Hey, everyone. Welcome to the above the yellow line live stream another Thursday night with you all joined by Dom Joseph
As always, I feel like it's a consistent. So here we are also wearing red
We're both. Yes. I mean, I went to the, uh, Ohio State Spring game last weekend
which was a blast. It was my first time going to the spring game. I've been to a lot of games before
but that one was really cool. Uh, because no matter what I was walking out of there with a win that
which is positive, the question I have for you is we tend to go to races a lot and buy a lot of stuff
Diecast merchandise, whatever. Did you buy any Ohio State merchandise? No. Uh
well, I'm shocked. Well, no, it's, it's complicated. So I, I was
I've been working on a project that, you know about, I don't think any of the fans do. I've been working on a project where
I bought a replica full size Ohio State helmet and kind of re redid it
remodeled it to look just like my favorite player growing up Ted Gins Helmet
Um, IO by the way. Um, so the only thing I bought this weekend were Buckeye leafs to go on to the helmet
So, um, didn't get any jerseys or T shirts or hats or anything
but we walked into the stadium and I'm like, not even thinking about merch at this point just wanting to watch the game
We go past the team shop and they've got authentic game, used jerseys
Oh, my God. I could have, I could have melted looking at
I, I could have, I mean, they were all going for 3 to $500 a piece
One of them, one of them actually was worn in the rose bowl and it had the rose bowl patch on it
So. Well, I'm proud of you. There was a, if anyone watches the NFL in here
uh, there's a player by the name of Terry mclaren who's a really good wide receiver for the Washington Commanders
His jersey was on sale. So, yeah, that's just doing this to me
They can't, but they will. Merchandise sports, merchandizing is just the most fun
the most fun time. Speaking of fun times, Texas, you know, so much
Yeah. How about it? So let, let's talk about it. Let's talk about the point standings between us above the line
Folks right now. I'm still leading somehow. I, I had three actual race wins in a row of our picks
I don't understand how that happened, but it did and I am so it just keeps getting bigger
It's just getting bigger. Toby, however, had two race wins in a row. We didn't have a live stream last week
So, sorry, y'all, we, we missed that, um, to preview Texas. However
Toby did get a win two weeks in a row and Adam is in third
Ben is in second. And Dom, you are, you're still in fourth but you're working on it
You're doing a long, it's a long season. I'm just gonna keep
I'm gonna say that until the very end. It's ok. It's fine. We'll go, we'll go into Phoenix
but hey, we had a long season ahead of us. Like I
you will, you will have a comeback. I really think so because like last year and
and then Ben did, Ben did last year. He won it all um, before I did and I won it all
So you never know it's anyone's game. And like everyone's saying in the comments, the nine is back
Chase Elliott is finally after 42 races back in victory lane. Did you think it would happen at Texas at all of all the race
tracks for him to get his first win since Talladega 2022 wasn't thinking Texas
Um, but listen, he earned it. I know a lot of people joke with the Mickey Mouse victory
whatever it takes to get the nine in victory lane. No, he earned this one, uh that restart with about 30 to 20 to go
I was listening to it on Pr N on my way home from Ohio and they
they talked it up like he got a slingshot restart and just timed it perfectly and just rocketed past them
which is something we're used to Kyle Busch doing. Uh, so kudos to him
it, it was a hard fought victory by every stretch of the imagination
And if I can, what I loved about that finish was not because Denny spun
but why he spun and it was because it was because they were both driving so freaking hard to get the lead
and one little disturbance in the air sent that 11 car around like a top
And that's just so cool that those cars are that on edge at all times and like that's what we want
We want these guys racing that hardware, one tiny mistake and the race is over
So that, that was I, I mean, I love Denny but it was pretty cool to see nascar's most popular and nascar's most
unpopular side by side. And when the villain wrecks the place erupted
it's just like we need that. We need it. It was, it was a moment made for cinema quite honestly when that happened
And there's two comments I want to make with that point. One that happening where second place just got the air taken off of them
and they spun out happened, I think three times during the race. Um I know the Ross Chine
that was a whole separate incident with William Byron again. They haven't talked. Um I forget what outlet I saw that on
but they have not talked following that wreck yet. I don't know if they will, who knows? But the other thing I wanted to mention
about that too, I was on the bull ring this week at Racing America's offices. That was super fun
Shout out to them. Um And we actually had a conversation about, you know, Chase Elliott being back in victory lane
How good is that for the sport? Like how, how big of a deal is that? And I think it's huge
We've talked about this before with Chase Elliott and his star power where he is a star in terms of performance
He has the legacy name, but in terms of maybe how he puts himself out there as a star should
He just doesn't, he's more reserved and that's fine and we can't expect him to do that because that's who he is
He's a more reserved guy. So having him be a winning driver is so much more important than maybe like a Jeff Gordon
When let's say like he wasn't winning, he's still a star, he's still going to be on SNL
He's still the face of NASCAR, right? But when Chase Elliott is the face of NASCAR
he's not, you know what I mean? So having it back in victory lane, not only is good for the sport
but for me, at least it was refreshing. II I gotta say, I think you get to a point whether you like Chase Elliott or
not where you're like, ok, come on. I just, like, I want to see him get back in victory lane. I found myself
I don't know if this was true for you do. Like, actually, like, I was on the couch and I was like, come on chase
like, just get the win. Like you're so close, two laps away. You got this. Like, I was cheering for him to be honest with
you and I don't find myself doing that often. Yeah, it, it was
you know, it's not that I was rooting for him, but when we got into like the 10 5 1st restart
I was like, it's time. It's so is time. It's, it's just he's due and
you know, I mean, I don't like to pick favorites because I shouldn't
but we all know where my, where my flags are raised and it's with that 22 team when I know he's not in the hunt
for the win. I just, I become a realist and say, hey
I want Denny and chase to put on a show and by quality they did
So, um, and yeah, the whole Byron Chastain incident, that's just two guys racing hard for
for at the finish and it's just, that's a, that's a combination of two guys
one guy's trying to save his race car and the other guy's trying to figure out how to get around a wrecking race car
So there, there's really not much there. Um, I'm sure they will find a way
I mean, Chastain isn't gonna forget that and he shouldn't because, you know
he's a competitor. But it, it was very cool. I, I know
I know John who's in our chat here and a lot of you who have been fans of NASCAR for a very long time will
remember this Taylor. You don't understand how big a deal it was when Dale Junior won Michigan in 2012
It, it like it was, it was, it was his, his previous victory from that was Michigan 2008
So 9, 10 and 11, he was winless. So it was so brutal for those fans to pull for their most popular driver who wasn't
a contender 2009. He was pretty irrelevant. 2010. About the same 2011
they were kind of getting it together, but still not that good. And you could tell in 2012 they had something and when they won
Michigan outright, I mean, Adam Alexander said it perfectly coming off turn four
There is gonna be a party in Junior nation tonight. It was
I, I remember I went sprinting down to the basement of my grandpa's house shouting my dad
Dale Junior won. Dale Junior won. So that, that chase Elliot fans gotta be feeling really damn good right now
Oh, yeah. And I, I didn't think that the winless streak was going to last probably more than what
60 races at most, like you knew he was going to get back in victory lane. And I, I do think it's time I mentioned
this team has been racing this year. Yeah, and I was going to mention the way the team's been racing this season and I mentioned
this on the above the line post race show that we do every single Sunday night
Monday. But Alan Gustafson, a lot of y'all have been giving him crap and I'm not here for it
I like this. That's the man that got him the championship. This is the man that has been with Chase Elliott through his most successful
years and he made that gutsy call, granted it was whether it would work or not to keep him out on track longer during that
first green flag run to see if we would get a caution. And then Jimmy Johnson brought out the caution and got Chase Elliott
you know, that track position and he was able to maintain it all day because otherwise he qualified poorly 20 24th
I think it was at Texas. So, I mean, say what you want
But I, I mean, I think everyone who's calling for Alan to go away, I think that's so wrong
That's so wrong. I think it's just out of frustration. So hopefully we can kind of set that thought process aside and let this nine
fight for a championship because I think this year with how they performed, they're true contenders
I mean, we're, we're going to 10. So the only thing Hendrick would do would
would move the crew chiefs around and honestly, they're all perfect, in my opinion
I think, I don't see that happening. But, uh, let's just say
let's just say Chase is still windless and he doesn't win Texas and we go to the end of the year and nothing's changed
I, I looking at Hendrick Motorsports, Kyle Larson and Cliff Daniels are inseparable
They are, they are the Chad and Jimmy of our current era
A 100% Rudy Fugel and William Byron. I think they have a similar Rudy
See, I, I think so too, but I feel like that might be where the switch would be
I, I think, I think he would move Rudy to Chase and put Allen with William
Oh, that feels wrong. It does. It does. But I think, but again
now that chase is one that's just all erased. But I'm just saying if they were still winless and go to the end of the
year, that would be my viewpoint of it because, um I don't know if you're trying to see if a different synergy works
Maybe that's the way it goes. But I mean, good grief. How good are Larson and Cliff Daniels
They are incredible. And to your point with that, uh, every single week you come out with a top 10 projected top 10
Um, speaking of the crap, yeah, everyone has given you crap though about it
Not going well. And this weekend I think it finally went well with the exception of like some of the drivers
like Kyle Larson, for instance, since we're talking about him, he was in pursuit of a top 10 until
you know, late in the race. He had that, I think he had the best car and something went wrong
But you know, that's racing Hamlin. I think you had him in the top 10 and then of course
we had that incident with that first overtime finish. So, I mean, you, you were pretty on point this weekend
all things considering how the rest of the season with that. I had Kyle Bus win the race
So, well, that just what the numbers tell me and speaking of you had Austin Dilan in the top 10
I know he's been in the top 10 a few more times in your projections, but this is his first top 10 of the season
Yeah, he likes Texas, you know, he won there in 2020. Um He
he's, he's pretty solid there. Yeah, so gla glad to see him uh in the top 10 finally
uh saying that politely, but finally, I feel like that three team needs to perform better
Uh it's just, they have to. But, uh, speaking of all that, let me look at the point situation
Let me pull that up for you all. Here we go. All right. So, Chase Elliott
of course, with a win, he is now locked into the playoffs. We have all those drivers locked in
This is how the points stand. Um, Joey Logano finally, you know, finding his way back from that early
just awful season, uh, in just about time and it's just about time
It is just about time. Uh, but plus zero above that cut off line, Kyle Busch
uh, I guess it should be minus zero below that cut off line. They're both tied around that line
Um, Rod Kowski, one, Eric Jones, Johan Nach, I believe before this race
Um, they were both, um, around that 17th and 18th position. So they scooted back just a little bit
But, um, let me, let me change this a little bit so we can see some of the numbers with Zane Smith and everything like
that, um, following Texas and because we weren't, we didn't do a live stream last week
Um, any drivers that surprise you right now, any drivers you want to point out that are either below or above that cut off line
Um, you know, one thing for sure is we're starting to see that
that beginning of the year momentum from Kyle Busch is gone. Uh
you know, he, he started the year. Fantastic. And then I think after
after the debacle at Phoenix, I think they really just haven't recovered from that
Um, you know, they had a great, they had a good Daytona 500. Had a Great Atlanta should have won Atlanta if the Camaro nose
was about a foot more for him. Um, but not even a foot
Um, and then they had the whole team of RCR him and Austin both had a good run at Vegas and then they just missed
it at Phoenix. Had an awful Bristol and they've just been trying to dig themselves out of that hole
Um But they're only digging themselves deeper into the hole. Uh So
and with Kyle and with Kyle Busch, he mentioned, um, during the media availability
I believe this was at Martinsville, he talked about how and why RCR seems to be struggling specifically on the short tracks
He mentioned that their si set up that they have in shop to help prepare them for these races is so far off from what
they're actually seeing and what they're feeling at the track. Uh So that's part of the problem and part of that problem too is you
don't, we don't have enough practice again. It goes back to the whole practice conversation
I don't totally want to get into that because that's a can of worms that I don't want to open right now, but it goes
back to, you know, they're not having enough time out there to figure out the setup. But we also see when if RCR doesn't have
it figured out other teams do with this small amount of practice. So something is still off there
Hopefully RCR has it figured out. I do want to mention Alex Bowman at this point
Um, plus 11 above that cut off line. I think he's a driver and we've talked about this a few streams ago that I think
we underestimated going into this season. Remember last year, he was very consistent
I believe top in points and then he had this injury, unfortunately. But, um
you know, going forward, I think, I honestly think Bowman could, could win a race this season potentially
Um, I know we're starting to see more consistency in terms of who is winning
but I wouldn't totally count Bowman out yet. Uh, obviously he's close around that cut off line
We still have many races to go before the playoffs hit, but I did want to point out that he is there
He's present. We might not talk about him a lot, but I wanted to make that note also chase Briscoe
That's what I was gonna say. I mean, talk about carrying the flag for your team chasing this
uh, doing great and then to top to finish on Bowman. Um
you know, with how good Hendrick is right now. I mean, it wouldn't come as a shock
But, um, yeah, Briscoe is doing an excellent job with that team and just being
being a contender. I know he had his incident with Bubba. Uh but man
he's a contender. He, he's running well and just if you want to see how much better he is than his teammates
look at the standings. His closest competition is Ryan pre who's 80 points behind the cut line and he's 14 to the good
So, yeah, he, he's having, he's having a hell of a year in a reminder with Ryan Priest
he did have that 35 point deduction at the beginning of the season for a penalty. So regardless though he's still behind his teammates
So I mean, good job for Briscoe again looking at both 2311 cars in that top 16 in points
Uh So yeah, I mean, o overall good Chris Busher by the way, that top 16 in points as well
And I, I think knowing the Ford strength at Talladega and will preview Talladega in a little bit
He has the potential to raise that and obviously knowing chaos with Talladega
the potential to decrease that uh points position that he's at right now
But uh how about uh how about Hoar doing a lot better than Lajoie
Which is kind of a shock for me. Yeah, I'm very, I believe this was his first top 10 this weekend
Correct? Yeah, so really good for him. Best finish for him. Yeah
Love to see. I'd love to see him succeeding. I do want to talk real quick before we, we move on to
you know, discussing news and stuff. I know there's not a whole lot of news this week but
uh, the Infinity Series race. Did you watch that? Did I wa no
I was at the spring game. Ok. So maybe I can fill you in a little bit
Um, Brian, see he was, so I saw the, I saw the
yeah, yeah, I saw the finish to that race. And uh yeah
I mean, I, I say, I say about Denny and uh Justin Algier
they are statistically destined to never win titles. I, I feel like I feel like what we saw yesterday is Ryan
S is destined to not win a race that was or shattered
That was just, that was, oh my gosh, it's just so painful
I mean, because he was doing, he was doing so well. Um No, my wrist
I feel so bad for him. But it's also like people are probably mad at Sam Mayer because he drives for junior motor sports and
stuff. But like, look at the year Sam has had, he needed that. He needed that
So I was gonna say he had an awful season and then the win
I mean, that's a big confidence boost for them and he did it, you know, it was a strategy call
but nevertheless, you have to drive up through the field to get that so good win for Sam Mayer
uh great for that one team, but you just hated for Ryan S dude
You really do. That's rough. Yeah, but hey, to racing, that's racing
So you never know. I do feel like Ry, he has been performing a lot better this season overall as a whole
So do I think he'll have another opportunity like this to win
I don't know. Again, you look at Talladega, you got Talladega outside of those super speedway type of tracks
I don't know. Um, so there's that anything else from Texas you want to talk about before we move on and talk some NASCAR topics
from the chat as well as some NASCAR news. Um, yeah, if you wanna
because you watched the race, you might be able to pick up on this a little more just based on what I was hearing
it sounded like, I mean, obviously Austin Sindri is just, he just doesn't compare to his teammates
but it seemed like Blaney had another really good run for Penske and I know Joey was just going back of the field
front of the field back just because of his strategy. But it felt like Blaney was up there for most of the race
Is that true? Yes, Blaney was up there for most of the race. Unfortunately
though, he had an incident, I forget exactly what happened, but he ended up getting into the wall
Um, another one of the things I think it was, I do remember that. Yeah. Yeah
I don't want to misspeak here but either he was, he got on the bumps in turn four or he got into it with another
There was, oh, Brian P pre Ryan priest, contact with Ryan priest. I'm pretty sure that's what it was. Um
and it just his car and it just, he wasn't the same rest. I think he finished the race eight laps down if I'm not
mistaken. So that really took him out of it. But otherwise he was again
pretty much the loan for driver that was steering the ship. Um, most of the race until that happened
Uh, but no, he again soar and then going again into Talladega
he's able to win there for Kowski again, Keselowski again. It's so
and he shared after the race his frustration, he goes, I'm frustrated, you know, as a driver because I want more speed
And then he also shared from like the team owner standpoint. He's like, you know, we're trying to get speed in these cars as part
of my job, but we just can't get there. But Brad, I, I will say again
we try not to be biased on the show at all. But man
this is, this is a Kyle Busch quote. This is a Kyle. Um
this was in 2014 when I think Company Wide and Cup. They had two wins
Yeah, they only had two because Kyle won. Kyle won California Denny won Talladega
But, uh, he was arguing with Dave Rogers and he said, hey
coach is over my shoulder saying we need to calm down and, uh
get this race in. And I said, if I had faster cars
I'd be a happier person. Bras right now. Yeah. So, I mean
I, I hope they find speed again. I, I'm not, I don't want to say I'm totally concerned just yet because remember last year
the Fords ended up figuring it out. RK, ended up figuring it out. But again
the new body with the dark horse. So there's gonna be a learning period
It's just at this point I would have expected to see more consistency
And besides Blaney, I think, um, Briscoe, I don't know if we're seeing it
So, and like, I think about, um, 2017, you know, while Martin Sure Junior was pretty good
he, he was the Lone Toyota winning races. Exactly. And then second half of the year the Gibbs cars caught up and started
I mean, Kyle was logging wins like there was no tomorrow, Danny was winning a bunch
Uh, Kenseth got a win. So give it time for the Fords to keep getting more data and they'll
they'll be back in the hunt and Noah has a good point here too. Um, Ford has not won in any of the top three
series this year, which again, they all Ford swapped the championship in 2023
So it it's crazy to see how it all starts and how it all plays out. But, and it's like crazy because
I mean, yeah, it, it's hard because Gibbs is doing just as good with the new Camry
but Chevy didn't touch the Camaro and they're kicking their asses. So
I mean, again, Chevy doesn't have to learn anything right now. Toyota still does
even though they're still doing pretty darn well, really well. So this has got to be a gut punch for Ford performance and I hate
it, I hate it for them. But then again, props to Ryan Blaney, I mean
coming off a championship season, we typically see that slump. That has not happened for Ryan
Obviously, I think he'd be faster if the Fords were better, but he's carrying the flag
he's trying. So, speaking of the national series, let's go on to some NASCAR news
Literally, only two pieces of news I wanted to talk about today. Um One what you did it
what just, what just happened because you, I think it's, yeah, there you go
Yeah, it'll probably do something with that. Like I know the thumbs up thing will do and yeah
I need to turn that off. Sorry guys. That was fun though. Balloons. Honestly
actually segues into my first piece of news. Um, congrats to Bubba Wallace and his wife
Amanda, they're expecting their first child. So that's pretty cool. I thought I should mention that
Um I think Bubba said that their first child is expected, um
the week of his birthday. So that's fun. Exciting. So I wanted to say congrats to them
uh, because I posted that yesterday, I thought that was fun. So there's, that second thing is speaking of all three national series
um, Cam Waters, um, that was, it was announced today that he will join
Um, I believe it's Thor Sport. Yeah. Thor Sport yet again in the 66 at Kansas
Uh, unfortunately during his first go at this, he RCK out at Martinsville near the end of the race
uh, was there to see that. Hated to see it, but he'll have another chance at Kansas
I don't know what your thoughts are about that. But, yeah, just give me time, give him more time in the truck
That's good if he's got the sponsorship to, to keep them, uh
to keep them on the race track for sure. And, you know, a mile and a half is a perfect place to learn your race
truck, uh, because that is a lot of the schedule or it used to be
Um, but yeah, that's, that is a bread and butter race track where you're gonna learn a lot about how the trucks work
Tony Breding, raced the trucks there last year. So did Jesse Love
Uh, so it's a good racetrack to, uh, learn racecraft in the truck series and just in a premiere series of NASCAR because even
I mean, at Martinsville versus been any short track. You're thrown into the fire. Honestly
I mean, you're beating a banging door but, and it's Richmond's a little more forgiving except for restarts
but again, that kind of fades out a little bit. But, yeah, Martinsville
there's, there's no forgiving. Martinsville. You're better off just racing. A bowman gray
Yeah, honestly, though. Facts. Facts. Yeah, that's, that's a tough one. So
I mean, I'm excited to see how he does, uh, the expectation or at least my hope is that he just
he finishes the race, a clean truck. That's all I can ask for
Quite honestly. And I'm sure like that's after Martinsville. That's his hope as well. Um, so I
I did want to see in the chat if you have any NASCAR topics, any racing related topics you guys want to talk about
put those in the comments and we can have, we can have a discussion about that
Um, also wanted to say just, uh, for reference as well. We are also live on Twitter or X whatever you call it
uh, for the first time in a really long time. So for everyone viewing us over there
thank you so much. I appreciate that. Um, I want to see
I wanted to ask you, who are you disappointed in so far this season
Who am I disappointed in this season in NASCAR? That's a, that's a loaded question
Um, well, to start off the banter right now. Let's think, uh
track house won Atlanta. So they're already in the playoffs. So, Kudos to them and Ross is racing like Ross where he is ultracompetitive
and keeping himself in the hunt. Sometimes it haunts him sometimes it doesn't
Um, I'm gonna say team Penske, I'm gonna say team Penske because
you know, they're winless. Uh, Ryan Blaney is just in the middle of a blizzard carrying
that flag up Everest right now for Penske. While Joey had a Great Daytona 500 got wrecked out
gone down, had a really good car in Atlanta and messed it up on his own being too aggressive
And the other tracks, I mean, I think about Phoenix, they were irrelevant at Phoenix even though they had the fastest car
uh, in practice. And I think, no, yeah, in practice. They had the fastest car in practice
Um, but yeah, they were just irrelevant there and they, they just had the speed
They had a good Richmond and they just used strategy to their advantage in carnage to have a fair finish at Texas
And then Austin Crick is still is. And I, I hate that because like it typically and I said this so many times before
but it, statistically it's true. It takes him three seasons to get things grooving whatever car he's in
And this is, this is season three for him. This is, this is season three
right. Yeah. So either at, towards the middle end of this year
He needs to be with it or next year, he needs to have a knockout year. But I don't know
we don't know if he's gonna have a next year in the two. Like I know it's kind of
it's hard to say like, hey, you know, Cris, you speak, I mean
with his family and the company, whatever. Like he's not going to leave the two. But also it's like if you don't perform
it's Penske perfect. You don't perform your seats in jeopardy. So I would love to see Austin turn it around
I love him. I think he's great with uh with pens. I feel like that's the beauty of the Wood Brothers car
I feel like that Wood Brothers 21 could end up being the demotion car where if keeps underperform
I mean, I feel like here's my question to put him to the 21
That was my thought process too. Is you move crick to the 21
Harrison Burton gets moved back to Xfinity because unfortunately, he's just not
he's not done well this season. We, he thought that Richmond at least would be a place for him to turn it around
It's been a good track to him typically in the past not this year. Um However
who's worthy of the two? You have to ask yourself that, then it's like if we're going to move or if we're going to demote
Austin Cyd, who in the world moves to the two car cause I don't know
at this point I don't think anyone's ready. Yeah, that's a good point
Or at least it's the vibe sometimes it's a vibe check as well. Yeah
And you got to think of who's gonna, who's gonna work for Penske and they've got to be a true contender
I don't see, I know Cole Custer just won the championship but I don't see him going to Pens
I think he's pretty embedded in Stuart Hoss with his family ties to the team
Um, same with Riley Herbs. That one at work. And I don't
I don't think Riley, I just don't see a monster two car
No, I feel like that's weird. I mean, trying to go through all the four drivers
It's like I'm not even thinking, I'm just thinking anybody. Yeah. No
I'm thinking as well. Joey Joey came out of Gibbs. He was out of a contract but
you know, they can come from anywhere. Um, oh, here's a, here's a thought
I know this is like, hear me out with this one. Ok
No, no, no, not even, no gross. No. Um, I just, not even
not that just, I just don't think he fits the vibe of the two, nothing against Chandler Smith
That's just like I, I wanted to stay with Gibbs. I think that's a great place for him there
But what, what if Christopher Bell at some point came out of a contract and he moved to Penske
I don't think Bell would leave Gibbs. I don't think he would leave Gibbs either
But that to me feels the, I don't think like, I mean
listen, if they can lose Kyle Busch, they can lose Christopher Bell because Bell's been frustrated before with his contract
But I don't know if it's a point of frustration where he'd be, like, looking for another home at some point in the future
No, he's tw no, I don't see him leaving 2311. Ok? I don't
Oh, Nessie, you say it like that? I'm like, I don't know, I mean, we're going through the roster here like I'm thinking through it
I mean, there's possibilities. I mean, with the prestige of Penske, I'm sure there's one driver that's willing to make a switch if they really
needed to. But it also is trying to think about the contract situation for people
Oh, no, pop the first name, the pop in my head. You said make a switch and I'm thinking from a different series and I
was like, what if they put New Garden in the two? Could you imagine
Could you imagine first off when is New go gonna get a NASCAR Cup series start
Like, hello, put him, put him in. So Team Roger Penske is very
very, very, very against that. I pay you good money to master the Indie car and that's what you're gonna do
So, so like what if, what if we, what if we got like 100,000 people to sign a petition to get
to get a new card in, in a cup car? I want to see that. I mean, I love seeing him in the Srx race
you would say thanks so much. Now that I have your names and addresses
I'll be sending you Penske shirts. Exactly. I mean, I would take a pen shirt
Why not? Yeah. No, that would never happen. Hey, I like this idea though
Um, if speaking of another in car, driver, Scotty Mac versus SVG on the NASCAR road
course I want to see that. That be sweet. I mean, we did do a ride swap in 2011
Lewis Hamilton drove Tony Stewart's car and they swapped, they did that at Watkins Glen
Oh, my God. How did I not know that Lewis drove the 14 mobile one car and Tony drove his mclaren Mercedes because they both
had Mobile one sponsors. That's inc, I had, had no clue. And it was raining at Watkins Glen that day too
So they did it on a damp racetrack. That's, yeah, because of the height difference because Lewis is a small guy
This was, this was at the beginning of his career too. So he was skinny
Tony said, yeah, we had to get a high chair for him so we could see over the steering wheel
Oh, man. No, that, that's, I mean, it, it's not, I wonder
I realistically, cris not going anywhere anytime soon. And the, and the problem
the catch 22 Penske has is like you said, there's really nobody in the pipeline
It would come, it would have to come down to an expiring contract with a driver that is interested
And I, and I feel like I should be clear. Do I want Cyd to leave Penske
No, not even a chance. I, I want him to spend his entire career there if possible and if that makes sense for him and
whatever, like that's all I want, but the performance has just not been Penske perfect
And it makes me sad. I mean, you start off your cup series career winning the Daytona 500
Like your full time career. Like that's, that's a hype. That's hard to live up to it
Like, you know, things have kind of tapered off too because, I mean, look at the year Penske had so far they want
they're coming off, uh, the Rolex 24 winning that with Porsha Penski and then Indy Car
I believe they won the opener. Yeah, New Garden won the Indy car opener at Saint Petersburg and Joey won pole for the 500
So they, they were really feeling themselves and they have crashed back to earth pretty quickly
Uh, it hurts, it hurts. So then they're coming off, uh, the cup championship last year
So, exactly. And then Indy car racing. Is it Long Beach this weekend
Indy Car, the Grand Prix of Long Beach and I will emphasize too
Penske is undefeated in the next Genera. Just remember that they have not lost the championship in the next Genera
Oh, you're right. Wow. Remember that? Just a friendly reminder. So are you saying even though you Joey Logano
Joey Logano only needed three Ws to be a champion in 2018 and it all started his first win of that year was Talladega
It's always so fun to look back at like 2018 when it was like, Joey Logano was the dark horse versus the big Aey fan
It's good to look back on 2018. I would hate to be a Kyle Busch fan
I would hate to be a horrible as a fan as a fan
I was 2020 as a Harvick fan. I was livid. I was like, dude got robbed
Hamlin got robbed too, to be honest with you, but it's fine
It's ok. I can live. We're good. We're fine. That's fine. So I would say somebody should have won in 2019 too
Denny should have won multiple championships at this point, but again, he's destined to never do it
Yeah, you, he's counting. Dom's gonna count the championships that Denny Hamlin should have won
There's a lot more, I think Harvick should have won too. To be honest with you, our buddy
Um I would say 3 to 5, there are 3 to 5 seasons that Denny was a legit title contender
2010. He choked it, genuinely choked it in 2010. Uh, 2019, they had a great year and literally they threw
an interception on fourth and goal for the win. Um, 2020 they had a great car but they were horrible at Phoenix and that just
bit them, bit them in the butt. Uh, 2022. I would say they were pretty solid and then Hail Melo happened
Um, and then last year, last year they were, last year they were after the night race at Bristol
they were convinced the title was theirs and they couldn't even get to Phoenix. So it was tough
I, yeah, this was, yeah, 2019 was, that was the year that the tape got them right
Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, John has a great 2008. Kyle Busch Collapse
He won. Ok. No, this is the only way he go for it
go for it. He won Atlanta, Talladega, uh, Sonoma Watkins, Glen Chicagoland
Daytona, uh, Dover. And there's one more, there's one more Darlington. That was all before the chase
And as soon as the chase started, they tanked within three weeks
within three weeks. They were no longer in contention to win the championship
They were pretty much, they were pretty much mathematically eliminated after three races in the chase
It was just, and they, they went in as the number one seed. It's just unbelievable
Yeah. And then Carl Edwards caught fire. Jimmy Johnson did Jimmy Johnson things
Yeah. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. Yeah, that was a great year because that was the Kyle Busch Revenge Tour
And Dale Earnhardt Junior made his first start with Hendrick and it was the collision course of all of a lifetime for Richmond
in 080, my gosh. What a great year. Oh, what a great year
What a great year to be a fan. What a bad year to be. You know, Kyle Busch and literally almost anyone else really
I know, I know, I always do the, the joke of, uh, all that for a William Byron win
It was 2000. It was all that for a Jimmy Johnson title
That's right. But no, Jimmy Jimmy was so good that year too
They were just so good. Gotta, gotta give them credit. Jeff Gordon didn't win that year
That was a big surprise because they were good most of that year. And like, junior only had one win but he was like
him and Kyle were trading the points lead back and forth that whole season. That's incredible
Good times. It's always fun. Cheated at Vegas. He ga he cheated at Vegas
Oh, ok. At least I was like, what do you mean? I can't remember what the penalty was but they cheated at Vegas and he
lost his crew chief for like five races. Uh, and they still ended up having the most wins on the year and came
I mean, to put it this way like they were so good. They won homestead but still couldn't outpoint Jimmy for the title
They were just, they came to the chase. I mean, Jimmy had it figured out
Yeah, it's always fun to look back in NASCAR history and figure out like you think back to moments that are happening now and you're
like, oh, that something similar happened like 20 years ago and like, you can always like point back to those moments which I think is
pretty cool. Um I did see a comment about, I think Adam and the chat brought this up and I lost the comment
So I'm sorry, but he did ask about what our, what are our thoughts on svgs season so far in Xfinity
Um My first thought goes right back to, he did great at CO A and then he got that what 32nd penalty and I was
like, oh, well, crap. He's having a good rookie year. He's having a good rookie year for
for a rookie stock car driver. It's a good rookie year for him and I'm excited to see him run Talladega in that cup car
That looks delicious that Wendy's car with the fries on the side
Um It, I saw the picture of it. I was like, that is red hot
So, no, he, he's had a good year. Um I did put in my predictions that he would go winless this year
which I knew got a lot of negative responses. But, you know, I, I just
you could be right though. He's gotta, he's gotta learn the car
I, I know what happened at the Chicago Street course was incredible and just walked in and took the w but he's got to learn
these cars on, uh, ovals and whatnot. And he's doing a pretty decent job
So he's logging laps. He's learning. And what more could you ask for
Oh, look at that. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. I'm, I'm ok with the Xfinity car
I love the cup car. The cup car looks right. Or fry
Come on. It's just, it's so clever. Also complete side note. But the new Wendy's
well, not even new anymore, but the Wendy's fry recipe way better than it was in years past their fries
Are there also? Are you somebody who likes to dip your fry in your frosty or is that like blasphemy to you
I learned that in a long time and I went to that day
Yeah. Ever since I don't do it, I don't always do it
I don't, always, when I go to Wendy's, I don't always have to get a frosty with it
But when I do see, I'm very excited, they have the orange dreamsicle frosty coming out and I'm so hyped
That's how, you know, it's summer when they have their lame from back home
went off when they got rid of the vanilla frosty. I just thought it was so funny
It was like, of course, you're upset about this because here's the thing that they always like ditch the vanilla frosty for some other fun
flavor. Like the peppermint one's really good. The strawberry one, great orange rims pickle. I bet it's straight fire
I bet it's awesome. But it's always at the expense of vanilla frosty
It kind of makes me sad because that's a staple. Actually. Chocolate one to come out
I used to not like chocolate Frosties and then they gave me the wrong one in my order and I was like
you know what I pay for this, I'm gonna, I'm gonna eat it and it was very good. So I've been converted
Thanks. Um, thanks, um, with seg, by the way, I do want to share his stats real quick
Um, two top tens, one top five and then one DNF um, for his season so far
like you said, it's his rookie year in Xfinity, but it's also like his rookie full time season
like in any form of like NASCAR ever, which like, that's better stats than a lot of the other rookies that come in that have
been racing like these types of stock cars. Yeah, for sure. I mean
that just also shows how much experience he does have just racing in general
Uh, just put me in a race car and I'll do well, it's like Tony Stewart, just put me in a race car and I'll
get the most out of it. So, yeah, good with him. It's been a good year
Um, I wasn't expecting a victory out of him and I'm happy with what he's doing this year
He's doing exactly what he should be doing and it's learning the car and gradually getting competitive the next road course they have get ready
He's, he, he might not win it but he might win it. I mean
the way he ran co, I was like, oh, man, my, my might be
might be doomed. Here. Here's the thing though too. Somebody talks about, he is Rocket Fast
Somebody mentioned Austin Hill in here. But speaking of that, Austin Hill even had a chance to win coda too
Like he's nonstop. Like he's insane this year when he, when he puts the bulldozer blade on the front of his car
he, he has a chance. That's the other part of the problem too
But, oh, man, no, Xfinity has been really fun to watch this year
Yeah. Yep. Yep. Oh, yeah, we do love SVG and AJ. They're great
Um, Tom, I think it's time that we look at Talladega and you talk about your top 10
It's about that time. So, speaking of which we do not have a paint scheme of a certain driver
It has not come out yet, but everything else is updated. I just wanted to say before y'all called it out in the comments
I'm literally gonna look at his Instagram right now and see if they've unveiled it out since we were on the stream
But I don't think they do it at this hour though. It's also Denny Hamlin
So it's, it's Denny Time. It's, we all run on Denny time
Let's see now. Ok. So he hasn't posted anything. What about JGR really quickly
really quickly? Also, by the way, as he's looking right after this live stream
um at 8 p.m. I have an interview with Chris Hall that is being published to the Toby Christie com
youtube channel. He is the director of operations for Legacy Motor Club
So I got to talk to him about how he formed their crews from the ground up about his career
And also he has a really funny story about his first meeting with um the King Richard Petty
So I, I thought that was pretty cool, but I'm really grateful to LA C Motor Club for allowing me to talk with their crews
and everything like that. So, uh make sure to watch that video. Um It's pretty fun. We'll have more content from the crew coming out
in the next few weeks as well, but now it's time. So I ju yeah
they have not unveiled the paint scheme yet. So Denny Hamlin has maybe a special paint scheme for fedex because it's the what is fan
appreciation kind of deal for uh their fan sweepstakes. Um But we've got that beautiful
that gorgeous fedex car on that. Um, but no, he is our statistical favorite for
uh, this weekend's race at Talladega. Uh, again, these are stats only from the spring race for these guys
Uh, the only exception I believe was Carson Hoar, who ran the fall race last year
That's his only Talladega start because he had a Talladega start. I wanted to include him on this list
Uh, Josh Barry has not made a Talladega start yet, so he was not ranked on this list
So, uh, give him some time. But, uh, ok, I know the scheme isn't updated
I believe Dewey is not s we're working on it. But now
um, yeah, Denny. Denny won back in 2014. Uh, it's his only win
Yeah, it's his only win there, but he's got two pole positions which helped him and I think what was good for him was consistency
Um, he's got 3251 laps completed. So, and he's led 292 laps
So he, he's, he's done well, but he doesn't have the best numbers
But with a lot of these guys, the reason why he's up there is because he finishes the races
I look at, I look at Joey Logano, uh, who is P eight on our list and he won back in 2018 and is always
a contender to win at Talladega. He has eight D NFS in the spring race and that kills him
So he is very far back there because of that. Uh, Christopher Bell has good numbers though
He's in P nine. he has starts of six first and sixth and then finishes
he has a top 10. Um, and he's also got, I wanna say
th he's got 13 laps led in 764 laps completed. No DNF
So that helps Christopher Bell. No D NFS in the spring race at Talladega
Kyle Busch is the defending winner of this race. Uh, he's won it twice
Uh, 2008, 2023. He's kind of in that same boat where if he's not winning it
he's wrecking in it. But he did have a good, he did have a good run in the mid 20 tens where he was very
competitive at Talladega was finishing well, uh, that benefited him, uh, to be up there in contention
Speaking of the mid 20 tens, Ricky Stenhouse junior P six got his first career cup win at Talladega in 2017
started that race from pole position as well. So that has helped him and adding that his career wins are Talladega Daytona
Daytona. That kind of helps. So he's a super speedway ace. Uh
you've got to keep him on your list of guys that could break out and get the victory chase
Elliott is carrying that family tradition of kicking butt at Talladega. He's
he won this race back in 2019. His first cup start at Talladega won pole position for it in the 24 car back in 2016
So he knows how to start the race. He knows how to finish the race
Uh, keep an eye out for that four car to make or that fourth position car
the nine car to maybe get back to back wins. I know, I love that
Brad Kowski is our winningest guy. He's won this race four times
2009. His first career win, one of the most controversial wins of all time when he flipped Carl Edwards
Um, that was his first career win and that was this race in 2009
Then he won it again in 2012, 2016 and 2021. But those three were all with Penske
So we'll, we'll see, like I say the same thing about Kyle Busch when he's ranked high
It's like, yeah, well, those are all with Gibbs. Uh We'll see if Keselowski can break through
He's had great superspeedway cars before with RFK. This could be the year for him
but we're begging the racing gods to please give Brad back a victory lane
Ryan Blaney has an average start of 12.7 an average finish of 12
So there's two of his numbers there. His best start is third
He won this race back in 2020. Uh He's led 100 48 laps
He's led the most laps twice in this race and he's got over 1600 laps completed only one DNF in this race
And he's got a total of 369 starts in this race. So he
he finishes the race. He's always in contention. Uh, keep an eye out for the 12 car as always
uh, keep an eye for the Penske cars in general because we know they're going to bring something fierce to this racetrack
And even though Austin Centric is not on this list, we know that he is a very good super speedway racer and I'm sure we'll
get to his stats in a second. Um, as you, I know. True, X, I have questions about True X on this list too
So, yeah, we'll go, we'll go to, uh, Truex here, who's P 10 on our list and he's got more starts than I can actually
count. I believe he's got 19 starts in this race. Um, but his average start is 17.1 average finish 21st
Uh, his best finish, his best start. He started on pole once and his best finish is fifth two times and
only 69 laps led in 3400 laps completed and he's got seven D NFS in this race
But again, this is the beauty of having a lot of starts on your list
Uh, the more starts you have and the less D NFS, uh, it, it is a little bit more forgiving for you
But Dr is a consistent guy. He's always just in, in the conversation
maybe, maybe have a chance here or there. He probably doesn't see himself winning this race
Uh, but I think a top 10 is a good, a good bet for that 19 car
And then last guy I mentioned was, uh, William Byron who's seventh on our list
Let me see. 15.2 start. 14.2 finish. Best start is fourth, best finish is second and only
76 laps led the most laps once over 1100 laps completed one DNF
Uh, him and Logano actually tied on my list for their overall points
Uh, they both had 10 point ones, uh, but Byron got the nod
So, uh, keep an eye for that 24 car. Uh, I think he's gonna be competitive just as all the other Hendrick cars are
Um, Larson does not like Talladega. No. Larson is 17th on the list
with an average start of 16.1 an average finish of 25.9 and he's only
led 42 laps with five D NFS. So Larson doesn't like it here
And you mentioned Austin Sindri Sindri only has two starts in this spring race and his finishes are 21st and 26th and
it would appear he's never led a lap in this race, but he has no D NFS
So it's more so he's just not a factor. Unfortunately. I mean
the other driver, I think, I, I always mention, I think every week when you do these stats
Chris Busher 21st, 21st on our list. He has an average start of 26.3
Not the best, but it's about how you finish. And he's at a 20.6
So best start, 10th, best finish third. If you remember back in 2016
he actually barrel rolled down the back straight away and he's led 42 laps and 1200 laps completed
and, but he has five D NFS, that's what hurts him. And Matt is wanting to know from Twitter 4848
Alex Bowman. He is 12th. He in three in eight in eight starts
Average start of 19.6 average finish, 15.1 best start. Fifth best finish second
He has led 53 total lapse, 1400 laps completed two D NFS
That is where he is looking at some other former winners at Talladega
Um, let's see here. Uh Michael mcdowell is actually, I know he won the Daytona 500
He's 26th on the list. His numbers aren't that great. Where's Todd
Todd Gilliland is 29th in two starts. He's got an average start of 30th
but an average finish of 18.5 not the worst. So like I know
I know he's far out on your list, but I still want to count him out maybe not winning but being in that top 10
at least, I, I mean, I think he showed a lot of strength this season. I think he's outperforming
I think what their equipment currently is doing. He has a chance to maybe win this weekend and get himself into the playoffs
Be like one of the, out of the blue random wins that we have. I believe that
Yeah, no doubt. I, I think he's shown this year that he's a contender until he's not
I feel like is the, is the problem? I feel like he's
he really does have those moments where like, yeah, he, he can do something here but something happens and it pushes him back whether it
be just strategy goes against him or, um, a lot of it seems to be strategy
Yeah. Um Bubba Wallace is a former Talladega winner. He won the fall race
Uh I've got him matching his car number. I've got him 23rd in six starts
18.7 start, 22.2 finish. That, that probably hurts him a lot. Two D NFS as well
By the way, for those that are tuning in and they're like, how in the world are you getting these numbers
How have you compiled this projected top 10? So, what I do is I take every driver and I compile their
average start, their average finish, uh their best start, best finish. A number of wins
number of poles total. Lapse led, how many times they've led the most laps total laps completed and D NFS are ranked against them and
I put all of those together and then I rank each statistical category and I take all of those rankings and create an average number
and I go based off that number. So now, you know, and this is at the end of the day
this is what that looks like. And it's just, it's just a lot of numbers
so many numbers, just a lot of, lot of numbers. So, yeah
that, that's a lot of fun to do. Hey, we get, we get good predictions from it
Um Again, last week, I think, I think last week was better than the others
But again, like we're, we're, we're, we're looking at these numbers. We have minimal number of years in the seven car
Some drivers have swapped organizations that they've gotten most of their stats in
So it's not always going to be perfect if I look, for instance
Brad Kowski, for instance. Uh So it's not always going to be perfect
but it can at least give you a decent idea of maybe fantasy lineup
maybe who could be an underdog guys. I think it works with great right now
Are Denny Joey Chase Blaney and even William Byron, just guys that have had long 10
years with the same team. Uh Like I know Denny's been a lifer for Joe Gibbs
but like Joe, he's been with Penske for now, 11 years now. So didn't start his career with them
had four full seasons with JGR, but, um, has been with Penske since
So it's just guys that have been with that same team. It makes kind of more sense
Um, compared to what Kyle Busch who has three wins total with RCR over a year and a quarter where all
but three of his wins came with JGR, um, beforehand, right? So I don't know
we'll have to see. We're not gonna give our winning predictions for Talladega
Those will come out race day on Sunday. We don't want to spoil them for you. And also we don't know them ourselves yet
We have ideas of what drivers we think could win. But with our random randomly generated draw that we do at above the O line
we don't know them until like Friday night and then you guys will know them on Sunday
So if we race Sunday, because apparently weather is going to be very fun this weekend
I say that very sarcastically. So, uh what we will see if we get any type of racing in this weekend for the Xfinity Series
I will at least say for myself, I'm going to be looking at Austin Hill. I think Parker Kligerman
he tends to do decently at the superspeedways. I think he could sneak his way into a win as well
Uh But I mean, the RCR cars in general are always for me at super speedways
especially in Xfinity this year. I think we'll see at least one of them win
Possibly. That, that's my take for there. I, I don't know about seg
but I think this could be a really good weekend for Jesse Love
Yeah, he's been very, I mean, I have that, that scary feeling that he's going to get caught up in something he didn't cause that
that's just how Talladega rewards you for your first start, honestly. Yeah
it's like initiation trial by fire, you know. Oh yeah. So I don't know
but that is it from us this weekend or I guess this week on above the yellow line this weekend though
keep up with us on our social media handles uh to keep up to date with all NASCAR news and things like that
Toby christie.com will have race coverage there from Toby Christie Joseph Wrigley
all of us on the whole team there. I'm keeping you up to date on practice qualifying stories that break over the weekend
et cetera and then of course, visit us at above yellow line.com. Uh We have merchandise there
uh make sure to get, get it. Uh and yeah, get the merchandise
That's all I can say. And then also um more about us there and our social media handles as well
Um They'll all be linked in the description as well if you were on Facebook and youtube
but that's it from us. Everyone have a great race weekend. If you're traveling to Talladega
have fun, be safe if you're partying in the infield, hydrate, watch out for your fellow partygoers
Uh And I guess go box, right? Oh, wearing the red. Um Yeah
everyone. Thanks so much for joining. Uh stay tuned on our social media for more content
And again, that video with Chris Hall is now out on the Toby Christie Com youtube platform
Make sure to give it a watch. We also have a video on the above the align channel with the pit crew answering some fun
and silly questions and we'll have more content with the Legacy Motor Motor Club crew coming out in the next few weeks as well
So thanks everybody so much for myself and Dom, we'll see you next time. Bye