it and wears it all the time — the camo one with the wrenches on the front. Like every single weekend, he’s got that thing on. So that’s the best exposure ever. I don’t have to do anything, he just wears it and it works.
That’s just something that me and Ryan started a year or two ago because we’re both kind of into fashion, and that’s something that’s definitely not at the forefront in the NASCAR world. So we kind of wanted to bring that side into racing a little bit. I know there’s a lot of guys out there like me, young guys that are into wearing cool clothes and looking good and love racing as well. I feel like that’s kind of an untapped market.
We honestly just do it for fun. I don’t really look at it as a way to make a lot of money or anything, it’s just kind of a way to express more of my creative side and my passion for clothing and that kind of stuff.
It’s been blowing up a lot more recently with Martin wearing it and people getting a lot more interested in it. So I’m trying to do a lot more with it behind the scenes to get it more professional, just get it out there more. I’m working on it, the offseason will be a good time to dive into it because right now with the schedule, we have three or four races in a row. So it’s kind of tough to juggle all of that as well as my merchandise stuff, too.
What do you enjoy most about being on social media? It’s clear that you’re a consumer of it, you’re probably on it several times a day. What do you get out of it that you value?
I think the interaction with people. For every bad comment you get, you get 30 or 40 good ones. A lot of times, you don’t get a chance to respond to every single one. I try to like tweets as much as I can so people know that I’m reading them. But it is appreciated and it does help. If you just read a good tweet or a good Instagram comment or on Facebook or whatever, if somebody says something nice and says you’re a good driver or “You deserve to be here,” that kind of stuff, that for me goes a long way, because it’s to the point and you know that’s their true thought. We’ve got 140 characters to get something across. When people can do that, you know they mean it, you know they’re sincere, it’s definitely a confidence booster — for me at least.
I’ve grown up in the social media age. I opened my Twitter account my first year in K&N when I was 16 years old. So it’s been a huge part of, honestly, my entire career — especially Twitter. That was really the first social media I was on aside from Facebook — but that wasn’t really a forum for athletes or anything; that was more of a MySpace-type thing back then.
And honestly, I get all my news from Twitter. I try to filter a lot of it because everyone tries to be first and you never know what’s right and what’s wrong, but at the same time you get a lot of good info. I get a lot of good stuff from you and ol’ Bob (Pockrass). He’s probably my number one follow because if I want to know what’s going on, or I want to know the schedule for the day, I don’t look for my schedule that’s hidden in my backpack somewhere, I just go to Bob’s account (@bobpockrass), because you know he’s got every practice time, what channel it’s gonna be on, if it’s on the app or on TV, what this driver said if this guy’s mad. You know everything. He’s like a robot, honestly.
He’s like a machine.
He really is — and no discredit to you or anyone else.
No, I don’t take offense to that at all.
Bob’s just — business is booming with Bob at all times.
The 12 Questions series of interviews continues with Danica Patrick of Stewart-Haas Racing. I spoke with Patrick at Martinsville Speedway. This interview is available both in podcast and written form.
1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it?
Are you talking about me, or are you talking about in general?
Your success as a driver, like how you got here. Is it because you’re naturally talented or your hard work?
Well, I got here by determination and believing I could. It’s that simple. And then I would say that to open it up to something that your question wasn’t exactly — I would say once you get to this level, I think we’re all talented, so then it depends on so many other circumstances, which is why you see a driver all of a sudden emerge and maybe submerge every now and again, depending on circumstances.
2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and now Dale Earnhardt Jr. have all either retired in the last couple years or will retire soon. What’s your pitch for fans of theirs to become fans of yours?
Man, I don’t think you can pitch a fan. I think a fan is your fan because they decide to be and not because you’re offering free candies or a lifetime of happiness.
I think you decide who you cheer for based on perhaps history, family, maybe who you used to cheer for — like if you cheered for Jeff Gordon, you may cheer for Chase Elliott now just based on the alliance with that number and team and history. But otherwise, it’s personality, and I can’t fake a fan. You really can’t. It will all come out eventually if you can for a little while.
So I don’t think you can make a fan yours just by saying, “Be my fan” and telling them a good reason why.
But if you offered free candy or a lifetime of happiness, I might be convinced.
(Laughs) It’s a pretty good promise and I can do the candy part, but I can’t control the other one.
3. What is the hardest part of your job away from the racetrack?
I would say that the hardest thing away from the racetrack is balancing out all the other things I have going on. It’s decompressing when things get busy. If I had to pick one thing, it’s when things get really busy, it gets hard to sort of regroup and you really have to look day by day instead of just the next month because you might not have a lot of room to breathe. But that’s just kind of in life for everybody; there are phases that you go through where you’re like, “Man, I just gotta focus on today.”
But I think pertaining to just what I do — it’s not necessarily hard, it’s just different — and this is just because of what we do and who we are and being exposed publicly, it’s just even simple things like the safety stuff. Just being smart about what you do and what you put your name on and access that’s available, things like that. Just simple safety protection, whether it’ll be safety from people or just safety from people wanting to know more about you.
4. Let’s say a fan spots you eating dinner in a nice restaurant. Should they come over for an autograph or no?
I don’t mind, but I would say if I was out to dinner, the most desirable communication would be if someone came over after dinner was over and just said, “Hey, I just wanted to let you know I’m a huge fan, good luck this weekend.” That would be like, “Wow, that was super polite (and) they acknowledged, which takes guts.” I know, because I’ve been in that position before when I don’t want to go up to somebody and say anything because I’m embarrassed or I don’t want to bother them. So it took the bravery, but they were polite enough to keep it very simple and acknowledge instead of trying to have something to take with them.
So they get respect points for playing it cool.
Yeah, because the bravery is just coming over. That’s the hardest part. And sometimes it’s almost easier to say, “Will you sign this?” because it’s a very simple request, but it’s harder to have to say something sometimes, I believe. So for me, that’s the most perfect kind of situation that you can have in public with a fan.
5. What’s a story in NASCAR that doesn’t get enough coverage?
I don’t know. I feel like you guys have so many races and so much time, there probably isn’t much that you don’t cover. Is there something that you wish you could cover more of that you’re not allowed to?
What goes on in the driver/owner lot. You know, who’s friends with who.
(Laughs) That’s easy, we’ll tell you.
6. Who is the last driver you texted?
Well outside of Ricky (Stenhouse Jr.), because we live in the same house … probably Ryan Blaney. We stopped by and said hi after we went to the Aaron Lewis concert, and so that was the last. He’s having a Halloween party, so I requested that he change the date from Sunday to Monday, but he informed me/us that he has something to do on Monday.
So you’re like, “This is much more convenient if you change the date to Monday,” and he’s like, “No?”
He said, “I could, maybe,” but he has something Tuesday morning or something. He had a good reason. So I understand now.
It’s gonna be a late night after the race.
I just thought it was a young buck in his 20s who was like, “Let’s party after the race,” and here I am, 35, like, “Can we do it the next night?”
7. Do you consider race car drivers to be entertainers?
That is pretty much what we are. If you want to know, you just have to travel to another country and get a visa to go work and your visa says, “Entertainer.”
That’s interesting. That’s proof right there.
When I raced in Japan, my passport said “Entertainer” on it.
8. What is your middle finger policy on the racetrack?
Bring it on. I can’t get my finger far enough out for someone to really see it, I mean, shoot, my fingertips (barely) get out there. Let’s say I’m hot and I wanna stick my hand out the window to bring in some cool air. It’s fingertips. That’s it. Like everyone can hang their (hands out), they’re resting on the window and hand all the way out. I can’t even get (fingers) out there. I guess if you saw one finger, just imagine it’s the middle one.
So you don’t mind if it gets done to you as well?
I don’t care. If I deserve it, you should give it to me.
9. Some drivers keep a payback list in their minds. Do you also have a list for drivers who have done you a favor on the track?
Yeah, for sure, absolutely. You’ve got the drivers that you know are difficult and you cut them no slack, therefore your situation perpetuates. And if you have someone that you get along well with, then that situation also keeps going because you treat them the same. Each are self-fulfilling.
10. Who is the most famous person you’ve had dinner with?
Jay-Z and Beyonce.
When you filmed the music video (in Monaco)?
Yeah. Could Dale (Earnhardt Jr.) say the same, do you think? He was there, too.
Jay-Z was very nice and he was excited that he could facilitate Dale and I meeting, because we’d never met before. And Beyonce was very, very quiet. So yeah, she’s kind of shy. So it makes sense why she has an alter-ego diva girl. But everybody was really cool, and it was a first class production. I mean, we were in Monte Carlo, so it was pretty good.
11. What’s something about yourself you’d like to improve?
I always kind of think to myself, “Be nicer.” But it’s just that my reaction to someone, if they’re not perfectly nice, is so ridiculous and over-the-top-mean that no one ever remembers the first blow. So yeah, I wish I could tone that down just a little bit. It doesn’t need to be so aggressive.
Like if somebody’s rude, you match them, so to speak?
Oh, no, no. I don’t even match. You can’t even remember the first mean when you get done with my mean. And I wish I could tone that down a little.
Maybe wait for Phase Three. Like Phase One, they’re mean. Phase Two, I’m like, “Come on buddy.” And then the next one is, maybe it’s (Phase) Four, and then he responds, and then it’s like, “OK, you wanna go? Let’s go.” Because yeah, I’m just not very shy and I have no problem with confrontations. So I kind of go right to the end of it. So I wish I was a little more patient in that category.
12. Last week I was at the F1 race and I interviewed Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean, and I asked them to come up with a question for you. Kevin wanted me to ask you: Who has bigger balls, NASCAR drivers or F1 drivers?
Collectively NASCAR, because we have so many more drivers. I mean, that’s 39 sets of balls versus like 22? How many are there (in F1)?
Twenty, I think.
Twenty. That’s a lot more balls in NASCAR.
But in a simple, diplomatic, honest answer, to get to the top level of anything is difficult. I don’t care who you are. And my balls are called ovaries, so I guess I count, too.
I don’t know who the next interview is going to be with. Do you have a question I can ask a driver in general?
My first thought is to ask a really weird one so people will be like, “What?” My first question would be, would you rather stay on Earth and eat the steak and be kind of miserable but the steak tastes really good, or would you rather live on another planet in pure bliss? You don’t know what it’s gonna be like, though — you just know you’re always gonna be happy.
So basically, stay on earth in the current situation, how it is now, but if you’re taking a gamble, it could be way better on the other planet?
Yeah, what would you do? Would you take the chance, or would you stay here? Do you like it here?
That’s a good question. I may put that permanently next year on the 12 Questions.
Oh wow. I like that. Wow, what an honor! Thank you! I thought I’d be met with, “Yeah, think of another one.” (Laughs)
Daniel McFadin from NBCSports.com joins me to help break down an absolutely wild playoff race from Martinsville Speedway. Did Denny Hamlin really do the wrong thing?
Five thoughts after Sunday’s insane playoff race at Martinsville Speedway…
1. Fair game?
Denny Hamlin is now Public Enemy No. 1 in NASCAR for the rest of this season after wrecking the popular Chase Elliott out of the lead at Martinsville. The fans booed him vociferously after his image appeared on the screen following the race, then cheered loudly when Elliott’s face popped up instead.
Before we go any further, it’s important to remember these incidents are often viewed through a different lens depending on which drivers are involved. If Kyle Busch got wrecked, for example, many fans wouldn’t feel as angry as they do now.
But the very worthy debate in the aftermath (tune in to Sirius/XM this week if you want your fill!) will be whether what Hamlin did was fair game.
Do you think it was? If so, do you feel the same about what Elliott did to Brad Keselowski just moments earlier?
No? Well, here’s the thing. Both drivers were likely attempting to do the same thing. I say “likely” because Hamlin insisted afterward he was not trying to wreck Elliott — he was trying to move him up the track, just like Elliott did to Keselowski — and I’m leaning toward believing him.
Was Hamlin guilty of poor execution? Indeed. But I’d imagine it’s a very fine line when a driver tries to move someone out of the way and ends up turning them instead.
Here’s the thing, though. Even if Hamlin wasn’t telling the truth (I’m sure he wouldn’t have minded that much if Elliott’s spin resulted in Hamlin winning the race and going to Homestead), isn’t that just part of the playoffs?
After all, this is the situation all drivers find themselves in! This is exactlywhatNASCAR wanted when it created the elimination playoff format.
Winning is everything! Game 7 moments! No more talk about “good points days.”
So aren’t drivers sort of supposed to do whatever they can to win in that situation?
People will say, “Well it doesn’t take any talent to wreck someone for the win.” Very true! And it’s not classy or sportsmanlike or anything like that.
Buuuuut…if wrecking someone for the win gets you to the championship, isn’t it worth it?
That’s up to each driver’s personal code, but they can probably live with the boos and the bad publicity for awhile if they end up with the trophy in the end. Elliott himself almost wrecked Keselowski in the same way Hamlin got him — and would you have blamed Elliott?
Look, NASCAR has changed. This format rewards dirty racing over clean racing. It just does. So whether or not Hamlin meant to outright wreck Elliott or just move him out of the way, would you honestly do it differently if you had the chance?
2. Busch is Back
Remember when Kyle Busch couldn’t win a race in the playoffs? Those pre-2015 days are a distant memory now, because Busch is back in the championship race and a serious threat to win another title.
When Busch is on the ropes, like he was heading into the elimination race of Round 2, and escapes? That’s incredibly dangerous for the rest of the field. You can’t give Busch a second life like that. Now, just a week later, he’s already capitalized by putting himself into the final four.
That’s really bad news for the rest of the field.
3. Second-guessing, Part I
This is professional sports, so unfortunately that comes with some second-guessing. In this case, it’s worth wondering if Keselowski made the wrong move by picking the outside line on what looked like would be the final restart.
Yes, Keselowski made that move work earlier in the race by beating teammate Joey Logano down the backstretch. But did Keselowski out-think himself in this case?
In a moment with everything on the line at Martinsville, Keselowski opened the door for Elliott to run side by side with him — which turned out to be an invitation for a hungry young driver to knock him up the track. If Keselowski had been on the inside, would that have happened?
Wow… first off, can’t believe @keselowski took the outside this late in race. Left himself vulnerable.
Speaking of Team Penske-related second-guesses, driver/PR guy Ryan Ellis brought up a great point on Twitter: Why in the world didn’t Penske have Joey Logano pit with his severe tire rub?
Wow I think everyone saw that coming. Surprising they didn’t call him in considering the 2 had checked out and had the win.
Think about it: With smoke billowing out of the rear tire after contact from Busch, it was only a matter of the time before the tire blew. Everyone at Martinsville and watching on TV could see that.
But at that moment, Keselowski was leading the race and en route to a victory he had called a must-win after Talladega. So why not have Logano pit and change the tire? It’s not like Logano was racing for anything but a win, the chances of which had severely been diminished.
5. How great is Martinsville?
There’s so much more to talk about after this race, and that’s because of Martinsville. God, I love this place so much.
Seriously, this is the best track in NASCAR. It always comes through with some sort of excitement. And it’s not just about the wrecks; the entire race was very compelling with close-quarters racing and drama.
It’s such a crime NASCAR doesn’t have more short tracks. It hurts to think how much different NASCAR would be today if all the 1.5-mile tracks were short tracks and the intermediate track racing was the style we only saw a few times a year.
Maybe those track owners considering converting their boring 1.5-mile tracks into rovals should find a way to build short tracks in their infields instead.
I’m playing DraftKings this season and will be posting my picks here each week. Disclosure: If you want to play and sign up using this link, DraftKings will give my website a commission.
Last race’s results: Did not play in Talladega due to Alabama state law.
Season results: $97 wagered, $104.50 won in 25 contests.
This week’s contest: $5 Fall Festival contest (single entry).
Martinsville picks:
— Martin Truex Jr. ($11,200): It’s all about laps led today — they will make or break your team — and it’s likely Truex will be successful in that department since he starts second and has the No. 1 pit stall.
— Brad Keselowski ($9,600): I was prepared to go with Jimmie Johnson ($9,800) in this spot, but it’s looking like he’ll have to make a change after spinning in qualifying. Keselowski starts seventh and should be a contender all day.
— Joey Logano ($9,000): Picking the pole-sitter because you need a hammer and it’s likely he’s going to lead laps early in the race. Take the points.
— Ryan Newman ($7,400): I almost picked Jamie McMurray ($8,500) here, but if you’re looking for a mid-range driver who is going to manhandle his car up through the field today, Newman might be your guy. He starts 18th but had the seventh-best 10-lap average in final practice. Newman has three top-10s in the last four races here.
—AJ Allmendinger ($6,000): He’s had speed all weekend. Aric Almirola ($5,900) is intriguing because he qualified 10th, but I’d rather take the points differential possibility with Allmendinger. He qualified a disappointing 27th, but that’s good for fantasy players based on his good speed all weekend. ‘Dinger had the sixth-fastest 10-lap average in final practice and he comes at a very affordable price.
— Michael McDowell ($5,800): I thought about going with Trevor Bayne ($6,400) in this spot since he starts 34th. But McDowell is super cheap and offers a top-20 finish opportunity after qualifying 20th.
