Bristol delivers a first-time Cup win for Ty Gibbs, and the crew credits his calm radio, clean execution after getting shuffled back, and the trust between him and crew chief Tyler Allen. Ryan Blaney finishes second but faces renewed scrutiny over pit speed/consistency. The hosts break down other Bristol storylines: Kyle Larson’s dominant stage-winning performance, Tyler Reddick’s short-track progress (plus recurring brake-shake issues), and struggles for Hendrick and RCR. They wrap with a Kansas preview, betting on Toyota strength while expecting Chevrolet to improve.
Ty Gibbs’ first NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol Motor Speedway, emotional celebration with Joe Gibbs and mom, Ryan Blaney’s pit crew mistakes, Kyle Busch and Richard Childress Racing struggles continue. On this episode of Kevin Harvick’s Happy Hour, Kevin Harvick, Kaitlyn Vincie, and Mamba Smith break down Gibbs’ breakthrough victory and emotional post-race moments, analyze Blaney’s pit crew’s continuous struggles, dive into Kyle Busch and RCR’s ongoing performance concerns, preview the upcoming race at Kansas, and react to the latest viral moments in Mamba’s Social Sips while giving expert insight into the biggest stories in the NASCAR world.
0:00 - Intro
1:36 - Bristol Weekend Recap
32:15 - Kansas Preview
37:59 - Mamba’s Social Sips
45:03 - Last Call
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"when we get to come in here on Monday and talk about a first time winner in the cup series. That is exactly what happened over the weekend."
The Cup Series is NASCAR’s top level of racing. A “first win in the Cup series” means a driver just got their first victory in the biggest NASCAR competition.
The Cup Series is NASCAR’s top national racing division, featuring the sport’s most competitive teams and cars. When the hosts say “first win in the Cup series,” they’re talking about a major milestone at the highest level of NASCAR.
"...got shuffled back at the beginning of the race, had one run where he got shuffled back again."
“Shuffled back” means the driver got pushed farther behind in the running order. In NASCAR, being near the front usually makes it easier to control the race.
“Shuffled back” refers to losing track position early in a race due to traffic, restarts, or on-track incidents. In NASCAR, track position is crucial because it affects how easily a driver can run clean lines and make passes.
"...his crew chief, Tyler Allen, telling him, all right, let's look through the front window..."
A crew chief is basically the team’s lead strategist. They talk to the driver during the race and help decide what to do to improve the car’s performance.
In NASCAR, the crew chief is the team’s lead strategist who calls the shots on car setup decisions and in-race adjustments. They also communicate with the driver over the radio to manage track position, pit timing, and race strategy.
"I'm staying out. And that's what Ty was saying on the radio"
“Staying out” means you don’t pull into the pits when you could. It’s usually done to keep your current position, but the tires may get worse over time.
“Staying out” means not pitting when the team has the option to come in. It’s often chosen to protect track position, especially late in a race, but it can risk falling off due to tire wear.
"I'm, I'm, I'm hell on wheels when it comes to pit crews. So I'm definitely not the guy that they want talking about this particular scenario because I'm, I'm, I'm pro driver and pro fast pit stops. So if your pit stops are not fast, you are paid to pit the car and they better be good."
A pit stop is when the crew pulls the car in to change tires and do quick service during the race. If they’re slow or make mistakes, the driver can lose positions fast.
In NASCAR, a pit stop is when the team services the car during a caution or scheduled stop—typically changing tires and making adjustments. Track position can swing dramatically based on how quickly and cleanly the pit crew works.
"I'm, I'm, I'm hell on wheels when it comes to pit crews. So I'm definitely not the guy that they want talking about this particular scenario because..."
Pit crews are the people who work on the car during the stop. The faster and cleaner they are, the less time the driver loses.
Pit crews are the team members responsible for the car service during pit stops—tire changes, fueling, and any quick adjustments. Their speed and coordination directly affect how long the car is stationary and how many positions are gained or lost.
"[722.2s] Can you, can you, can you explain like what that feels like real quick to, to
[726.5s] you mean just sit here and just like, yeah, yeah, just like in the show them with
[730.0s] your feet, like cause it's shaking through the break pedal."
The brake pedal is what you press to slow the car down. If it shakes, it means the braking isn’t smooth, so it’s harder to brake the way you want.
The brake pedal is the driver’s input point for braking force. When vibration shows up through the brake pedal, it usually indicates uneven braking force or rotor/thermal issues that affect modulation and confidence.
"[764.0s] It gives you a false read of what the car is doing too.
[766.7s] Cause you don't know, sometimes you don't know how free or how tight you are"
A “false read” means you can’t trust what the car is telling you. If the brakes are shaking, it can trick you into thinking the car is doing something else.
A “false read” means the driver can’t accurately judge the car’s true behavior because the brake vibration/pulsation masks normal feedback. When the pedal feel is abnormal, it becomes harder to tell whether the car is actually tight/free or how much grip is available.
"He's currently six in that playoff picture or postseason picture. What did you see out of the five?"
This refers to NASCAR’s standings that determine who advances in the postseason. Drivers track their position (“six” in this case) because points and stage results can be crucial for qualifying.
"And, and I interviewed Chase Elliott earlier in the weekend and he talked about the struggles that, that they are having, um, getting the balance right on, on these race cars."
Chase Elliott is a NASCAR driver. In this segment, he’s talking about how hard it is for teams to get the car to handle the way they want.
Chase Elliott is a NASCAR Cup Series driver, and the discussion highlights his comments about difficulty getting the car’s “balance” right. That points to how sensitive NASCAR setups are to rules, tires, and track conditions.
"And, and that's what we got. And you know, it's, we've not seen one of those cars dominate a race..."
To “dominate a race” means a driver’s car is consistently faster than the field—leading laps, controlling the pace, and making it hard for others to challenge. The hosts say they hadn’t seen that kind of dominance recently, emphasizing how complete Larson’s performance was early in the week.
"This is pretty unusual.
Qualified 34th was nowhere in the conversation all day.
Similar to what we saw with Joey Logano at Darlington."
Qualifying determines where you start the race. If you qualify 34th, you’re starting near the back, which usually makes it tougher to get into the front early.
“Qualified 34th” describes where a car starts the race based on its qualifying performance. Starting far back can make it harder to run up front due to traffic, track position, and the need for a strong race setup.
"[1067.2s] I think the other thing going back to Kyle Larson, you know, I know that he
[1070.8s] had a great weekend, but unfortunately he's still got to answer that winless
[1074.7s] street question."
It just means a driver hasn’t won a race in a while. NASCAR fans and commentators keep count, and it can be a big talking point.
A winless streak is how many races a driver has gone without winning. In NASCAR, it’s tracked race-by-race and can become a storyline even for championship-caliber drivers.
"[1075.4s] And now it's at 32.
[1076.5s] Yeah.
[1076.9s] We're going to Kansas."
They’re pointing out it’s been a long time—32 races—since he last won. That’s a big deal in NASCAR because wins matter a lot.
The speaker notes that Kyle Larson’s win drought has reached 32 races. In NASCAR coverage, long stretches without a win are notable because they can affect confidence, strategy, and playoff momentum.
"[1117.6s] There's a number of drivers on pretty long winless streaks.
[1119.6s] Alex Bowman, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, also being one of them came
[1123.3s] back finally from those vertigo symptoms..."
Hendrick Motorsports is a major NASCAR racing team. They have multiple drivers, and the conversation is connecting the driver storylines to that team.
Hendrick Motorsports is one of NASCAR’s top teams, known for strong driver lineups and consistent performance. The speaker mentions Alex Bowman as Larson’s teammate at Hendrick, tying the winless-streak discussion to team context.
"[1119.6s] Alex Bowman, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, also being one of them came
[1123.3s] back finally from those vertigo symptoms he was experiencing, spoke candidly to
[1127.4s] the media about what all that was."
Vertigo symptoms involve dizziness or a spinning sensation, which can be especially dangerous for drivers due to the high physical and visual demands of racing. The segment notes Alex Bowman returning after dealing with these symptoms and speaking to the media.
"And I think that you couldn't ask for a, for a tougher racetrack to come back to the Bristol with all the G's and all the heat."
Bristol refers to Bristol Motor Speedway, a short track known for heavy braking, close racing, and frequent tire and handling stress. It’s also famous for high loads on the car and drivers, which is why returning after time off can be especially challenging.
"And I think that you couldn't ask for a, for a tougher racetrack to come back to the Bristol with all the G's and all the heat. It was hot this weekend, typically not that warm in the, in the spring race at Bristol."
“Heat” here means it was hot out and on the track. That can make tires behave differently and can make the car harder to get comfortable with.
In NASCAR, “heat” typically refers to track and ambient temperatures that raise tire temperatures and can change grip. Hot conditions can also increase the workload on cooling systems and make car setup feel different from cooler races.
"...especially as, as the, the OEM conversation keeps getting heated up, obviously Ram is in the truck series..."
“OEM” is the company that makes the cars—like the big automakers. When NASCAR’s OEM talks get heated, it can change who supports teams and how the whole series is set up.
In NASCAR, the “OEM conversation” refers to automakers (original equipment manufacturers) and how they want their brands represented in different series. When OEM involvement changes, it can affect team alliances, manufacturer support, and even which series certain brands prioritize.
"...especially as, as the, the OEM conversation keeps getting heated up, obviously Ram is in the truck series..."
Ram is a car brand (under Stellantis). In NASCAR, when a brand like Ram shows up in a series, it usually means more support and resources for the teams racing there.
Ram is a Dodge brand under Stellantis, and in NASCAR it’s specifically referenced here as being active in the truck series. Manufacturer participation matters because it can bring funding, engineering support, and brand-specific marketing to teams.
"... conversation keeps getting heated up, obviously Ram is in the truck series and you would expect the, ..."
Dodge Ram is a type of pickup truck made by Dodge. In NASCAR’s truck series, a race version of the Ram is used, so people mention it when they’re talking about which brands compete in that racing category.
The Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck line from Stellantis, and it’s also used as the basis for NASCAR’s truck-series race vehicles when the brand is competing. It comes up in discussions because fans often connect the on-track truck to the real-world Ram lineup, especially when talking about brand presence and competition in the truck series.
"[1379.8s] I mean, when you see Ross Chastain qualify six and get lapped, um, that,"
To “get lapped” means another car completes a full lap on you, putting you a lap down. In NASCAR, being lapped can be a sign of slower pace, pit-time losses, or handling issues that prevent you from staying with the lead group.
"[1379.8s] I mean, when you see Ross Chastain qualify six and get lapped, um, that,"
“Qualify six” means the driver earned the sixth starting position in qualifying. Starting position matters because it affects track position, clean air, and how much traffic you have to navigate early in the race.
"And Zane Smith, man, he was a guy that he won a lot in ARCA. He won a truck championship. [1900.9s] He found a way to like get in some Jerram stuff…"
ARCA is a racing series where drivers compete in stock cars. A lot of drivers use it to prove themselves before moving up to NASCAR.
ARCA (ARCA Menards Series) is a stock-car racing series that many NASCAR drivers use as a stepping stone. Success in ARCA often helps drivers build racecraft and get noticed by NASCAR teams.
"The restarts are always wild at Kansas. So you got to make hay while you can make hay on the restarts."
A restart is when the race starts again after a yellow flag. Everyone bunches up, and it’s a moment where drivers can gain spots—or get shuffled back.
In NASCAR, a restart happens when the race resumes after a caution period. Restarts are often chaotic because cars are regrouping, drivers are jockeying for position, and timing can make or break track position.
"I've learned it. I have to pay more attention because Mike Joy always has great stories about certain places that we go. So Kansas Speedway, yeah,"
Kansas Speedway is the track in Kansas where NASCAR races. Different tracks have different “personalities,” and Kansas is one where restarts and track position matter a lot.
Kansas Speedway is a NASCAR venue in Kansas known for its high-speed racing and the way the track environment shapes strategy. Track-specific factors like restart behavior and how the racing line evolves can influence how drivers plan their race.
"Hey, I got rear-ended, by the way, you guys, the other day. Someone ran into me. Yeah, my car. You got rear-ended. I sure did."
“Rear-ended” means someone crashed into the back of your car. It usually causes damage to the rear of the vehicle and often turns into an insurance claim.
Being “rear-ended” means another vehicle hits you from behind, typically causing damage to the rear bumper, trunk, and sometimes the rear suspension. In car ownership terms, it often leads to insurance claims and can affect safety systems depending on the vehicle.
"We need to get a stoplight or... No, just like driving traffic, basically."
A stoplight is the traffic light at an intersection. It tells you when you have to stop and when you can go, which affects how cars move through traffic.
A stoplight is a traffic signal that controls when cars can proceed or must stop. In driving discussions, it often comes up when talking about traffic flow, timing, and how quickly you can get moving again after a stop.
"Podcast: Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour presented by NASCAR on FOX
Episode: Ty Gibbs Wins at Bristol, Blaney Finishes 2nd Despite Pit Struggles & Kansas Preview
[2371.5s] I was supposed to be kind of funny, ..."
NASCAR is a popular American race series. The cars look like regular cars, but they’re built and tuned specifically for racing on tracks.
NASCAR is a major American stock-car racing series. It features purpose-built race cars that resemble production models in look, but are heavily modified for oval-track racing.
"He raced door-to-door against Jeff Gordon and Bobby Labani. Kevin, how about this burnout with my IROC car?"
“Door-to-door” means two cars were right next to each other, very close. It usually happens during a tight racing battle where drivers are trying to pass without touching.
“Door-to-door” describes two cars running side-by-side at very close proximity, typically in a competitive pass or battle for position. It implies high lateral closeness and risk, where small mistakes can lead to contact.
"Kevin, how about this burnout with my IROC car? Well, this is exactly why I don't loan my IROC cars out for other people to drive."
A burnout is when the driver spins the tires on purpose, usually to make smoke and show off. It can wear out tires fast, so it’s not something you’d do with a car you care about.
A burnout is when a driver intentionally spins the tires (usually while the car is stationary or moving slowly) to heat them up and/or create tire smoke. In racing culture, it’s also a showy celebration moment, but it can be hard on tires and drivetrain components.
"Chris is like, can you drive... Do you have a CDL? He goes, yep. He got his number right there on the spot."
CDL means Commercial Driver’s License. It’s a special driver’s license you need to drive certain big commercial vehicles.
CDL stands for Commercial Driver’s License. It’s required in the U.S. to operate certain commercial vehicles (often including large trucks), and it’s commonly brought up when someone needs to drive equipment or race-related transport.
- Intro
- Bristol Weekend Recap
- Kansas Preview
- Mamba’s Social Sips
- Last Call
Select text to request an explanation
It's pretty awesome to see him get his first win.
Coach Gibbs has been a part of a lot of big moments in sports,
but I would bet this ranks pretty high on the first race all year.
We've we've seen what we expect out of Kyle Larson.
This guy won the championship and never want to race in the playoffs.
And you look at the Chevrolets in general,
it's about those processes and details.
Every little thing matters so much.
Welcome to Kevin Harvick's happy hour presented by Nascar Fox.
I'm Kevin Harvick.
She's Caitlin Bensie and our one and only Mamba Smith.
Mr. Smith has been a good weekend.
That's it.
Great weekend.
Yeah, you know, the Bristol was the the fans of Bristol.
I'm telling you, they really showed out and the vibes were super high.
We had a lot of closures came by the Ram display.
Wanted to talk about the show and what what's going on here.
How great your segment is.
How great my sermon is, you know, they want to give you some ideas.
Give me some ideas.
Maybe to make your segment a little better.
No, no, not make it better.
They just told me to let you guys know that it is in fact their favorite.
He says this every week.
I guess he truly hears this every week.
Yeah, I hear it every week.
Come to the stage.
You'll hear it too.
Yeah, we'll have to check it out.
Maybe in Kansas.
We have a lot to talk about guys as we leave Bristol Motor Speedway recapping that
Kansas, the mountain a half racetrack is coming up next for the circuit.
And you have your sips, this, this very special segment that he brags about
daily, very special segment that I brag about daily, but it's for the closures.
It's their segment.
They love it.
Yes.
We all love it.
And you know what else we love is when we get to come in here on Monday and talk
about a first time winner in the cup series.
That is exactly what happened over the weekend.
Ty Gibbs delivering in a big way.
I could hear it in your voices in the booth.
You guys were very impressed with what he did.
Well, you're not supposed to root for people in the booth, but we're rooting for Ty Gibbs
to get that, that first win.
And, and, you know, Clint and I have had a debate about this for about the last, well,
it's in the last year.
And I think that the progression that, that Ty Gibbs and his team have had really with
the last 10 or 12 weeks of last year, starting this season, they've had speed pretty much
every week, qualified well, raced well.
The thing I liked about what Ty did yesterday, got shuffled back at the beginning of the
race, had one run where he got shuffled back again.
Never had a meltdown on the radio.
Never had any issues.
It was just back to business.
And his words, you know, his crew chief, Tyler Allen, telling him, all right, let's look
through the front window.
What's happens happen.
Let's, let's keep moving, moving forward.
So it's pretty awesome to see him get his first win.
And, and, you know, you think back with everything that he's been through with his dad and the
Gibbs family in general with, with, with everything that they've had to deal with.
And now to see that when come for them and everybody be there together, his mom riding
in the car to, to victory lane and those two being able to celebrate that victory and
have so many great memories of what it was, what it would have been like with Coy there
and all the things that, that they got to go through was, was, was a great moment for
the Gibbs family.
It was a very heartfelt moment when he said, I wish my dad was, was here to see this.
And the Gibbs family has been synonymous with this sport for a long time.
Coach Gibbs has been a part of a lot of big moments in sports, but I would bet this ranks
pretty high on the all-time list for him.
I gotta believe that this is probably top.
I think that this is probably the top moment.
I mean, he's a Super Bowl champion.
He's won Daytona 500s, but I think watching Ty drive a cup car for the, you had a victory
lane.
It was awesome.
And how he did it, like beat the best, beat the best.
I mean, we're talking about Kyle Larson last year's champion.
We're talking about Ryan Blaney who's in the, who was in the final four when we had it almost
perennial every year.
Like these two guys get it done all the time.
And Ty, I thought the more impressive part wasn't the restart, like the restart, the
final restart and overtime, that was great.
But how he defended the win with like 10 to go with those guys hounding him.
I mean, he, he all but gave up the lead and then passed them back.
Right.
So for Ty to get up on the wheel, do everything right.
When the lights were bright and the stage was the biggest, it was fricking awesome.
And I've known Ty since he was like 12 racing late models.
And that's the guy, like the, the, the kid is now a man and that's the kid, the kid I
remember.
It's very, I have arrived.
And of course it begs the question, Kevin, is this going to be a multi-win season for
him?
You think I think so.
You just can't continuously run in the top five like that, not win.
I mean, you can, but the odds of you winning more races when you are putting yourself in
the front of the field like that, or just like this week, it gives you an opportunity
to pick the right strategy.
It gives you an opportunity to make the move.
And, you know, I think that, you know, you look back to Bristol last year in the fall
and him leading that race and getting to pit road a little too hot, locking up the tire
and then coming back this year at Bristol and closing the deal redemption.
Getting that redemption that, that he so deserved, you know, from, from the previous Bristol
race, I think for, you know, I think that for them, I think it's the potential is a
multi-win season.
And I think that right now he's arguably, arguably been one of the best two cars to
start the season with Tyler Redick, you know, as far as week in and week out with everything
that they've done from the consistency standpoint.
So sky's the limit.
You know, now it's, now it's all about managing the expectations and the expectation is to
win, but also making yourself do the things that you did to get to this point.
Right.
We talked so many times about winning your first race and not letting your guard down
and continuously, you know, trying to push things forward, not being comfortable that
you just got your first win and letting your guard down and not being able to put that,
that high level effort in that it takes to win these races every week.
Kevin did mention him, Tyler Allen.
I'm so happy for the crew chief because we all know who Chris Gabbard is.
We all know how great he is at what he does.
And that situation last year was kind of unheard of someone.
There was a crew chief and then there was a, it was a weird situation.
And I think this just reminds Tyler why he is the crew chief of the 54.
Like there's a reason Ty chose you and Joe Gibbs chose you to, to captain this crew
and shout out to our boy Cheddar Bob.
I love Cheddar.
I mean, he, he has that DNA, that championship DNA that came from Rodney and Kevin in our
2014 championship group and talking to him every week.
He's like, we're, we're getting there.
We're getting there.
The kids in there and now, now they did it.
So I'm happy for everybody.
Well, I think the other thing to think about back to his crew chief with Tyler Allen,
you know, putting Gabe Hart in that position last year on the pit box and him not quitting
or getting fired or any, any, there's a number of ways that he could have just been gone.
Right.
And absorbing that learning, progressing in his career to be a better crew chief, a better
leader, whatever, whatever happened in all those moments, he absorbed them.
I mean, that's not an easy call at the end of that race, especially when your driver's
like, I got to have track position.
I'm staying out.
I got to have track position.
I'm staying out.
And that's what Ty was saying on the radio and, you know, not overruling him and saying,
okay, I think we need to come in and put two tires on or, you know, no, we need to put
four tires on whatever the scenario could have been right there.
He went with his driver and, you know, they kind of made that bed together as far as
what was going to happen.
And in the end, it won him the race.
You can sense a lot of trust there already between the two big for the crew chief as
well getting his first win in the cup series.
Awesome moment all around.
So the driver that finished second was Ryan Blaney had a lot of speed, very fast car throughout
the race.
Driver did what he was supposed to do.
He had some saves throughout the race.
Interesting moments.
The pit crew once again had some issues and I know the team has expressed their loyalty
to their guys, but at what point do you think they should start to look at maybe making
a change?
Yeah, it's tough.
I mean, they had a pit stop there at the end of the race where they got him back out front
and were able to maintain the lead, but he had seven cars, lap cars in between him and
second place.
So he had the lead and he had a big gap.
They had a decent pit stop, but I mean, they just, they don't have the speed, let alone
the consistency that you're really seeing out of the Gibbs, the Gibbs crews, the Hendrick
crews on occasion.
The other top tier crews.
But like you look this week, Joey Logano's crew was spectacular.
They had a great weekend on pit road, but the 12 team has been consistently not consistent
on pit road with airs and slow pit stops.
It's a really tough deal, right?
Because you're bringing really good race cars to the racetrack.
Your driver is, I mean, he might be driving at the best that he's driven in his whole
career right now.
There's a lot of maturity, a lot of just leadership that he has exude, I feel like, over the last
few years and it's all clicking for them.
And now this one part of it, right?
It's kind of like your golf game.
Like you get off the T box, you can putt, but you can't get down the fairway.
That feels like kind of what's going on with, with the Team Penske 12 car and man, like
it helps that when it, when the, when the money stop was on that they didn't lose it,
but like you still got to look at, he had to come back from deep in the field like twice.
So like, they've lost him over 80 spots throughout the year, which is 30 more than anybody else.
It's unbelievable.
And, you know, I hate to just pile on with him and Clinton, Clinton's like, what would
you do?
I'm like, you don't want to know what I would do.
I'm, I'm, I'm hell on wheels when it comes to pit crews.
So I'm definitely not the guy that they want talking about this particular scenario because
I'm, I'm, I'm pro driver and pro fast pit stops.
So if your pit stops are not fast, you are paid to pit the car and they better be good.
That's fair.
Yeah.
So we'll have to see if there are any changes that may come down the line.
One team that has to be very encouraged, leaving Bristol is Tyler Reddick that they
have identified that the short track program needed to improve if he was going to in fact
contend for a championship.
Well, he finished fourth.
We got a top five when I mean, well, he qualified up front and they had a miscommunication on
their pit road speed reading early in the race.
And the first pit stop, he came into the pit road with more lights on than he should have
had on.
And, you know, so he and his crew chief had a little bit of a miscommunication there as
to what that setting needed to be after they saw what it was on the warm up lap.
So, but they, they talked through it and on the radio and we were able to listen to all
that.
And Tyler just drove back to the front and we've talked about it on this show.
And the 45 team had to get better on short tracks.
Well, they're fine at Bristol.
They're competitive at Bristol.
Can't, can't, can't say the same thing for, for Martin'sville, but it's, it's definitely
a step in the right direction for Tyler Reddick.
He said it was a very physical day from inside the race car and that he was going to take
today off when you have Bob Pocker's check.
If he did in fact take the day off, I'm sure it was because he was complaining of like
some break shakes too.
So which we, at one point they were cleaning out the break ducts.
I mean, they, they are, that is the most intriguing part.
Always one thing that is so such an outlier.
It is that because it's always them and it seems like not so much to 23.
It seems like the 45 more so.
And I just don't, or the 35 even, I just don't know what that is.
It seems like it always works.
Not always, but most of the time it's fine in the long run, but like there's always
an issue that he comes on with like break shake.
And I don't, I don't, it's interesting at one point.
He's like, I can't drive it because of how bad it's shaking, getting in the corners.
So, but yeah, it is consistently a problem for them.
Can you, can you, can you explain like what that feels like real quick to, to
you mean just sit here and just like, yeah, yeah, just like in the show them with
your feet, like cause it's shaking through the break pedal.
Yeah.
Well, basically what happens is that, you know, the breaks typically when they
shake like that, they get too cold.
So you have to, when you, when you push on the break pedal, it pulsates in your
foot, but when it's pulsating in your foot, it's also shaking in your hand.
So it's, it's definitely not comfortable.
As, as a driver and typically you can't make it go away, but they obviously
were in there working on the, on the cooling of the 45 car and, and it worked
itself out.
It seemed like at the end of the race.
It gives you a false read of what the car is doing too.
Cause you don't know, sometimes you don't know how free or how tight you are
because there's a whole different situation.
And you can't manage the car with a break pedal because you can't put more
pressure on the car because you put more pressure on the car.
It shakes, shakes harder.
And when it's shaking like that, you know, you just, you can't modulate the
pressure.
There you go.
You wanted him to demonstrate and there you have it.
The driver that finished one spot better than Tyler Redick was Kyle Larson,
swept the stages, picked up a lot of points.
He's currently six in that playoff picture or postseason picture.
What did you see out of the five?
What I saw out of the five is exactly what we expect out of the five.
And that's the first race all year.
We've, we've seen what we expect out of Kyle Larson at a racetrack.
We expect them to dominate and he dominated the first part of the race.
They, they caught up to him a little bit at the end of the race and the
circumstances of, of the way that everything worked out.
12 and 54 had a better car at the end of the race, but he took charge of the
race right from the beginning.
And we've been wondering if those weekends are there.
And, and I interviewed Chase Elliott earlier in the weekend and he talked about
the struggles that, that they are having, um, getting the balance right on, on
these race cars.
And, and you know, honestly, he talked about Las Vegas where we've had the
least amount of changes with our cars, um, from a rules standpoint with tires
and diffusers and arrow rules and things like that.
So, um, you know, we're going to Kansas next week where all that's going to be
the same.
So it'll be interesting to see if the same is, is as good as it was at Las
Vegas for, for the Hendrick cars.
But this is exactly what we expected, uh, out of Kyle Larson.
And, and that's what we got.
And you know, it's, we've not seen one of those cars dominate a race, uh, like,
like Kyle Larson did early on this week.
Yeah.
I think if he didn't, everyone would be the panic button wouldn't be hit, but
you'd definitely be having over it because you need, you need to stop the
bleeding, um, somewhere and you're like, okay, uh, if we're not good at places
we know we're good at, now we're really in trouble, right?
But that battle that, the battle that Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson were
putting on was awesome.
I mean, Larson ran the O'Reilly's race as well.
And that battle between him, Zillich and Brent Cruz was just just throwing
sliders and just everything you want in a short track stock car race.
It was a full contact race at the end.
No, at the end of that dominated the rest of it.
Yeah.
The rest of the, it was, it was like carbon copy.
It was like the exact same thing.
So Kyle Larson still knows how to drive cars down.
You'll still know how to make them go fast.
They're going to be just fine.
Yeah.
And I think that, you know, the, the big thing about Kyle Larson being, being
able to do that on Saturday and Sunday is like you say, for his confidence is
really good Connor, Zillich, same thing, right?
Like when in the O'Reilly's race and being able to, to run up front for him,
it's a firm reminder that, that he can drive and he's just, he's struggling on
Sundays to be able to put that car where it needs to be and know what he needs to
put in his car because Zillich quit practice early on Saturday saying his
car was good and it was not good.
Right.
So I still think he's searching for what he needs in the race car and what's
right and wrong and how hard he can drive it and all the things that come
with learning how to be a cup driver.
That's a 20 minutes of practice KV for those guys.
Yeah.
Connor Zillich ended up 33rd on the day.
Just a few spots in front of him was the team Hendrick teammate to Kyle Larson,
which is William Byron.
This is pretty unusual.
Qualified 34th was nowhere in the conversation all day.
Similar to what we saw with Joey Logano at Darlington.
What do you think happened there?
Well, and he's still never let a lap at Bristol.
Yeah, that stat still stands.
The stat still stands and it's there for a reason.
And, you know, I think that the, look, I've been to Bristol and been lap five
times and have no reason come back to the shop and have no reason to understand
why you got lap five times in the gen seven car.
It's going to happen.
And they changed the steering rack before the race.
That didn't fix anything.
He got lapped early in the back of the pack and never really gathered any
momentum through throughout the whole day.
So tough day for the 24 that we haven't seen out of that car in a long,
long time.
So that, that one definitely raises some eyebrows as to, as to, as to why they
were that bad, but they aren't that good typically at Bristol compared to a
lot of places that we go.
Yeah, he had a huge moment in qualifying that set him back.
And then obviously they changed the steering rack and you just would have
thought that, oh, he's going to make, they'll make some gains.
Like I really expected him to early on in the race, pick up some spots and at
least not go down a lap that early.
It just wasn't there for them.
And it's obviously not a lack of effort because I don't know, I don't know
how many guys work as hard as William Byron does at the craft.
That's what he specialized in.
That's why he's so good is because he worked so hard at it.
So, uh, he's definitely looking at that crew is definitely looking forward to
Kansas.
Yeah.
They never looking forward to get to a place that they feel like they can
control their own destiny a little bit more and have some success.
I think the other thing going back to Kyle Larson, you know, I know that he
had a great weekend, but unfortunately he's still got to answer that winless
street question.
And now it's at 32.
Yeah.
We're going to Kansas.
And we're creeping in on, you know, he won at Kansas, but it's a little less than,
than a year since, since he's one race, but we're, we're getting close
to a year since Kyle Larson has, has won a race.
So, uh, that is something that I had to look a couple of times a few weeks.
Every week I look at it and go, are we sure this guy won the championship and
never want to race in the playoffs.
I, I, I didn't, I guess I hadn't put all that together because you just assume
and you see him race so much and lead and do all the things that he's done and
champion.
I hadn't put all the pieces together to realize that it's now been 32 races.
It is a surprising stat.
There's a number of drivers on pretty long winless streaks.
Alex Bowman, his teammate at Hendrick Motorsports, also being one of them came
back finally from those vertigo symptoms he was experiencing, spoke candidly to
the media about what all that was.
It sounded like a very tough ordeal to go through.
What kind of uphill battle is that for a driver sitting out, coming back and then
having another tough result?
Well, you know, it's great to have Alex Bowman back in the car.
That's, that's the ride that, that he had and, and, you know, earned to, to get to
this point.
And I think that you couldn't ask for a, for a tougher racetrack to come back
to the Bristol with all the G's and all the heat.
It was hot this weekend, typically not that warm in the, in the spring
race at Bristol.
So, you know, it's good to, good to see him back in the car.
But now we're, now we're back to analyzing the 48's performance and it wasn't
good, uh, you know, through, throughout the weekend, they, you know, they didn't
really have any speed and, and wound up in an accident.
And, and so, you know, now they got to concentrate on, we've got the driver's
health back where it needs to be.
Now what do we got to do to get this car back to where it needs to be in the,
in solidly in the, in the top 10.
So that'll be the next, uh, tall task that they have to figure out.
Yeah, they got, I mean, obviously he's been out for a handful of races.
So points for him, driver wise is not about points.
That's, that's, we got a win.
We got to, if you're going to, if you're going to keep your job, you're
going to have to win.
And, and I think if you look at it, just from how my perspective, they didn't
put anybody else in it, but Justin, obviously Anthony Alfredo ran one, but
Justin Allgaier became like the, the replacement driver for most of it.
So when you look at that reading kind of the tea leaves is like, okay, they're
not trying to move on.
They're not ready to move on.
They still believe in Alex Bowman.
It seems that way.
It seems that way.
And I would just, I think that obviously they got to win.
They got to figure out whatever hasn't been meshing over the last few years.
You got 20 something races to get this thing right and going into 20.
I think that we're going to see a lot of dominoes start to fall early in the
year this year.
I don't think we're going to see what we saw last year as far as the drivers
and minimal amount of changes and things happening.
I think you're going to see some things happen as we start to get into, into
the early part of summer, um, you know, as far as who's going to drive what,
who's going to move teams, who's going to do things.
I think we're going to see things shake up more than we've seen, um, for
sure, from last year, especially as, as the, the OEM conversation keeps getting
heated up, obviously Ram is in the truck series and you would expect the, the
Stalantis group to make a move into the upper series at some point.
So as those conversations keep circling, like it changes the whole landscape.
Yeah.
And, and you know, that's an up, that's going to be an uphill battle for, for
Dodge to, I mean, you know, with the way that those trucks have run, uh, they've
done okay with their cup cars with no simulation and all the things that they've
been doing on the cup side, but like, who are you going to get to drive them?
Like who, that's going to be a road to go down.
Like right now we don't have anywhere to get engines, right?
You know, if we're, if we're Dodge and, and so going down the road of figuring
out how to get an engine shop and, and you're going to have to either make a
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