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Kansas Chaos: Chase Elliott Wins, Denny Hamlin Wrecks Bubba Wallace as Round of 12 Drama Heats Up, Roval Preview, and more!
Kansas Chaos: Chase Elliott Wins, Denny Hamlin Wrecks Bubba Wallace as Round of 12 Drama Heats Up, Roval Preview, and more!
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About this episode
The podcast dives into the thrilling Kansas Speedway race where Chase Elliott clinched a crucial victory amidst playoff tensions, including a controversial wreck involving Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace. Hosts discuss the strategic nuances of the upcoming Charlotte Roval race, playoff implications, and the challenges faced by drivers like Tyler Reddick. They also reflect on the dynamics within teams, race officiating changes, and share personal racing stories. The episode blends race analysis with behind-the-scenes insights, driver mentalities, and fan engagement through picks and social segments.
Topics:
chase elliott victory
denny hamlin bubba wallace wreck
kansas speedway race recap
charlotte roval preview
nascar playoffs drama
team dynamics and strategy
tyler reddick family update
race officiating changes
driver mental focus
fan picks and engagement
Kevin Harvick, Kaitlyn Vincie, and Mamba Smith break down a wild NASCAR weekend at Kansas, where Chase Elliott scored a thrilling win after a chaotic finish that saw Denny Hamlin wreck Bubba Wallace, costing Bubba a shot at victory. The crew dives into the fallout, analyzing the pressure Hamlin faces after being at the center of dramatic incidents two weeks in a row during the Round of 12. Looking ahead, they preview the upcoming Charlotte Roval, one of the most unpredictable races in the playoffs, and debate which contenders are most at risk as the Round of 12 continues. Mamba shares this week’s top moments on social media in Mamba’s Social Sips, and the show closes with Last Call, where the crew grades Elliott’s burnout and makes their picks for who will win at the Roval.
LINK TO SUBMIT PICKS FOR THE ROVAL: https://forms.gle/nFSHX1w6EZ22eg8k7
0:00 - Intro
3:58 - Kansas Recap
32:32 - ROVAL Preview
40:34 - Mamba’s Social Sips
52:48 - Last Call!
56:43 - Submit Picks For The ROVAL
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- Intro
- Kansas Recap
- ROVAL Preview
- Mamba’s Social Sips
- Last Call!
- Submit Picks For The ROVAL
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I kind of view him as my generation type of a driver.
I truly feel like they are the most consistent car.
The only rule that he broke is one of you better win.
Those situations where your back is against the wall, you only have one way out and that
is to win are the best.
There's Delaney and Josh sitting over there and she's like, eeep.
Welcome to Kevin Harvick's happy hour presented by NASCAR on Fox.
I'm Kevin Harvick.
She's Caitlin Vinci.
No one and only Mama Smith.
Mr. Rogers again today.
I love it.
It's actually warmer.
Do you know the theme song?
Do I know the theme song?
Yeah.
I don't think I do.
It's something like about where you'd be my neighbor, right?
Well, yeah.
Mr. Rogers' neighborhood.
Can't you be?
Won't you be?
My neighbor.
I knew I was going to do something there.
I heard that a long time.
I do like the sweater.
It's very fall.
Tipping it is.
I don't.
And tip what?
You don't like style except your shoes.
I will give you credit.
I got some new ones for you.
They're clean.
Those are clean looking.
Yeah.
Do you like the black laces?
I do.
Yeah.
I think the offset color laces are always a good hobby.
There you go.
Yeah.
He'll get rid of them and like about.
I think I might keep these for a while.
You should keep them for a while.
Yeah.
Nice.
Did you, you didn't go to the Ryder Cup, did you?
No.
You went to Pensacola.
I went to Pensacola.
How'd that go?
It's hard.
Yeah.
The super late models.
I mean, the super late model country down there is hard just because those guys race there
so much.
So knowing all the little nuances.
But I was way more comfortable than I was last year as far as knowing where to go and
what to do.
So it went, it went better than it did last time.
But I don't think I'll go back.
How many?
Not the snowball derby.
He says.
He's not on your.
No.
That snowball derby is way too competitive for.
Way too.
Retired life.
Listen.
Like I want to go race and have fun.
It's not what that is.
No.
That is.
It's not, it's not for the at fun, have fun crowd.
No, it's not fun.
Even the pro races are fun either.
Like that, that stuff is hard.
Keelan, Keelan qualified on a pole and then they drew a, I think he drew a six.
You know, we're fourth.
Yeah.
One up fourth.
So it was good for him.
He's going back to run the snowflake.
So.
That'll be good for him.
Yeah.
So that was, that was good.
And those guys, Tim Bryant and his whole group does a really good job down there.
I mean, they run a, I mean, a snowball derby is not a small event.
So they do a great job in running the event.
And so we had a, we had a good time and, you know, I, I like racing.
I didn't win, but.
That's okay.
It's okay.
It was.
The fans loved having you there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Did you drink, drink bushlight after?
No.
No.
I didn't drink any bushlight after.
Have you had any bushlight?
I haven't.
No.
But you know, you never know what the sips are going to bring.
They never know.
So that was Kevin's weekend.
How was your weekend?
We were both in Kansas.
Yeah.
Driver intros.
The fans that were there, they had a great time.
They were at high level.
They've been drinking all weekend for sure.
They were fun.
Nothing.
Nothing crazy.
Just a lot of, a lot of closures were out there though, the pants that were out
there.
They stopped me.
Crazy.
I think it's so cool.
At the late model race, everywhere we go with the late model races, they talk
about the show and just talk about, you know, how we're honest and fair
and try to just cover the race.
And we're not here to stir stuff up.
We're here to cover what happened.
And we give our opinions and that's what we're here to do is give an opinion.
It might be right.
It might be wrong.
You might agree.
You might disagree.
But that's okay.
That's part of it.
A lot of times we disagree.
No, not so much you guys.
I get along with those.
You and I.
Yeah.
This is Switzerland.
Yeah.
That's me.
Yeah.
All right.
Welcome in to episode 68 here on Happy Hour.
We have plenty to discuss.
Plenty.
Leaving Kansas Speedway.
We'll preview the Roval Charlotte home race this week.
And Mamba, of course, has his sips.
But as I mentioned, Kansas, it delivered in a very big way.
Let's start with the finish.
What did you think of that, guys?
I honestly, the whole race, I thought I watched the whole race.
And for me, it was one of the best races of the year.
There you go.
I wish we could figure out why Kansas puts on the mile and a half race.
And to be fair, these cars have put on a pretty good race at a lot
of the mile and a half race tracks, but Kansas has just been one
of those places that have been phenomenal.
But this finish, when you look at the Chase Elliott pass
at the end coming from 10th on the restart, Denny and Bell,
banging doors right there and Hamlin fighting his power steering
issues and a bad pit stop and being in the mix there at the
end and knocking the car that he owns out of the way.
And, you know, all the things that happen as a race fan just
makes it fun to watch.
It was, it was great race.
It was a great race.
It checked every box that I feel like anyone that doesn't think
doesn't come away from this and like, man, that was a good race.
You don't, you really don't know what you're, what you're looking
for.
Not the way you're looking at, because I'm not going to disrespect
anyone like that, but you don't know what you're looking for
out of a race.
There was drama at the end like we want.
There was strategy calls that mattered.
People coming from the back to the front, like Ryan Blaney
making his way up to the front.
William Byron was hot garbage for the first two stages
all the way until the very end of the race.
Yeah, until about 20 laps to go.
They all started wrecking and he, he didn't wreck and then
got himself in position to, to capitalize on a decent
finish, but it didn't score any stage points.
Even no.
And someone that was not in the playoffs, SVG.
We're going to get to him for sure.
Man, come on with it, big dog.
Yes.
Great to see that top 10 performance for him on a
very difficult racetrack.
So we've talked about on this show numerous times about
how Chase Elliott and company, their Achilles heel was
qualifying this weekend.
That was not the story.
They qualified fourth.
They're best in the last nine races.
Got the victory.
I know you've already spoken to chase.
And I told Chase this, I truly feel like they are the
most consistent car.
They have less trouble than everybody else.
Their pit crew, when they're in those positions
shines, they, he has a really good pit crew.
And when you look at the stats, they, they, the
stats back that, that pit crew up.
And I think that solving that qualifying issue that
they, that they have shows you what they can do.
He had great short run speed as, as he's talked about
on our interview this week fell off a little bit
more at the end.
I feel like they still have some, some work to do as
far as that piece of the puzzle, but they had the
speed to be able to contend in those first 25 laps
of a run.
So, but when you qualify good, it just, it makes
your day go so much better.
You get stage points, you put yourself in
position to run with the leaders and know what
you need to work on with their cars, see their
lines, see all the things that you need to see
racing up front.
So you know what your deficiencies are as far as
speed or handling or driving or whatever, whatever
the case is.
But, you know, when you look at a lot of times
in my opinion, when you look at the mechanical
side, they have less problems when you compare
them to somebody like the 11, right?
And even the 20 or 45, those cars seem to
have a lot more little detail issues than
somebody like the nine.
And Chase, I kind of view him as my generation
type of a driver.
He's going to figure out how to finish the races
a lot of times to be able to capitalize on
those days when other people are having trouble.
He's going to not tear up a lot of cars and
keep himself in position to keep the car
running just like William Byron did this weekend.
But I feel like that nine group does that
as good as anybody.
And I think that's, you know, he and Alan
and Hendrick Motorsports and everything that
they've done through the years and that
part carries over.
So, and it's, it's, he mentioned this
in the interview, 10 weeks is a long time.
And you can get hot and you can get cold
and you can hit on something and you can
miss on something.
And if you get hot at the right time,
that's when it counts.
The Victory Lap interview with Kevin
and Chase is available now.
What did you see and pressed you out of
the nine group this weekend?
I just like how they go about their
business.
I think I just like how that group has been
together for a while.
True.
Been together for a long time, championship
group.
Yeah.
I like the win, the win set a lot because
I don't think Chase is one one like that.
Usually when Chase Elliott wins is a
lot of time it's going away.
You know what I mean?
Like he's been a dominant car and he
wins race.
Now, the two that he have this year,
Atlanta Speedway Racing, but kind of
shy of a cannon came out of nowhere.
And this one, man, Alan from the
box was like, I think that four tires
are going to work out here.
It worked out.
I think he referenced Martin Tricks,
Jr.
Pulling off a win there in the past,
going to the four tires and the way
the cautions laid out and the way that
run came and he went through the top
and then got that run down the back
and everything that worked out.
And he looked, he looked excited to
be in.
I know that sounds weird, but he
looked really happy to be in Victory
Lane and talking about it.
He's like, man, that was fun.
I just like, I like that.
Like I want you to give us that emotion
in that, that you really love what
you're doing and you're in a good spot.
And he is.
And the other thing I like, the other,
yeah, I was going to say the mustache.
I told him, I said, you better not
shave that thing off until it goes
like shit.
You better keep that mustache on there
and ride it out.
I don't care how long or bushy it
gets.
You just got to keep growing with
it.
You've got it now.
Yes.
So he was able to capitalize from
some misfortunes of others.
And I am referring to Denny Hamlin
and Bubba Wallace.
What did you see here from this
incident coming to the end of the
race?
This one's complicated.
Kev, what did you see?
This is complicated.
It's very complicated.
And, you know, I think first off
the Toyotas had them beat again.
They had, they had, they had the
speed.
They had everything that they
needed to win the race.
I'm going to go back to 2007.
Oh, wow.
Wave our back.
I've been in a position that
Denny Hamlin is in currently
in a position where you drive for
another team and you own cars.
And it's really, really difficult
because if he doesn't drive in
there and try to win the race
and do what he did, his team
is going to be mad.
And when it worked out the way
that it did, the only rule that
he broke is one of you better
win.
Now both teams.
One of you better win.
And it took both teams out of
contention and they handed a
win.
They had everything under control.
So that, that's the only thing
that that's the, that's kind of the
unwritten rule.
If you're going to bang doors with
your teammate and you're going to
do all those things, you better
make sure one of you wins the race.
And I know they're not technically
teammates, but they might as well
be with the way that this all
goes.
But in 07, I wrecked two of
my cars and won the race.
My team, my team owner was not
there.
Well, we were racing.
We were racing.
We were racing in Pocono in the
Cup car.
We flew to Montreal and it was
very chaotic finish.
Scott Pruitt at the time had
run me all over the racetrack
and I'm like, you know what, on
this restart, I am dumping your
ass.
And when I dumped him, it took
out Ron Fellows and he was
probably going to win the race
with the way that it worked out
with Robbie Gordon and Marcus
but I wound up being the benefactor
of it all.
So I get to victory lane and I'm
like, hey, there's Delaney and
Josh sitting over there and
yep, they're still sitting over
there.
I wonder why they're like, come
on.
And she's like, flip me the
bird.
I'm like, whoa, this is, that's
not what I expected.
I mean, I just won the race.
And so we get on the plane.
Nobody will speak to me.
I mean, not one word would
they speak to me.
And you're really confused, right?
Well, I mean, I know I wiped
everybody out, but I won the race
and I did my job as a driver
for the team that I was driving for
and that's the boundaries that are
hard to, it's hard to separate
but when you're in that car, you have
to do everything that you can to
win for the car that you're driving.
That's the obligation that you have.
So, but, you know,
I think that in
today's world it's, you know,
there's a lot on the line in
the playoffs and in the end one
of them didn't win the race.
And, you know, I think that the
interesting part to me is when you
got to the end of the race, I
mean, Bubba was pretty frustrated
with Denny and, you know,
called him a dumbass and
referenced, yeah, and
referenced some things.
So I can see it from his side as
well, not wanting to get run into,
you know, to give up the race.
I think if they had a race door
to door to the, to the start
finish line, it was one thing,
but after the race, I mean,
you can see the emotion in Denny
Hamlin, that's two weeks in a row.
He's got to deal with wrecking his
teammate, now taking his,
his own car out of contention,
the politics in that, and I don't
know what's going on personally
with his father, but he made
reference of his, of his father
afterwards.
But there's a lot of pressure on
that man.
And you could, you could see it
in his interview.
But the one thing I will say
about Denny Hamlin, we asked
the question last week, was it
the week that was the, was going
to derail his championship?
And that was not the case.
They went out there.
On a mission.
And kicked ass on a mission.
Yeah.
You know, like, like he needed to,
but they didn't win.
Yeah, I want to also note too
with Bubba Wallace that he
commented just to have a shot
to be there at the end to win
based on where they started
the race.
They had made so many gains on
that car over the course.
He was garbage to start.
To start, yeah.
And, you know, I think that
was also pretty defeating
for him just to know where they
started and ended.
You got a lot on your mind.
I can tell.
I do.
I do.
I think it's, I think it's hard.
So let's, let's back up
before the last lap, right?
Before Denny and Bubba, it was
Bubba and Christopher, right?
Bubba and C-Bell.
You watch that battle and it
looks about the same.
Like to just watching it,
you're like, oh, that's the
same.
It wasn't the same because the
lane that was left for the
20 to still make his way was
different than the lane that was
left for the 23.
Was there a lane left?
There was no lane left with the
23 and there was one with the
20.
So like just off of that, that's
a different situation.
Those guys never actually door
banged.
And the 11 and the 23, the
23 and the 20.
Yeah.
Yeah.
The 11 and the 23, it was a
take all the way up to, up
there.
Yeah.
Now, if I'm the owner of the
11, I'm like, that's my guy.
I'm excited, right?
He did everything.
Yeah.
And if I'm Chris Gale and that
whole group, he did exactly
what I wanted to do.
It might not have worked out
for us, but that's fine.
Yeah.
The problem is, is it's coming
off of what happened last
week.
Yeah.
And so now we're stacking.
We're talking about stacking
days, stacking weeks.
Now we're stacking things that
you don't want to stack
back to back weeks where you're
getting into with a teammate.
And this one really costs a
playoff situation because
Bubba, you know, even in his
interview, they didn't, they
don't feel like they can really
go be dominant speed at the
roval and they did everything
they needed to do to put
themselves in position to win
this one.
And you have a teammate who
you think is going to be one
of the best teammates.
Well, and, and yeah.
And I think, sorry, Caleb,
but I think in, in this
situation where you stack
those weeks, it makes you,
you're definitely confirming
that, that's, you don't,
you don't care.
When he said either get on
the wagon, get on the
wagon, get run over by his
wagon.
He was 1000% serious.
I thought he was like just
being funny.
No, no, he does not care.
And I think he's a little
pressed right now.
I don't, I to your point,
you brought up, he's
mentioned his dad a couple
of times and I really hope
that everything is worse.
Well, you got, you got
person.
You got the, you know,
something going on there.
You've got the lawsuit
going on.
You've got the everything
that happened last week.
And now you stack it on.
Now you got to deal with
it again.
This week.
So.
And the picker is still
not back.
No, you're,
you're right.
And it cost him during this
race.
Yeah, I was going to say
that next is they had
obviously forfeited to have
the crew with them last
week.
Now we are seeing this
other B team.
If we would call that
just a couple guys,
they switched out.
Yeah, just two guys,
but still they made a
lot of mistakes.
They did.
And ultimately it cost
him the lead.
And that's the fear that
you have, right?
Is, is going into a
moment like that.
When you have the lead
and you have the track
position and you got to
got to perform.
And they had the big
flub up on the right
side with the jack
not going under the car
and had to take a couple
stabs at it to get the
jack underneath the car.
And ultimately lost
four or five positions
on pit road,
which you lose control
of the race and knowing
the steering issues
that he had with the
car, having to
navigate that in traffic.
As you saw,
it wasn't apparently
not very easy to
navigate and turning
as it went up the hill
with the 23.
So they dealt with
last week.
Fine.
And, you know,
the one thing I will say
that I felt like
Denny did a hundred percent
right was go out there
and just, you know,
take credit for his
wrong with,
with Ty Gibbs last week
and stepping over the
line and spinning a
54 out and causing
things to be
what they were last
week.
And I felt like
he directly went after
that head on and
handled that appropriately
to kind of put that
to bed.
But
now you got to deal with it
this week.
It starts all over.
Yeah.
I did talk to Gabe Hart
on pit road
right before the race.
I'm like, you guys
had an exciting week.
He's like,
it's just part of the
part of the business, man.
Like they're lazy.
He is laser focused in.
And I think that helps
calm the ship
when your leader
is locked in
and can deal with
all the distractions,
all the things.
It makes everyone else.
But there was nobody
that could deal with it
other than Denny.
And he took that responsibility
this week
and dealt with it.
Like
a leader
and the guy that is
the senior
driver
of Joe Gibbs racing.
He took that head on
when he got to the
racetrack this week
and nine times out of
10.
That makes it go away.
Now if that the
incident with the 23
doesn't happen at the
end of the race,
it's gone.
Right.
But now,
like you say,
it's stacked.
So it makes it look
like you don't give
shit
about who you are
about who's out there,
which
that's what Chris
gave heart
and Joe Gibbs racing
expect.
So that's a
I've been there.
How do you
how do you guys
feel like the
group at 2311
feel like
like how do you
not great?
Yeah, like how do you
that's an odd situation.
Like how do you
how would I don't
it's tough to balance.
And like I say,
I've been there
and it is tough to balance.
But
you know,
I think that
when that guy's
driving that car.
That's the guy
you want driving.
But politically
with all the other
things going on.
Tough to navigate.
Very tough to navigate.
We're talking about 2311.
And I want to reference
also Tyler Reddick.
We're thinking about
his son.
Absolutely.
I don't think anybody
knew about this.
And so once I
saw that revealed
it kind of
made me realize
maybe more so
of why we've seen
the demeanor we've seen
out of Tyler.
Possibly.
And you know,
a lot of people
critique and criticize people
for what they do
in the race car.
And
a lot of times they forget
that these
these are families
and humans
and have to deal with
you've got to deal
with the circle of life
while in the middle
of this intense
cycle of
events that
that happen on
and off the racetrack
and so
can become extremely
difficult to
navigate life
and perform
at a high level.
I felt like,
you know,
a little bit off this weekend.
Made the mistake.
Got back in the field
and got themselves
back up in contention
and had a chance
at the end.
But Tyler drove his
butt off.
But man it is
it is tough to navigate
everything in life
and
and race at the level
that you
that you want to race at.
So we hope
everything is
good with Tyler
and his family.
Yeah,
definitely feel for them.
Super scary situation.
And I think
that
Tyler is a very
upbeat
and so is Alexa.
They're very upbeat people.
Yeah.
And so one that news
when she did make
that post
and that they've been dealing with this
for a couple of months.
Yeah.
That's super scary.
Yeah.
And like
when you see the
demeanor at the racetrack
a little bit more now
I understand 100% why.
Yeah.
And sometimes
it's really difficult
to
understand
what's happening
in everybody's life.
Some people choose
to talk about it.
Some people don't
choose to talk about it.
But
I'm always encouraged
the circle of life
balance.
Right.
And there's some things
that you can't control.
But the things
that you can control
that circle of life
has to be
completely in sync
with everything going on.
And when there's a problem
you got to deal with it.
Now these are
obviously different
and bigger problems
that are way more
important than anything
on the racetrack.
But you can
you can
you can definitely
be a lot of people
don't understand
the things that
that you have
to deal with
off the racetrack
all the time.
And they go hand in hand
with what happens
on the track.
Yeah.
We're thinking
about the Reddick family
always.
So he had a top 10.
So too
did William Byron
which they probably
got to see that
as a win.
Because earlier in the race
he said we missed
something bad.
He was very
very frustrated.
Took a big swing
at it.
Had a lengthy pit stop
and I
got to imagine
they're pretty pleased
just to have
a ninth place
being in trouble
going to the Roval.
Right.
The finish
saved
what he needed
to do at the Roval.
And I think
when you look
at the day that they had
it is so easy to do
in this car.
You get off
or miss it by a little
bit.
It just
this time of year
it exposes you
like no other time
of year because
it means so much.
And I think
that
you know those guys
put themselves
in a position to go
to the Roval
up a few points
and make it
to the next round.
But that's that body
of work that they put in
throughout the whole year
that gave them that margin
and cushion.
But as you get later
in these rounds
it becomes
it becomes a little more
difficult to recover
from those days.
But kudos to those guys
though.
And you know
you listen to
William Byron's
radio and
you know I
thought Rudy did
a good job of
not getting him
more wound up.
He's like alright
just give me all you can
and you know
you gotta be able
to let the driver vent
and say the things
that they need to
and not take it personally
and they moved on
and kept grinding away
and a lot of times
and we've seen this
with Bubba Wallace
as well this year
a lot of times
that'll take a driver
out of it.
But those guys
you gotta be able
to reset
and William Byron
and Bubba Wallace
both this weekend
were able to
reset mentally
and focus
at the next task
the next restart
the next pit stop
whatever it was
and ultimately
both of those guys
could finish this.
They did not unravel.
No, gotta give
the crew
Rudy and the whole team
a lot of credit there
because I was talking
to Jesse Saunders
who's catchy
for Larson
about man
when you guys miss it
like you guys just sling it
and he's like
yeah like we get the
wrap like they work
together to get the
wraps and to work
on the cars
like when they tear
stuff up and they
fix them like
they all kind of
think Hendrick has
a good system
and a process
as to what they
want to do
what they're going to do
if they're in a situation
to where like
I'm ready to make this
big adjustment
that a lot of teams
don't do
they either don't do
or don't have the time
to do it
or don't get those opportunities
because it's not a good thing
right
that you have that opportunity
but they're taking
making the best out of it
and obviously it worked out
you have to be aggressive
you got to
and they take
those aggressive swings
at it
and this week
it paid off for the 24
if not
they would have ran
like 25th
they were running 25th
right
it was a good place
car for
first half of that race
someone who was not
was SPG
what about our guy
with the top 10 there
it's exciting
we keep talking about
is oval racing
and how much better
that is
that it is getting
and the gains
that they're making
and I think this was
one of those weekends
that really showed
how much better
he has become
at racing
on the oval
so
you know I think
that improvement
is fun to watch
and
we've talked
on here a lot
about how much better
he is
and his knowledge
of being able to
look through the data
and critique himself
and you have to be able
to critique yourself
and you have to be able
to take criticism
but you have to be
able to learn
how to apply it
and I think
his racing IQ
is high
and I think
that
you know I think
he will continue
to get better
I love watching
people
gain
success
and go through
the process
about Steve
his crew chief
is a friend
of both of ours
and he's doing those things too
and they had to start
from pit road
basically this week
and he got
you know he got tossed
so what they were able
to do
and Shane getting comfortable
was amazing
to watch that run
and
Bozy's
someone was trying to
throw shade at
Shane on
on social this week
and Bozy
put him in the spot
he was in front
of all these wrecks
like they were trying to be like
oh he made
he finished him
because he got through the wrecks
and those wrecks happened
so he did a great job
and I think when you look
at that whole
I mean obviously
we saw Randall
Burnett
is going to be Conor
Zillich's crew chief
we know that Steve
and
SVG
are together
that's an interesting
dynamic
when it comes down
to the one car now
when you look
at where they were
they ran okay
this weekend
at times
but
it's going to be
interesting to see
where Ross
kind of falls
in all of this
as things cycle
in the next year
do they leave his team
the same
do they change his team
what do they do
with that
one car
because
Ross is
he's kind of
in that weird spot
as far as
where all that's
going to line out
you see all the effort
and everything
that's going into
the Zillich program
and they built
the whole program
for SVG
but the expectation
is for that one car
to consistently
run in the top
and win
and be the anchor
of the team
that seems to
kind of see how
that whole dynamic
works out
over there
as Shane
and Connor
get more
and more comfortable
I would like to
think that it would
make the one better
because now
they're not leaning
so much on Ross
as Ross
and the whole group
are leaning on each other
good for
Raina Barnett though
you call it
got the new
gig over there
and it was
interesting to see
his comments this weekend
just about how
everybody needed
a fresh start
to accomplish
had another miserable weekend
but
I think he's right
I think that Kyle needs
a fresh start too
with somebody else
to just kind of reset
so I think it's
the way that I took
Randall's comments
where it was just
time for everybody
to just
start over
in a new situation
sometimes
a change of scenery
is good for
sometimes it is
Rodney
Rodney got a new
change of scenery
he did
going over junior motorsports
I'm really happy
the one car
we were having to be
that
I think that's going to
really
Carson
I think that the group
is good and solid
but I think
Carson's going to
gain from
and here's the thing
about
Carson
I think when
you look back at
last year
I mean he was
in contention a lot
so obviously
the cars have
not been
as capable
as they need
to be this year
compared to
the 88
and 8
on the racetrack
and I think
and being able to have
that
just that
solid leadership
of experience
and all the things
to go with
what he will bring
to the table
it's going to
make
quaple shine
that kid's good
and he's
he's a good racer
he proved that
last year
and the year before
when he first
got into that car
but he's a winner
and I think
that that'll
that's going to
show up next year
let these kids
develop
they need more
time on track
had
but a handful
of starts realistically
so like
well you see
how easy it is
to screw up a car
I mean look at
William Byron's car
this weekend right
like we take him
as a top 5 guy
it only takes
doesn't take much
doesn't take much
for it to be off
and
so it'll
I'm happy for
for
junior motorsports
and Rodney
to be able to
put that
all together
to get him
get him going
you know what
the interesting
thing
to do is with
Haas
moving to
Chevrolet
now the Chevy
camp is
huge
and so they're adding
two more
XFINY cars with
Creed
and with
Sam Mair
and so that'll be
that'll be
interesting how that
whole
well I think
a lot of it
is going to get
more interesting
as we get to this
point in next year
as to what happens
with Dodge
I mean obviously
colleague is involved
in the
and so
it could just
kind of be
might be
some room
opening up
I don't know how the
politics of
all that Chevy
support will work
for their cup
program next year
but I don't know
what that means
but when you
when you add
two Chevy's
and there's
two sitting over there
that
you know
appear to be
headed towards
Dodge
what does that mean
for the
number of cars
that are actually
in the system
so there's
a lot of moving
and
moving
it's going to be
interesting
good for Rodney
Childers though
we're happy to see him
have a landing spot
speaking of movement
Jusson Hamilton
no longer serving
as race director
what that was announced
over the weekend
in the cup series
what do you make
of that change
well I think
the timing of it
interesting
I don't know all the
details of
why or what happened
or how it all
went down
but I think that
when you look
right now
Chip Weil
we saw
he's been at NASCAR
for a long time
executive on the
NASCAR side
ran Daytona
Darlington
been in
the sport
for a long time
from the bottom of the top
he was PR guy
Bill Davis racing
you know
for a long time
so
to me
I think
it's showing that
there's probably
those probably
aren't the last changes
and
you know I think
as you look at that
it needs to be pretty
aggressive
and how they realign
themselves
as to whatever
their plan is
but it needs to be pretty
aggressive
as far as
whether it's calling the races
or changing the rules
with the car
personnel
people
you know
it appears to be time
for a reboot
from the bottom
to the top
does feel like
that's taking place
yeah you never
you know
you never
want to
wish
it will
anyone to
lose their job
just on and chip
and they're both great
great people
totally different
completely different
completely different
two different situations
but
to that point
you know
there's holes that need to be
filled
and hopefully
that they're filled
with the people
that need to be there
for the longevity
and that we are
headed in a direction
I hate when
it feels like
we're bouncing around
even if we have to
reset a standard
just make it
and just keep going
on that path
because then it becomes
a standard
and you know
here's several times
it hasn't been
stellar
it hasn't been stellar
and you know
I think that
you know
the biggest thing is
it's been consistently
inconsistent
so
you know
as a competitor
in a sport
you want things
to be as consistent
as possible
when certain
situations
rise up
so
you know
I think
overall picture
I don't think
the officiating
has been
spectacular
Reba here for
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I'll share with you
what's going on
new weekly
leading up
to the
Charlotte
rowful
home this weekend
a unique
racetrack
that we've seen
in action
for several years
now
Mark
Smiths
took a big
swing
creating this
track
several years ago
produce
some great
racing
and has
it's a
it's a
Chase Elliott mentioned it on his interview earlier though. You've got a couple of choices
this weekend and typically it's worked out for SVG because he gets so far ahead. He can
make a pit stop and he can come back out and still get stage points, but you have to decide
when you're going in. Are you going to stage race or are you going to race for the win?
And that's always the interesting part about the roval. When do you take the points?
What's that cut off? I feel like right now it's, it's kind of Ross Chastain versus
Joey Logano with that 13 point gap that you have in the points right there for that, that
last position. I feel like Logano's team has the ability to grind it out. They ground it
out last weekend at Kansas. They, they made a great two tire call, got themselves back
up in the front of the field after having the practice issues, but not a, not a spectacular
car. They did it because they made good calls and Joey does a great job on the restarts
and, and ground it out. So I think that from, from that standpoint, it's, it's, um, those
guys have the ability to, to grind it out. I think they're going to be on the side
of trying to grab those points as they should, as they should in, in those first couple
stages, which at this time of year, everybody's got a different agenda. And for the guys
that need the points, it opens that ability up to have a 15th to 20th place car and
be able to grab some points. So, um, I feel like they've got control of it in order to
grab those points, but I don't feel like they're going to be capable of winning the
race. Okay. I think the one, they're not afraid to apply pressure. They're not afraid
to do it. They have to do, and I think he'll be decent. Um, I think he'll get a
lot of help from his teammates, uh, this week, they'll be in the sim working on
setup and making sure that that one car, I mean, he basically has three road racing
teammates in there with Suarez, Connor and SVG. Like they're going to do everything
that they can to make sure that this one car is going to be capable. And, um, then
you look at, you know, 2311, Austin soon, it's a capable road course racer. Uh,
2311, what are they going to do? They have to win. Um, you know, ready to do
that. Because one on road courses before Bubba's road course program has
gotten better. Um, but the roval man is just a, they just never know what's
going to happen. And usually Kevin, every time we come here, there's a couple
mechanical failures of playoff drivers. And then there's a couple racks and it
just depends on what end of that that you're, well, you've got monstrous
curbs, you've got those tight chicanes. You've got every opportunity to run
somebody over. Yeah. Like coming up, you know, I think it's eight, seven or
eight that comes up onto the racetrack right there. And to turn one on the
roval, I mean, there's dive bomb city. So you got the back straightaway curbs
that you, I mean, you have to use the big curbs in order to get the car to turn
and put the car in the right spot on the racetrack. So it's tough on the cars.
It's tough on your back just because of physically it's, it's, it's a tough
racetrack to, to grind out, but there's no runoff really. I mean, you
got a couple of corners that you have runoffs, but the opportunity to make
a mistake at the rovals is, is there and it's easy, easy, easy to do.
A reminder of the drivers currently below the line, Ross Chastain,
Bubba Wallace, Tyler Redick, Austin Cendrick, you've kind of talked a bit
about Chastain, but do you believe anyone below the line will make it
above or is this the group? Yeah, I think it all depends on how the,
how the 22 car shows up. Right. I just, you know, if he's,
I feel like that the one car could be better than the 22 car. Yeah. Yeah.
Between those two. Yeah. So, you know, I think that, you know, you get into
this weird strategy, but I think, I think Tyler Redick can possibly win.
Austin Cendrick has been okay at that place and, you know,
he finished decent there last year.
So I don't think you can completely throw him out of the mix as
pulling off an upset in the situation. I think for him, his strategy is easy.
Well, I think all those guys have an easy strategy, you know, Austin Cendrick,
Tyler Redick and Bubba. Yeah. You know, I think, I think it depends on
where Bubba, Bubba qualifies. I think Chastain, I think they got to take
the points, but really you just want to just try to outdo the 22.
There's one big problem though. You got to beat SPG.
You got it. Everyone's probably sitting in the back of their mind being like
something bad has to happen to that team or no one else is going to win.
Yeah. I mean, yeah. And it's like we say, you know, it's just what his pace is
and what the pace advantage is. This isn't, this just isn't the typical
road course, but I feel like a lot of times we get to places where
SPG has that advantage in those slow speed rhythm sections and being
able to navigate the curbs and put his car where it needs to be.
And we've never really seen him in a good car at the Roval and being able
to beat him is going to be hard. So like you say, though, those points,
I don't know. It's a tough strategy to navigate trying to bank on the
win when you have somebody that is that dominant.
I think if you're in a situation where you have to win, if you get
close to the 88, you got to try and use him up and get him back
in traffic and have to get him to come back through.
Like if you, if you just race him completely normal, he's going to check out.
I think he's just going to check out.
Like if you have to win, you have to keep it muddy for him.
Like you got to keep him in a little bit of turmoil because he just
is able to control these races so easy and there's no one really there.
Even AJ hasn't been able to be there to apply enough pressure.
No. And now that SPG has been in the car, he knows what he wants.
You know, he knows the feel and things that he's looking for.
I think compared to what he drove last year is much different.
It's night and day. So are we going to make our picks fun?
Are we going to say?
I already wrote mine down.
No, SVG picks.
No, I wrote him.
I'm picking him this time because you used to make fun of me for not.
Oh, OK. I think that we should.
I think that you should.
I won't pick him if you don't pick him.
I'm not going to pick him. OK, good.
God, what if it comes down to SVG versus Ross again?
Well, I know what it was.
I know what I would do if I was Danny Hamlin.
I don't know what I'll do if I mess with you.
I don't know. I'm just saying, wouldn't that be interesting?
It would be highly entertaining, at least.
Don't it. Don't put it out.
I mean, anything can happen.
We've seen it.
We've seen it happen before.
It's a cool track.
We look forward to having a home race and being here in Charlotte.
And I'll have to go anywhere.
Yeah, the truck. The truck.
They're back.
I'm calling the truck.
Yeah, you're on the truck.
So you're going to do anything Friday.
You're just going to hang out.
Come hang out and watch you do the job from the booth.
OK. Yeah.
The truck race. I think that would be cool.
We get to be in the booth this weekend.
Yeah, the truck race.
That's that's fun.
The truck race is interesting to me because they have not seen it.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, that could be a complete show or it could be an amazing.
It's going to be amazing either way, but it could be a lot.
It's going to be a lot.
It's going to be a crash course of learning what to do
pretty quickly in practice with with not being there before
because it is a very technical racetrack.
So they've never seen anything like that.
I don't think.
Well, no, no, it's not like my rock was very simple compared to Charlotte.
Yeah, yeah.
This could be interesting.
Make sure you watch Friday on FS one.
We'll all be there.
OK, it's time.
I know you've been some sipping throughout the show.
Yeah, I've been.
Now you get to officially sit.
Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, again, from all over the world.
It's your favorite segment.
Mamba's social sips and Kevin, the folks from Kansas
want to let me want to me to let you know that they want a night race.
There again, that's what they said.
I just want to they just told me that they wanted me to tell you.
OK, well, as long as it's not on Saturday night, it's fine.
I don't think they care that much.
I think they just want a night race.
OK, I promise I would do it.
So I started right off the top.
We're going dirt racing at Sharon Speedway.
Ryan Blaney's family has a long history at this race track.
And old man Dale Blaney, Ryan's uncle, got it done.
The cool thing about this is one, he's driving the 10,
which is like their family number.
But this car was built by Dave.
That's cool.
So Dave like builds like one off cars that are like tries to make stuff work
that no one else does and he parked in victory lane.
I thought that was super cool.
One for the old guys.
Yeah, that was a world of outlaw race.
Dale 61, I think.
No way. I didn't know he was that old.
Yeah, he's the bus driver for A.J.
Almendinger. He also was drafted by the Lakers.
Really? He's a former Laker.
No kidding. That's why Sharon Speedway, one and only place of one
and only dirt win that I had in my career.
Hey, there you go.
Dirt modified. Yeah.
Did you win it?
You know, I got away or I don't know.
But I beat Stuart and. Oh, OK.
Well, that's several others.
Kinshraider. Oh, yeah.
So my one and only shining dirt moment.
If you're going to win one, I want to hit one time in Bakersfield.
Yeah. And a modified modified.
Yeah. I didn't think that you ran that much dirt stuff.
Well, one summer I decided to go with Kenny Wallace and Kinshraider.
Dirt racing. We had fun.
I enjoyed driving that little IMCA car, actually, and we had a good time.
Missed a couple of races.
One, one race and funny story.
Oh, here we go.
So we went to I can't remember the name of the little dirt track,
but it was this little quarter mile place.
It was the first time that I'd gone with him.
And so Schrader's like, hey, just follow me out on the track.
He's like, just stay real close to me or go pack the track for a few laps.
But just make sure you stay right with me.
I'll show you where I need to be. I'm like, I'm nervous as hell.
And smallest track I've ever been to in my life.
And so I go out on a racetrack, we run four or five laps
packing a track and he hits the freaking throttle.
And I swear to you, I had that much money
on the front. And he thought that was the funniest thing
that he had ever heard.
He set me up so bad and and I'm trying to pull tear offs
and I can't see where I'm going.
I pull all the tear offs off.
And the next thing I know I'm practices over it lasted three laps.
Yep. And I had no tear offs left.
And I had more mud on my helmet than at any point
that I ever had in my whole dirt racing career.
And Schrader thought that.
I mean, he set me up so bad.
I love that. Yeah.
He needed that. That was good for you.
You should have Kenny on Kenny Wallace.
He mentioned him. He should be a guest on your show.
Schrader would be fun, too.
They both would be fun.
Yeah.
Big race.
Kevin, you were in Pensacola, obviously, with the Laidmau Stocks.
They're racing at Martinsville for the Valley Star 300.
I want to run that race so bad.
The scheduling is really tough, because it's always Kansas weekend.
Landon Pembolton won the race.
And he beat Lee Pulliam to the line, which is amazing.
But that's not what I'm talking about.
Unfortunately, I'm talking about Tristan McKee
turning Sam Yarborough on the front stretch.
OK, I'm bringing this up because I feel like we have a little bit of
we have a little bit of a situation that's starting to occur
in stock car racing with people
taking liberties and doing things way beyond.
And then just coming up and doing their interview and being like,
I didn't mean to do it.
I don't like that.
Like we we how do we how do we fix?
How do we fix that?
Don't yeah.
Well, I think with this situation, I think we saw the same
type of situation with with this particular driver
at at Hickory kind of did the same thing caused that big wreck there.
And, you know, I think that, you know, Keelan had a little
contact with with Matt Craig this weekend and in the pro-late model race.
And the best thing that happened after that race is Matt Craig came over
and talked to Keelan.
And I feel like, you know, it's sometimes some people are more approachable
than others. And I I told Matt when we got done,
I said, Hey, anytime that he does something wrong,
please come speak to him because he's not going to listen to me.
Last thing you want to do is listen to your parents or,
you know, the people that are that are encouraging it.
So I was always taught by the competitors that I raced with
because they would come over and yell and scream at me.
And then they would expect for you to learn from that moment.
And, you know, I think that when you look at,
you know, these types of situations, I think that,
especially the veteran guys, they just want to see progression.
Of whoever the individual is in that particular situation
and have it get better.
So that that to me is the way that we try to approach it with with Keelan
is I want the competitors to come over and yell out
him when he needs to be yelled at.
And we're also going to we're also going to rip his ass for
for tearing somebody's hundred and fifty thousand dollar car up.
You know, whether it's a mistake or on purpose,
you got to teach those moments to be able to
teach them how to do it right, because they're going to screw up.
But if you let them think that it's OK, you just need to move on,
you know, then then it doesn't ever get fixed.
So, you know, a tough deal.
Yeah, because I think a lot of times of vets,
they respect the people that put those cars together.
So they're not just going to junk you back.
Yeah, like they want to and they and they're mad,
but they respect the craft. Yeah.
And I think that's what and that was that was one reason
when like when we started Keelan in the late model stock,
we wanted to go to Florence.
And it was for these types of situations
and the people that he got to race against it at Florence.
A lot of veteran guys and you go to a lot of these racetracks
like South Boston, some of these places have a core group of veteran guys.
And you want them to learn from from those mistakes
because a lot of times, you know, I know some of those guys.
Like if we go when we go race South Boston next year
and and, you know, you'll see
the Payton Payton sellers and some of those guys, I know.
And so I want him to be able to race with those guys.
Hopefully we can you can keep up with them.
But you want them to make the mistakes against guys like that
because they're going to teach them.
And I feel like in this situation, you know,
with the guy that that McKee was racing, you know,
I think that those are the types of guys
that you want the kids to learn from
because they're going to they're going to be respectful
until they feel like they can't fix it. Yeah, for sure.
So this gentleman, this we like him.
We got a mailbag question.
And he probably asked some of the best questions
because I think we've used this question like three times.
Irfan Mohammed, I think I got your name right.
I hope I did, brother.
He actually DM me.
We had talked about point system stuff over the weekend, too.
He goes, Kevin, you've had a few clutch
wins when you were facing elimination.
What are some changes in preparation between regular races
compared to must win races?
Unk.
Those situations where your back is against the wall
and you have not one way out, you only have one way out
and that is to win are the best
because those moments bring out in a good team
with a group of people that believe in each other
bring out the best in every single phase of that car
and every single phase of calling the race
and everything that the driver has,
you become hyper focused like nothing other.
And once you are able to achieve one of those moments
you want to do it again and again
because it is addicting to be able to have those moments
and kind of put the world wrong.
But it's so gratifying.
And when everybody has that hyper focus
of everything that they need to do
and you know that that car goes into the trailer
loaded like it is with everything you've got
but that's the guys that are good in the playoffs
that's what you race against every week
and that's why you see all those guys stacked
at the top of the board and have learned
the Chad canals and Jimmy Johnson way.
Every week all the details have to be covered
and when it's time to find more
you figure out where they're at and how to do it
and you can achieve things that are just special
and we did it a couple of times and it was pretty cool.
When we were as a crew member
and when we were there making these runs and doing it
you just the air in the building is different.
It's crisp, everyone's locked in.
Like the attention to detail is higher.
Everyone wants it really, really bad.
We think this mirror might be worth one count.
All right, put that on.
We think this exhaust might make a half a horsepower.
All right, put that on.
And it's just every department comes together
and puts everything that they have
into those do or die moments and it is so awesome.
Tyler, our producer wants to know
if there's a win that stands out to you
that was one of those moments.
There was a couple of them.
I think that the first year being able to win at Charlotte
when we had our backs against the wall
we did it at Kansas one year, Dover one year.
So those playoff moments where you had no way out
other than to win those are the moments
that were pretty cool.
I think that probably the biggest moment for us though
was the Phoenix of the championship year.
Knowing that you went to Phoenix
and that just adds another layer to it
because you know you're going to your best track
and the team knows that.
So you have all those stars that are aligned
with knowing that you're gonna have the best car
that you've ever had, the most detail
that you've ever had into a race car
and you're hyper focused on a track
that you know every crack in it.
And that one ultimately led to a championship.
When I tell you the shop
there was no one had any doubt we were winning that race.
We all felt like we just had to get to that round.
We got to that round, we were gonna make it to Homestead
because we were winning Phoenix.
And that was a thought when the year started
that we were winning Phoenix
and we were gonna go to the championship.
We had no doubt.
And so it was really like everyone did their job
and it was like, okay, pit crew, lock in.
Just get this car off pit road and we'll be just fine.
That's right.
That's why we love sports.
Lay yay sports in high drama situations.
That everybody is mob of social sips.
Nice sips of the day.
Thank you so much.
805-317-4175, if you wanna leave a voicemail
and harvickhappyour4 at gmail.com.
I got a question for you.
Should a football game ever,
an NFL football game ever end in a tie?
Okay, I think absolutely not.
You have an opinion?
Well, yeah, because someone yelled at me this morning
that our races should end at their destination
if it's 400 miles, 400 miles, no green, white checker.
And I'm like, that to me is crazy.
Like we don't come up that way.
No.
Like we don't in the dirt tracks
and the local short tracks.
That would suck.
There's no flag, the engine.
Listen here, youngsters, it used to be that way.
What?
When you got to 400 miles, it was over.
Oh yeah, on the national series.
Everywhere.
On the short tracks?
I mean, yeah, 50-50.
Really?
Yeah, I started coming up.
I never saw that.
But I mean, most of the short tracks had a finish.
Yeah, okay.
So to answer your question, no, they shouldn't tie.
Yeah.
I don't know why they do.
It's dumb.
They should play till, play till someone wins.
We have, we have.
That's the thing that I hate the most about soccer.
They have a lot of ties.
They have a lot of ties.
There should never be a tie in sports.
Like we should play until everybody falls over.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Dang it.
It's a tie.
What?
You know what I just thought about?
Because I know it's coming up next.
My crown is still over there.
Oh, okay.
Dang it.
Sorry, buddy.
All right, he brought me to it.
Last call.
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Kevin, before we get into our picks for this week,
let's take a look at the best bet of the weekend,
courtesy of DraftKings.
Well, it was Chase Elliott, plus 1,200.
All right.
That's pretty hefty.
That's good.
That's a pretty hefty number to put on Chase Elliott.
I wouldn't expect him to win Kansas either, so all right.
Yeah.
Well, you could have made some money.
Could have made some money.
I have a buddy.
His name is Chase Hatchett.
He's a big Chase Elliott fan.
And I know he put money on it.
And he said he was yelling at the top of his lungs at the bar
on Saturday night.
We'll chase Hatchett.
It makes it more fun.
But take the checker flag with DraftKings Sportsbook.
Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app and use code
harvick.
That's code harvick for new customers to get $200
in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks
and win your first bet.
Only on DraftKings, the crown is yours,
but apparently not.
Imaginary.
Yes.
So close.
We'll remember to bring that over in the next show.
No, I have another one, a better one.
You do.
You already got a new one.
No, yeah, because when I went to the FC game
and they won their ninth game in a row last week.
Oh, you got one?
I got one there.
Really?
Oh, OK.
Oh, yeah, I said in the chair.
Did you sit in the chair?
No, I'm not that cool yet.
Oh, yeah.
Did you rent those chains or did you buy them?
These chains?
Yeah.
No, I bought them all by me.
These chains?
OK, but what about the other ones?
No, I bought this one.
Are they real?
Yeah, I came with a bracelet.
You don't wear a rented jewelry, right?
No, I would.
Yeah, no, I wear jewelry.
Is it real, though?
I don't know.
Or do you buy it on Amazon?
No, it's from Jackson.
I don't know if that makes it real or not.
Thank you.
What kind of rings you got on there?
This is like a wolf.
It looks like my dog, so I got that.
And then this is a snake biting its own tail.
It's so weird.
Why?
I don't know.
Rings are just not comfortable.
I'm being told to move on to the burnout.
OK.
Let's grade Jay Sillian's burnout.
That's completely his fault.
What did you think of this one, huh, Kevin?
Didn't really see it.
I'm just seeing it for the first time here.
So maybe it was in the highlight reels going off the air.
It was in the rollout.
Yeah, I think it was average.
I mean, not in the top five.
Nothing will ever top his roval one.
Yeah, his roval one.
When the car rolled.
Oh, yeah, he's standing on top.
Yeah, that was pretty cool.
That's what we need, though.
That's, yes, yes.
He did the 720 down the front stretch.
So it was kind of cool, but like, we just didn't see it,
to be honest.
But you have a cool mustache.
So we'll give you a little point.
Yeah, you get points for my mustache.
I told him you better ride that mustache out.
Roll that thing.
I hope you said that.
No, you did not.
Does he?
He really knows the riding part.
That's amazing.
I love that you told him that.
Freaking hilarious.
He's getting hot in here all the time.
Oh, my gosh.
Wait, am I missing something?
No.
Is that some sort of slang or something?
No.
No, you should watch Super Troopers.
Oh, I haven't seen that.
Yeah, you should watch that.
Is that a movie?
Yeah.
OK.
So Kevin is still the leader in the clubhouse.
No surprise there.
In the standings at a cool 36, Mamba 27, myself 17.
But everybody did gain points.
You know what?
That's what I think is most important.
At least we were picking people who are getting us points.
Kaitlyn just likes to be like, well, we had fun.
You know what I mean?
I don't have fun.
Everybody gets a participation trophy.
No, I'm not saying that.
I got the most points at any of us.
Yeah, the most points.
I will say that I need to thank Rudy
and the boys for really grinding it out on the 24 deal
because that was going to hurt mine.
I was getting the game.
Yeah, it kept me in for sure.
Yes.
Good job out of them.
I'm one went away from jumping Kevin.
It might be this week.
No, you're not.
So 10.29% of fans picked Chase Elliott this week.
There you go.
And reminder to the fans to get in on the action
so you can scan the QR code to be a part of this
and submit your picks.
We would love for you to play along with us.
Yeah, it's fun.
We need a prize.
We still do need a prize.
I brought those shoes in.
They're in the dressing room.
Oh, yeah.
I mean, I feel like more people would play
if we gave them something.
Well, we can sign those there here.
They're ready to be signed.
Keep playing.
Link to submit your picks is also
in the podcast description.
So make sure you do that.
You got a special guest with you this Thursday.
We have so much going on in our sport.
We thought it'd be a good idea to bring Bob Pocras
in to just do some one-on-one debate.
He doesn't agree with my no Saturday night races.
No, he doesn't.
We can just start there.
Yeah.
And have some fun with it.
And just we got a lot of topics that we need to talk about.
And I need Bob's opinion, because mine can be skewed at times.
So the dumbass award passed from Denny to me.
I know because we did the pick segment and didn't do the pick.
We didn't pick.
I was like, I guess we're not picking it up.
Can't start us off.
What do you say?
I don't know.
What do you mean you don't know?
I already told you guys who I'm from.
Who are you picking?
Oh, who are you picking?
SVG.
Go ahead.
OK.
Because I haven't yet.
So we can't pick the same as her or we can.
It's up to you.
Yeah.
I'm sure since I'm picking him somehow,
he fluke won't win.
That would be my luck.
Yeah.
Well, I'm not sure who to pick.
You want, no, no, no.
It's still on him.
He wasn't sure last week, too.
You're doing this whole thing where you're getting not
as confident as he used to be.
I'm going to take Belle.
OK.
See Belle.
Here we go.
All right.
That's a good pick.
OK.
He's been solid at the robo.
Yeah.
Yes.
You know what?
I'm going to go with his teammate.
Chase Briscoe.
I thought you were going to say Denny Hamlin.
On a road course, that'd be hilarious.
Ty, I really thought Ty Gibbs for a split second,
but I think Briscoe's got it.
There you go.
Well, those cars have definitely been dominant.
Yeah, they're famous.
And I think this is definitely a race track
where you're going to have to have some grip.
I think the sleeper in this whole thing is Chase Elliott.
And the reason I say that is he's
racing the same way SVG is this weekend.
OK.
Not racing for points.
You know what?
Yeah, no pressure.
You know what?
No.
You know what?
Oh my goodness.
I'm going SVG.
I'm going SVG.
No, I'm doing it.
OK.
I'm doing it.
Let me cross that out.
All right, he's doing this too.
Is that fair?
The show's still going.
You changed your pick.
We haven't even changed a segment yet.
So yeah, I changed it.
Oh, man.
This is a make or break moment.
In the back of my mind, all I hear
is Kevin from all season long.
I can't believe he didn't pick him.
I can't believe he didn't pick him.
That's why I wrote it down.
The first thing I want to compare this one.
Here's the thing, though.
Those Toyotas have been so much faster
I know than the other cars lately.
And that just, to me, it just, I don't know.
I just think this is a place where
you need a lot of rear drive.
So we'll see.
Two votes of confidence for SVG and one for driver 20.
OK, we'll have to see how those picks fair after the weekend.
It's been fun, guys, here on episode 68.
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wherever you get your podcast.
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We'll see everybody after the ropal.
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