Show notes:

-Dale Jr. to retire at end of 2017 season

-Surprised?

-(Audio Clip :37) Junior says the hardest part of his retirement announcement was telling Rick Hendrick.

-What does this mean for NASCAR?

-(Audio Clip 2:02) Junior says plenty of young talent there in his absence.

-(Audio Clip 1:40) Junior: What would his dad think?

-Who will take his place at Hendrick?

-What will Jr’s role be going forward?

Bristol recap:

-Jimmie does it again

-Biggest winners on the day?

-Biggest losers on the day?

-(Audio Clip 1:09) Larson gives it away on a speeding penalty.

-Is Bristol back?

-Overall reaction to the race?

-Discussion topics

-Cool thing: (Audio Clip :56) Chris Buescher helps flooded campers at Bristol

Preview: Toyota Owners 400 @ Richmond International Raceway

-Who will be at the top?

-Winner Prediction:

-James: Joey Logano

-Eric: Kevin Harvick

Episode 7 Show Notes:

Charlotte changes from Saturday to Sunday in fall: http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2017/story/_/id/19201580/daylight-racing-returns-charlotte-oct-8

Kenseth plans to race full time in 2018: http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2017/story/_/id/19201964/kenseth-hopes-race-full-2018

Should there be off weekends in NASCAR?

Nascar has full classic races on it’s mobile app!

New Rain Scheduling: http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2017/story/_/id/19137119/new-nascar-policy-allows-earlier-race-starts

-Who is the greatest NASCAR driver of all time?

-NASCAR announces 20 nominees for the Hall of Fame Class of 2018: http://www.foxsports.com/nascar/gallery/check-out-the-20-nominees-for-the-nascar-hall-of-fame-class-of-2018-030817

1. Davey Allison – New nominee
2. Buddy Baker
3. Red Byron
4. Ray Evernham
5. Red Farmer
6. Ray Fox
7. Joe Gibbs – New nominee
8. Ron Hornaday
9. Harry Hyde
10. Alan Kulwicki
11. Bobby Labonte – New nominee
12. Hershel McGriff
13. Roger Penske
14. Larry Phillips
15. Jack Roush
16. Ken Squier
17. Mike Stefanik
18. Ricky Rudd
19. Waddell Wilson
20. Robert Yates

-Name your five

-Eric

-James

Preview: Food City 500 @ Bristol Motor Speedway

-Weather could be a factor this weekend: http://www.espn.com/jayski/cup/2017/story/_/id/19202508/weather-issue-bristol-weekend

– Track surface will be treated again prior to the race

-Winner Prediction:

Tonight I took a few minutes and set up a Facebook page to give everyone another opportunity to follow what we are up to. Check it out and like the page to see regular updates, see when we post new episodes, and get a glimpse behind the scenes of the podcast!

Check out the page here.

Episode 6 Show Notes:

Recap:

-Jimmie Johnson wins.

-Obviously we can’t count them out

-Gluck made a great point — stop doing this. NEVER should we count them out until they retire.

-Last week Eric asked if we there was any concern. New question: Is Jimmie now the favorite?

-How was the race?

-Did the repave become a typical repave race, or did the work they did hold up?

-Repave used Lime for aging? https://twitter.com/Noble_Jim/status/850334280131776512

-AUDIO (1:26): O’Donnell Applauds Texas on repave

-Big losers on the day:

-Winners on the day:

-Larson with another second

-AUDIO (0:59): Question to Larson – could he have caught Jimmie at the end?

-Other winners?

Other topics:

-Johnson –

-Audio (0:27): Johnson needed to go to care center after race

-Exhausted – Not an Athlete?

-Jr – Upset at team Penske for hard shiting and swerving after race

-Cautions too long between stages: Should yellow flag laps count?

-AUDIO: O’Donnell (0:25): NASCAR considering options in stage caution laps

-Qualifying: Why can’t NASCAR figure this out?

-Do we even need qualifying anymore?

-New All-Star Format

-Soft vs Regular Tires

Episode 5 Show Notes:

Recap:
-Keselowski gets the win.
-Ford’s first win since 02 at Martinsville
-Brad’s first win there
-First repeat winner of 2017
-Is he a contender, and did we ever doubt he would be?

-Big losers on the day
-Larson loses ground in championship. Does it matter? Still leads
-Kyle gets second
AUDIO: Kyle not happy with second-place finish.

-Big winners on the day

-Fox and Danica Patrick
-How many times did they say how well she was doing?
– How an a 20th place driver, at best, have feuds?

-Overall race, good or bad?
-How are there not more people there?
-Stage racing – did it matter?
-Short Track Racing! It’s so great.
-AUDIO: Steve O’Donnell happy with stage racing at Martinsville

Other topics:
-Denny Hamlin parks his Daytona 500 winning car in his living room
-Lapped cars — should they move over for the leader? Should they bump the leader out of the way?
-Overall competition. Is this the most competitive the sport has been?
-AUDIO: Steve O’Donnell says more drivers have a chance to win.

Preview: O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 @ Texas Motor Speedway
-Who will be at the top?
– New Configuration – Does it matter?
-1-2 now 20 degrees in banking from 24 and 80 feet wide from 60

-Winner Prediction:
-James’ Pick
-Eric’s Pick

Show notes for episode 4:

Recap:

1. Entering the Larson Era?
   1. Guys like Logano perhaps beginning to look over their shoulders?
   2. Career built like a fire. Hard to start, slow burn, inferno?
   3. Last 7 races starting PX 2016 (3,2,12[While leading last lap],2,2,2,1)
2. New blood here to stay?
   1. Larson, Elliott, Blaney
   2. Changing of the guard has begun. Did we expect this so soon?
3. 1. LaJoie – 18 Xfinity races, 2 Trucks, Needs to go down
      1. BK Racing has been involved in 10 of 23 cautions caused by crashes or mechanical issues so far this season according to Jayski — 43% of cautions
   2. Truex – Fast cars comment
4. Overall quality of race
   1. Did California live up to HIGH expectations?
5. Brad K.
   1. Nice turnaround after issues on lap 1
   2. AUDIO: Brad post race Fox interview

Other topics:

1. Fox Broadcast is bad – Eric
   1. Commercials at the worst times
   2. DW and Mike Joy’s catch phrases (“Have you ever?” “No, I never.”)
   3. Talking about battles that aren’t happening on screen
2. Drivers moonlighting in other series
   1. Kyle Larson running sprint cars
   2. Tony Stewart’s past issues due to other series
3. Atlanta to delay repave until after 2018 season
   1. AUDIO: Blaney is happy with announcement.   

Preview Martinsville:

1. Who do we expect to contend?
2. Picks for the win?
   1. Erics’ Pick
   2. James’ Pick

Episode 3 Show Notes:

Recap:

1. NEWMAN!
2. Stage Racing 
3. Larson! 
4. Kyle Busch — Who does he hate more right now, Goodyear or Joey Logano?
   1. Eric loves the cheekiness

5. Xfinity race

-Did not having the cup regulars make a difference? Is this something that should extend further?
-Austin Dillon incident – Should he be penalized? Is this was Steve O’Donnell was talking about that drivers shouldn’t do last week?  

Other Topics:
-Keselowski Penalty – We should know more about this soon.
-Possible 40 pt penalty and up to 3 race suspension for Paul Woulfe
-Plates at IMS – Bring back ORP?
-IMS said recently wouldn’t be opposed at considering the road course as well. What do we think about the road courses being used at some of these ovals?

-Preview Auto Club Speedway

November 20, 2016. A date I’ve been dreading since Tony Stewart announced 2016 would be his last season driving a NASCAR Cup Series racecar. After that race, at Homestead Miami Speedway, my favorite driver would be done. Sure, I’ll see him race again, on some dirt track in the middle of nowhere, USA, but the spotlights were being turned off.

You see, 2016 was a tough year for James the fan. First, Calvin Johnson, my favorite football player, retired. Then, Kobe Bryant, my favorite NBA player, went out in spectacular fashion in his last game, a thrilling 60 point performance. The last out the door? Smoke. And this one hurt the most. Just like that, my youth was forever sealed in the past.

I spent most of 2016 cherishing the final moments of my favorite stars. I went to two Laker games and even dragged my pregnant wife to a dirt track two hours from home. Just to tell Tony how much I appreciated his career. He wasn’t even racing. Just being the boss for his All-Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Car Show.

This past August I had one last chance to see Smoke race his Cup car at Michigan. I was fixated on the 14 car most of the day, especially when the final laps approached. But that day belonged to Kyle Larson, taking his first career Cup win. You could call it a transitional moment.

As much as I wanted to fight it off, Father Time always wins. As the sun set on Smoke’s career, the inferno that is Kyle Larson is just getting started. I’ve always admired Larson’s talent. Ever since I first saw him race he’s been my “number two” driver. Everyone asks me, “who’s your driver now that Tony is gone?” I could never get myself to say that Larson was it. I’d say how I like Chase or Blaney. “The young guys are excellent!” But I always drifted back to Larson.

As I think back to Smoke’s last race at Homestead I remember who I was cheering for as the laps wound down. It was Larson. The Daytona 500, as he ran out of gas. I was pulling for Larson. And on Sunday at Phoenix, I jumped off my chair when Larson took it sideways into turn one, trying to get that first win of the season. That childlike excitement, that’s the feeling I’ve been missing since November 20, 2016.

There has been a longstanding complaint in the NASCAR world over the past several years — too many Cup drivers are winning Xfinity series races.

Personally, I don’t have a big issue with it. I’ve been watching the Xfinity series since about 1990 or so, and as long as I can remember, there were always Cup drivers who ran in the series. One of the most dominant drivers in the series was Mark Martin, yet people didn’t have much of a problem with him when he was running and winning.

But Kyle Busch seems to be a problem. Yes, he has racked up a number of wins over the past few years, and yes, when he does, he often dominates. And I realize, he’s not the most liked driver by a lot of fans.

So this year fans who want to see less of Kyle are getting their wish. This weekend marks the first Dash 4 Cash race in the Xfinity series, and Cup drivers who have more than five years of experience in the premiere series are not allowed to participate.

Now’s your chance. Are you really not watching the Xfinity series because of all the cup drivers? If so, watch today. If NASCAR sees a bit spike in ratings, they’ll know they made the right choice.

My expectation is that nothing will change. Attendance will stay the same or dip a little, and the TV numbers will be right in the ballpark of any other year.

But people have been asking for this for a long time. And if you have, you’d better support the decision.