NASCAR should be fuming over embarrassing 'Dega race, drivers are livid & controversial finish raises doubt
Monday Morning Pit-Stop is a weekly NASCAR column that runs on OutKick.com and Fox News Digital. If you're looking for a normal NASCAR recap, go check out insufferable ESPN ... assuming they still know NASCAR exists.
I'm not even sure a great finish like that is gonna save NASCAR this week ...
Lordy. What a day at Talladega. It had everything. It usually does.
Cars flipping. Cars going airborne. One of the hardest hits I've ever seen. Kyle Larson going from 11th to first in about 10 seconds to win at the buzzer.
NASCAR'S JOEY LOGANO RIDES ON HIS ROOF, RILEY HERBST NAILS WALL AT FULL SPEED IN DANGEROUS TALLADEGA WRECK
Did he go below the 'yella line? Maybe. Maybe not. A tale as old as time at Talladega.
In between all that mayhem, we had — arguably — the most embarrassing sequence in NASCAR history. It was certainly the most embarrassing at a superspeedway. Drivers were so annoyed by it, they were openly mocking it over the radio ... as it happened!
As they participated!
It was pathetic. This Next Gen car is so pathetic, and so broken, and so far from what this series used to be, I don't even know where to go from here. Neither does Denny Hamlin.
There's "fuel-saving," and then there's whatever the heck THAT was in Stage I yesterday. You'll see.
Four tires, enough fuel to get through the final two races and crown Kyle Larson the champion (it's a wrap, folks), and maybe a Tylenol for Riley Herbst and Joey Logano ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop — the 'Gee, I Wonder Why Ratings Are In The Toilet?' edition — is LIVE!
Look, we got a great finish yesterday as you can see — and we desperately needed one after the dud that's been the playoffs. There's been no drama over the past eight weeks, beyond Carson Hocevar stuffing Ryan Blaney in a locker. That's it.
And we finally got some yesterday in the closing laps at Talladega. That's what I WANT to to start class with, but I can't.
Can't do it.
Not when crap like this is going in the opening stage:
For those who can't tell what's going on, the entire pack — minus the RFK boys (MAHA!) — decided to save fuel during the opening stage so they wouldn't have to pit because this current car, combined with the stage lengths, make it almost impossible to run the race without running out of gas.
CHASE ELLIOTT SAYS NASCAR'S GRUELING 10-MONTH SEASON CAN 'EAT YOU UP' WITHOUT AN ESCAPE
As Denny Hamlin said after the race, "it’s a sports car not meant to be running 200mph."
Correct. That's what NASCAR has created with this car + stage combo at superspeedways. Basically, if you don't run slow, stay in the draft, and save as much fuel as possible, you're gonna pay for it when it comes to pit stops.
Drivers hate it, but they don't have much a choice. They were MISERABLE yesterday.
Just listen to what Denny said during the race!
"This is some crazy s–t," he said. "This is like the Richard Petty Driving Experience at a race!"
