I’ve done this ‘racin deal for a long time, as Darrell Waltrip (D-Dubya!) would say. I’ve watched a lot of NASCAR races. Covered a lot of Daytona 500s. Seen a lot of nasty wrecks.
A lot of nasty wrecks.
Only a few, however, have made me queasy: The infamous Ryan Newman crash in the 2020 Daytona 500, a Ryan Blaney crash at the 2023 Firecracker, and an Erik Jones wreck at Talladega the following season.
That’s it. That’s the list.
The Chase Elliott-Christopher Bell wreck Sunday afternoon at Michigan had this NASCAR fan feeling queasy. Lord knows it had other drivers feeling the same way, judging by the radio communication throughout the field.
Same with the spotters high above watching it all unfold.
RYAN PREECE THOUGHT OF DAUGHTER AS CAR FLEW THROUGH AIR IN SCARY WRECK AT DAYTONA 500
Did y’all hear Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the booth? Dale’s a pretty good judge of all things NASCAR. He didn’t love what he saw.
This isn’t NASCAR in the 1970 or 80s or 90s. Wrecks don’t kill people anymore. We nixed that in 2001. So it’s rare for a crash to get any reaction out of me anymore. This one had me nervous.
You’ll see.
What else do y’all wanna talk about today? Bubba Wallace giving young Carson Hocevar a stern talking to? Sure! Not sure Bubba’s the best person to be giving advice, but hey, what do I know?
I’ve also got Denny Hamlin winning by a mile and paying proper respect to Kyle Busch, Richard Childress letting off some steam, and Hooters Gianna hitting the beach. Good to have the MMPS veteran back. It’s been a while, but summertime is here, and all is well again.
Four tires, a couple drops of that Sunoco racin’ fuel, and maybe a couple Tylenol PMs for Christopher Bell … Monday Morning Pit-Stop — the ‘Dale Saved Another One’ edition — is LIVE!
No use in stalling. There it is. There’s the wreck that, for just a few seconds, had NASCAR fans (and drivers, and crew chiefs, and announcers) on edge yesterday at Michigan.
Nobody went flipping through the air. Nobody landed on their hoods. Nobody went into a catch-fence. Nobody went up in flames.
Those crashes — the ones you see at Daytona and Talladega — aren’t the bad ones. Sure, they’re visually appealing, but those aren’t the ones that concern you.
It’s the ones where a driver goes into the wall at that angle, at that speed, that make you hold your breath. We all remember the Earnhardt crash, right? I don’t need to replay it here. We’ve all seen it a thousand times at this point.
It looked innocent. Yesterday’s wreck, to the naked eye, looked innocent. It’s not gonna get on SportsCenter (as if ESPN would dare cover NASCAR). It’s not gonna go mega-viral on the internet.
But it was vicious, and fast, and at the wrong place and the wrong time.
I know Bubba can be dramatic (believe me, we’ll get to it here in a bit), but that was genuine. I give this Next Gen car a lot of flak, and it’s all warranted because they are, for the most part, garbage. Just complete trash.
But they’re safe, clearly. You ain’t surviving that sort of impact a few ‘gens’ ago. You’re just not. Look at the wall, by the way.
LOOK at the wall:
The race was red-flagged for a while, for those wondering. Spoiler alert!
We’re not done with the footage. If you thought the broadcast view was bad, take a look (and listen) at the in-car cameras from both Chase and Christopher Bell:
Lordy. You can hear it immediately out of both spotters. They both knew this was a different crash right away.
Again, Dale Jr.’s a pretty good barometer in the booth. Listen to him … he’ll let you know when something’s serious or not.
He knew it right away. You could hear it in his voice.
And PS: What a great voice it is, right? God, how great is it having Junior back calling automobile races? I know Fox signs my paychecks, but buddy, Prime is special.
OK, back to the film! Let’s check in with Kyle Larson, who was safely behind this wreck … or so he thought:
Joe Gibbs said after the race that the team was concerned about Bell’s wrist and ankle, and would be evaluating him this week. Judging by that picture from the tarmac, I’d be more concerned about the wrist right now.
Bell didn’t speak after the race. Chase did, and said all the things you’d expect him to say:
Chase was probably going to win that race, for those who missed it. He had the fastest car all day, led a majority of the second stage, and seemed like a fairly good lock to get his third win of the season.
Bell had the second-best car yesterday. Tyler Reddick also had a good vehicle. All three guys wrecked, and there was pretty much nobody left to catch Denny Hamlin, who won by 11 seconds (!!!) and then gave Kyle Busch a proper send-off:
Kyle said earlier this season that he was fully prepared for Hamlin to catch, and then pass, him this season. The guy was nothing if not a realist. I miss him.
OK, let’s get to the Carson Hocevar portion of class and then cool off with Gianna Blaney on the way out.
Carson wrecked damn near everyone yesterday, finished fifth, and was ELECTRIC from start to finish. Naturally, Bubba Wallace, who finished third, had to give him a verbal spanking after the race:
“But at the same time — Kevin Harvick told me, I don’t know, whenever I was hitting s–t four or five years ago — he said, ‘stop hitting s–t, and your finishes will show.’ And that’s what I simply tried to tell him.”
Look, Bubba’s right. The thought was correct. Will it have the same impact coming from Bubba (three career wins) compared to Kevin Harvick (60 career wins, NASCAR champion, 2027 Hall of Fame inductee)? Probably not.
Not entirely sure Carson Hocevar will listen quite the same, but hey! It’s the thought that counts.
Speaking of Carson pissing everyone and their mother(s) off, let’s check in with Richard Childress and get his thoughts on the 77 car:
“Any time their eyes are close, it means they got a small brain” might be the greatest one-liner I’ve ever heard. Does Richard Childress, 80, still have the fastball, or WHAT?
Amazing. It’s been a tough few weeks for Richard. Clearly, he needed that. Glad he took it.
OK, that’s it for today. Good NASCAR race this week. Glad Christopher Bell is OK. Really glad we’re not having a different sort of Monday today.
As a reward, here’s Hooters Hall of Famer Gianna Blaney hitting the beach as summer heats up.
See y’all at the Poconos.
