"What a bunch of Hacks" | NASCAR COTA Race Review & Analysis

[@andrewwaring3643]

No stage cautions was a great move. Race felt more natural and had a good flow to it.

[@linhunnicutt6556]

They need to employ no stage breaks for the rest of the season.

[@brandonwray7260]

@@linhunnicutt6556 they’ll never do that.

[@kooltymz6432]

@@brandonwray7260 Sadly, you are dead-on.

[@brandonwray7260]

@@kooltymz6432 unfortunately unless someone buys out nascar or the racers split, I don’t think nascar will fix the problems anytime soon

[@Mistermatt1984]

I'd like them to have a restart zone on the long backstretch. Takes too long to be under caution at a 4 mile track.

[@delludyri8231]

Kurt Busch had more excitement than the other commentators and hearing him get choked up from watching Tyler Reddick pull away hit me in the feels

[@tamaramaule6928]

yeah, he quietened Clint many of times. It was great listening to him over any of the past guest.

[@alfredojesusmelendeziii8027]

Great comment ❤

[@MarceloPenaloza7]

Hearing Kurt get emotional watching his car win also gets ME emotional aswell

[@Old_hotrod]

Thanks for posting, best part of the telecast for me!

[@DepravedCoTApologist]

​@Tamara Maule I'm shocked it took Fox 7 broadcasts to get Kurt in one. I thought for sure he'd be in the Clash and/or Daytona 500, but nope, they had Stewart instead. I hope he's on more broadcasts coming up. I think he'd be great for the Coke 600 since he's a past winner there

[@joshbob4868]

Eric, if there was a broadcast to go back and watch it’s probably this one. Kurt got emotional with Reddick’s win, he and Bowyer had great chemistry I thought, Mike Joy was the best he’s been… I though It was actually the best broadcast so far even with the crowded booth.

[@TateTheTalisman]

It was really good, I don’t know what that Guenther guy was doing tho. He never said anything.

[@jordh24able]

I enjoyed having Chase there too

[@nathanakers45]

To be fair to Guenther, once Chase was brought in he was pretty much 5th in the pecking order. Not a lot of free air left to speak, especially when Clint and Kurt get going. Still enjoyed the broadcast a lot for having that many people in play.

[@joeplem5329]

Guenther was clearly out of his element and had a "why am I here ?" When they showed him in the booth

[@trmcfadden4286]

If Eric goes back and watches the last 10 laps he will puke with all the "respectful" driving comments made.

[@FeralPred87]

Hit me in the feels hearing Kurt Busch get choked up talking about Reddick at the end of the race, being so proud of 23XI, and wishing he was still in the car

[@wordlesslfiddling]

Yeah I never much cared for kurt never hated him since I only started watching around 2014 and it was always cool to see him win but not some one you rooted for you know But yeah that stung and I really hope he gets to have a proper final send off he deserves that much Maybe daytona next year in the 67

[@Icemankg]

Kurt Busch is good at everything he does and being in the booth isn’t an exception. He did better than Bowyer and any of the fill ins. I’ll be honest I was surprised at Chase actually trying to speak up a few times on his own and tried to add a bit of humor to his dialogue. I expected him to be as silent as possible and he noticeably put forth a good effort. One of the better broadcasts we’ve seen from fox in years.

[@DepravedCoTApologist]

Chase had a natural cadence on TV, and that surprised me. And having an active driver share his thoughts added a great insight for the viewer. This is probably why the Xfinity broadcasts are usually better than the Cup ones despite a constant revolving door of broadcasters, and why Fox hasn't been able to replicate it with retired drivers in Cup. If Fox is smart, they should put Chase in a few Xfinity broadcasts when he's healed up

[@bradm1507]

Someone above mentioned that Kurt wasn't as analytical as he has been in past appearances, and I noticed that, too. Kurt was my fav racer, so maybe I'm a little biased, but I think he does really well in the booth. I think seeing how well the 45 was doing and reflecting on his career ending somewhat unexpectedly hit him emotionally, which came out towards the end--was really surprised Joy and Bowyer didn't say anything after this, but perhaps they were left speechless by Kurt's humility. I don't hate the broadcasts or anything, but in a video last year, EricE said the Fox broadcast feels like a "Sunday drive" (or something) and I can't get this out of my head. They don't have to go all-out F1, but I wish they'd approach it with a little less levity. Do more to explain the "why" behind what we're seeing on TV.

[@timmannchicken]

I 100% agree. Bowyer could have just sat this one out. I enjoyed Busch in the booth.

[@LyleFrancisDelp]

The overheard camera angle on turn one was amazing.

[@jayannakelley9051]

I loved that also!

[@gatling216]

Kurt was fun in the booth. I genuinely would prefer him to Bowyer in most situations. Hearing him get emotional as his old number crossed the line was a little heartbreaking. The others didn’t add much, but they didn’t really hurt anything either. I really enjoyed the back and forth between the 45 and 24 for much of the race. Those guys put on a clinic. Not so much a fan of the restarts, although Chastain dive bombing half the field after getting his bumper shredded was a sight to behold. Love him or hate him, he’s never boring.

[@karenkoe7096]

Yes, for me at least.....I don't hate him but a little bit of Bowyer goes a long way. Would love it if they replaced him with Kurt.

[@chipsnever957]

Genuinely if the Fox booth was Joy, Harvick, & Kurt Busch and Bowyer was given a Michael Waltrip position with the gridwalk and some other pre/post-race stuff (coughbringbacktracksidelivecough), the commentary/product would improve.

[@darkknightx0992]

I actually think Bowyer is just bad in the booth.

[@acedelta12]

I wish the 45 and 24 continued to battle like that all the way to the end. We could've had an amazing sequel to the Ambrose-Keselowski finish.

[@cbj4sc1]

I get it, but don't complain about stuff like stage cautions and playoffs if you're gonna justify some of the silliness Ross and others have been doing by saying "he's never boring." You can use that same logic to justify stage cautions, and playoffs, if it doesn't work for one it doesn't work for all of them.

[@sinnuh]

Kurt Busch very much reminded me of Tony Romo in the broadcast booth. Very insightful analysis in explaining to the viewers what was happening from a drivers perspective. Fox and NASCAR should really consider having him more often moving forward.

[@matttheobald6877]

Jordon Taylor, Kimi Raikkonen and Jenson Button all talked in their post race interviews about the how this was more like a 3 hour carnival bumper car experience than a race. These guys are all completely alien to this ‘car contact at every other corner’ type of racing. I think there’s your answer as to why they ‘appeared’ to be off the pace. I imagine they felt like we would feel in our first experience driving round the Arc de Triomphe, a major Indian city, or one of the 15 lane freeways you find in parts of the world.

[@acedelta12]

Which sucks given how well Kimi Raikkonen was doing. I had him on my team for this race!

[@bucknaked406]

Yeah they were a li'l skittish.🤣 But to be fair they are used to driving a car with the crash capacity thats the equivalent to a hot rod go kart.

[@matttheobald6877]

@@acedelta12 Yeah, it’s a completely different mindset than he’s used to. This race almost had a super speedway feel to it. The few who are able to survive will get good finishes.

[@matttheobald6877]

@@bucknaked406 True, although I’d much rather go from being good at that to learning this, Vs the other way around. As Taylor said yesterday “If you went into an IMSA or normal road racing paddock and raced like these guys you wouldn’t be around long enough to learn it! What’s acceptable is very different here.

[@codypk5111]

@@acedelta12I was watching his in car on my phone around lap 57-63 and he got into a cute little shoving match with Denny for like 8th or 9th

[@mariner_]

That strategy call by Burnett to bring Kyle in to put right before the caution was beautiful

[@carlosortiz1932]

Would’ve been funnier if he won because thats how he lost in trucks by a caution coming in before he pitted

[@andred7415]

​@@carlosortiz1932no he lost the truck race not listening to his crew chief

[@dawnmclees]

@@andred7415 you are correct can you imagine playing Owner ,Driver and Crew Chief all in the same race?? Kyle needs to remind himself this is a team sport.. LOL

[@kyle57688]

Yeah he was a top 5-6 car all day before that bad stop he had where he lost like 20 spots. Was a great call by Burnett paid off great. Helps they got auto club to let them gamble like that.

[@pedromont7867]

Yes yes yes!!! This!!! I was so happy he made it to second, could have almost race for first if he had fresher tires

[@joecottis2535]

Is Bowman an underrated road racer? He seems to always be lurking in the top 5 in these races

[@appleinfl]

Never gets talked about since the 9 is the go-to road course pick

[@aojracing4885]

Bowman is an underrated racer. "Hack", "backs into wins" but then he gets good results and wins races.

[@michaelcooke6267]

Hes underrated period

[@benfrancois7497]

I believe so.

[@randomvideosandno3]

@@michaelcooke6267 Good point

[@John-kx3ng]

I feel for Preece, most of the stuff he’s been involved in has been beyond his control. I totally gat his frustration.

[@illiogicalphilosophy2481]

How the hell do you misspell get.

[@spheredhawk67]

I felt so bad for Austin Dillon at the end. He ran inside the top 10 basically all day until he got caught up in a traffic jam, which then led to him cutting a tire. That megalodon sucked.

[@andyharman3022]

Yeah, I was surprised how high Austin was running close to the end. Bit by bit, he's earning my respect as a race driver.

[@DepravedCoTApologist]

​​@@andyharman3022 He may have fluked into his wins, but his overall race craft is legitimately good. The "he doesn't belong in Cup" claims aren't valid anymore

[@johnnyfive4436]

Me too I was hoping he would win and have some luck. But of course something always happens. He has been racing better this year he just can't get up to the front.

[@johnnyfive4436]

@@DepravedCoTApologist How did he fluke his wins? Daytona 500 he won at any means necessary. Yes it was a bit dirty but still it's Daytona. Anybody would have done that. Coca Cola 600? How did he fluke that? Questions.

[@tboy3457]

I know!! He had such a good race going… to see his road skills come so far has been super cool too!! I’m excited to see him get the finish he deserves in one of these.

[@bathurstrenesis]

IMSA is my main series that I follow and have been a Jordan Taylor fan since he started racing. I think he did well for only having about 2 hours in the car. The restarts killed him. IMSA can get a little physical but nothing like we have seen lately in NASCAR. I think his qualifying run proved that he can set a fast lap but during the race was a bit overwhelmed at how some of the others raced each other. Jenson had similar comments after the race. It is always great to see drivers from one series try another.

[@thejman3489]

That battle between Tyler Reddick and William Byron was incredible! 45 took the lead and started to run away with it. Then the 24 reeled him back in and they swapped positions corner after corner for 2 or 3 laps straight. Never seen anything like it.

[@zphs7219]

larson was 2 laps down and his rear end was skewed horribly. They somehow made it to P14

[@jayannakelley9051]

ikr? I lost track of how many times he worked his way up through the field- he could’ve won that race!

[@zphs7219]

@@jayannakelley9051 Larson didn’t get his last lap back until the last restart. He went from 30th to 14 on the very last restart. He would have a top 10 if there was another caution

[@braedonshelton2305]

It’s impressive no doubt. But having all those late cautions and wrecks sure did help.

[@zphs7219]

@@braedonshelton2305 for sure. He might have gained those laps back earlier if there was stages. Then again I can’t recall what stage his toelink issue happened. He was also spun out 2-3 times

[@jayannakelley9051]

@@zphs7219 - Yes I realize that! Just watching him not giving up my comment was kinda made in jest. Three times at least to the back & still battling back.

[@JLOCLamborghiniFan88]

Besides the clownish OT restarts, I loved this race. So happy the best car in Reddick still won this race and pass/defend the field off every time. But as a Truex fan, the pain continues as Suarez spun him from a potential top 3 or 5 finish during the OT's...

[@megatron8490]

As another truex fan: I feel you

[@tnrodgers]

Same here. Frustrated team #19 not consistently competitive but when they are, Suarez acts like a rookie…again. MTJ deserves better.

[@joed9269]

Ya then crying when he gets wrecked by his own teammate. Suarez was driving throu everyone seemed like.

[@xavierjuno4572]

​​@@joed9269 was it really Suarez though or was it because he was shunted?

[@bilalrazaq8522]

Great so just ignore that Chastain got into Bowman who pushed Suarez into Truex ruining both of their races. But sure, it's Suarez's fault

[@ephraimvorzman9786]

The broadcast this week was actually quite good imo.

[@forzainter2894]

Yeah having Kurt in there provide great analysis then he got all emotional at the end seeing his car win

[@LennyisFast]

I thought it was good until I turned on prn as a comparison.. the radio style broadcast makes races soo much more exciting imo

[@MaxRamos8]

​@@LennyisFast what's prn? I'm interested

[@LennyisFast]

@@MaxRamos8 each week the race is broadcasted on the performance racing network (prn) or the motoracing network (mrn).. I highly recommend checking out these broadcasts

[@bonzogamer6966]

@@MaxRamos8 Performance Racing Network

[@WilliamDuh]

I just can’t understand what some of the drivers are even doing on these restarts at the end. Do they think they’re gonna go from 19th to 2nd in half a lap?? It’s so embarrassing

[@jeremiahevans7752]

They think they're on Heat 😅

[@darthhull85]

Larson went from 30th to 14th in the final restart, so yeah. That’s exactly what they expect to do.

[@ryanhoeksema2191]

I think we ended up getting what we wanted by taking out the stage cautions: some strategy play, but the best cars fought it out for stages and the win. No more giving up stage points for track position, even if you are the best cars.

[@MrBurney12]

I truly hope they do this at every race on all tracks. If drivers don't make mistakes or drop real debris there is no need for yellows. It kills any long term pit strategy.

[@gwynnblade9160]

As far as the road course ringers went, I think the amount of contact had a lot to do with the poor finishes for most of them. Especially Button and Taylor. A lot of the moves that are made going into the braking zones that result in doorbaning would get you a penalty in just about any other discipline of road course racing, so that's beyond an adjustment for trying to overtake, let alone hold your own position against guys who will drive through your door in a heartbeat.

[@marklangren3142]

Nascar is about entertainment not racing😅😅😅

[@sulphurous2656]

As far as I've heard when Keselowski was interviewed regarding his expectations for what kind of experience these guest drivers will have for this race the week prior, he stated that they were probably going to get run over by all of these shitters. And he was pretty much right. Even Raikkonen was noticeably getting irritated by the end of the race on the radio, commenting how these guys can't drive and keep getting into him (he was already dealing with enough car issues as it was, such as the diffuser being broken and some electrical issues inside the cockpit) by the point of those overtime restarts. And honestly I can't blame him, getting spun on each restart until the rear tyres are completely shot and then getting dumped under caution, before having a time penalty added after the end would have probably made some other drivers absolutely livid on the radio. He was remarkably calm and quiet as always by contrast.

[@marklangren3142]

The ICEMAN

[@rudfil]

@@sulphurous2656 seems he’d had enough of this BS.

[@chase.9233]

It was refreshing to watch good, clean racing between the 45 and 24. Breath of fresh air compared to what we’ve seen lately

[@evanssego7647]

As always, Thank you Eric for providing the fans with excellent content. I always check out your reviews after the races.

[@jamesruddock9596]

Rare instance where the Xfinity race had better drivining standards than the Cup race

[@foneco]

Indeed.

[@Clank-rm6zv]

It's sad that this is what has become of the cup series

[@John-kx3ng]

Jenson Button has a solid 18th place finish btw! Good on him!

[@jimmywilliams1822]

This race was shaping up to be one of the best road course races I've ever seen until Keselowski broke to bring out the caution. Not only was it a fuel mileage race, but the competition was super tight down to 5th or 6th. You could hear the urgency on the radio from multiple teams, and then when Suarez just decided to go for it right before the yellow, the drama cranked up even more. Unfortunately, by the end I just wanted it to be over because everyone lost their minds on the overtime restarts. I was actually grateful I was watching off my DVR so I could fast-forward through all the downtime. Watching it live, or actually being at the track, would have been even more deflating.

[@timmannchicken]

DVR is the only way I can watch NASCAR to get through all of the non-racing coverage and commercials. Even when Fox says "and we're back" they still aren't actually back covering the race. Thank you DVR!!!!

[@blockmaster4417]

Maybe the best move to avoid these dive bombs into 1 is just do single file restarts for Road Courses. If these guys are gonna wreck each other without fear of penalty then don't give them the chance, or at least as much of a chance

[@samharris3508]

Best way, is to start penalizing drivers for contact that causes an incident. There's clearly no respect being shown. Taking someone out should result in a pass through down pit road. If the incident is deemed avoidable.

[@xavierjuno4572]

Maybe they should bring back single file restarts

[@davids5006]

Unless my driver is running 10th and that far back lol but other than that I'm ok with it

[@darthhull85]

@@samharris3508 hey this is nascar, not F1.

[@BladeBrigade7]

@@samharris3508 sooo, FIA?

[@Denes2005]

Could only watch stage 1 because it’s really late in europe My god, why did a caution take 20 minutes for taking the bumper off the track

[@ZeusCannonBen]

I think it's the "No consequences" part that you talked about is the important part as to why these late restarts are so braindead. Between the infinite restart attempts and "win and you're in" playoff format, it basically encourages this type of reckless driving. It's frustrating seeing these guys all stack it up in the first corner, bring out a caution, and know the same thing may very well happen again on the next restart.

[@babyeliascookie]

I got a hat signed by AJ Allmendinger (he was my pick for COTA), I got many new diecasts as well. Can’t wait to come back next year!

[@evanssego7647]

The broadcast was not good imo. 5 is a crowd. Most of the time it was Clint and Kurt talking. I wish they would have asked Gunther more questions but it seemed that he was getting left out for most of the broadcast. As for the no stage breaks, I love it. It's old school fuel millage racing at a road course.

[@shanefritts8922]

My thoughts on the "ringers"...it doesnt matter how good you are at one series, you're not going to make an impact in a different series that uses a completely different type of vehicle and has talented drivers without ALOT of seat time. Just ask Jimmy Johnson how that went....

[@JustGenius2001]

I agree. No matter how good these ringers are in different motorsports, it doesn't equate to them automatically being good at NASCAR racing. We need to stop expecting more from ringers cuz deep down inside, we know they're irrelevant.

[@rudfil]

But Jimmy didn’t get dropkicked in every race in IndyCar like these ringers did in Nascar.

[@ikant312]

I don’t know - if NASCAR actually had professional driving standards like every other professional racing series in the world- I think Jordan Taylor would have done a lot better. Like someone else posted- Jimmy Johnson didn’t have to deal with that- he could just concentrate on professional race car driving and racing- he wasn’t getting punted off the track at every turn. Also, it’s debatable how much “talent” is required to pass a guy by just knocking him out of the way without any repercussions from race control.

[@mclew1234]

It seems the ringers will race with respect as it isn't their series & they don't want to be causing wrecks & deciding races, but the regulars don't have any respect for each other. It's no surprise that 3 world champions from other disciplines all essentially said the same thing, at times it's completely talentless driving of just shoving each other off the track. If the drivers won't sort themselves out then sadly NASCAR will have to do it for them with penalties

[@AbrahamArthemius]

Well, unless your name is Sebastien Loeb

[@Vermonter8812]

I was aggravated for sure at the end. Tyler deserved the win and I kept thinking he was going to be spun at turn 1 at any restart.

[@cowmann3555]

kimi, taylor, jenson being frustrated/shocked at the Chaos puts it in perspective

[@JustGenius2001]

Let's face it, guys like Kimi, Jordan, and Jenson aren't accustomed to the philosophy of rough bumper to bumper racing. They are used to clean racing and team orders which is something NASCAR isn't known for. I think we need to stop expecting more from road course ringers cuz we all know they're irrelevant.

[@sulphurous2656]

@@JustGenius2001 This is a massive cope. All of these drivers have a valid point in their observation of how the current field is basically all balls and no brains as far as racecraft goes, it's not the same as the winston cup era. It's come to the point where 'rattle his cage' or 'rubbing is racing' has become the same kind of excuse as 'if gap car' for stock car racers. There's a real difference between rubbing and scraping fenders going through a corner or giving someone a slight nudge, and just straight up asspacking or piledriving your competitor out of the way.

[@K9RacingAndStuff]

​@@JustGenius2001 Taylor imo was one of the most critical drivers of the field yesterday, and he's never really had teammates in other cars for most of his top flight experience; outside of his short Corvette racing tenure and his starts for them at Le Mans, he's largely only driven for his father's single car operation. Even then, Corvette Racing in particular has only ever operated under "just don't wreck your teammate"; they've not done team orders beyond that. Beyond that, drivers like Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, who were notable in NASCAR for being clean and respectful in their time, would be entirely unnotable for that in other disciplines, especially in sportscars. Even in series where you beat and bang more (like AUSC), the restart driving standards are still better than that NASCAR has at the moment.

[@paulhenry5497]

No stage caution is the way to go, enjoyed race, Tyler Reddick is great driver, showed to fast in a Chevy, how to go fast in a Toyota, he has talent.

[@Handlesarestoopid]

The end of the race was testing my patience, and it almost won. I was getting so mad at the constant overtimes I was about to turn the TV off. However I'm glad we were able to see Tyler Reddick get the win he deserves and my guy KFB (#RowdyNation) gets 2nd place for 2nd time this weekend. It hurts but any good run is appreciated for my guy

[@TexasTaterSalad]

Even though the late restarts were annoying, they really made me respect Tyler Reddick. He ran an entirely clean race while being dominant

[@AcesAndEights1]

Being a Jimmie Johnson fan since 2003, I haven’t had high expectations for a while so I’m alright with it. His time has passed. Let the kids shine. Just to see him on the track, for me, is a treat all by itself!

[@foneco]

Any lover of racing prefers to see the type of racing that we had the pleasure to watch for the 2nd stage and up till the last 25 laps. I was really excited to see who would win by managing the tires and fuel consumption. Ty deserved in fact 3 wins for what he had to endure.

[@mrvaultguy1118]

I'm in favor of single file restarts at road courses. I loved not throwing cautions at the stage ends. Great race!

[@tomhoblin4571]

Poor Clint bowyer kept trying to get Gunther to chime in and G just ignored him. Was worried that Gunter would have nothing to say about the race and that basically turned out to be true

[@JustGenius2001]

Guenther didn't want to be there. He was just there to relate to the F1 fans who watched the race even though I highly doubt that F1 fans watched the damn race. NASCAR needs to stop pandering to an audience that doesn't even acknowledge them as a motorsport. Waste of effort🙄

[@tomhoblin4571]

@@JustGenius2001 I really felt bad for him. And the only thing that really equates to F1 was the track itself

[@racegrubb2152]

​@@JustGenius2001 Yeah they like parades

[@bradm1507]

@@tomhoblin4571 This. Nascar needs to stop trying to draw this equation. These are different sports. The era of "road ringers" should be over, period.

[@tomhoblin4571]

@@bradm1507 and don't get me wrong, I enjoy both series, but trying to force comparisons isn't helping NASCAR. Let them both shine for what they are. Would have been nice to have Gunter as a segment pre race or during a long caution sequence, but I don't think he needed to be there in the booth.

[@BryanMcSorley]

I loved seeing Bowman use his “elbows” a bit there in the end. I’ve never seen that level of aggression from him before. Good on him!

[@LennyisFast]

He ruined Suarez day .. which in turn ruined my day

[@BryanMcSorley]

Ross launched Bowman into the 99

[@isleofthanet]

@@LennyisFast He had nothing to do with it!!

[@LennyisFast]

@@isleofthanet the video replay says otherwise

[@kyle57688]

No the video replay shows Ross bombing into the corner from way back and pushing bowman up the track into Suarez

[@grafffuller3265]

Two driver scenarios that you didn't cover...that I thought were interesting. Larson is just having the worst luck of the major drivers. He, with no fault of his own...was damaged over and over again by OTHER cars. Bubba plowed into him...he was collateral damage on a few other incidents. Really feel bad for him. He's had fast cars, but just getting mixed up in other driver'r drama. The other storyline that I thought was neat, and I'm NOT a Kyle Busch fan, but that he ended up second and raced Tyler Reddick in a really clean way. He could've moved him a number of times, but didn't. Really accentuates what he was saying last week about respect. Really appreciated that. Also, that the two cars and teams were up in the mix at the end. In the booth, really loved the way Kurt Busch got emotional at the end, seeing "his" car and Tyler Reddick beating off all the comers and takers...with such precision. It got emotional. About the stage break absences...loved it. I think that allowing the teams to have their own strategies is the CORRECT way to do road courses. Liked how that played out. Thanks for this breakdown. I'd put this at 85 on the Groovy Gauge. Would've been higher if the late race drama wasn't as bad. Oh, the three ringers were TOTALLY taken aback by the bump and grind that went on. I think, since the cars are so stable on the bumpers...they can push and hit each other without damaging their own cars...that it has become "the norm" on how to race them on the road courses. If they crimpled easier, it would happen less. Just a thought. Again, great video and thanks for this episode.

[@moondodger5952]

Corey Lajoie coming from 2 laps down to an 11th place finish was magnificent. As big of an Almirola fan as I am, he’s just a non-factor on road courses.

[@robrohrer2014]

SMOKE was in the NHRA booth lol

[@michigan__railfan]

During the 2nd overtime with Busch RIGHTT behind Tyler Reddick I was hoping it would stay green bc then Kyle Busch could have swooped in and battled with Byron and reddick and possibly won, but then the 3rd one came out and tyler got waayyyy too far ahead

[@kclaptraffic]

Weak front bumper would fix the racing, you bump, you break.

[@Parker-time]

As someone who has the same response to failure as Bubba, it's hard to regulate your emotions. You tend to get inside your own head and so the only voice you hear is your own self-doubt. It pains me to see a guy who already has a lot of haters have this same trait as me, because the haters' voices will only get louder now, and its only going to be harder to overcome.

[@alantherock225]

Self-created haters. No sympathy from me.

[@evanbosch8211]

@@alantherock225 🤡🤡

[@zacharyvolz6682]

@@alantherock225 nobody asked for your opinion

[@jiminycricket1593]

@@zacharyvolz6682no body cares about yours.

[@Twinspinner]

​@@alantherock225 nah, Bubba had a built in base of haters from day one that almost no other driver has to deal with, for one reason only that he has no control over. Then, he has haters because he drives for Denny. Then, he has haters because he drives a Toyota, because AMERICAN BRAAAAAAAAAND WAHHH *Then,* he has haters for his actual on track antics and performance. Take away that last one, and he still has a *lot* more haters than anyone else in the garage.

[@masonmccor]

Thanks Aric. Loved Kurt. Gunther said 2 things all race lol

[@GregAllenF1]

I think a lot of NASCAR drivers have gotten better at road courses, but a large part of the ringers struggling is that the nascar drivers are crashing into each other with very little respect, something that wouldn’t be tolerated in other forms of motorsports.

[@xavierjuno4572]

I think Nascar should try single file restarts with the way things are on road courses, wdyt?

[@xxxYYZxxx]

@@xavierjuno4572 Maybe they should go single-file at the end, perhaps with under 10 laps to go.

[@darthhull85]

@@xavierjuno4572 I don’t see how they still wouldn’t fan out 6 wide and jam up the turn anyway

[@rudfil]

Yea, 60% racing. 40% bumping into one another. They wouldn’t last one lap in an open wheel race.

[@bahe_4058]

Favorite driver is in the booth for one race, and his protégé wins in his previous ride, the kurt prophecy has been fulfilled. Him choking up on the last lap defintley made me cry.

[@lewishamilton271]

The booth was actually "good" this week. You should definitely watch the end, Kurt had us getting emotional.

[@davidnance2811]

FOX should have had him in the booth all season. He’s the only commentator who has raced and won in the current car. No one can bring that perspective until Harvick next year.

[@bigjohn6405]

check out Jamie Little in the booth for the truck race, she can actually call the race very well, clear , concise, not a lot of bs

[@BaffinSailor]

I was at the race in turn 12. This is the best race I have seen since I was a kid in Riverside. My favorite drivers didn’t win but it was awesome to see drivers go left and right. See yea next year I put the deposit in.

[@grug_son_of_thog]

Even with so many people in the booth, the broadcast this week was still one of the best we've had this year. The dynamic between Mike and Kurt was great, having two drivers who have actually raced the next-gen car (Kurt & Chase) was nice, Gunther brought an interesting outside perspective (even if his accent was hard to understand at times), and Clint took a step back and let others speak for once. I wouldn't want five people in the booth every single week, but it worked yesterday.

[@isleofthanet]

Really? The Bowyer i heard was always interrupting as usual, just louder!!

[@bradm1507]

@@isleofthanet LOL yes, I thought the same. I don't dislike Bowyer, but I definitely was thinking that he can't just take a backseat, can he...

[@99starman]

That wasn't racing. I was just a demolition derby, with many drivers lacking class

[@gonzalomanriquezjr864]

Man I was pissed seeing Suarez run up front all day. Then get taken out at the end and finished way outside of where he should have.

[@theCDGeffect]

I would love this no stage caution thing to be in super speedway racing. Having the extra fuel strategies in there would make them that much more interesting

[@RazgrizGaruda1100]

Kurt Busch had a very emotional moment in the booth today. You have to see it.

[@jeremythurman5261]

Taylor lost a ton of position on pit road on several occasions. Drove through the field and then got dumped in turn 1 at the end. Button was really critical of driving standards from drivers at the end. Very eye opening. Basically, there is no penalty for over driving a car or corner even if it results in another driver getting wrecked.

[@JBAlternate]

The race was great without stage breaks. The ending was messy but that seems to be more and more of a theme in recent years.

[@stellingbanjodude]

I think todays racing disrespect is partly based on the current points system. Every single point is “made” to seem excessively needed and required to make it forward. “Oh NO! You didn’t receive and stage points today!” How will we survive without them!

[@adrenalinmatt1]

Uploaded in prime time for Australia. 🇦🇺 But a good race is ruined by the overtime. I liked the strategy we had going to until we had the "debrie" cautions. 🤦‍♂️

[@keeganracer8300]

Actually brad kelloski running out gas that's what caused it

[@DC322]

Reddick and Byron had a great battle for the lead all race long. Reddick deserved that win. I love the no stage yellows and hearing Kurt Busch emotional seeing his car on the last lap heading to victory lane. I love to see no caution stage breaks on ovals like the old days. 85 out of 100.

[@theCDGeffect]

last couple seasons I went out of my way to not watch the roadcourse races because I thought they were always so awful, but this race was the first road race in a while that I actually enjoyed a little bit. not sure if it's because of them removing stage cautions or what, but it was so much better than the last few years imo (except the restarts obviously)

[@ironatoms1]

Hearing Kurt tear up on the broadcast was very special. He did a great job overall too!!... I really hope he gets back to the both.

[@paulcarbone7354]

Stage cautions have to go. It was so nice to have a race with strategy and a flow to it

[@FoodCityCupSeries]

6:35 well that aged like milk

[@sashadimbright]

The broadcast was pretty good. Chase did really well. As for the race it was a bummer for me (a blaney fan)

[@albubbles9232]

If I wanted to watch a demolition derby, I’ll go to the county fair! Bush league!

[@ctron2388]

From what I can see bubba was quoting what his haters say all the time about being replaced and he just wants something to go right and he’s losing confidence in himself to the amount of hates he gets for everything

[@robertbourinski8286]

His wokeness started the whole thing, plus he drives a turd Toyoter.

[@MarquisVegan]

I still predict he wins a couple races this year at least.

[@rjdobbs1980]

😂😂😂😂 bye Felicia

[@josephharrison5639]

As a Jimmie fan who was 3 when he won his first championship yeah these past couple years have been tough, i hated how he didn’t even finish one lap cause people in the back didn’t know how to navigate those last few turns Did love the no stage cautions, definitely add this to superspeedways

[@aarongannon3384]

Another issues free weekend and another storing run for Reddick!!! Absolute master class Also I really enjoyed Kurt in the booth

[@karenkoe7096]

Loved seeing and hearing Kurt this weekend. Wish Fox could find a permanent spot for him.

[@fivespeed42]

Issue free weekend?? That crashfest ending was just awful 🤦‍♂️ embarrassing really

[@aarongannon3384]

@@fivespeed42 I meant an issue free weekend for the 45 not in general

[@brickwall2016]

12:00 you hit the nail on the head here. I was excited about the fuel management aspect.

[@illiogicalphilosophy2481]

Kurt needs to be in booth full time

[@zzz6valvoline]

Kyle Larson has the worst luck in NASCAR. He's always one of the fastest, then something happens. Honestly, the only reason he's a champ is his raw talent.

[@lunardesignstudiolinda1256]

Broadcasters were awesome and can we give a shout out to Jamie Little what a great job she’s doing with xfinity broadcast booth!

[@bigjohn6405]

I agree, she did great calling the truck race

[@Schneids71]

Sorry, but I couldn’t disagree more. I think she is terrible calling races.

[@Raldo5324]

I think this is a symptom of the championship format. You don't have to finish well every single weekend anymore, it's just about wins. Maybe at road courses only, we go back to single file restarts so that there isn't a traffic jam in turn 1? Not sure exactly how to fix it, but something has to change because I don't want to watch a demolition derby at the road courses.

[@Schneids71]

I commented on something else the same basic thing and agree with you completely. First, I’d prefer they dump the chase, but not likely to happen. So, that said, dump the automatic chase berth for a win and give incentive for drivers to be content with a good points day. Maybe that stops the behavior.

[@racegrubb2152]

Yeah I agree but they did this because many fans got tired of hearing we had a good points day, if they are gonna do a playoff make it about amount of podiums, poles, and wins, then top 10s and the top 5 best battle for points for the last 5 races. I hope when the new tv deal happens they will change it, because it wasn't just nascar that came up with this playoff mess, it was the networks and sponsors as well

[@CantingWall3286]

It was really Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kurt Busch commentating the race, and then Chase Elliott chimed in to relate with the drivers and Guenther Steiner made comparisons to F1.

[@lilgangstersam]

Chastain making up 10+ spots in 2 laps was amazing especially after getting wrecked.

[@handsomedevil4928]

McDowell made up 17 in one lap the restart after his spin

[@kyle57688]

He literally just bulldozed 3 cars on a restart. The same old classic bs from him.

[@lilgangstersam]

@@handsomedevil4928 yeah but ross managed to get 4th place 🤷‍♂️

[@handsomedevil4928]

@@lilgangstersam Ross Chastain spun 2 overtimes before McDowell, he had more time.

[@RyGuy8989]

No stage cautions was amazing! But now we need to limit these GWC finishes to one attempt. I hate the wreck fests at the end. And maybe just include the Top 10 at the time of caution, possibly Top 20 at the Superspeedways.

[@RedWingsninetyone]

I don't mind the overtime(s), but NASCAR needs to figure out ways to shortcut the road courses under caution to reduce the time cautions take.

[@xavierjuno4572]

Would making the restarts single file help?

[@RedWingsninetyone]

@@xavierjuno4572 not likely. If anything it would likely increase the dive bombing issue due to further desperation and it would also make passing even harder than it already is

[@Schneids71]

I kept feeling like they need more areas at that track for cars with damage to get off the racetrack so they don’t need to go all the way around shedding debris everywhere.

[@M_Sebastian97]

How about no overtime on road courses? Let the race end at the scheduled distance, no matter the flag. That could prevent stupid finishes at these races

[@elaineluikart5459]

Its human history. People do bad things when there are no consequenses!

[@baileyreichert6138]

Can we talk about the crap luck Ryan Preece has had this year? Daytona : crashed out to bad moves by guys in front Autoclub gets crashed mid pack because of a crap restart Las Vegas: Crashed on the final lap not to his fault Phoenix: finally gets a top 15. Atlanta : loses a cylinder and finished ultimately last COTA: had a top 10 before Austin Dillons car got ruined then gets destroyed on a restart. Like man. When he doesn’t get screwed he has good runs going .

[@AMTLL]

somehow kyle busch was the most respectful driver at the end

[@zyx777zyx]

Bubba Wallace and Ty Dillon both need to be replaced... "They just don't got it"

[@silentowlscribe]

Eric, the expectations you placed on the road course ringers were unrealistic. These cars are significantly different than the IMSA or F1 cars that these ringers drive. Jordan Taylor was in the top 20, top 15 all day. Raikkonen was in the top 20 most of the day as well. Liked the stage setup today, remove those fake cautions at the end of stages. The restarts were ridiculous. I give the race a 75%. The best driver won so things worked out. Lastly, a lot of the drivers back in the day were interested in getting better on road courses. Remember watching Dale Earnhardt winning at Sonoma years ago, and he was very excited to win his first and only road course race. More races, more experience.

[@douglasmount188]

Fun race, the ringers are good, but they are not aggressive enough for NASCAR. Cup drivers abuse them all day.

[@koehnskorner]

The fact bowman is consistent at these new road courses is so crazy to me compared to how he started

[@jodem7]

Yeah, he doesn’t even consider himself a good road course racer but seems to always be there at the end. It’s only a matter of time until he gets a W

[@VladimirBlarp]

The "selfishness" and aggression are simply a product of the points system they use today. The whole "every point counts" and "win and you're in" concept makes drivers lose respect for other competitors in the final laps of any event where they're all wadded up in a close clump. It doesn't take much to rocket a driver from 11th to 2nd in 1 corner at a road course, and to so many drivers, those 9 positions can be the determining factor of making the chase or not.

[@briangriffinfamilyguyfan81]

Shoutout to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Todd Gilliland for getting Top 10's at the end of the race, as well Corey LaJoie and Michael McDowell Top 15's, and Jenson Button getting a Top 20 in his first ever NASCAR start!

[@davisowen97]

The problems with yesterday’s race goes back to the root issue in nascar for almost 20 years. Go back to a full season points format. Yeah drivers are mad, but the baggage from those last few restarts (at least for the top drivers) won’t carry over to the next race. Forward momentum is huge in season long formats and Nascar allows drivers to twiddle their thumbs and act dumb with little to no repercussions. We’ve all seen a toddler create a scene at a public place throwing a tantrum, but if the kid doesn’t stop, I’m not blaming the kid for too long.

[@smileygladhands]

They need to end the "win and you're in" gimmick. Take the top 16 at the end of the regular season. I think that might quell some of these late race debacles. If you can win the championship without winning a race all season, then more props to you.

[@BrassMaster84]

If they want to prioritize wins, they should make it to where you have to win twice to automatically qualify.

[@xavierjuno4572]

I think if Nascar wants a chase format, the 2004 version seems perfect to me

[@brandonwray7260]

They will never get rid of this stupid playoff format unless someone buys out NASCAR or something

[@racegrubb2152]

​@@BrassMaster84 I like that, that would be an improvement

[@briangosset6051]

Kyle larson and Corey lajoie were both 3 laps down and all those cautions got them back to the lead lap and they finished 11th and 15th… thats insane

[@94nolo]

I freaking love road course racing in Nascar! It expands the skill palette.

[@jameswormsley460]

🔥🔥🔥

[@MLeeder53]

Jordan Taylors interview sums it up perfect. "more contact in this race than hes had in his entire sports car career."

[@JustGenius2001]

That's because he's not accustomed to the philosophy of rough bumper to bumper racing. Why even bother being in the race at all knowing that this kind of racing isn't what you're used to? What was he expecting? Clean racing? Team orders? Yeah, NASCAR isn't known for those two things.

[@ericelston7670]

I feel the Jimmie pain.

[@jordh24able]

Two ways to fix the caution issue, if you can't make it to pit road, but can move, you to behind the wall along the track. And if you spin then don't move, then immediately move after the caution comes out, you get a 2 lap penalty.

[@Bill_the_Redneck]

Awesome race. Being in a different time zone I always watch races at night and sometimes I just fall asleep and I don’t watch replays normally but I was enjoying this race at night watching live and finished watching it in the morning and glad I did. Overtimes can be great but it’s a shame we didn’t get the fuel mileage battle here. 1 ot was ok but multiple were too much for me. Especially on a road course where restarts take forever. Still a great race and a great winner. It’s sad to see Bubba in this state of mind. But after all the controversies and probably some hate online he himself might start believing he doesn’t belong in nascar. I hope he will bounce back and get a win this season.

[@limprooster3253]

Michael McDowell went from dead last to 12th on that last restart. I think that's worth a mention