Talladega is another well-known NASCAR track. It’s known for cars running close together, and Nick is saying the photo relates to his first time leading on a restart there.
The white flag lap is the last lap of the race. When the leader gets the white flag, everyone knows there’s only one lap left, so drivers start making their final moves.
Brennan Poole is a NASCAR driver. In this segment, they mention he was leading on the final lap, which helps explain how close Nick Leitz was to a strong finish.
That’s the name of a NASCAR race weekend that’s sponsored by O’Reilly Auto Parts. People often say “O’Reilly race” instead of the full official race name.
They’re talking about the NASCAR track in Atlanta (Atlanta Motor Speedway). It’s a place where cars race very close together, so it’s easy to get into trouble if you’re not careful.
A “consistent line” means you drive the same path through the turns as smoothly as possible. When you’re racing close to other cars, being predictable helps prevent crashes.
“Track position” just means where you are on the track compared to other cars. In NASCAR, being in the right spot can make it easier to defend, pass, and avoid getting stuck in traffic.
A “restart” is when NASCAR racing resumes after a caution. Everyone is packed together again, so it’s a tense moment to get position without causing a wreck.
Brand
Young's
“Young’s” is the name of the team Nick is talking about. In NASCAR, the team you drive for influences how the car is set up and how you’re guided during the race.
Brand
TriCon
“TriCon” is another team Nick mentions for the next races. Different teams can mean different car setups and race strategies.
Pit stop practice is when the team rehearses how to change tires and make adjustments quickly during a race. Better practice helps them stop faster and lose less time.
This is NASCAR’s series where the cars are built to look like pickup trucks. Drivers and teams race them on stock-car tracks, and the goal is to finish as high as possible each week.
Kansas is a NASCAR oval track that’s about 1.5 miles long. On tracks like that, cars spend more time at speed and drafting matters, so airflow and tire wear become key.
Bristol is a short NASCAR track known for intense, close racing. Because it’s tight, drivers have to be careful with grip and passing around other cars.
“Mile and a halfs” means tracks that are about 1.5 miles around. On those tracks, cars often run in packs and drafting and tire management matter a lot.
Term
work the air
“Work the air” is about using the airflow between cars to your advantage. By running close behind or alongside another car, you can often go faster or make passing easier.
This is a NASCAR rule about staying on the correct part of the track. If a driver goes below the painted yellow line, officials can penalize them because it can mean they’re using the inside in a way NASCAR doesn’t want.
The NASCAR Cup Series is NASCAR’s main, top-level racing series. It’s the biggest stage in NASCAR, so penalties and finishing positions there matter a lot.
“Below the yellow line” describes crossing the inside boundary line on NASCAR oval tracks. It’s a specific compliance issue: NASCAR treats it as an infraction because it can allow a car to run where it may gain an advantage compared with cars staying on the legal racing surface.
A “27 point swing” means the penalty cost the driver a big chunk of points. Because the penalty changed where they finished, their points total changed a lot.
“Right hooking” is a type of crash where one car moves to the right and gets hit by another car. It’s the kind of contact that can send a car into the wall.
Denny Hamlin is a top NASCAR driver, and the host references him as an example of a time someone went below the yellow line at Talladega. The point is that rule-breaking can still lead to results, which is why the rule can feel controversial.
Regan Smith is a NASCAR driver. The host is saying a situation at Talladega went against him, and that’s why he remembers it so clearly.
Person
Tony
The host mentions “Tony” as the person involved in the controversy they’re talking about. This snippet doesn’t say who Tony is by last name, so it’s unclear which driver they mean.
They’re arguing that NASCAR officials don’t always apply the yellow-line rule the same way in similar situations. The concern is that drivers can’t predict how the rule will be enforced. The hosts think some penalties were fair, but others felt questionable.
A “super speedway” is a huge NASCAR track where cars go very fast and racing is often about drafting (running close together). Pit road can be especially busy and risky there. That’s why rules like the yellow-line boundary matter a lot at these tracks.
Dale Jr. is a famous former NASCAR driver. The speaker brings him up because they’re talking about an old incident/rule situation from around 2003 that they think shows how the yellow-line rule was (or wasn’t) enforced.
Reagan Smith is a NASCAR driver. In this part of the debate, the speaker is talking about a specific yellow-line-related incident involving him and whether the call made sense given what happened on track.
Person
Andy Petra
This is a NASCAR person the host brings up as an example of how confusing or debatable a rule can be. They’re using his situation to argue about what counts as legal late in a race.
Justin Haley is a NASCAR driver. The hosts are talking about a race where they feel the outcome didn’t go his way—possibly because of how a rule was applied.
This is a well-known NASCAR stunt by driver Ross Chastain where he used the outside wall to keep going and avoid losing position. Because it’s so extreme, the discussion is about whether NASCAR should ban or limit it to keep racing safer.
“Hail melon” is a nickname fans use for that same Ross Chastain wall-riding stunt. It’s basically a way to talk about a very risky, extreme move that could get dangerous.
A “penalty” is what race officials give when a driver breaks a rule. It usually hurts the driver’s position, and here they’re debating how often it should be applied and how big it should be.
Concept
forces someone down there
This phrase means one driver’s move pushes another driver into the area below the yellow line. They’re arguing about whether officials should always call it when that happens, even if it’s hard to tell how much it helped.
Bubba Wallace is a NASCAR driver. In this segment, they’re talking about a specific moment where he went below the yellow line and whether that should have been penalized.
In NASCAR, the “lead lap” is the group of cars that are on the same lap as the leader. “End of the lead lap” means the cars at the back of that group, and it can be controversial because they may get stuck behind slower cars when the race is ending.
The “last lap” is the final lap of the race. Drivers usually push hard to pass on that lap, and small mistakes can lead to big consequences for where they finish.
“Full head of steam” just means the car has a lot of momentum and speed going into a pass. The idea here is that Wallace was closing fast and trying to move around the cars ahead.
Term
range shortened event
It means the race didn’t run the full planned distance. Usually that happens because of problems like weather, and it can make the race feel different because teams have fewer laps to race and adjust their strategy.
They’re talking about a race in Nashville where rain caused delays. The discussion is about how that kind of weather timing affects how many people watch.
They’re talking about NASCAR races that start on Sunday night. The big question is how the start time affects TV ratings and how easily the race can handle rain.
A rain delay is when the race stops temporarily because of bad weather. They’re saying starting earlier gives them more time to pause for rain and still finish while people are watching.
Sunday night football refers to the NFL’s primetime Sunday evening broadcast window. The hosts connect it to NASCAR scheduling by arguing that competing with or complementing that audience affects who’s available to watch.
Penske is a racing team in NASCAR. The idea here is that if you’re driving for a big, well-funded team like Penske, you’d expect the pit crew to be strong too.
Pit road is the special lane NASCAR cars use to pull in for service during a race. The team does fast work there—like tires—while the driver waits in the car.
Matt Kenseth is a well-known NASCAR driver from the past. The host is using him as an example of a driver who could have won more if everything lined up better.
Carl Edwards is a famous NASCAR driver who won races and championships. The host is saying that even great drivers can be limited if their team setup and execution aren’t right.
Brad Keselowski is a NASCAR driver. They’re bringing up his 2012 results to support their argument about talent and competitiveness.
Term
bubble walls
“Bubble walls” sounds like a made-up or metaphorical scenario in this conversation. They’re basically asking, “If Blaney had a huge advantage, how many wins would he get?”
Jonathan Hassler is part of Ryan Blaney’s team. The hosts are saying that when the driver and the team leader work well together, it can lead to more wins.
North Wilkesboro is a NASCAR race track known for being tight and eventful. On tracks like this, accidents and cars falling out can dramatically change who wins.
A bracket system is a tournament-style way of tracking who advances. If the results go differently than expected—like crashes or bad finishes—your bracket can fall apart fast.
A “Cup race” means the top-level NASCAR race for that weekend. It’s usually the biggest event that gets the most media attention.
LIVE
Why? Why does he not like Carson?
It must have been some kind of wreck.
Why does he not like Carson?
I keep looking for some kind of reason.
Why is Zane sounding off this season?
And I don't see how he got away with Chicago land.
Still I'm loving this was put on the table.
They're both embracing the rivalry label.
Who would have thought PR would allow them to not be bland?
Why does Zane not like Carson?
It must have been something he did.
Why does Zane not like Carson?
Why does Zane go him a goon?
It must have been some kind of wreck.
He didn't shy away.
He didn't shy away.
Welcome on in ladies and gentlemen to another edition of the Front Shet
chapter program presented by My Place Hotels.
You can save 10% when you use the code My Place.
I am your host, Mr. Brian.
No one on this edition of the program.
We are going to be joined by a very, very special guest in just a little bit.
But before we dive in to our guest, let's dive on into my compadres.
My co-host will bring in the guy from, oh, I think it's Port Orange.
He's going to correct me if I'm wrong.
Dalton Hopkins, is that correct?
Is that where you're from or is that, did I screw that up?
I believe he's muted there, so.
Well, let's just go to the part of Goochland, Virginia.
Wait.
Mr. Michael.
Oh, there we go.
There it is.
I'm back.
I'm alive.
I'm back.
Oh, man.
We're like four for five in light being me being muted for like the beginning.
I don't know.
I don't know, man.
I don't know.
I hate technology.
I'm exhausted.
Answering your question, I prefer to say I'm born and raised in Daytona Beach.
Okay.
Just because everyone knows where that is.
And I don't live in Port Orange right now.
I actually live in Holly Hill, but those two towns like border Daytona.
So if you know where Daytona is, you know where those two places are.
I do know where Daytona is.
So that's awesome.
I do not know where Goochland, Virginia is, but I do know that that is where he lived.
Mr. Michael Massey, you have recovered.
And I can guarantee you from our group chat that we have that you are not a very happy
camper yesterday coming back from Atlanta because you were running on three hours to
sleep.
Have you recovered?
Did you have a good, nice sleep yesterday?
Yes, I very much did.
I'm feeling better now.
Let's just say by the time I was done with the writing and all that, the sun was already
out on Monday morning.
Not too big a fan of a Sunday night race when it gets rain delayed that late, but it's
all good.
At least it was a really good race to watch or else people might have asleep in the media
center.
Well, well, guess what, Massey, you're going to have to do it all over again coming up
at North Wilkesboro this upcoming Sunday.
But we'll get there.
I know me and Dawn, we are happy as a clam just hanging out.
And while Massey wants to kill us, but, you know, that is all right.
Let's dive on into our guest.
He is going to be sporting the Tricon garage colors.
It's going to be running for more NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series events for Tricon.
North Wilkesboro this upcoming weekend, Richmond, Bristol and Kansas.
Please welcome to the program Mr. Nick Lights.
Nick, thank you so much for coming on, my friend.
How are you?
Appreciate you guys.
I'm good.
Excited for this weekend.
We put a lot of prep into it and yeah, let's see what happens with these results.
Speaking of Daytona, you've got that awesome picture we were talking before the show about
that picture.
For those that apparently don't eavesdrop on our pre-show conversations, can you can
let our viewers and our listeners maybe explain what that picture is?
Yeah.
It's me leading at a restart, first time at Talladega and with Tricon, or Daytona, with
Tricon and leading at a restart there.
So I thought it was pretty cool and I got it printed out and hung it on my wall.
Now, Nick, the last time I saw you was unfortunately worse circumstances was at the care center
there.
But before that, I mean, if you could have just gotten through that wreck, how realistic
do you think, I mean, top 10 maybe on the night?
Yeah.
I know I think after my wreck they had another wreck and if I miss the one I was in, I probably
would have been in the other one, but if I miss both of those hypothetically, then yeah,
I think we would have definitely had a shot at a top 10 or top five even because I know
Brennan Poole was leading on the white flag lap and I remember the whole time of that
race.
I know I can get around and I just need to know how I can do it, but it's crazy to see
those guys that was around the whole race were up front and I was just so close.
Now, Nick, when it comes to the O'Reilly race, I think a lot of people agree that it was,
I mean, all three races are pretty chaotic this past weekend, but when you're sitting
in the cockpit and you're that close to us mere mortals, we see that a lot, but we don't
actually experience that.
Talk about the emotion of how when you're sitting there surrounded by 30 other cars and you're
going that fast and you're so close, especially at Atlanta, which is a much more close quarters
track, what are some of the things that you're thinking of because we hear chess at 180
miles an hour?
Right.
Exactly.
What kind of things are going through your mind when you're going through something like
that?
Yeah.
It's definitely don't wreck the people around you and hold like a consistent line and try
to bring it home in one piece or, you know, just try to stay in that track position that
you got.
And I know it is crazy, especially here, that racetrack.
When I was leading that restart, I was like, holy crap, this is insane.
Like, why am I in this position?
But no, I mean, we worked hard for it.
And yeah, it's nice summer like that.
So what are your expectations going into a weekend when you're driving for a team like
Young's compared to these next four races you got coming up with TriCon?
Because obviously TriCon's, you know, top, top level in the truck series.
So just how do you change those expectations between the different quality of rides?
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, with TriCon, right, we're like with a race winning team, truck.
So, I mean, you have to really kind of perform with them.
But with the Young's, they're more laid back, I'd say.
They just really want the car to be brought home in one piece.
And if we can get a good finish out of it, then, you know, go for it.
But they're more concerned about having the car for the next race and races afterwards.
Nick, I'm going to ask you a very important question.
Sorry, I'm sorry, Brian.
I'm going to cut you off here.
No, you're good.
No, you're good, buddy.
Go for it.
What did you think of Massey's song in the beginning?
It was good.
Because some inside baseball.
Yeah, some inside baseball.
We're getting some, we just got notified that we're getting a copyright claim.
I guess Massey did such a good job that I guess he did such a great job that they think
that that was the actual cutting crew song.
So, never had that happen before.
Hey, first time for everybody.
Yeah, I mean, or, you know, I had to do that song because Carson host of ours was literally
singing it on his car radio Sunday night.
So that's, Nick, you had a pretty good, I don't know if we should bring it up or not,
but you had a Carson host of our moment back in the his truck series days.
What can you say about that these couple of years later?
I mean, driving with TriCon, they're, let's say, not a fan of them.
Which we raced where we did get some contact with him.
And yeah, you know, it's just part of it, I guess he's in the Cup Series now and he's doing good.
So it's good to see him grow with the sport and, you know, get a new fan base in it.
But I'd say, you know, the people at TriCon aren't really too happy with him.
He only cost him a championship, you know.
Yeah, you know, nothing.
But back to TriCon, take me through just how this deal came about, Nick,
because we see you in some other rides and everything, and I feel like one thing led to another.
And I mean, they said it in their Twitter post, you earned this ride.
So just tell me how this ride came about.
Yeah, I'm honestly not too sure.
They did ask me for Daytona, I guess, and maybe they didn't have anybody for that one,
but it was like super last minute for Daytona.
We didn't really have any promo for that, but we did have these next four races lined up with them later on in the year.
Yeah, I guess they, you know, saw maybe my performance last year with, you know,
SS Greenlight and RSS and the Xfinity or O'Reilly Series stuff.
And yeah, I always liked the truck series.
I did a truck race at Richmond also last year, and that was a lot of fun,
but I did get a little hot and fall out of the seat there.
So we'll have to recover better for this race coming up, this year's race for TriCon there.
You mentioned racing.
Go ahead, Masi.
I was just going to say, I know like the Toyota, they're really, you know,
they talk about the program for their drivers, just, you know, the workouts,
all that stuff at the Performance Center and all that.
Have you been able to like get access to way more stuff this year to help prep for these races?
Or is that kind of more of just a full-time driver?
Yeah, I think it's mainly the full-time drivers that go to the TPC Toyota Performance Center.
I do get a lot of, I guess, support from the race team.
You know, we get SimTime at TRD.
I do go to another gym that specializes in driver training.
It's actually on my shirt right now, Pit Fit.
They're down in Cornelius.
I've been here since April.
I moved down to Moorsville since April and kind of took this serious to, you know, make it,
this is like, these next four races are for a really good team.
So I run a perform for myself and for them.
So I did take this pretty serious to move down here and making my life.
But yeah, I mean, we got so much support at TriCon from Toyota and like I'm learning so much actively right now.
Even I did some pit stop practice today at JGR.
So it's all learning to me still.
Awesome.
I heard you talk about, I mean, you know, we mentioned the fitness, the fitness centers and being doing pit stop practice
for a team like Joe Gibbs Racing.
I mean, this is one hell of an opportunity for you, especially when the last couple of years you've been with Bobby Daughter,
you've been with Mario Gosson and DGM.
And I'm not knocking those teams, by the way.
I mean, we like those guys, right?
But this is obviously a AAA team.
This is a Toyota backed organization.
I mean, this is the pipeline you want to be in.
What are some of the biggest differences when you go into a shop like TriCon compared to some of the other shops you've been in?
Yeah, I mean, for sure.
Like you said, you know, Young's and Bobby Daughter, those guys work extremely hard to show up every weekend.
I think they're honestly the hardest working people in the garage.
But yeah, for a TriCon, it's a big name to show up and perform for, right?
You want to do well.
You want to be in the top 10, top five, because, you know, they are race winning trucks.
And when you can't do that, you know, it's maybe it's not the car, it's the driver.
So I'm definitely putting a lot of pressure on myself for this weekend to perform well.
But I'm also trying to like take it slow and, you know, also learn a lot.
If you're just joining us, Nick.
Oh, God, I'm asking.
Is there anything you can tell us from my competition meeting?
Was there anything about Gio and Caden Honeycutt kind of getting into each other this past week?
Yeah, I did ask Jeremy, my crew chief about it today.
I was like, yo, did anything happen between those two?
And he's like, no, they just, I guess we're out of there or something.
But, you know, I guess I think Gio did, you know, get into him.
And then Caden's like, all right, well, we'll see what happens with that.
Hey, I mean, an eye for an eye ride, I guess.
I mean, I spin you.
We're even now, apparently.
I don't know.
Nick Lodge joins the program from TriCon Garage going to be running four races for them in the Craftsman Truck series.
Nick, just for you, what are the expectations for you?
Is it just wanting to get to finish?
Is it top 10s, top 15s?
What are the expectations for you?
For me, you know, it's obviously to win, right?
We're with a really good team, but realistically, I'd say it's a top 15 to start off.
Wilkes-Brough, I've never been there.
We do got Richmond, Bristol, and Kansas.
I've all been there, except Bristol.
I've been in a super late model there, so I still got some learning to do with that.
But realistically, I'd say top 15, top 10, and then work on that from those finishes to get some momentum and continue on to, you know, even better finishes.
Rockin' for Life says, which of the four TriCon races coming up are you most excited for?
Is there one that you have circled?
I'd say Richmond's probably won, since it is a home track.
You know, from Chesapeake, we do got a lot of family coming to that one.
And then maybe Kansas.
I do like the mile and a halfs.
It's kind of like more laid back, and you can work the air more, and that's always fun.
So I'd say either Richmond and Kansas would be the most I'm excited for.
Fellow Virginia native.
Yes, sir.
You can't hate on that.
For your benefit, I won't hate it.
If it was just Michael Massey here, then I may be hating just a little bit.
But Dalton Massey, any final question before we dive on into our first topic, which is, it could be a little controversial.
Excited to see what you could do this weekend.
I'll be there.
And yeah, let's go and just get the win.
Just went all four and then, you know.
Let's dive on into our first topic of the evening.
Second topic, however you want to phrase it.
Final lap of the NASCAR Cup Series race.
It was bubble Wallace.
Carson knows of our Ryan Blaney.
They're all battling it out.
And then we see bubble Wallace go below the yellow line, and it was revealed after the race that he went below the yellow line.
They penalized him and he went from 2nd to 29th, a 27 point swing.
I know Michael Massey had some very subdued opinions, but he was very hot about the rule on stock car scoop on Sunday just because it was like 3.30 in the morning when he recorded it.
But what are your thoughts?
Nick, I'll start with you first.
The yellow line rule just overall, you have raced it in Daytona.
Do you like the rule?
Do you not like the rule?
Should it be outlawed?
Is it should we just go crazy?
What can we do so this doesn't happen like we've seen it happen time and time again in the past?
I think it's a good rule personally.
I think it's more of a safety standard standpoint for that rule.
We don't want like cars coming back up on track and just right hooking people into the fence and like a Brad keselowski situation.
Well, I mean, I guess he stayed above the yellow line for that one.
I don't know.
But no, I think it's definitely a good rule.
I know what you mean though. I got you.
Right.
Yeah, I think it's a good rule.
I think we should keep it.
I know Denny Hamlin went below at Talladega one time and still I think he might have won that race.
But either way, it's controversial at times.
But yeah, I think it's definitely a good rule to keep it to have for sure.
I will never forget them.
Oh, sorry, Matthew.
I will never forget NASCAR screwing Regan Smith over Tony.
At Talladega because of that.
And that pushes me off still to this day because Regan Smith won that damn race.
Golden Massey, whichever one wants to take it from me because it's making me mad.
So go ahead.
I've talked a lot already.
Okay.
All right.
You want me to man.
All right.
Yeah.
I'm both whatever.
I know when we first started or when I first started a front stretch in order to to work here, you have to kind of like submit an article or submit a piece of content that you've made before.
And the the 11 of the column pieces that I submitted in order to start working here at Front Stretch was it was about the yellow line bull in this but the history of the online world the inconsistency behind it.
And I did looked at everything.
And there has been so many instances of inconsistency.
I 100% agree with what Nick said.
I don't mind the rule.
It's a great safety rule.
It makes sense, especially for a super speedway.
However, some of the calls have been have been made that just don't really make any sense.
I admittedly, I agree with the bubble Wallace one at least.
Maybe I got to look back a little bit.
I know he didn't maybe advance his position immediately, but I digress.
I mean, first things that come to mind as a young Dale Jr.
fan as a fan that is somebody that was grew up Viking Dale Jr.
This was this is hard for me to admit, but 2003, I want to say was that was blatant passing below the old line.
And then, yeah, you mentioned Reagan Smith also.
I mean, admittedly, he got forced.
Okay, there's just no doubt about it.
So it's a really, it's a tough call to make.
It's so tough for NASCAR officials.
This is such a it's such a gray.
Ironically, it's a gray line.
This yellow line rule is such a it's not black and white.
I feel like I don't think it should be done away with shouldn't be outlawed, but maybe tweaked a little bit.
You know, maybe change the wording a little bit.
I mean, if you're Andy Petra, you think that it's illegal in the last lap, but it's not.
It's it's still illegal.
Maybe that's something they should do though.
Maybe that's something they should do in the future.
I love this one.
Thomas Dunn.
Justin Haley.
Haley wanted Daytona and Xmin or in O'Reilly now.
I don't care.
That's true.
That's true.
I love it, Thomas.
Shout out.
I agree with that.
He never advances position.
I agree with that.
Justin Haley should have won that race.
I think that like you, like you're saying, it's a good rule in the spirit of it.
Because yeah, you got to protect drivers from themselves.
So such as, you know, the Ross Chastain wall ride, hail melon.
You had to outlaw that or else things were going to get dangerous real fast.
So the spirit of the rule I get, but it's just like you're saying the inconsistencies.
I don't know though.
There is part of me that's like, this is America.
If a driver wants to pass below the yellow line, he should have that right.
But I get if you get dangerous with that.
But my problem is, I think, I feel like part of the rule is that you, if you force someone down there, you get to get the penalty.
And I feel like that's never called.
Like we rarely ever see someone who forced him down.
Massey was it 77?
I don't remember.
Not this situation.
No, no, no.
I agree.
In the spirit of the rule, Bubba Wallace did break it.
So after looking back at it here, some explanations in that it's not advancing your position.
It's like getting better position.
So like he wouldn't have been three wide for the lead if he didn't go down there is my understanding.
So yeah, it's a little murky with the with the wording there, a little confusing.
So I definitely think they could clarify that just to make it more black and white in the rule book.
I just think you got to be calling it all race.
Like, if there's, if it happens lap 15, you see people do it, that's got to be called someone forces someone down there is going to be called.
I also think maybe tail end of the line is maybe too big of a penalty for it.
Like maybe like a five spot penalty or something.
I don't know.
It just, it felt, it feels bad.
Like I feel bad for a driver like Bubba Wallace, where he should have got second and instead gets 29.
That this feels like, I don't know.
Nick, do you think end of the lead lap is fair?
Or what?
Like, if you were in charge of NASCAR for the day, what would the?
Maybe a lot of things I changed too.
But if I'm, yeah, I think he should have gone like 55 spots back maybe.
I mean, he didn't really gain, like you were saying, he just gained a little bit of position on the 77.
Yeah, I would have moved him back, like at least back behind those two or three cars.
If I was in control of NASCAR.
Now, when it's the last lap, when it's the last lap like that, Bubba, I mean, he's got a run.
He's got a full head of steam, right?
And he's got, he wants to get around these guys in front of them.
I mean, I, you know, I was just playing the NASCAR game a few hours ago.
And I, you know, when you get a run like that, you just want to go around these guys, right?
Especially in the last lap.
If you have a full head of steam like he did, and you just jerk the wheel to the left, maybe a little bit too much.
And you go below the yellow line, you're not doing that on purpose.
You're just trying to get to the bottom lane.
I mean, like, can you relate to that a little bit?
Yeah, I mean, with Atlanta even being such a narrow track too, I don't think he really intended to go below the yellow line there.
I think he just meant to get that bottom lane and unfortunately did end up below the yellow line and screw him out of a, I guess, second place finish.
I was asleep during it.
So like, yeah, I guess a second place finish.
Lucky.
Lucky.
At some point I was going to ask you if you were awake for that race.
I had to go to bed pretty early.
Hey, listen, you're not the only one.
I was listening to DVC and Roger Carus said he went to bed and then woke up to go to the bathroom and watch the end of the race.
And then he went back to sleep.
So you're not the only one that fell asleep during the race.
But the last thing here before we transition, we'll let you go, Nick.
Jeff Gluck tweeted on NASCAR's holler talk podcast, Mike Ford says it doesn't matter that bubble Wallace didn't actually complete a pass while below the double yellow line.
It's the attempt to improve his position.
That was the foul.
Mike Ford says, and I quote, if he did go below the yellow line and eventually improve his position and he did that to improve it and he wouldn't have gotten to where he did without going below the yellow line.
That's really what matters here in this case.
He doesn't actually have to make the pass while under the double painted line.
End of quote.
Also says the SMT data doesn't matter about Wallace attempting to give the spots back after going below the double yellow line because there are no give backs with this rule.
Once again, that was Jeff Gluck.
I see you are percolating.
Put a damn concrete ball down there and call it a day.
Just make it over.
Good God.
I mean, I hear what he's saying.
He's not entirely wrong.
I get what Mike's saying.
This is just, you know what I mean?
This is gray.
It's too gray.
You know how you prevent drivers from going below the yellow line?
You put a damn ball there.
I mean, it's probably just as unsafe as letting them go below the yellow line in the first place.
But I don't know, man.
It's just too much.
It's just too much for me.
I don't know how Nick's going to feel about all this gray slander here, Dalton.
He's teammates with the Tanner Gray now.
Oh my gosh.
Nick, this is what I have to deal with on a weekly basis.
You come on once maybe twice a year if you're lucky.
I get to deal with this on a weekly, almost daily basis.
So you should be thankful you don't got to hear these awful puns like I did.
I think my friends watching, they make a lot of those jokes as well.
So I think they would have a class with you guys.
See, that's right.
I'll get along with them well.
You know what?
Okay, fair enough.
Last thing here before we let you go, Nick.
Once again, plug the four races that you're going to be racing for TriCon and then plug your social so where people can follow you on Twitter and other social handles.
Yeah, so I'm doing the four TriCon races at North Wilkesboro, Richmond, Bristol and Kansas.
Super excited for those.
Yeah, you can follow me on Twitter or X at Nick lights, Instagram, Nick lights, Facebook, all the same thing.
So excited for this weekend and I'm ready to go.
And I appreciate you guys for having me on.
Once again, thank you.
And yeah, we're going to have shop TriCon.com on this weekend and then precision measurements for the rest of them.
So without them, I couldn't have done it without them.
I love it.
Nick, thank you so much for coming on.
Let's have you on again.
Probably maybe maybe after that Kansas race.
So you can you can tell us all about the four races and we can we can pick your brain about about those those four truck races, my friend.
For sure.
Appreciate it.
Awesome.
Nick lights on the program when we come back, we are going to be talking a much more of Atlanta and then getting you guys ready for North Wilkesboro.
Once again, that is coming up here on the front stretch happy hour program.
The front stretch for 10% off.
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Welcome back to the front stretch.com's happy hour program and once again, a huge shout out to Jamie at Whitler 1967 we got a super chat ladies and gentlemen, big shout out for a super chat.
Jamie says that he says Joey Logano is going to win North Wilkesboro.
No, that happens.
I will literally come on to the show shirtless one time.
I don't know when where but I will.
Hey y'all now.
We want people to keep watching.
Brian, save that for the front stretch only fans content.
Okay, that's coming soon.
Hey, Tom Bowles does not allow us that.
I've asked multiple times.
I've even had have you asked multiple times.
We're wearing him down.
We're wearing him down.
We'll get there.
Coming soon.
I'm Keeney calendar.
No females.
I don't even know how to go with there.
So I'm just going to.
I've never met Brian.
Oh, I'm like, I've never stopped.
I'm picturing.
I'm just picturing Massey in a bikini right now and it's very terrifying right now.
Um, Tom is done would be my defense.
But when you have cracker bear with master before what ends up being who I am, the calculus changes.
Yeah.
I still would be in my defense.
But you know, that is okay.
Cracker barrel.
I do.
I am a fan of cracker barrel.
It's kind of funny.
Massey texted me saying he was at cracker barrel and then like I was on my way to Costco and he passed the one.
And my wife was like, Hey, let Massey know that we just passed where he's eating.
And I was like, Oh, honey, he's in Atlanta, not Idaho.
Um, but, but you know, that's okay.
Um, gentlemen.
Um, guys say real quick, quick cracker barrel before a race.
Maybe isn't the best idea because Ross Chastain was in there as well.
And then he went and got lapped right away.
And then after the lay after, I think he cleared his, his system of the cracker barrel.
He went out there and got a top 10.
Um, you also apparently you saw David green.
And for those that watch the watch party, Michael Finley, um, uh, pronounced him deceased.
He is not deceased and I want to clarify that.
So Michael Finley, you're fake news there.
He is not late.
Great.
He is just the great David green.
He's not late yet.
Um, without being said, let's dive on into our, uh, third topic of the evening.
Mr. Michael Massey.
Uh, how about you?
How about you introduce this one, buddy?
Well, so the thing I'm wondering is, well, it's on a Sunday night.
Had they had TNT move the start up 19 minutes.
So green flag was seven 19.
We've seen NBC do it in the past where the broadcast starts.
We're going green.
So you can do that.
I know you have to have like a 24 hour or 48 hour notice to move it up a whole hour,
unless you're Amazon prime, who can do whatever they want.
And we're awesome earlier this year when they moved was poking up several hours.
Um, but TNT still could have on that day moved it up 19 minutes.
And in those 19 minutes, we would have hit halfway.
And I bet NASCAR would have called the race.
You would have had a lot more people watching to see the winner.
I think things would have also amped up there because people know the race is
about to end.
Um, so is it better to have gotten half the race in with a bunch of your audience
that's still watching with maybe not as much entertainment, you know,
not missing out on half the race.
Or is it better to get the whole race in, but you're finishing at two o'clock
in the morning and you don't have as much of an audience, but you do have
an exciting finish, exciting product for people to look back on, um,
whichever you want.
If you guys want to kick it off, go ahead.
I have very, very strong thoughts.
And for those that don't follow myself and Mr.
Michael Massey on Twitter at the Brian Nolan and then at M underscore
Massey 22, we went back and forth on this, um, because we saw the time
that it went back racing.
It was 11 45 PM Eastern.
There is no way in God's glorious green earth that they would be going back
green if they were over halfway.
It's just simple as that.
And as for me, I want to see the best possible result and whatever the best
possible storyline is.
And that would be getting to see all 400 miles.
I know it sucks for you, Massey.
I know it sucks for Landon Quisenberry, our other reporter at Atlanta.
The thing is it was awesome and I loved all 400 laps.
I don't want the fans that that stuck it out for three hours to only see
what was it?
What would it be 210 miles or 205 miles or something?
Um, I mean, this, this is all hyperbole because it never actually came to fruition.
But I want to see, I wanted to see them go the full distance.
And if they would have went up 20 minutes stolen, they would have called the race.
And like Massey, like Massey was telling me yesterday, same guy would have won.
Well, so what?
I mean, the guy would have won after 210 miles.
I wanted to see all 400 miles and we got a hell of a finish, Dalton.
It's just, I am glad that they went 400 miles.
And I mean, it sucks for the people that had to cover it, but I think it was the right call.
I would, I mean, I would obviously have to agree.
I think going the full distance is obviously the move for sure.
There's no doubt about that.
I mean, you don't, I was there in 2023.
I think it was in July back then as well.
William Byron won the range shortened event and that sucked because that was such a good race.
That was a really good race.
I was forming up and I mean, I may have got a JJ Ailey top 10 out of that.
So that was pretty damn cool.
But at the same time, yeah, getting a full race in is always going to be the way to go.
Right. But at the same time, if you're really worried about viewership, having a race on Sunday night is just not the way to go.
I know Saturday nights, Saturday night races have not produced the best viewership.
But if you're in the summer and then you're in the Southeast, chances are you're probably going to have a rainstorm in the vicinity.
You're going to have a threat of rain.
I mean, it's just going to happen.
Okay. It's almost guaranteed.
And when you have those kinds of races on Saturday night and you have like a threat like you did this past weekend,
I mean, look back at Nashville, same thing.
That's not even like entirely in the Southeast.
I mean, it kind of is, but you still had that threat of rain and it delayed the race, you know, a few hours and it didn't end until about like,
was it midnight one in the morning?
And then you have the same thing here at Atlanta and at the same as a result, you don't get that much of a viewership.
So if you put that on Saturday night, you don't have that risk anymore.
You still have those viewers tuning in because they don't have to work in the morning.
Again, I know Saturday night viewership has not been great and that's why they're trying to get rid of it or trying to get away from it a little bit.
But to that I say, I don't really care because you don't have that risk anymore.
And at the same time, I don't think a whole lot of people want to watch a Sunday night race anyway because it's the same thing.
They know that race is going to last about 33 and a half hours.
It's probably going to end at like 10, 30, 11 o'clock at night.
And I mean, not me, but a lot of people aren't going to stay up for that.
They're going to go to bed and need to go because they know they got to go to work in the morning.
So I think you run a little bit of a less risk.
I know it's a fine line.
I know it's kind of a difficult fence to sit on.
But Saturday night races, you don't have that risk anymore.
You don't run that risk.
And if you're going to have races in the Southeast, that risk is amplified because you know you're going to have weather.
You're going to have weather affect your race.
So to that I say, bring back Saturday night races, especially in the summertime.
Just the Sunday night races.
If it's not on like Memorial Day weekend or Labor any kind of holiday weekend, just don't do it.
Just just bring it back to Saturday night.
Yeah, I just want to let everyone let everyone know.
I think the reason why Matt Dalton is the ratings were bad.
The ratings were bad a Saturday night.
So they did Sunday night and we get, we get honestly, excuse my language, we get shit like this.
Massey is we have to wait three hours and then we're watching a race at 3 a.m.
Eastern on now.
What is Monday morning?
Yeah, my opinion is there should be only two Sunday night races on the season.
And that is Coke 600 and Southern 500 because, you know, as Dalton mentioned, it's a holiday.
People have work off the next day.
And I mean, that's better than what they used to when they actually would race in the heat of the day on those weekends.
I bet that was hot in some of those situations.
But I guess you could do July 4th as well, maybe whatever ends up there.
But Saturday night, go until two in the morning on a Saturday night slash Sunday morning.
It's not as big of a deal as going till two in the morning on a Monday morning.
So, and also, if it does rain out, you've got a buffer to where you could, you know, say you don't get to halfway.
You could run the rest of the race on Sunday afternoon and still have a great crowd.
People could stick much more likely to stick around.
That's where I'm at on it.
I also think if we do have to have Sunday night races, when there is weather in the forecast,
they should preemptively bump the start time up two hours because then, you know, yeah, yeah.
Because say that, you know, Sunday night's race started five, we would have got most of it in.
Maybe all of, let me, because the race was three hours long.
When did the weather hit about nine o'clock?
I think we would have been, been done if I think started five o'clock.
So, you just have a buffer so that if it does rain, you can go a little later into the night.
You know, you have time for rain delay and people to still be watching.
I just don't want to see, I just feel like when you started at seven and there's weather on the way,
you're not giving yourself a very clear buffer.
And I get the idea is a lot of people, most people watch TV on Sunday night, so that's big for ratings.
Sunday night football starts at eight o'clock. Sunday night football had most of the fans live in that area.
So they're going to that game. They don't have as far home to go.
People go across the country to go to races.
So it's just a much more difficult thing.
And Sunday night football game, I mean, so the sweet spot's like eight to 10 p.m.
I mean, races are longer than football games a lot of times.
So, I mean, if you're starting to say five or six, you're going to be ending in that 8 p.m. 9 p.m. stretch.
So I feel like that's that's where you want like your peak viewership is for the finish.
I feel like not, you know, you don't want it ending at 11 when a lot of people have already tuned out.
So that's what I just think seven.
And then you can still do Sunday night Sunday evening races, but just seven's getting a little too late for start, especially 7 19.
It's just you're pushing a little too late for my liking.
Our producer Chris Graham may have sent me the worst possible text in the history of mankind just now.
Time to race for Sunday night.
Hell no, Chris. I don't want time graces anywhere in NASCAR area.
I mean, get that and give it to Imsa.
Oh, no.
Sorry, Chris. I still love you. God, that was bad. That was terrible.
I will say in defense to getting the full races in as well.
We don't know. We were at Charlotte for the O'Reilly race this year and it felt like what they did for the ending of that was criminal where they just ran out caution laps to get the halfway so they could call it.
If you were a fan.
I was ready for that thing.
If you're a fan, you should be pissed off.
We had a 3 a.m. wake up call for Indy the next morning and I went to bed at like 11 and like I went on Slack where we send our videos.
You guys were sending videos of like one and I'm like you guys are probably awake when I woke up for the day.
Probably.
Probably.
That was rough.
Especially if you were sick that we can't do. That was an awful one to be at.
I mean, I think everyone was sick that weekend, but you were you were physically sick with some type of weird bronchitis thing.
420 the green flag lays up.
Amen.
Speaking of Jamie, big thanks to the super chat.
And I just got confirmation from our boss Tom Bowles that I will go shirtless and Michael massive will be wearing a bikini if Joey Logano does win on Sunday.
So I just want to.
I got owned a bikini.
Here's a way easier than mine.
Oh, and get one.
I will pay for it on the on the company credit card. What size do you wear?
I would say I don't know if they make bikinis that large, but they definitely did.
I don't think they have this cup size.
Speaking of I know there's there's there's no there's no good segue.
Jamie says he wants video confirmation.
Well, Jamie, you can come back next week on the program or we will be wearing it.
That is for sure.
Our producer Chris Graham says the Borat mankini.
I love that idea.
I love that idea.
Don doesn't have any stakes.
I didn't say anything.
I didn't say anything during the whole time.
So I didn't I didn't bet anything at all.
Okay.
Why should I be?
I didn't say anything either.
Well,
Yeah, I got.
All righty about.
Our final our final topic of the evening.
Don, do you want?
Yeah, you want to introduce it or should I buddy?
No, let me do it.
I want to introduce a topic buddy.
Yeah, here we go.
Oh my god.
This is it bro.
Oh yeah.
Wow.
Yeah.
Get it in brother.
That's enough of that.
So Ryan Blaney.
So if you look back at the last time,
a Ford driver other than Ryan Blaney has won a race.
You have to go back to Joey Logano at Texas.
He has been the only Ford driver that's been able to win a race
since then.
That's over a year.
Excuse me, Texas in 2025.
Last year.
He's the only driver that's been able to win.
That's over a year now.
I do not know how many races,
but I'm going to assume probably well over 40.
Maybe getting close to 50 at this point.
And Blaney is still doing pretty well.
If he's third in points, he's less than,
I think he's less than 70 points now behind points leader
Denny Hamlin.
And he's, we kind of thought that it was going to be a Denny Hamlin
entire retic battle to the championship,
to the in season championship,
but regular season championship, not in season.
And we thought it was going to be those two,
but now Ryan Blaney is kind of in the mix.
And I know it's kind of because Atlanta was really good for him
and he's Ford and Pinsky was really good at Atlanta,
really good at the plate races, but I digress.
I mean, he's been third in points for a lot of this season.
So the debate for me is,
is Ryan Blaney,
like maybe the best driver in the whole field right now.
And he's just being held back by the Ford performance.
Because as I put in our text chat a couple of days ago,
if he was driving a Toyota,
would he just be spanking the crap out of everybody right now?
And I can't help but feel like maybe he would,
because look, he's got the Ford performance.
His pit crew isn't really doing him any favors either.
So if he had Toyota and Joe Gibbs pit crew
or maybe a Hendrick Motorsports pit crew performance,
good God, man. I don't know.
Maybe he'd be doing a lot better job than,
than what he has right now.
The only thing I would keep is maybe Jonathan has,
so I think you keep Jonathan on his team.
Man, he's good.
He's, he's, he's really, really good.
And I don't think he's getting the credit he deserves.
A couple of things. I agree, Jamie.
Ever since he did go to quote unquote Turkey,
Joey has lost speed.
So I agree there.
But Noah Coleman brought up a great point, Massey.
His crew is holding him back.
And for a guy that drives for a organization like Penske,
for him to have probably one of the bottom five ranked pit crews
is an absolute travesty.
Um, I mean, it is, I would not, I am safe to say he probably
could have won two to three more races if his pit crew
didn't screw, screw him up on pit road.
Penske perfect.
And that the expression there ain't open more.
It's more like Penske putrid right now.
In Penske imperfect.
It's something like that.
They are definitely holding him by the pit crew.
The Ford's to me, he feels like,
I think the best comparison is Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards
at the end of their time at Roush where you're like,
these two guys are really good and they'd be winning a lot
more races and have a lot more speed.
If they were in a Toyota Joe Gibbs racing,
Toyota's they ended up, you know,
what did Matt Kenseth do that first season with Gibbs?
He'd set the world on fire.
Won a ton of races.
So that's kind of where I feel like ladies at right now is he's
being held back by his car, his pit crew and where he'd be
winning so many more races.
If he was in better, you know, if you stuck him in the 45 car
or the 11 car, there's no telling what would happen.
I mean, probably just as good as those guys.
So that's, that's where I feel like Blaney is the best driver
in NASCAR right now.
I mean, I felt the same way about Kurt Busch in the late 2000s
when like he was the only Dodge that was competitive in the
weekly basis.
Brad Keselowski 2012, you know,
it's just showing that those guys had real good talent when
other people in the same stuff aren't doing hardly anything
yet. They're up there on a weekly basis.
So I don't, I don't think Ryan Blaney will ever leave Penske
because that's who gave him his chance and he's been loyal to
them for over a decade now.
But if he were to leave, like, I feel like he could really set
the world on fire somewhere else.
Don, if you put Ryan Blaney in bubble walls, his car,
how many wins do you think he would have right now?
That's, that's tough.
That is tough to say.
I think, I think if you, I mean, does he still have Jonathan
Hassler with him?
Sure.
How about those two go together?
Yeah, if those two go together, man,
I think he has at least four wins so far this year.
And I would even argue that he would have maybe,
I know that was his 19th career win,
but maybe he would probably be at, I would say maybe 25
wins, 26 wins.
Oh, yeah, 30.
Okay.
I mean, 30 is a bigger number,
but I would say he'd be up in that, that conversation.
I, the thing is, is that at the same time,
if he was in that 23 car, if he was in the Toyota,
you know, four years ago, he also wouldn't be a champion.
That's the problem is that Pinsky was just able to just get it
together in those last 10 races.
And I'm sure that was planned.
I'm sure that's what they designed.
But they just, they, they, Pinsky just put together a strategy
of, hey, let's just be really freaking good at Phoenix.
And then everywhere else, we'll just do the best we can.
And just a bunch of time at Phoenix.
And now the problem is that you can't do that anymore.
Yes, the last 10 races, you'll be good,
but you won't be able to, I don't think Blaney is going to be
on the level that Hamlin is,
because you can't rely on the elimination races.
You just have to be constantly consistent.
And there are definitely some tracks that Pinsky just isn't
good at right now, not just Pinsky, but Ford as a whole.
And if you're not consistent in each and every track,
and you're just, you're just not going to win that, that chase.
You're not going to win the chase.
So it's, what do you want more?
Do you want more wins or do you want more championships?
And nowadays wins matter more than championships,
I believe just because it is,
or even consistency matters more than championships,
I believe just because that consistency will deliver you a championship
more than wins it in the past.
And that's where Ford is going to struggle a little bit later on in the season.
So I don't know, whenever Blaney's contract is up,
maybe it's time for a conversation.
Yeah.
And JDR, I want to say that real straight.
JDR did win the championship of 2019,
where Kyle ran the full season,
and he would have won it on full season points as well.
So, but your point is saying it's this 2019,
they have not won the championship.
But I don't think you could say like Blaney's whole career,
like Pinsky and Ford were not bad his whole career.
You know, when he, so he got in the 12,
2018 was his first year in the 12,
2018 to 2023, I'd say Pinsky was really good.
He had, you know, Kezalowski won a bunch of races before he left.
Logano, you know, won a bunch of races.
I think 24 was the first year Pinsky kind of started to dip a little,
you know, we had circumstances that led to Logano winning a championship that year.
And then last year, I think was the first year where it was a real big dip in the
Pinsky and Ford performance.
So it's really like the past two years, I'd say,
what could Blaney have done in those years if he was with a Hendrick or Gibbs
or 2311 or something like that.
But I don't know, we say all this, but maybe next year they come out and Ford's
just feels like, I don't know, it just feels like Ford across NASCAR as a whole
has been just kind of going a downward slope.
They're not even in O'Reilly.
I mean, we had two cars in O'Reilly this past weekend, but like they're not full time.
Trucks, the front row guys are pretty good.
Lane Riggs is great.
Taylor Swift will win some races.
But Thor sports, not really doing what they've kind of fallen off lately.
Yeah.
And then on the cup side is Blaney is up there every week.
Busher is solidly in the chase.
Then below that, it's like right around the cut line is a whole bunch of Fords.
It was like RFK has just been falling off a cliff the past month.
Yeah, they were.
I expected them to be really good this past weekend and they were not.
I mean, Busher took a gamble at one point and kind of got up there, but Brad was terrible.
And that's one of his best track types.
Yeah, I don't know what the, not just the Ford is, but what RFK is.
That's, I think, a more concerning problem.
Last but not least, before we go, Chris, if you can pop up the in season bracket update.
We are down to four gentlemen.
Chase Elliott, Todd Giggleland, Christopher Bell, and Ryan Laney.
Gentlemen, I think we expected all four of those, right?
Of course we did.
Actually, Mr. Giggle.
Of course we did.
In all honesty, we expected probably three out of the four, but I mean, honestly, great.
Oh, no bracket.
No worries.
No worries, Chris.
Just your overall thoughts.
Is it pretty cut and dry that it's gonna be the Chase Elliott versus the winner of Bell versus Laney?
Or does Mr. Giggleland have a chance?
I think something's gonna have to happen to Chase Elliott.
But something happened to Bowman.
Bowman got wrecked this past weekend.
Todd was like 30th the whole race.
And then Bowman wrecks out.
Yeah, so maybe it's his year.
Maybe he's the Ty Dillon this year.
Dalton, do you think you can go out there?
Here's the horrifying thing.
Here's the horrifying thing is that Todd Gill and statistically his best racetrack is Indianapolis.
He's gotten, I think, two of his top tens.
I don't even know if I don't think he has that many top tens.
You know, I'm gonna look this up, but two of his top tens in his career have come from Indianapolis.
And I think this last one actually came from Indianapolis last year.
I think that was his sole top ten as a matter of fact.
So if he does make it into, okay, so I'm sorry, he's gotten quite a few top fives.
Top fives, not top tens.
He's gotten two top fives.
And they were both.
Oh, wow.
He's got 26 place finishes.
26 place finish.
The last two years he's finished six in Indianapolis.
Okay, so I got them mixed up.
So he finished second at Talladega last year, but he finished sixth at Indianapolis.
And that was Indianapolis.
That wasn't a plate race or anything like that.
So yeah, he's pretty good at Indy.
And it's kind of hard.
Like if he makes it, if he somehow gets around, is it Chase Elliott?
He's against this weekend?
It's Chase Elliott, right?
Correct, yes.
If he gets around Chase Elliott at North Wilkesboro, I think he's a legitimate contender.
I mean, look, the way this bracket system is, it's so difficult because it's all a crapshoot, right?
I mean, for two years in a row after the first race, nobody's bracket remained.
Out of all the thousands of people that submitted a bracket, nobody's bracket remained.
Like that's just a crapshoot, man.
Yeah, it's a one-seed that's lost both times.
But it happens all the time because NASCAR, you don't know what's going to happen.
It's not like regular sports.
So I could see if Chase Elliott has an issue at North Wilkesboro and Massey were talking about before we went on air,
we never had 36 cars at North Wilkesboro on the track at a certain point.
And we're going to have a much longer race this season.
What if the attrition rate is high?
What if there is a big crash?
What if Chase Elliott has an issue?
Todd Gillins in the mix.
And don't get me wrong.
And by the way, Todd Gillins isn't that bad at short tracks either.
I got a top 10 of Artinsville last year as well, if I'm not mistaken.
Yeah, ninth.
Ninth of Artinsville last year.
So it's not, I mean, Chase is great at short tracks too.
He's got the Hendrick Motorsports power, but I digress.
One issue for Chase Elliott and Todd's in the mix.
He's in the same position as Ty Dillon last year.
And I think he does better than Ty Dillon did last year if we go to Indy.
Todd got sixth at Bristol this year.
So that's another half mile.
So he's a little short track.
Half mile?
I'm all in.
I'm all in the Todd.
But Dillon, you should do a punishment if Todd wins the championship.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Todd wins it.
I don't know.
Because we, I mean, we're doing it.
Joe Lagana wins on Sunday.
Yeah.
Okay.
Well, I mean, I didn't, I don't understand.
Yeah, fire off live rounds at a funeral.
What the hell?
For those that don't know, Dalton does military funerals.
I was going to say, no one know that besides the four of us that are currently doing this.
Do blanks count?
No, I said live rounds.
Yeah, I can't, I can't.
How about you die the tips of your hair, your frosted tips?
Oh, no, I'm not doing that.
No, see, your guys' stuff is like temporary.
Your guys' stuff lasts like an hour.
Okay, because you just got to take your shirt off and Massey has to wear, you know, double D cups.
I'll do the frosted tips.
You take your shirt off.
No.
It has to be different.
How?
It is different.
If he's, if he's the one crossing his tips.
You shave your chest.
Wax it.
Oh, buddy.
Even better.
It's not crazy hair.
Yes, it is.
I mean, look, all right.
We can do, we can do without a shirt.
We want it.
We want to hear from you.
What should Dalton's punishment be?
Punishment if Todd Gillend wins the whole thing.
We want to hear from you.
But what we also want to hear is you guys listening to our fantastic Frontage podcast coming up this Thursday is bringing the heat with Terry Lyle coming up on Fridays through the gears with Michael B.
Not Michael B. Jordan, but Michael B. Massey.
Last name.
How do you say it?
It is fellow family.
Thank you.
And then Sunday with my boy Eric Schneck with car scoop.
And then like us every single Tuesday here on the frontage happy hour program Dalton.
Are you going to be writing anything coming up this week?
Nope.
That's going to be all Massey.
Massey gets to do fire on Fridays this week.
So get to it.
All right.
What about can you sing the pickle takes it all?
I don't know.
The pickle takes it all.
I don't even know if that's a real song, but if it is.
Oh, it takes it all.
It's still, it's still.
I get what he's saying.
I get what he's saying.
I just, it's.
I've never heard of this song.
It's a odd request.
Well, I mean, it's also a weird request for Massey to go into a bikini, but here we are.
I'm thinking I might have to wear a bikini.
I didn't want Massey to do that.
Somebody else came up with that.
I didn't want to either.
Listen, I don't want to do, I don't want to have that happen either.
But I think it would be funny and I want to deliver content.
Okay.
Content is king.
Speaking of content.
Michael Madness is going to be delivering.
Good.
No, no, no.
Only fans, only fans.
Massey, what do you have a inkling of what you are going to be writing about this week?
Oh, I'm trying to figure something out, but maybe rocking him.
Because.
Oh, let's see if it's in flux or not with the.
Making a bunch of big claims and throwing around some money and then not actually
paying people and calling their season short before it was even over.
So yeah, one of the biggest scams of racing and recent memory.
It seems like, and they bought rocking hand this year.
And so what does the future hold for the rack?
Okay.
Fantastic.
And then you'll be covering North Wilkesboro this upcoming weekend with Mr. Andrews
daughter.
So what can we expect content wise?
Well, we can expect some truck stuff.
Sidebar, I guess video post race interviews.
It'd be interesting because like your outlet only gets one seat in the media center for
North Wilkesboro and the other person has to go out South track.
So I'm curious how quickly the other person can cross over after the race is over to go
get those pit road interviews.
So we'll see if we can get everything, but the good news is that everybody's trapped
in there.
So if, you know, if somebody racks out, like, what are they going to do?
They got to talk to us at some point.
They can't.
So maybe we'll have another Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Kyle Bush situation.
But again, cup race, obviously we're going to have a truck races at a good time, noon
start time cup races at 7pm again.
What are we going to do between in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina from cup qualifying ends at
like 7pm?
And then you're going to have 24 hours of absolutely nothing until the race starts.
I was going to say, but don't know exactly what he would be doing.
I can, I can just speak easy.
But yeah, so you'll have some late content once again.
But yeah, look for it all Monday morning at the latest, I guess.
Once again, front stretch.com all the latest are YouTube channel, YouTube.com slash front
stretch and then our Twitter at front stretch.
Once again, big thanks to Chris Graham for putting up with these three knuckleheads every
single Tuesday.
He's the best in the business for a reason and we mucho appreciate him.
A big thanks to everybody from our producer, our podcast leader, Mr.
Tray Lyle, Don Hopkins, Michael Massey.
I'm Brian Owens signing off here.
This was another edition of the front stretch happy app program.
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About this episode
The Happy Hour Podcast kicks off with a lively Yellow Line Rule debate, sparked by a late-race penalty that sent a driver from 2nd to 29th. The hosts argue about safety, consistency, and whether enforcement should be more predictable—especially when passing intent and “give backs” come into play. Nick Leitz then joins to discuss restarts, wreck impact, and his TriCon Cup-Series path, plus Toyota-backed training support. The show also pivots to Ryan Blaney dominance talk, Ford’s struggles, and North Wilkesboro weekend coverage.
