Denny Hamlin won. Pit road screwed Chase Elliott out of a win. It rained on race day. And there was a ‘F–k Bubba Wallace’ shirt in the stands.
Oh yeah! And, the Richard Childress cars SUCKED.
Was that the most typical NASCAR Sunday ever? I mean, you talk about stereotypes … that was peak NASCAR yesterday. Except the stupid in-season tournament, which nobody cares about and is mercifully over next week.
Yep. It’s STILL going on! Two dudes who finished in the 20s yesterday advanced to the championship. Cinderella stuff.
We’ll get to it.
We’ll also get to Alan Gustafson completely – and I mean completely – screwing Chase out of a win, RCR in full-blown panic mode, and this Bubba shirt comes with a twist that I can promise none of you will see coming.
Strap in. It’s a big one.
Four tires (unless you’re Chase), some Sunoco racin’ fuel, and maybe a head examination for Alan Gustafson … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘We Need Some Better Cars, Period!’ edition – is LIVE!
Richard ain’t thrilled
Let’s go ahead and start the week off with a pissed-off Richard Childress. Not the greatest way to start the final full week of July (I know!), but that’s what we’re going with.
So, RCR has, by and large, stunk this year. And last year. And the year before that. Things were supposed to change when Kyle Busch joined the squad three years ago, but they haven’t. Kyle won a handful of races his first spring, and hasn’t won since.
He’s miserable. Richard Childress is miserable. Austin Dillon … well, I’m not sure he gives a shit. But, if he did, I’d imagine he’d be miserable, too.
Anyway, Kyle finished 11th at Dover, while Austin brought her home 15th. Both are hugging the playoff line with about a month left in the regular season. While Gibbs and Hendrick basically hog the top-10 every week, the RCR fellas are lucky to sniff the top-20.
The boss man ain’t thrilled, and he ain’t getting any younger:
Solid day for Chase Elliott!
So, it sounds like Richard isn’t blaming the drivers here, which makes sense given one is his grandson and the other is a two-time champion. He’s blaming the fellas back at the shop.
“We have got to get some race cars … PERIOD.” I don’t know why he chose yesterday to flip out, but I’d imagine watching all your dollars go towards a 15th-place finish every week grows tiring after a while.
Kyle Busch came aboard in 2023, and he was supposed to fix everything. And he did … for a few months. But Rowdy hasn’t won in years. Austin Dillon wins once every two years, and it’s almost always a flukey situation.
This is an owner who used to sit atop the box and watch Dale Earnhardt every Sunday. For years. YEARS. He’ll be 80 (!!!) in September. Figure it out! Richard Childress doesn’t have all day!
And you know who else doesn’t after a day like yesterday? How about this Alan Gustafson?
I mean, this dude makes some batshit calls every single season that make absolutely no sense, and he outdid himself at Dover.
Having Chase Elliott – who had the best car all day by a mile – pit late in the race from the front row, with only a handful of laps on his tires, was puzzling in itself.
But then to only give him TWO TIRES? I mean, what in the hell was that?
NASCAR’s No. 1 Bubba fan, Ty, Noah & Nat!
It was just such a mind-boggling call, and it somehow got even dumber once they actually hit pit road. Why are you just taking two tires? Don’t tell me it was to speed up the stop, because YOU WERE THE ONLY GUY ON PIT ROAD!
If you’re gonna pit, at least make it worthwhile. I like Alan. I do. He’s a local guy. Seabreeze High! But Chase probably should’ve won that race. He definitely should grow a set of balls and tell Alan “hell no” next time.
Come on, Clyde! Speak up for yourself once in a while! You think Denny Hamlin would’ve allowed a dumbass call like that to slide there? Of course not. He won the race. Be more like him.
Speaking of Denny … let’s check in on how his in-season tournament is doing with one week to go:
Couple things …
I’m not here to shit on Ty Dillon making the championship. I like Ty Dillon. I’m glad we’re talking about him on July 21. We probably wouldn’t be otherwise, and that’s a plus for this tournament. Same with Ty Gibbs.
But it’s just never, ever worked for me. I don’t know. Maybe I’m in the minority, but I just don’t care. Does anyone out there care? Have you once turned on the race over the past month and thought to yourselves, ‘Can’t wait to monitor this 19 vs. 8 seed matchup?’
Of course not. Maybe it’s because all the good drivers got knocked out in the first race, which, frankly, was probably not the best decision on NASCAR’s part. Regardless, it’s just never hit the spot for me.
Has it at all worked for you? Lemme know! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com!
Speaking of hitting the spot … let’s check in with Noah Gragson!
That’s the good stuff right there. Nothing like a little dose of NASCAR nostalgia to start our weeks! And if a callback to Mark Martin’s dick hose isn’t NASCAR nostalgia, I don’t know what is!
Thanks, Noah. Appreciate it!
Two quickies (my specialty!) on the way out. First? Let’s go ahead and dive into these very popular Bubba Wallace shirts that were FLYING off the shelves at Dover!
Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaa Nellie! Didn’t see it coming! That’s a more shocking twist than the ending of The Departed.
Life is full of surprises, I reckon. If we sold that shirt on OutKick would y’all buy it? Just kidding. Don’t answer that. You don’t have to.
OK, that’s it for today. Take us to Indy, Natalie Decker! NASCAR’s hottest mother is BACK and ready to swim into the final week of July.
