In NASCAR, drivers earn points based on where they finish. When the hosts say the points “shake it up,” they mean the race changed the standings and who’s in the best position.
NASCAR cars come in “generations” that change the rules and design. “Gen 7” is the current generation, and the “record” is about how many races a driver can win in one season with these cars.
On a restart, cars line up in lanes. Choosing the “second lane” can help you get better grip or momentum and potentially move up before others can react.
Blocking is when a driver deliberately places their car to make it harder for the other driver to pass. It usually forces the other car to take a less ideal line or slow down.
The toe link is a steering part that helps keep the wheels pointed the right way. If it gets damaged after a crash, the car can feel weird and harder to control, especially through turns.
“On the gas” means the driver keeps pressing the accelerator instead of backing off. That can help the car stay planted, but if something’s off with the car, it can make the handling worse.
Term
turns one and two
Turns one and two are the first big corners on the track. How you drive them affects your speed and grip for the rest of the lap, so it matters a lot for passing and defense.
“Super tight” means the car doesn’t want to turn the way the driver expects. It can make the car feel like it’s pushing wide, so the driver has to adjust speed and steering to stay on line.
A “two tire exchange” is when the crew changes only two tires during a pit stop. It’s a strategy to save time and manage tire wear, but it can also change how the car handles.
Pit road is where the cars come in during the race to get serviced. Teams change tires and sometimes add fuel, and how fast and clean that stop is can make a big difference in who ends up leading.
Martinsville is a short track where you have to slow down a lot and be very consistent. It’s less about creative line choices and more about getting the car to grip and drive off the turns.
Bristol is a famous NASCAR short track with steep turns. Because of the banking, drivers can sometimes choose different paths through the corners instead of being stuck with just one line.
The high line means taking the outside part of the turn. It can help you keep more speed, but it usually needs the car to be set up to handle that part of the track well.
This means driving close to the outside of the turn (near the curbing/wall) to keep the car stable and fast. On tracks like Martinsville, that helps you get the car to turn and then accelerate out of the corner.
Sometimes problems off the track—like a lawsuit—can throw a team off. Even if the car is fast, distractions and instability can make it harder to perform consistently.
Concept
elite situations
They mean the big, high-pressure moments in NASCAR. The idea is that when everything is at its most important, even small things—like attention and mindset—can matter.
“Top 15” just means being near the front of the field. In NASCAR, that usually means the car is fast enough and the team is making good calls during the race.
“Speed” here means how fast the cars are compared to everyone else. It’s not just one thing—teams have to get the car set up right and drive it well to be consistently quick.
Racing teams collect lots of data during practice and races. When they share what they learn—like what worked on the car and tires—they can make smarter tweaks and get faster.
Instead of changing everything at once, teams make small adjustments to the car. Those tweaks can help the car turn better, grip the tires better, and last longer through the race.
Brand
Chevrolet change in their body
NASCAR cars aren’t just engines and tires—how the body sits and shapes airflow matters a lot. If Chevrolet changes the body, teams have to adjust the car’s setup to make it handle and grip the way they want.
Toyota teams are being described as having a head start because they already learned a lot last year. That makes it easier to improve again this season instead of starting from scratch.
A caution is when the race slows down because something unsafe happened on the track. When that happens, the cars get closer together, so someone who was winning can suddenly lose position.
“Three wide” means three cars are trying to drive next to each other at the same time. It’s risky because there’s less space to avoid contact if someone changes lanes.
Term
stack them up
“Stack them up” is basically lining cars up so the other driver can’t easily get the lane they want. It’s a way to make passing harder by controlling the space around you.
The outside lane is the part of the track farther outward. Drivers sometimes use it to keep speed and set up passes, but it can also make you vulnerable if someone drafts you.
“The bottom” is the inside part of the track. It’s usually the fastest line, so drivers try to block it—but it’s hard to stop someone who’s got a good run.
Your quarter panel is part of the car’s body near the back side. If another car is “out on your quarter panel,” it means they’re pulling up alongside you near the rear—where contact can happen fast.
A blown tire means the tire suddenly fails and loses air. When that happens, the car can get out of control, so officials may slow the race for safety.
“Four tires” means the team changes every tire during the pit stop. That can help the car handle better, especially if it’s not driving the way the driver wants.
It’s basically saying the team isn’t performing as consistently as they were before. Instead of everything working together smoothly, they’re having more ups and downs.
They’re using “threshold” to mean a cutoff line—like a minimum spot you need to stay competitive. If you’re below it, you’re in trouble; if you’re at or above it, you’re okay.
On a NASCAR pit stop, the crew needs to release the car at the right moment. A pit gun is the tool that helps them time that release, and if it breaks, the stop can be slower or go wrong.
Super speedways are the biggest NASCAR tracks where cars go very fast and race in groups. Because everyone is close together, strategy and timing matter a lot.
Ryan Blaney is a NASCAR driver. The hosts are talking about a pit-road incident where his car touched another car, which can cause damage and make it hard to race well afterward.
NASCAR breaks the race into sections called stages. Teams can earn points in each stage, so strategy can change depending on whether they’re trying to score points early or save the car for later.
They mean the car wasn’t sticking to the track and didn’t feel fast. When a race car has “no grip,” it can’t turn well or hold speed in the turns, so the whole lap time suffers.
The pit crew is the group that does the pit stop work—like changing tires quickly and correctly. If they’re fast and coordinated, the car loses less time and can gain positions.
The jackman is the person on the pit crew who lifts the car with the jack during a tire change. If that role changes, it can slightly change how smoothly and quickly the pit stop goes.
A pit stop is when the team pulls the car in to change tires and do quick service. If the stop is fast, you lose less time and can keep (or gain) track position.
Concept
running up front vs racing for 20th
Being near the front is different from being back in the pack. When you’re up front, you’re constantly trying to win and protect position; when you’re not, you’re usually trying to improve slowly and avoid trouble.
Team Penske is one of NASCAR’s top racing teams. The hosts are saying that, even for a team like that, their results and execution haven’t matched what people expect.
A “radio transmission” is the audio message sent between the driver and crew over the in-car radio system. Strong, clear transmissions help the crew deliver timely instructions—especially during cautions, pit calls, and adjustments.
“Radio gremlins” is a slang way to describe intermittent or persistent problems with the team’s communications—like static, dropouts, or garbled audio. In NASCAR, reliable driver-to-crew communication is critical for calls on pit timing, tire wear, and adjustments.
A wiring harness is the bundled set of wires that routes power and signals to the car’s electronics. If communications fail, teams may inspect or replace harness components because the radio system depends on correct wiring and connections.
Spire is a NASCAR racing team. The hosts are saying Suárez’s move there helped the cars perform better, likely because the team is better at getting the car working the way the driver needs.
Trackhouse Racing is a NASCAR team. The hosts are basically saying the team is in a rebuilding period, so results haven’t been great while they work on making the cars faster.
A rebuilding year means the team is working on improving for the future instead of expecting top results right away. It can involve learning what works with the car and making changes behind the scenes.
Ovals are NASCAR tracks that are mostly oval-shaped. The car setup is different there than on road courses, so a driver/team might be strong in one and still struggle in the other.
Road courses are tracks with lots of different corners, like a typical road circuit. Cars and driving style have to change a lot compared to oval races, so teams can be better at one type than the other.
Watkins Glen is a well-known road course where NASCAR races. The hosts are saying Connor Zillich might do better there because the track suits the car better than others.
Qualifying decent means the car starts the race in a decent position. But the hosts are implying that even if the car is fast for one lap, it may not be fast enough for the whole race.
Getting lapped means other cars pass you and you’re behind the leaders. If it happens in the first stage, it usually means the car wasn’t fast enough right away.
The hosts reference “the new car,” which in NASCAR typically means the current generation of Next Gen-style race car. When teams “came on very strong” after the new car arrived, it usually reflects how quickly they adapted their setups, aerodynamics, and engineering to the new platform.
“Sim” means a computer racing simulator. Teams use it to try ideas and learn how the car should behave at a track before they spend time and money testing the real car.
Hendrick Motorsports is a major NASCAR racing team. The hosts are saying that even this top Chevrolet team isn’t consistently dominating, which affects how competitive other Chevrolet teams can be.
JGR is short for Joe Gibbs Racing, another top NASCAR team. They’re being compared as one of the teams that’s been strong lately, making it harder for others to keep up.
Those are the safety systems in the race car that protect the driver during a crash. They’re built to keep the driver from getting hurt if the car flips or gets hit.
It’s a way of saying everything went wrong at the same time. When several things line up—speed, contact, and timing—the crash can become almost inevitable.
They’re previewing the next NASCAR race at Talladega and talking about what’s different this time. The goal is to explain what fans should pay attention to during the weekend.
NASCAR races are broken into parts called stages, and teams earn points when each part ends. If NASCAR changes where those stage breaks happen, teams have to adjust their strategy—like when to pit and how hard to push.
Fuel saving is when teams drive a little slower or manage power to use less gas. NASCAR wants to discourage that during stages so the race stays more exciting and competitive.
They’re talking about a past Daytona race where the racing turned out really great. The idea is that if teams aren’t forced into fuel-saving tactics, the race can be more fun to watch.
“Not lifting” means keeping your foot in it instead of backing off the gas. In NASCAR, especially in tight racing, lifting can slow you down and change how the whole pack moves. They want drivers to keep pushing hard.
Talladega Boulevard is the name they’re using for the local scene around the Talladega race weekend. It’s more about the fan experience and atmosphere than the racing itself. They’re saying they’ll be out there this week while working.
FormEnergy is a company sponsoring NASCAR activity tied to William Byron’s car. Sponsors often pay for branding on the car and help support the team. The hosts are basically giving a shout-out to them during the Talladega segment.
Red Bull is one of the energy drink brands the hosts mention as being back in NASCAR. Energy drink sponsorships are common in motorsports because they target similar audiences and provide major branding visibility on cars and broadcasts. The hosts are discussing how multiple brands are competing for attention in the sport.
Monster is another energy drink brand the hosts say is sponsoring NASCAR. When brands like this return, you usually see their logos everywhere in the sport. The hosts want brands to do more fun challenges that fans can get involved with.
Budweiser is brought up as an example of a past NASCAR marketing campaign that challenged brands against each other. The hosts are using it to illustrate the kind of fan engagement they want to see again. It’s a sponsorship-driven idea rather than a technical racing detail.
They’re using “Chevy” to mean Chevrolet’s NASCAR team(s). At Talladega, the brand matters because teams tune their cars for drafting and high-speed stability. The hosts are basically saying Chevrolet has been in the mix, but Ford has looked especially strong.
This is about teamwork in NASCAR. A faster car can help another car by running close behind and alongside to share momentum, kind of like drafting in a group. The host is saying everyone’s getting better at that teamwork, which affects who wins.
A “super speedway car” is a NASCAR setup made for the biggest, fastest tracks. The goal is to work well when cars are running close together and pushing/drafting in packs. So it’s not just about horsepower—it’s about how the car moves through the air.
They’re talking about Bubba Wallace and saying he’ll be part of the action in the pack. On Talladega, drivers often work together by drafting and pushing to gain position. The host is basically naming him as someone to watch for strategy and speed.
An “opportunity race” is one where the outcome feels more open—so drivers who aren’t always winning still have a real shot. The hosts are saying Talladega can create those chances.
NASCAR doesn’t just reward winning. The points you earn for where you finish can move you up many spots in the standings, so strategy matters even if you don’t win every race.
“Play the system” means racing smart for points, not just for the checkered flag. Sometimes the best strategy is to finish strong and avoid a disastrous result.
“Victory Lane” is where the winner celebrates after the race. Winning is a big deal because it usually earns extra points and helps you climb the standings.
They’re using “ignominious” to mean something like “a humiliating” or “embarrassing” situation. They’re talking about how the race didn’t go the way Hamlin expected based on what Busch said.
A “tough pass” just means it’s hard to get around another car. In NASCAR, passing often depends on getting the right push from behind and choosing the right moment.
Grassroots racing is local racing—smaller teams and smaller budgets. It’s important because it’s how a lot of drivers get their start and learn how to race.
Adaptive driving controls are changes that help someone drive even if they can’t use their body the usual way. In this story, the driver uses his feet to steer and control the pedals so he can race.
The steering wheel is what you turn to make the car go left or right. Here, they’re talking about changing the steering wheel so the driver can control the car in a way that works for his body.
The Daytona 500 is NASCAR’s biggest race. In this conversation, they’re saying the fans and the excitement around the race are the main part of the experience.
In NASCAR, “Gen 7” is the name for a specific generation of the race car rules. It’s like a new “version” of the car that teams build to, and it can change how the cars drive and race.
RCR is Richard Childress Racing, a NASCAR team organization. The hosts connect Kyle Busch’s potential leadership role at RCR to the team’s effort to improve car performance and get back to winning form.
They’re talking about how arguments between drivers can get bigger than the original situation. In racing, when people feel disrespected, it can affect how they drive—sometimes causing payback that hurts everyone involved.
Dover is a NASCAR race track. The host is mentioning an earlier incident there to explain why certain drivers might react the way they do now.
Concept
team ownership and media/podcasting balance
They’re saying it’s hard to juggle being a driver, running a team, and also doing media like podcasts. The way someone talks publicly can change how others see them and how they react.
Ford is the car manufacturer they’re talking about. In NASCAR, different manufacturers can have stronger performance at certain tracks, so the hosts use that as a reason to pick a driver.
Kansas is the location of an upcoming NASCAR race. Different tracks change how teams set up the cars and plan their strategy.
LIVE
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Ba-da-ba-ba-ba.
They're the only ones getting better.
If we don't touch on this, I'll lose my shit.
So we kind of went off on a tangent there.
Ignominius situation for himself.
You guys know I'm a nerd and a loser and I study and I didn't even know that word.
But, you know, 2006, I probably would have smashed him.
Welcome to Kevin Harvick's happy hour presented by NASCAR on Fox.
I'm Kevin Harvick.
She's Caitlyn Vincey and he's Dennis Rodman.
Hey, this is my only.
This is my only while I live in the shoes I got on today.
I only got so much like Michael Jordan's stuff.
So I figured this fit.
Is that the same thing that you were to the watch party last night?
No, this is a different fit from the watch.
Who won the race?
Who won the race?
This guy won the race.
Tyler Redick.
Because you didn't pick him, though, right?
You didn't.
You didn't.
I don't know.
There's a leader in the clubhouse.
The points are a little, a little shake it up.
We'll get to that moment.
So it was an interesting race because it was rather uneventful, I would say,
until the tail end.
And once again, Tyler Redick was able to win five of the last nine races.
Did you think he would reach that number that soon?
I did not.
But I think he's going to break the Gen 7 record of six races in a season.
Yes, I think so too.
I think he's going to break that record.
I think he's going to get eight or nine wins before this whole thing is done.
Now, you know, I think that it was really interesting because,
you know, at the beginning of the race, Larson was good.
And then he had Hamlin good.
It was weird how it all cycled around.
And then you get to that, that last restart.
Redick fires off third and somehow winds up in the second lane.
And, and so there were a lot of things that, that moved around right there.
But when they fired off right here, I mean, Larson,
I believe he said Hamlin up pretty good to, to leave a little space right there.
Got a huge run, got below him.
Not much Hamlin could do.
The part I was surprised, Christopher Bell is going to win this race,
that, that Redick didn't keep him behind him right there by,
by blocking him a little better.
Hamlin got in the door of the 45 hits the, hits the 20 into the fence.
But, you know, Christopher Bell was going to go on to, to win that race.
If he doesn't break that toe link with the fence right there and a contact,
you know, from, from the 45, but Tyler Redick hasn't lifted yet.
He's still on the gas.
And I, I honestly, there was a, there was one moment where I started to say,
this one's Kyle Larson's and Mike or Clint or somebody said something.
And I never really got to say it.
And I was like, Oh, thank God I didn't get to say that because I would have been wrong
by the time they got to the middle of turns one and two.
Larson said his, his car got, got super tight on the two tire exchange right there.
Chase Briscoe down there in third place.
I really thought that, well, they're lucky there wasn't two more corners
because he was going to win on those four times.
He was the first car on four tires, but in the end,
Tyler Redick gets it done for the fifth time.
That is wild in nine races.
Michael Jordan said, this kid is on fire.
I don't know if I can cool him down.
He hopes he can't, he hopes he can't.
Well, yeah, I mean, it's a new wild, what a difference a year makes.
Like a year ago, we were sitting here with a lot of questions about this team.
Now they seemingly don't really have a weak spot, except maybe pit road, because we've,
we've seen there's been roads, not as fast.
And I think that the, you know, the Martinsville, definitely an issue.
Short track, he, he, he did well at Bristol, but the thing about Bristol is you can run
around the top and it's, it's more of a, a reddit type scenario where he can,
he can make that high line, move around the racetrack and be creative as far as the lines
that you run.
Martinsville is pretty straightforward.
You gotta, you need to run her against the curve and get up off the corner and,
and, and do all those things.
So, but definite improvement.
And I think that, you know, we, we, we expected Tyler Reddick to be this and,
and Denny Hamlin said it on my pre-racial or our pre-racial on, on Fox.
The Chris Myers is pre-racial.
But yeah.
Yeah.
He, I asked him, I said, did you expect Tyler Reddick to be this good?
And he said, yes.
You know, this is why we hired Tyler Reddick to come over here and, and be a,
an elite race car driver to win championships, race for championships and, and win races.
And, and you know, I think that, I think that last year affected that team with the lawsuit
and Reddick's personal life, life situations that he was dealing with that,
I think it affected him more than we realized.
And, and I think that they also learned from it and fixed things that they didn't even realize
that, that became an issue going into this year.
So, man, it is, it is good.
And, and I, and I think that I still think that Michael Jordan understands,
like he was there on Saturday this week, that his presence there means something in these,
in these elite situations of, of things that don't normally happen.
And they're just, they're doing abnormal things right now with all the races that
they're winning so early.
They have to be happy too, because all their cars were in the top 15, which includes Corey
Hyme. So your thoughts on Tyler's performance and the team as a whole.
Yeah. I mean, well, I think first off, there's the outlier of Tyler Reddick's career was last
year not running well. Like his whole career, he's won everywhere. He won back to back championships
in the O'Reilly series with two different teams. He won at RCR in the cup, in the cup car.
He won at 2311 when he got it in the 45. Like this is not the abnormal part was last year.
I think when you look at it this year, you're like, that's the guy that was there at 2311
year one and plus plus, you know, everything around him seems like it's going right.
The team is going right. And not just the 45 team, but there was a lot of points in that race
yesterday where the all four 2311 cars were in the top 15. And Riley Herps wasn't the fourth
car for a lot of that 11th or 12th at one point. Yeah. So when you look at 2311 as a whole,
they are bad. They are the best organization right now as far as speed. I think I think they're
really close. I do because you wouldn't expect a Riley Herps to be that far up in the grid.
So if he's that far up, then like the, everyone doesn't expect it. So like he has to be doing
something pretty right and they have to be pretty good from the elite to be there. So I think from
Corey High's standpoint, I expect Corey to be up there. Riley's been the, this pleasant surprise,
I think at 2111. Yeah. Well, I, you know, and I think, I still think that the Gibbs cars are
overall faster than the 2311 cars. Yeah. But the unique part about this whole scenario
is those guys and the information sharing and, and the cars coming from Joe Gibbs racing,
the unique part is going to be the little details that keep coming from, okay, well,
why did Denny Hamlin run so good? Okay. Well, why, why did Tyler Reddick so good? Okay. Why did
Ty Gibbs run so good? And then they keep stacking these little details of things that each team
finds. Yeah. They're the only ones getting better. Right. And they're taking really good race cars
and just keep fine tuning them with these little things that, that the resources and, and where
they're racing at in the pack at the front, all racing for the win. Like they're just up there
playing their own game. It's also a perfect story. I mean, Larson was in the mix. Yeah. I will,
I will say Kyle Larson looked as good this week as he looked good at Vegas. He looked good here.
Look good at Bristol. Just, just hasn't won, right? Now it's 33 races and hasn't been able to,
to get to victory lane. And, and unfortunately, fortunately for Hendrick Motorsports and Kyle
Larson, the expectation is to not go 33 races and not be in victory lane. And I would have five.
I'm still blown away that, you know, he won the championship and went through the playoffs and
everything last year and didn't win a race. And, you know, now we've, we've gone to Kansas and we've
gone to Kansas again in the spring and he hasn't won a race a little earlier this year. Hasn't
quite been, been a year, but they're close. Yeah. Closer, but they've also been to a lot of their,
their really good racetracks, but they're closer. Yeah. It's a perfect storm. I think too, right?
With the, with the Chevrolet change in their body, they're all trying to figure that out.
And then the Toyotas being able to build on what they had last year and they were already good
last year. So it's a perfect storm there. Did you guys, I hang on. If we don't touch on this,
I'll lose my, lose my shit. I got, I need this slide 12 of Denny Hamlin and MJ. Okay. I need,
I need that right now. And this is the, if this ain't the most big brother moment I've ever seen,
like this is hilarious. Smiling all the way, all the way out. Well, the other one's stone face.
Yeah. He's just like, it's like big brother being like, I got you again. Because, you know, when
Denny wins, Michael doesn't win, right? If Michael wins, Denny does win, but it's a different part
of Denny that wins. So it's, it's kind of a little, Michael had said, I guess to Jamie Little,
before the race, it was reported that he knew Denny was going to be their toughest competition
today. And Denny obviously led 131 laps. Things kind of fell apart for him at the end. He seemed
frustrated with the caution, frustrated that he fell for Larson's move, as he said. Yeah.
What's that like for him having that one slip away under those circumstances?
Well, the other thing that to go back to the interview that Michael Jordan said was,
I can't wait to talk trash. And I thought that was, I thought that was fun. You can see that they
have a very competitive relationship. But you know, I think from, from Denny Hamlin's standpoint,
you could see the frustration after that race of, of him knowing that Larson suckered him in
to what, what sounded like the same thing that he did the last time that they were there to put
him three wide. And, and you know, I don't really know what you do in that situation. I guess you
could stack them up or and give the outside lane a little bit to keep Larson lower to make him push
you. But I just don't think Larson's staying put regardless. Like I think he's, he's going to the
bottom. And if you block the bottom, he's going to the middle. Like I don't know that Denny was in
a situation that he was going to, going to be able to keep Larson from at least making a move
because that's just Kyle Larson. Yeah, some guys would not move, but him and like a whole
civar, like maybe a Bubba, they're going, they're going, yeah, they're going to make a move. And
you know, I was a little bit surprised that Reddick didn't block Bell because if, if Bell
doesn't get wrecked, he wins the race. So, but that's, that all that stuff happens so fast at
the end of those races when you're trying to look low and block low and looking high. And then all
of a sudden somebody's out on your quarter panel, but you know, I think for, for Denny Hamlin,
he's competitive and, and led a big portion of that race and, and felt like, you know,
he had the dominant car for, for a big portion of that race. And coming to the white flag,
Cody Ware spins out down the bottom of the racetrack, six laps, six laps down.
And right, but right, right call, he had a blown tire. Not anything that, that he did tire,
right, retire blew out. NASCAR had to throw the caution with the way that that car looked like
it was, yeah, with the way that it looked like it was going to back up the track they had to
throw the caution. And I know that he spun out, went to the apron and kept going. But,
you know, it, it, it sucks. I've been a part of a lot of those things where you get a late
caution like that and you dominate a race and lose them. And it's not fun while you're doing it.
The racing gods are real. They are real. They are real. Pretty angry on the radio. The probably
the most angry I've heard him after a race. Yes. What'd he say? The F word. On the race radio,
on his car, in car radio? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, he was just like, but a very aggressive use of the F.
Yeah. Emphasis on the F. Emphasis on the F. So is that like, he said fart or what did he say?
No, you know which word. I'm not allowed to say it. He said mean F word. Yeah. Okay. I got you.
F U one. I got you. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So that's dirty. Staying in the
staying in the Joe Gibbs racing family. Let's talk about Chase Briscoe. You mentioned it,
the fact they took the four tires on that last stop. He is now in 15th in the standing. So he
is starting to make gains after having that rough couple of weeks. Do you think they've stopped the
bleeding over there? I mean, he still wasn't happy with his car after the race. You know,
he still sounded frustrated with, you know, with how tight that his car was, you know,
during the race and just couldn't, couldn't quite get the balance right. But they,
they almost won the race and four tires won the race last year when the 23 and 11 car got
together. And this year, four tires almost won the race. So, you know, that was a great strategy.
I think he was, I think he restarted 11th. Yes. So he made a lot of ground and,
and wound up with a, with a solid finish. So they're slowly, but surely making their way back
to the top. Unfortunately, we're going to Talladega and you just never know how that,
that is going to work out. But I think I, I don't think they're as good as they were last year
right now. It just seems like they're, you know, kind of a little off from, from being as
lock and step as they were last year. And even last year at this point, it was kind of this,
it was a little bit up and down, but they didn't have those big disasters like they did this year
at the beginning of the season. So it's not, it's not, it's not as different as last year from a
performance standpoint. It seemed like it took them a little bit to get halfway through the year
to be able to put themselves in a position where they were consistently in contention to win.
But I, I think the speed is there. It's almost flip flopped because now it's Ty Gibbs.
Yeah. I think, I think they upped their expectation at the end of last year
that we just thought that they were going to start out really well. And they just,
some of the things went out of their control, like some failures and getting some wrecks,
like a Daytona, whatever. I just looked at the points, he's 50 out of ninth. And we feel like
six, seven, six, six is like heaven. Six is the threshold.
Not seven.
Not seven. Yeah. Six, not seven is the threshold. So it's, I mean, the gap to seventh is still
quite a bit. So they just need to keep plugging away and stacking these days and finishing the
races out. Well, you have a, you have a good day. Like, you know, he could have it, Talladega.
Everybody could have a good day at Talladega. But I mean, there's going to be a lot of people
that have a bad day. Like it's just inevitable that it's going to happen. And so it's, you know,
you just got to keep your head down and keep grinding away because they have the cars,
they have the resources, they have everything that they need to win races, run in the front,
their teammates are doing it every week, weekend and week out. It's, it's just not having failures,
not having mistakes. Don't do all the things that puts yourself in a hole, but they've got
the race cars to do it. Speaking of keeping your head down and grinding it out, let's talk about
some people who had some issues that they had to overcome. And I want to start with Carson
Hosevar, who ended up finishing 13th, had a good qualifying effort, had speed,
pit crew, broken, pit gun, then they had another slow stop to tighten a wheel. He was frustrated
on the radio, but I did hear him say like, well, I'm way better than these guys. So thanks for
giving me the opportunity to pass them all over again. He still was kind of himself, but that's
got to get, you know, old for, for him. Yeah, it's definitely a different tone of frustration from
Carson because I feel like he knows now that he's capable. I do, there was one point in the race,
and I don't remember who, he just pointed him by and, and letting, I think it was actually the 54,
but he pointed him by and Ty, you know, had got really tight and it had, had to basically stop
in the middle of the corner, he went back by, but I mean, he was literally just moving by.
And the reason that I point that out is, is the fact that he's trying to take care of his equipment
when he's racing for seventh, eighth, ninth, 10th place, you know, where it's like, Hey,
if I finish ninth right here, why make an enemy or tear up my car, take a chance of finishing 30th?
I feel like he's racing smarter. But I also feel like he's becoming more frustrated with the
scenario, knowing that their cars are fast. And then you have the pit stops and then you have
just stuff happening. And, you know, you can definitely feel the frustration from him because
he knows the capability of what is happening at Spire right now. He feels like they can win a race.
And I think that they're, they're on their cusp of, they're like, I'm in this week. Yeah. He
definitely won this week. And I wouldn't be afraid to, I wouldn't be afraid to pick him this week
either with how aggressive he is at the super speedways. But, um, you know, it takes a lot
and putting on the piece together, he probably feels like he's doing better at putting the
pieces together. And now it's kind of falling apart on the other end a little bit. So that
frustration kind of mounts, but he just needs to keep, keep the head on straight. I forget that
he's 23 too. He's only 23. That's, that's, that's crazy. Well, like Kevin said last week,
if you're paid to pit the car, you pit the car and you do it well, people, right?
Yeah. Well, we, I mean, we can cut him some slack for the pit gun breaking, but the rest of them
are all new boys. So what about this incident on pit road with Ryan Blaney having contact with
A.J. Elmendinger, uh, as he's exiting his pit stall, that happened in stage one.
And Ryan Blaney just having a very uncharacteristic day, I would say as a whole
for the 12 team, because he said at one point he's got no grip, no speed. We don't typically see that
out of that team specifically. Yeah. Even, even before this incident, um, you know, Blaney was
10th or 12th, whatever he was, he wasn't in contention at the, at the front of the pack. Like,
like we typically expect him to be, I look at that pit road incident right there. I mean,
that's an air from two of them, the driver and the top of the pit box, because that wasn't even
really tight quarters. Like that's just a little, yeah, just a little laxadaisical on both of their
parts or whoever's, whoever's calling him out of the pit box that, you know, didn't do a very good
job. Um, I think that, you know, I think Ryan Blaney overachieves in his cars currently. I think
that team and Ryan do a great job with a, with a car that is, um, not very good. Um, you know,
from a, from a Ford standpoint, compared to the Toyota's and, and, and, you know, the, the top
Chevrolet's, um, you know, you look at, I mean, Joey, the Ghana at one point this week was running
all he could do in, in the late twenties and, and just had a miserable day. Cedric drove up through
there the first run and then just kind of fizzled away. Really the best cars have, uh, over the
weekend were, uh, Chris Buscher and, and Brad Kozlowski. The RFK cars have kind of, and, you
know, Buscher qualified well, but if Brad ever figures out how to qualify good, he only did
it like one week, one week and he led a whole bunch of laps and by the end of the race, he's,
he's capable of running in, you know, into the top five, but he just never gets there. And he got
some stage points in, in stage two, but you know, I think, um, you know, Blaney's, Blaney's team and,
and the whole Pinsky bunch was, was a little bit off this weekend. One thing I want to note about
Ryan Blaney, cause we've talked about this a lot is the pit crew, they did make a Jackman
change heading into the weekend, but their original choice couldn't be there for personal
reasons. So they had to use someone from the four of no Gregson, but they did, they did have their
best two pit stops, speak wise of the year, but they have made a change. So we will see. And,
and look, I don't, I'm not, I don't want to pile on, but I have to point it out.
I know that they made their fastest two pit stops of the year, but they were also racing for 20th.
It, the, it's different. It's different when you're running up front, trying to make something
happen than when pressure, we are like, we're not good enough to win. There's not as much,
the pressure is not the same. Yeah. And so I don't want to be quick to judge them. Obviously,
the speed is there, the capability is there, but we got to see it when they're racing for first.
Yeah. I think the, the Pinsky thing is interesting. Obviously Ryan's been kind of
toting the flag. Joey has been up and down in the, the Josh Barry, Josh Barry in that 21
group is kind of like fault that they're like a non-conversation since kind of since Vega won
Vegas last year. It's been a weird situation and it's like they're all searching and it's like
Jonathan Hasler and Ryan are able to hit what they need at least, but as a company, it's like
they're still searching for that roster. Joey Logano was the next to slow his car in practice.
That Joey Logano is a bad ass. That doesn't even make sense. Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
It's not the first week we've seen this happen where team Penske was just totally out of the
ballpark. Same thing happened at Darlington. This person gets the best radio transmission of the
race. And I'm talking about Daniel Suarez. Hell yeah. At one point he said, it's amazing we can
send mother efforts to the moon, but we can't figure out our effing radios, which I think
man is a very valid point because that should not be happening. It's got to be frustrating,
right? It is. And you get those radio gremlins and you just can't, you change all the wiring
harnesses, you change the helmet, you change your earplugs and nothing, nothing works. And so
that is frustrating. So is the, is the mother effort in it? Is that the same as the, as the
He said it actually. I edited it for this show's purpose. I think it's funny that
Ryan Sparks's crew chief came on and Ryan's like, yeah, copy 10 for we're going to get your
emergency video. Like the dumb bunch you can say is like, yeah, I'm with you, but his wife,
like tweeted like the exact quote onto it. It was hilarious. He, by the way, is P 16 in the
standings. He's looking smarter and smarter about that move he made in the off season, which brings
me. He, look Suarez, Suarez has made a, I mean, that has been a massive improvement for him from
a performance side going to Spire. So great move for Daniel and he's happy. I saw him this week
in the hotel. He's super happy with the way that everything's going. Now it's just about
the details of, of getting the rest of the team situated. Speed hasn't been an issue.
McDowell left front row. He got, it seemingly got better, got more consistently speed.
I disagree with that. You think so? I think he's been faster.
I think he was, I think Michael McDowell was better at front row.
Really? I do. I do. But the whole part of this story too is the fact that Daniel Suarez left
track house racing. So they have really been struggling all through their drivers. 26 are
worse yesterday. Justin Marks, the team owner said recently that they are in a rebuilding
year and rebuilding phase and what stage of that rebuild we don't know, but what do they need to
do to get back on track? Oh, that's a great question. I don't know what they're rebuilding.
I think it's, it's, you know, I think the expectation was SVG to keep winning and get
better on ovals. Connor Zillich come in and, you know, be competitive. Like, I mean, we all
expected Connor Zillich to come in and be competitive and for them to win all the road
course races. That's, that's really what we expect, right? Is track house one of those two guys to
win all the road races and, you know, SVG's gotten better on the ovals, but Connor Zillich has been
non-existent as far as performance. You know, Kota, he had some issues and he had the speed to,
to run up in the front of the pack and I think he will at Watkins Glen. But man, it's, it's been
tough sledding for the one car and he's kind of the, he's, he's the guy that you kind of judge
where the speed is at track house and, and it hasn't even been close. So he's qualified decent a
couple of times, but he, he himself has talked about the car. We can make it run fast for a
year. I mean, he was lapped in the first stage this week.
Well, let me ask you guys this as I feel like track house came on very strong when the new car was
introduced, but now as everyone else caught up and they've just fallen behind or what, what do you
think is the true scenario? I would agree with that. I think that when, and, and Hamlin talked about
this the other day, just when the car started, everybody was still searching for what they need.
Now that everybody's kind of honed in on what makes it tick and the, the big teams have, have
really been able to detail out what they need in their race cars and hone in on the things that
they need to work on and dial in with the sim and all the things that go with it. You've seen
those big three kind of rise back to the top. And I think that, you know, I think that the,
you know, the, the, the track house group has just seemed to just get a little further behind
over the, over the last two years made some personnel changes, but it doesn't seem like it's,
it's, you know, gone in the right direction from a performance standpoint. I think the other thing
too is, you know, the flagship team of Chevrolet is Hendrick Motorsports, obviously, and they're not
dominating, right? They're not in the, they're not in this dogfight with the JGR and 2311
Toyotas. They're getting back to it, but until I think you see them consistently up there with
their four cars, the other Chevrolet is going to struggle too because the mothership is giving
information and assertion. So that you, everyone's kind of like on their own trying to figure this
thing out. William Byron's been terrible the last two weeks. It's been a, it's been tough. I, you
know, I think he had an okay finish, but I mean, he, he wrote around in the teens pretty much all
day at Kansas and was three laps down at Bristol. So that's how hard, that's how hard the cup series
is, man. Like this is not, like when people fall off, there's a, there could be 18 different
reasons why a group's falling off or one and they just haven't figured out the one and it's
annoying on both ends. Yes. Big time auto racing over here. That's what this is. That was the cup
series. I want to hit one story from the O'Reilly Auto Parts series race that happened on lap two,
Carson Quaple with a, just a massive flip and impact that he sustained on the back stretch.
Fortunately he is okay, but Kevin, what did you see from this incident? Well, I saw William Byron
get into the left rear quarter panel and then the car over cracks, hits the nose, head on it at the
same time gets hit in the right rear quarter panel and sends it flipping. So glad that Carson was
able to, to get out of that car and all the safety devices did what they need to do, but you'll see
Byron just get a little bit tight right here and go up the racetrack and kind of misjudge
where he was and that car just overcorrects and timing of it all flipped it over. I don't think
there's anything, anything to, to worry about with, with the car just flipping over by itself.
It was just the timing of the whole scenario. Perfect storm. Going super fast right there
and then you get hit and lifts up and it's just everything happened. I've, and I'm glad Carson's
okay. Parker Essoff who's been doing a great job this year got into that incident. He, that kid
in the 99 and the 96 has been fast too, but he seems like Alfredo gets into a lot of situations,
whether it's flat tires or something the other, but that Viking motorsports scene,
you got to give him credit for bringing fast cars. Yeah, it's nice to see that. 96 that's a dude wipes
car. That's a dude wipes car. Yeah. Yeah. Do you need some? Alfredo can bring you some this weekend.
No, no. I think he's good. I think I'm good. You might need some after that Sunday funding.
Yeah. Those are long nights. Long afternoons. Speaking of Sunday Fun Day, this weekend it will
be fun in Talladega, Alabama for the super speedway. That's where we are headed next.
So the biggest story to take note of heading into the weekend is the stage changes that they will
be altering to a view, avoid fuel saving for the stages. So stage one is now on lap 98,
stage two on 143 final stage will conclude 45 laps later. So what kind of improvement will this be,
Kevin? Yeah, to be seen all the smart people will figure out how to run this race and we'll find out
how it's going to run. But I love the effort. I love the fact that NASCAR is mixing it up,
not sitting on their hands, getting out in front of this, trying to say, hey, we want,
we want you guys to be hammered down all the time. We don't want to see any of this fuel savings
strategy for a whole race. We want to see him play it out naturally. Because when we had that
last August at Daytona, oh my God, best speedway race of the year. It's in there. It's just a matter
of trying to wipe out the strategy so they have to race all day. So I'm looking forward to seeing
how it works out. I tell you that it was going to work out a certain way, but they're all way so,
they're all so smart that you just never know what we're not thinking about. Yeah,
it would be nice to just see it now play out organically instead of with this being a factor.
Yeah, no, I mean, I think we, when we sat here after the week after Daytona fall race or summer
race, whatever you want to call it now, we were like, that was awesome. They were getting after
it from the drop of their green flag. And it's like, okay, so they will do it if the strategy
works out. And we kind of figured out that we concluded between the three of us that we thought
it was maybe the stages needed to be different because the length of that race was different
than Talladega and different than Daytona 500. So now we've adjusted that and I hope as well as
everybody else that it works. I hope it's right. I hope it's at least in the right direction because
we need these guys all out and not lifting and three and four wide and making big runs at Talladega
and Daytona. Yeah. Okay. So this time a year ago, wasn't that your first trip you ever took to the
Boulevard? Didn't you tell us that? It was. Yeah. Are you going to go back out out there or stay away
this year? Had enough of that? He was like Keelan and Watkins Glen for the first time.
I saw it. It was odd. It is odd. Yeah. There's a lot of odd things that happen there. Yeah. That's
for sure. Are you going to be visiting the Boulevard? Yeah. Oh, so you're going this week?
No, I'm going this week. Are you working? He is working. Yeah. We're going to have a great
time working. I'm working with FormEnergy. Shout out to them. FormEnergy. They're on
William Byron's car this weekend. So we're going to have some fun, kind of show what the vibes are
at Talladega Boulevard. It's really interesting to me. There's a lot of things that are, what do
you got? All these energy drinks that are all of a sudden just back into NASCAR. We've got Rockstar.
We've got Celsius. We've got Form. We've got Red Bull. We've got Red Bull. Monster. Yeah. They're
all in. They are all in on racing. Look, I love it. And I hope that somebody comes up with some
type of campaign that like lets the fans pit one against it. Like I hope they all engage. Remember
and Budweiser used to do that? Yes. That's what I want to say. They would challenge each other
with press releases and in social media as to who was going to finish higher.
And I loved when they did that. We should get some, monster, we should get the energy drink wars
started. I mean, there's like, there's like, when you actually think about it, there's like 10 to
12 drivers. Cause they even got Coke and Bob with Bubba and like all the Coke family drivers.
Coke doesn't count. What do you mean don't count? No, that's not an energy drink. They don't market
the same as the energy drinks. What about body armor? Body armor. That's just, that's just like
they don't get to play. They don't count. Okay, fine. Energy drinks. They're not in the club.
Yeah. They don't have the cool kid marketing campaigns.
Just keep winning races. Um, but so Talladega anyways, we kind of went off on a tangent there.
And Austin Cindrick won the events at Talladega last year and it seems like Chevy and Ford have
kind of punctuated the conversation at this track as of late.
Yeah. And I think that, you know, Briscoe, we saw him in the mix a little bit, but yeah,
I would agree. I mean, Ford has, has been the cars to beat and they need to capitalize on it this
weekend at Talladega. I think that, um, everybody else seems to have caught up a little bit
as far as the, the pushing in strategy and you know, the strategy is obviously different with,
with what you have going on here, but I still think the Fords have the best super speedway cars that
aren't Atlanta super speedways. Yeah. Not the same. Yeah. I mean, I think,
I think going into it, everyone's like, all right, how do we break these Fords up? Because
they have been the leader of the clubhouse. They were as good the last time around. Um,
but I still think that they know how to get it together the best. Um, and I think the ones that,
I mean, honestly, all the Fords need it. So all of them need it, but I'm thinking like,
if they watched the last race, they realized they didn't do a very good job from a Ford's
in general standpoint, and they need to go capitalize on this race by doing a good job
as a group or they're going to be, they're going to be in big trouble. And cause I'll tell you who's
going to be pushing too is the 23 of Bubba Wallace and 35 of Riley Herbs. Those two guys,
like as well as the whole company's doing, they love seeing that there's five wins hanging this
year, but they haven't, they haven't been a part of those five wins. So I promise you,
they want to be pushing on this one and explain the ability for this to be an opportunity race
for people. Cause you know, it is a track that produces sometimes first time winners in the
cup series and things like that. Well, it's interesting because of the point system and
all the things that, that go with it. You go back to Bristol and everybody's like, well,
why didn't Ryan Blaney just run him over and, you know, they would have used the door before.
Hey, better to finish second than it is to finish 30th. So, you know, it's,
you got to play the, you got to play the system. And I think that, you know, in this particular
scenario, I think you have to look at it. Everybody wants to win. Everybody wants to
win these races because it means so much to not only have the trophy, but the advantage and points
that you get, but those points could take you from 25th to 16th. They can take you from six to
fourth. You know, I think that it's now every week is important to be able to go out and capitalize
on getting the best position, finishing races. But if you can get to victory lane, you can make
up so much ground on, on everybody else. And the unique part about this is Reddick has won
so many races. He's won five of nine races. He's a hundred and some points ahead of Denny Hamlin.
Who cares, right? You're racing for second. You know, you second, third, fourth and sixth,
fifth and sixth. But if you can, it keeps all those things a lot closer than what it is. And
you know, if somebody else was winning races and then you had two guys jump out there,
you know, then it becomes more difficult. So Reddick winning all the same guy winning all
the races. I used to root for that. I'm like, Oh yeah, go ahead. Same guy went all the races
because the guys that I need to catch aren't winning all the races. So it's a, it's a different
math game. Yeah. I mean, I, what nine, nine races in, is that where we are? Yeah. Yeah,
point traces in and you just brought up the, the thing that we talked about on the show,
I think at the week one this year, they're going to race different. Like the, the, the
Ryan Blaine not just running through him. Well, because he's not running through him anyway,
but everyone's kind of on that same, I think most of them on that same mindset where you saw the
19 lose all those points. You can't just get them back next week. So you need to be meticulous
and smart and how you apply the pressure to your competition. And it's going to be great when we
get to the end of this thing. And now the points fall out. It's going to be awesome. I'm looking
forward to it. You guys mentioned the points. Who, what team do you think's kind of like, oh,
just in a bit of a panic mode at this juncture, Kyle Bush? No, that's not panic. I think Kyle's,
I think Kyle's season's pretty much over. I think that Joey Logano's in a panic. Okay. I think that,
that Pinsky racing and, you know, I think with the 12 car is good, but I think the 22 team is,
is probably hitting the panic button. I would be, I think there's a lot of frustration there.
Yeah. A lot. Like they, they're, that's a proud group. Like they don't, they don't get their asses
kicked very often and they're usually the ones in the mix kind of being the disruptors. And
they aren't that right now. And I'm sure that they're working overtime to try to get that ship
right. I would agree. Certainly don't see them finishing 30th very often just from not off running.
Yeah. Like running like without any problems. That's what I'm saying. That's crazy. Darlington
was the same way. It's insane. I don't know what to make of that, to be honest. Yeah. Well,
there will be plenty of teams with their work cut out for them at Talladega this weekend. We
look forward to all the festivities out there. We're having a good time. Yeah. And now we're
looking forward to the festivities that is Mamba social sips, which die on this hill,
that it is America's favorite segment on the show. Not America's favorite segment on the show. It's
the world's favorite segment. We're going global now. I would say, I would say intergalactic,
but I don't know if they get this channel outside of the time he launched that up there,
you'll be able to just get anything. Yeah. It says people to the moon, but Daniel Suarez
radio still fucking suck. Can't forget that part out. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mamba's
social sips, your favorite segment of the show. We're going to start with Word of the Week and
Kev. Well done. You really slid this thing in there very well. I was impressed because there's
a hard word. I can't even say it. Go ahead and tip. No, I actually asked any Hamlin about this
before the race. He's kind of created an ignominious situation for himself because of the fact of the
things that he said on the, on his podcast about Kyle Busch, if it was going to be a tough pass,
because that's what Kyle Busch said. He's like, I can make his life hell. So, uh, didn't seem to be
the case right here, but this is the way that we thought it would go today. At some point,
Denny Hamlin would, would catch Kyle Busch to put him a lap down. He got ignominious. Yeah.
Talk about pulling words out of your pocket. When I heard Mike Jordan talking about pulling
words out, I did not think I was, my brain went completely, he said pocket. The reason that he
said that is, is he had a note in his pocket and he had a little sticky note in his pocket and it was,
I don't remember what it was about, but all of a sudden he's talking about something and
pulls this note out and reads the note that he had in his pocket. And then two minutes later,
I say that. So that's awesome. We were making fun of him for his note in his pocket. Hey,
you nailed it. Yeah. And you guys know I'm a nerd and a loser and I study and I didn't even know
that word. Really? When he sent it, I was like, Oh boy. I'm not sure. I know what this is. I had to
look it up. I had to have the, I had to have the internet tell me how to pronounce it. I'm like,
he can't say that. Oh, I just used the little AI lady on my phone. Yeah, that's what I'm saying.
But you got a little assist from Chuck McDonald, your producer, right? Well, I had to, I,
yeah, I told him, I'm like, look, at some point we need to just make sure that the 11 and the
eight, because I don't really know how else to use this word. They have the most obvious
situation to use this word. So if we can just, let's try to make this work out and it worked out.
That's awesome. Good job, Chuck. You helped facilitate the word of the week.
We love, we talk about all the time. We love short track racing. We want us to keep supporting
grassroots racing and we do it on the show in a lot of different ways. And social sips is one
of those ways. Joseph Renfrow, I don't know if you watch this show, but we watch you. This kid,
one is he race. Okay, Kevin, no arms. Born without arms. He races with his feet. So one foot on the
wheel, the other foot running both. I don't care. I don't care what level of racing. If you're doing
this, you're doing something. This is impressive. That is unbelievable. That is unbelievable. You
know, I tried to look up more about him. I guess his dad modified the steering wheel
so that he could have the one sole foot to steer the other to control the pedals. But
I mean, that is remarkable. Actually, that's unbelievable. I love seeing stuff like that.
And, you know, we also had Robert Wickens this weekend. He was in the GTD race and able to drive
that car, but seeing stuff like this just makes me happy. Talk about having passion for what you
want to do. Stopping at nothing to do it. Every time I see something like that, I'm like, okay,
I'm not going to complain about like, why can I not? Right? When you see someone that's
overcoming so much stuff like that, we just got to lock in. Pretty awesome. Pretty great. So shout
out to Joseph. Daytona 500 is always great. It's always great for everybody. It's especially great
for people that have never been to any NASCAR event ever. Marshawn Lynch joined the party and
this is what he had to say about it. I just went and did some that I never did before.
And I'm talking about that was probably, I mean, you know, this was like, I didn't bend to many
Super Bowls, but a NASCAR Daytona 500. What'd you think? Oh my God. That by far was probably one of
the best parties I've ever been to. And it was the race. Welcome to the party. Yeah, man.
Glad you're here. I love it because like, I think the difference between our Daytona 500,
like a Super Bowl, is our Daytona 500 is passionate fans. I guess it's just fans. Like
Super Bowl is a lot of high end people, you know, I mean, the ticket is really expensive. So
when you say that you loved our party, that means you love the people and the party is the race.
Yeah, that's right. The party's at the race. Yeah, exactly right. So anytime you want to come back,
Marshawn, come on through. You guys talked about it earlier. We did. A little bit of
Kyle Bush, Denny Hamlin situation. So let's see what Kyle had to say about Denny's comments
on the podcast. You're sort of the center of the conversation. I have Denny's talking about you on
his podcast. If Danny wants to switch cars, I'll switch cars with him any day of the week, anytime.
I would love for him to show me that he can carry it better than I can. I'm sure that'd be nice.
When you see, you know, it's a swirl, I guess, of social media, right? Like,
do you see what people say? See what people talk about you?
I have consumed some of it over time and I've consumed that 80% of it. People don't know what
the hell they're talking about. And in this instance, I don't feel like Denny Hamlin even
knows what the hell he's talking about. So he can bash me all he wants and I can certainly
make his life hell. I just, I want your take. I just thought, so Denny came back and he's like,
well, I'm on a podcast. Like this is part of the job answering questions. I agree that that is part
of our job and being authentic, but it's also his podcast and he can decide what he's talking about
and how he's talking. I thought it was a little bit of a slight towards Kyle Busch. And I don't
know why, but he would go that route. I thought it was interesting. What did you guys think?
I thought his comments to you on the pre race were much different. You know,
that's where he said how much he learned from Kyle as a teammate and he was very complimentary of
all of Kyle's skills. So did you see two different messages there a little bit?
I did not. I think that Denny delivered it pretty bluntly on his podcast. I think he
gave a little more in depth of what he thinks of Kyle on the pre-race show and the things that
he said. And look, the situation with Kyle is tough with where they are from a performance
standpoint. Denny also said the exact same thing that we all think we want to see Kyle Busch win.
Kyle Busch winning is good for the sport. Kyle Busch isn't going to win right now,
you know, right? Because the cars are not running good. Kyle Busch is still capable
of driving those cars. You know, two, three years ago, he was winning in the Gen 7 car. So
I don't know, you know, where it is. You have no idea where it is until you see Kyle in a
competitive car. But right now we're going to see if Kyle's leadership skills are there
to be the leader of RCR to help get the cars back to where they need to be.
Richard Childress is going to ask, what do we do? What do you think? And not scared to make
changes. So it's going to be an interesting situation. But I didn't take Denny's comments as
bad as if I was Kyle, I would have taken him out. Kyle took him. I'd have been pissed. I had to
probably run him over on the racetrack at some point like we did at Dover way back when, but
I react differently to things. And so I like both the guys now. I like Denny Hamlin and I like Kyle
Busch. But, you know, 2006 probably would have smashed him. Are you glad that back then they
didn't have podcasts while you're still competing against these people?
I mean, I don't think I'd have a podcast, right? Like, you know, it's, it's, that's a,
that's a tough balance. And Denny balances all these things, you know, amongst all the things
that he does, team ownership, podcasts, and he can, he can set him aside. He can run over his
own car to try to win a race. He can give his opinion on the podcast. And so it's a, that's
a tough balance and, and sometimes unnecessary consequences and pressure that you probably,
he probably doesn't need to deal with, but he chooses it. He has good opinions. He's very
relevant in the sport and up to speed on teams and racing. And he's not afraid to give his opinion.
So yeah, he's not afraid to deal with it. He's not. I highly respect how he juggles it all.
He juggles it. He does, he does it probably better than anyone because he also adds on
himself from the Kyle Busch. And if I'm Kyle Busch, two-time cup series champion,
one over 200 and something races in NASCAR national level, I ain't going for it,
but Nia Kyle's obviously not going for it. So we'll see, we'll see how he goes.
Jeff Gluck was funny when he suggested they swap. He's like, I'm sure that would be nice.
You've already had those cars. Yeah. So anyway, that's, we're going to keep,
keep tabs on that situation. We will keep tabs on that.
Entertaining for us. Oh, I can't wait. It's going to be fun. Leave a voice mail at 805-317-4175.
If you want a mail bag question, hoverkappiehour4 at gmail.com.
And thank you for joining us for another riveting edition of Mamba Socials.
Very riveting indeed. Good job, Dylan. All right, time now for our last call.
Your government name. Is that what you said? Yeah.
Well, that's your legal name. Time now to grade Tyler Reddick's fifth burnout of the year.
So here's what we should do. I don't remember any of Tyler Reddick's grades, but I feel like
the reverse burnout. He had the reverse burnout. But, you know, he's got so many wins,
we should just rate him against his own burnouts. That's probably true.
Yeah. So this is probably third of his burnouts that I remember.
Because there was one that was terrible. Yeah. That was definitely a last.
We definitely have a first and a last. So if I put him third, I don't have to remember the other
two minutes, just kind of middle of the road. But a lot of good smoke and probably a second or
third best burnout just because of all the smoke. Yeah. When he got out and he pounded his hand
and put up five, I thought that was cool. Yeah, he tapped his hand. That was good.
That was creative. I like the fact that he's, yeah, his showmanship is high.
He always jumps into his crew. He kind of does it delicately. He's a little human,
so that works out well. Yeah, but he, he's a little human, but he's like, yeah.
He's like a bully. Yeah, he's like a bully. He's like, man, if he tackled you, you're going to
feel it. You're going to know. He's going to hit you right in the stomach.
We like your celebration, Tyler. Good job. Keep it up. Congratulations. Keep rocking.
Okay. Now in terms of not rocking, we're going to go to the point standings.
What happened? We have a new leader, right? Were you leading last week? No, I was not.
Okay. Well, who was leading? I think she was. I went from first to last.
Well, you know, I've air shaped Tyler Reddick to thank for that because he hit,
that's not mumbo. That is mamba. That's good. There's a mumbo and a mumbo. That's the other
guy I showed you on the live show. I got you. Anyway, I'm leading the club house at 38 points.
Kevin is second still at 31 and KV. Well, so here's why though, because he picked Tyler Reddick.
So good by you. You picked Bubba Wallace. He finished fifth. I picked Christopher Bell,
which was shaping up to look quite good. And here we are. For back to back wins,
do I get bonus points or how does that work? Cause I picked tie Gibbs and then Tyler Reddick.
I've given you a whole extra race that you guys didn't let me pick. No, no.
Let's not forget that. Do you guys are racing in the extra race? Back to back.
But you did make two good picks. That's pretty, that's pretty sporty. I must say.
And also two people like, well, tie Gibbs, we knew he could win, but still like you
had the guts to do it. Watch this gutsy pull this week. Oh, I'm wondering if we have the
same cause you kind of gave a shadow. I know. I gave a couple though. That's why I did that.
Yeah. All right. Well, who wants to go? I guess I'll go first last. We talked about him earlier.
And he actually was six in both the Talladega races last year. I know what she's going with.
I think he could win. Carson. I just want him to win. Yeah. He was one of the Daytona 500.
I'm trying to come up with my pick right here because I didn't have a pick before I came here.
Because Kevin doesn't want to pick a moment. Yeah. Well, yeah, I'm more of a, I like to watch
practice. There's no practice this week. So I think you just have to go back and look at the stats.
Okay. What you got? So I'm going to go Ryan Blaney. Okay. Well, we talked about the strength
of the Ford. So there's a time where it was death taxes and Blaney winning at Talladega.
There was, I remember that. I mean, most weeks you can't go wrong picking Blaney.
I didn't thought I was crazy when I started calling him a future champion. Now everyone
can't not pick him. So it's weird. No, that's not who I'm picking. I really, in my heart,
I want to go Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Because I love Ricky and then boys, but it's time for this guy
to get a win. He won the clash. Ryan Freaking Priest. He's just over here like Ryan Priest.
His first points playing win. He's always been, he's been up in the mix
at a lot of super speed ways. I thought Brad, because, you know, Brad is very savvy at this
place, but I think Ryan Priest gets it. Okay. Well, these are, these are fun. I'll be curious to see
how this shakes out for us. No Toyotas. Speaking of a Toyota, you got a Toyota on your Thursday
edition with Ty Gibbs. How was that conversation? Yeah, we had a great, we saw a little clip of the
conversation that we had on pre-race this week leading into Kansas. And now we will have the
full interview this week. It was great. Yeah. Talked a lot about his family and race at BMX
bikes and why he got his first number and good stuff. That's cool. I look forward to hearing that.
Awesome. Well, you guys, that's our show. Whoop-de-doo. Another one is in the books.
Thanks for watching. We'll see all of you after Talladega.
our gear. Level up your summer at Columbia.com to spend more time outside and less time slathering
on all allotian. You're welcome. Columbia engineered for whatever.
About this episode
Tyler Reddick’s late-race surge delivers his fifth win of the season, with the hosts breaking down the key restart moves, the “almost” moments for Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, and why Reddick’s momentum looks like it could even challenge the Gen 7 single-season win record. The conversation shifts to Denny Hamlin’s frustration after leading 131 laps and getting outmaneuvered, plus Kyle Busch–Hamlin podcast drama. They also assess 23XI/JGR speed, Chase Briscoe’s recovery, pit-road issues for Ryan Blaney, and Talladega’s new stage lengths aimed at reducing fuel-saving strategy.
Tyler Reddick’s dominant Kansas Speedway win, late-race restart drama, Kyle Larson’s runner-up finish, and Denny Hamlin’s near victory takes center stage in this recap. Kevin Harvick, Kaitlyn Vincie, and Mamba Smith break down the biggest moments from Kansas, analyze Reddick’s fifth victory of the season, react to Jordan’s presence, debate the intense late restart, preview Talladega by focusing on how the stages have been altered to avoid fuel saving, and dive into Mamba’s Social Sips featuring rising tension between former teammates Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch.
0:00 - Intro0:54 - Kansas Weekend Recap26:50 - Talladega Preview35:44 - Mamba’s Social Sips45:29 - Last Call
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