Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Ep. 32: Texas Was Better, But Still Bulldoze It
12 Plays2 years ago
Jake, Steve, and Braxton are in this week to talk about the wild Xfinity and Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, including the numerous cautions in Saturday's Xfinity Series race, surprisingly good runs by a couple of teams in Sunday's Cup Series race, and deeper dives on Parker Kligerman, Josh Berry, and Bubba Wallace. They also discuss how Texas should still be improved, despite the slightly better racing on display last weekend.
In Pop Up Showers, Jake mentions the paint schemes for Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece at this weekend's Talladega race. Steve shares a meme about William Byron. Then Braxton gives a shoutout to NHRA records falling, late model stock pit crew members falling, and our friend Travis Braden having a good super late model run at Five Flags last weekend.
The guys make their real and random picks and talk about Jake's good fortune of having Byron in both last weekend, and look ahead to an important playoff race at Talladega for both the Truck and Cup Series.
You can follow along with Cloudy With a Chance of Racing on social media @CloudyRacingPod, and subscribe and review on your favorite podcast platform.
Recommended
Transcript
Race Weekend Preview
00:00:15
Speaker
Cloudy with a Chance of Racing episode number 32. Fingers crossed we have fewer cautions than the Xfinity Center to race on Saturday, right guys? Braxton and Jake as well here with you on this episode of Cloudy with a Chance of Racing talking about everything that happened at Fort Worth and Big Tech's
00:00:34
Speaker
Uh, over this weekend for the NASCAR Xfinity and cup series and looking ahead to the final super speedway race of the 2023 season at Talladega this coming weekend. Steve Jake, uh, what did we think of this weekend's racing action?
Kligerman's Xfinity Race Hopes
00:00:48
Speaker
Well, um, I've talked about him just about every single week on, uh, the cloudiest chance of racing podcast. And I'm going to talk about him again, but Parker Kligerman right there felt like he had a chance. He did have a chance. And, um,
00:01:03
Speaker
The the Xfinity series was I mean it was it was a lot of fun Nima check is really kind of dialed in right now and
00:01:14
Speaker
You know, it was a, it was a, it was a good weekend of racing overall. Um, the, uh, I think that the Texas race for the cup was actually better than I thought it was going to be. I'm not sure how you guys feel, but, um, you know, still had a lot of similar issues that we had in previous, uh, Texas races, not a lot of passing where you would like to see passing, but there was a lot of action. So I'm not going to, I know that this has been a complaint, but I'm not gonna say that it was underwhelming.
00:01:42
Speaker
But I think that it was, uh,
Texas Cup Race Review
00:01:44
Speaker
I think that it was good. I thought overall good weekend. It was for Texas. Yeah. I mean, everyone kind of wants to put a bulldozer to Texas recently and for good reason, but I thought overall it was really solid. It was a great weekend for my picks as in the one time I get, uh,
00:02:11
Speaker
an actual pick in the random pick matched it was William Byron so big points stay for me in the picks which is always nice. I fully think that Texas still needs to be bulldozed for the record I mean.
Xfinity Chaos and Key Players
00:02:25
Speaker
Absolutely. How do you have like 90 feet of racetrack in turns one and two and you can use about 15 feet of it? It's insane.
00:02:34
Speaker
Um, yeah, so a lot of that half really, I guess, I guess it's a good jumping off point there. Uh, a lot of things happen in the Xfinity race. I mean, literally the first two laps, Sam Mayer and, uh, and Riley Herbst both pancake the right size of their cars and in their days. Um, and, and it was just on from there. I was a wreck fest, 12 cautions in that Xfinity series race on Saturday, one short of the track record and man, like
00:03:03
Speaker
It was extended, it was playoff drivers who were falling left and right. As you mentioned earlier, Parker Kligerman had a great chance at the end. I think if he could have passed Justin Allgaier cleanly, he would have gotten it. But he got loose underneath Allgaier and that let Nemechek come up and get the win.
00:03:23
Speaker
an all guy or, um, you know, for the first, what, I think two stages, but most of that race had looked, I thought that was the car.
Playoff Standings Overview
00:03:31
Speaker
I mean, he was the car to beat. It seemed to like, and, um, you know, that's the one thing about, uh, the cup versus the XFINITY is a lot of the time, it seems like in the cup race, when the cup, when, you know, whoever is dominant and qualifying, a lot of the time they talk about that's the car to beat this weekend. That's the car that wins, especially on these intermediate tracks. Um,
00:03:51
Speaker
And we'll talk about it in a little bit. Bubba Wallace was kind of what I thought was going to happen with that. But it looked like, for me, in the Xfinity series, I really thought Algyre was going to win early on. And then I thought Kligerman had a chance. And then, I mean, Jon Hunter and Nemechek does what he has been doing. And that's closing. But the people we're talking about right now, Nemechek and Algyre, top two in the playoff standings.
Nemechek's Dominance
00:04:21
Speaker
It's going to be an interesting last few races here. Certainly. Allgaier, I mean, he's really turning it up at the right time. Couldn't get it done. But you look at just the stats of the race leading 133 laps. And he was right there. And hats off, he handed up finishing fifth.
00:04:47
Speaker
but a pretty good day for him. He's right there, but I mean, we've said it for months now, when we talk about the Xfinity series, I mean, John Hunter Nemechek and the way he's been able to come down from the Cup series back to the Xfinity series and really just take off and kind of, I wouldn't say resurrect his career, but really use it as another launching pad and to show what he can do.
00:05:17
Speaker
to go back up to the Cup Series. I'm sure he wants to finish the job this season. Man, overall, I mean, he has almost 1,000 laps led this year. You look at almost every statistical category in the Xfinity Series and John Hunter Nemechek right up front. I was surprised at the, I guess, the chaos, if you will, with all those cautions and
00:05:45
Speaker
And some things that unfolded at a race like Texas. Um, but you know, the, the regular seemed to make their way up to the front and Parker Kligerman, like Steve mentioned is becoming one of those guys that just seems to be up front and he's really been impressive.
Kligerman's Cup Prospects
00:06:04
Speaker
I am quickly looking at racing reference, trying to get Parker Kligerman, uh, um,
00:06:13
Speaker
average finish here recently because he's been on a roll. So I guess this is kind of a general question while you're looking that up. But I'm not sure how much I see him in the cup series full time. Like if anybody like I think that he's kind of not that I think he's catching lightning in a bottle right now, because I do think that he has really developed as a driver this year. But
00:06:42
Speaker
Like, where do we think in maybe a year or two could he land as far as a cup ride goes? I don't know. I mean, because he's going to get looks. I really, I truly believe that he's going to get looks. But I really feel like he if he gets in with like a junior motorsports or.
00:07:04
Speaker
You know, an RCR or somebody like that on a full-time deal in the Xfinity series, I think he could be one of those guys who makes a hell of a career for himself in the Xfinity series. I just don't know, like he does certainly deserves Cup Series opportunities,
Safety Concerns at Texas
00:07:19
Speaker
right? But I just don't know what kind of Cup Series opportunities he's going to get that he's going to be in top equipment and give him a chance to win. And it comes down to the argument that it's had all the time. Would you rather be in the Cup Series and busting your butt to run
00:07:35
Speaker
20th or be in the Xfinity series and competing for the win every week. I also think that he is a very talented media person. Totally. I think he's a really good pit reporter. Um, I don't know opportunity wise, like what, you know, that would look like for the future for him, but I do, I do really enjoy listening to him. He was really good. Uh, was it the 24 hours of, uh, Daytona? Um, he was, he was unbelievable. Uh, and a lot of fun to listen to.
00:08:04
Speaker
Uh, so his average finishes actually skewed down a lot because he did have a 24th at Darlington and a 31st at Bristol. So that kills him, but you take out those two. He has finished in the top 10 every race since Loudon, uh, back in what, June, July.
00:08:22
Speaker
So he is killing it. He uh, his average finish for the season is 13 7 Just that includes that includes a 23rd at the Daytona race to begin the season a 31st at coda A 38 that Dover when he started on the pole and wrecked out 60 laps into the race 38th dead last at Charlotte before the Memorial Day weekend of 32nd allowed and so and then a 31st at Bristol so he's got
00:08:49
Speaker
One, two, three, four, five. Five results of 30th or worst. And he's still averaging 13.7
Josh Berry's Season Analysis
00:09:00
Speaker
average finish. It's really good. Only two official DNFs, by the way. DNF'd at the Loudoun race, DNF'd at Dover. He's finished every race besides that.
00:09:13
Speaker
Oh, of course Bristol. Yeah, I remember last week. He had the the bad spindle. OK, yeah, that reminds me now, but they still got out there and he finished. It didn't count as a DNF. He is such a solid driver and like you said, Steve, he's also a very good media personality. That's something I think might steer him.
00:09:28
Speaker
more towards the Xfinity series as well. Because, you know, it'd free him up to still do media things on a Sunday. You know, there's a few extra weekends off with the Xfinity series compared to the Cup series. I think the Xfinity series could be a great home for him. And I don't mean to limit him. I think, you know, he would be an absolutely amazing Cup driver. I just don't know what kind of opportunity he's going to have in
00:09:55
Speaker
in a top level competitive ride. Yeah, I agree with that.
Xfinity Playoff Dynamics
00:09:58
Speaker
And the car that he's in right now, the 48 is, I don't want to say exceeding expectations, but definitely reaching expectations. Well, think about this way. So the collared cars are all out of the RCR shop as well.
00:10:19
Speaker
And so he's in the playoffs with Hemric and Chandler Smith. The third colic car was an all-star car and didn't make it in there. But you look at both RCR cars are in the playoffs. The two full-time colic cars are in the playoffs, and Kligerman's in the playoffs. He's definitely riding the wave there of the support, I guess, I think,
00:10:50
Speaker
Uh, Jordan Anderson racing, I think is part of the, um, the RCR Xfinity family as well. So, I mean, I had six of the 12 cars that made the playoffs right there are part of the, uh, the RCR extended family. Uh, but yeah, he's done a great job for sure. Did you all see the, uh, the crash with the Brennan pool where he hit the inside wall, like literally pit wall on the front stretch, man, I was.
00:11:16
Speaker
so lucky that there was nobody sitting on the wall there, kind of with their backs to the track, everybody was up an alert and got away from that. That was a hard hit, especially considering there's no safer barrier on that wall. You don't see very often anymore. Somebody made a joke, and it's not funny, but somebody made a joke that he was going to get a penalty for too fast entering.
00:11:37
Speaker
But it was bad. I mean- I miss the commitment cone too. Yeah, by like, I don't know, 250 feet. Yeah, at least. But yeah, I mean, you see wrecks like that. And I know that you look at that and wrecks like you saw a couple of weeks ago at Daytona with Blaney. And I know that that was against the safer barrier.
00:12:00
Speaker
these there's so much like high velocity impact that these cars are that
JR Motorsports Struggles
00:12:06
Speaker
these drivers are getting and you know the just again we've talked about it a couple times but the how important the Hans device and a lot of these and these helmets are so but yeah definitely really kind of scary a little bit so the Xfinity finishing order on Saturday the top eight
00:12:28
Speaker
Finishers were all playoff drivers Was Mima check clickerman the Smith's unrelated same Ethan Chandler all Geier Custer Hill and Creed and Then the rest of the playoff drivers finished a Hemric and 24th Josh Barry 27th Jeb Burton and 31st Trevor Bain All the Trevor Baines in a Owner playoff
00:12:58
Speaker
car, not driver playoff, owner playoff car finished 33rd. So a tough, tough day for that car. And then Sam Mayer, uh, 38 after his, uh, one lap, uh, crash there. Um, one name that catches my eye there was Josh Berry finishing down in, uh, in 27th place. And I, I, I know he's got the big deal he's going over to, uh,
00:13:27
Speaker
to SHR next year, just to fill in the four car after Kevin Harvick retires. But man, what an up and down year for him. We mentioned that Parker Klugerman had an average finish of 13.7 this season. Josh Berry has an average finish of 13.5. He's only led 200 laps all season long.
Cup Series Standings Impact
00:13:50
Speaker
For a guy who's been you know, the one of the hottest guys in an Xfinity series the last couple of years He's he's had a struggling season. Do you think I think he's perhaps putting too much pressure on himself? What could be the explainer here? I mean, I know JRM has been quote-unquote down, but you know all guys managed to find a way to get some results here and and It seems like Barry simply can't
00:14:18
Speaker
Well, last year, it seemed like with him in that car, a lot of these tracks that he's done really well at, he's not having the same kind of results. This year, at the beginning of the season, he was like an automatic top 10. Now he's not. He's mostly in the top 15, but not really. And he's trailing out the last two weeks.
00:14:43
Speaker
month or so he's really been up and down. So I'm not sure really. I mean, it could be that. I mean, he could just be that they're not putting things together like they're supposed to be. But, um, you know, at the beginning of the season where like Josh Berry, this dude cannot, I mean, he's a, like I said, he's an automatic top 10, but I don't know. I think that there is a chance that he's just maybe not checked out, but, you know, not putting as much emphasis on it as he should be, or maybe the team isn't, or I'm not, I'm not sure.
00:15:13
Speaker
Mm-hmm that I mean that could very well you know be the case when obviously he's he secured his cup ride remember when Richmond like the spring Richmond he finished second in Number nine car when on the cup race. Yeah. Yeah and I mean everything from right there, I mean was sky-high in the hopes for him looking that you know, I
00:15:39
Speaker
The last two XFINITY races has been a killer for him by Matt Bristol finishing 36th. He had two top fives before that, but you would like to see, I guess, a little more dominance, a little more competitiveness. Maybe make it, right now he's, if you're looking at this playoff standing, sitting outside of the bubble there,
00:16:07
Speaker
Uh, I think it's via Xfinity also their round of 12 ends, um, at the end of Charlotte and he's an 11th, 27 points back. You would like to, you know, being with, with junior motorsports and junior motorsports right now, Barry and 11th, you know, mayor and 12th, you were liked.
00:16:28
Speaker
for them to get one more in there that, you know, all gotters in second, and he's already advanced with his win, but I'd like to see, I'm sure if your junior motorist is supposed to get two cars at least in the round of eight. Yeah, he has kind of just, you know, in all honesty, just kind of, for his equipment, just kind of been average right now, and maybe things will, we'll see how he does next year in the four, but.
00:16:56
Speaker
Certainly it has been a little bit puzzling.
Bubba Wallace's Racing Progress
00:17:00
Speaker
So he finished 26th at the Daytona race at the beginning of the year. Of course that was the JRM debacle where they all basically took each other out. After that he reeled off seven straight top 10s. So he has seven top 10s in the first eight races. Since then he has eight top 10s in the last 20 races.
00:17:22
Speaker
He has 15 top 10s total and more than half or just about half of them came in the first eight races of the year so he's certainly looking for some consistency and trying to get right it it is it puzzles me how how how half it kind of follows a little bit of the Hendrick Motorsports puzzling a little bit too right that that half the team
00:17:47
Speaker
half the organization can be running so well or pretty well throughout the year. And the other half, it just seems that they're lost, you know, and JRM, it seems like the one in the seven, you know, Sam Aaron, just an all Geier, uh, they've put together pretty solid seasons mayor with, uh, getting a victory lane and all Geier as well. And then oftentimes you're looking and wondering where in the world are Josh Berry and Brandon Jones same at the Hendrick Motorsports that, uh, Larson and Byron.
00:18:17
Speaker
put together pretty solid seasons and a lot of times you're wondering where are Chase Elliott and even more extremely where's Alex Bowman. Well and to add to that a little bit you look at Kevin Harvick has had a pretty up and down season and no wins obviously but we've talked about SHR
00:18:39
Speaker
at length on this podcast. And if we're talking about a team that has is a model of inconsistency, it's them. And so Barry going there next year. I don't want to like sound the alarm, but I think that there is some cause for concern considering the fact that
00:18:56
Speaker
I mean, at this point, Kevin Harvick is still a top tier driver who I think out drives his equipment most weeks. And when you have a guy like Josh Barry, who I mean, this isn't an insult to him, but just is a step down from Kevin Harvick. I mean, you know, Kevin Harvick is not an automatic top 10 every week. And so you can't expect that Barry is going to be a top
00:19:20
Speaker
15 next year, every week. So, um, I think there is some cause for concern, but not like a ton. Um, but it is still strange to see him not, uh, have as many consistent top 10, uh, finishes in the XFINITY series. Well, Jake mentioned in a moment ago, the XFINITY series playoffs, uh, a round of 12, uh, their first cut race will be at the Charlotte Roval on October the eighth.
00:19:50
Speaker
Uh, yeah, it raises, I believe on October 7th, actually it is on the seventh Saturday, the seventh. So, uh, so John Herny, Machek and Justin Allgaier, of course, locked in cold Custer is effectively locked in. He's 63 above the cut line in third place, Austin Hill, 44 to the good Chandler Smith, plus 32 Sammy Smith, plus 18 Sheldon Creed and Daniel Hemmerich.
00:20:17
Speaker
In a bit of danger, Creed, only nine above the cut, and Daniel Hemmerich finds himself just one point to safety. Parker Kligerman down by a point, then a lot of work to be done by Jeb Burton, Josh Berry, and Sam Mayer at the Roval, trying to get their way into the round of 12. And you got to say, looking at the drivers fighting to get their way up, Parker Kligerman
00:20:43
Speaker
Just one point out, and I'd say Parker Klugerman is a hell of a lot better road course racer than Daniel Hemric is. Uh, you got to like Parker Klugerman's chances in some way, you kind of like Sam Mayer's chances as well.
00:20:55
Speaker
He's just so far back, it makes you wonder if he can get up there. Well, I'm looking at Kligerman's road course finishes this year. I mean, the Glen, third, Road America, second, Sonoma, fifth. I don't know if there's any other ones that I'm missing here, but. Kota, 31st. OK. I don't remember that Xfinity race for some reason.
00:21:22
Speaker
But I think he might have fallen victim at one of those late restarts where everybody just piles into each other He I mean, I think that if we're talking about next was not next week, but next race that there's a
00:21:39
Speaker
better than not chance that Claireman stays in the playoffs. He's very good at these tracks, and especially this year. So it's like kind of the opposite ends of it, where a guy who is not as expected to be a top tier driver is really kind of dialed in right now.
Texas Race Recap
00:22:04
Speaker
And Josh Berry, who, I mean, is not looking good right now, really has to perform well at the roval, but, you know, has to win really, but, but we know road courses are not his expertise for sure. So I'm, I'm feeling pretty good about Clickerman punching his ticket in.
00:22:27
Speaker
And because the cutoff race is the roval, that implies that it is indeed next week at Talladega, the Xfinity series is off. Let's look ahead at the Cup series. And to an extent, it was more of the same with the Xfinity series that you had about 15 feet of usable racetrack. And if you got outside of that, you were in big trouble. I think the first place we got to start off with
00:22:54
Speaker
Is Kyle Bush because that was just a wild deal all around he gets way high in turns one and two Reports an issue then ends up staying on the racetrack team says cars should be fine, but I
00:23:10
Speaker
Clearly there was something wrong because his car, uh, was certainly not fine and ended up, uh, crashing out early on in that race and finishing 34th. Um, man. And then I think, I think that afterwards where he drove basically three quarters of a lap backwards, I think that was the first sign of the kind of the petty childish Kyle Bush that we've come to know.
00:23:35
Speaker
during his Joe Gibbs years. I think that's the first sign we've seen of that at RCR this year. Well, nothing was better than him, that the AMR safety crew chasing him down. Right. That kind of encapsulates a typical old school Kyle Bush moment, which I do kind of miss.
00:23:58
Speaker
You know, he was just, I thought it was hysterical. It looked like a, like a, like a police chase from a helicopter. You know, I think it was, you can understand his frustration though, uh, because it almost to me, like, like the team was basically dismissive of his concern. There was something wrong with the car. I was like, nah, it's fine. When we hold it ends up crashing. And I don't think he crashed on purpose to verbal point. I think there was something legit wrong with the car. Right.
00:24:28
Speaker
I thought, you know, and the fact that he was backing up the way he was and pretty much right next to the pace car in the rest of the field, that was pretty funny. And watching it from above was kind of trippy. But it was that, you know, a one mistake like that in this playoff format can hurt you. I guess luckily for him, there's still two races in this round and there's Talladega.
00:24:57
Speaker
which will probably have a big one strike sooner or later, where you never know if some of these guys in front of you in the playoff standings could have their days end early. But he did surprisingly win that race back in the spring. So he's not out by any means, certainly will need some help here. But 17 points, it's not a crazy bubble.
00:25:25
Speaker
You know, it's the standings around that bubble area are certainly tightening up. You look at, you know, I'm sure we'll break it down fully here in a second, but, you know, 20 points, you know, separates five, six drivers. So there's a lot here going on in the Cup Series. I think we know in the Xfinity Series, you know, it's John Hunter's to lose.
Strategizing for Talladega
00:25:49
Speaker
And, you know, even though William Byron won yesterday, I still think that, you know,
00:25:55
Speaker
There's a lot of contenders here to win this Cup Series championship. The other drivers in the Cup Series who struggled, Kyle Larson, he looked like the car to be. And I got to say, even William Byron, when he got the lead late, those two cars were good all day. There were probably two of the better cars that could make passes in traffic and move around. But my goodness, when they got clean air, they were
00:26:24
Speaker
Gone, like capital G-O-N-E, gone. I mean, a couple of times Larson built up leads of like four or five, six seconds. And even William Byron in that last sprint, you know, four or five laps, he was out by almost two seconds. Margin to victory, 1.863 seconds. It's a shame that Kyle Larson had got underneath there and underneath Bubba and spun out, but also you gotta say like Bubba did nothing wrong there.
00:26:52
Speaker
No. And that was hard racing. And it was, I find, no fault for anybody there. So there are a couple of things about that that I really, I think, are pretty interesting, or that this presents Texas. This was a decent Texas race.
00:27:10
Speaker
And I think that there's something to be said for how fast Bubba was, but how he was able to keep his car clean when some drivers were not like some playoff drivers didn't. For instance, Kyle Larson was in a good spot and then crashed out.
00:27:31
Speaker
you know, you had the Tyler Reddick caught some bad luck and and Bush, but like if you look at this going into next week.
00:27:43
Speaker
Like, some of these drivers, like Bubba, really doesn't need to win. But he does need to have a good run. And Talladega, anything can happen. But I do think that there are some situations that could arise the following week. And I don't want to get too ahead of ourselves. However, to talk about Talladega, you have drivers who can win, who are in the playoffs.
00:28:11
Speaker
right now or punch their ticket into the following week. However, you run into some potential issues at the roval because of a like
00:28:24
Speaker
a ringer potentially winning a road course. So like Almondinger or Chase Elliott, who is not in the playoffs or one of these other really good road course guys. So it's really imperative that like in this race at Texas and in the next race, you have a good finish because there's a there's a good chance that, you know, a playoff driver isn't going to win at the robo. So it'll be interesting for sure. Certainly.
00:28:53
Speaker
You know being like I've said before I'm a Wallace fan and that was a kind of a roller coaster because He dominated early Baba did and then it seemed like you know There were some calls on pit road some strategy calls ended up being you know in the bottom half of the top ten for a good middle portion of the race and all of a sudden He's right back up front at the end the incident with Larson happens and then that's
00:29:22
Speaker
then the restart occurs and I mean, he gets a great jump and it looks like it's his to win. Then what? There was a several car wreck. I mean, right shortly after that second restart at the end. Oh, it was like a big one almost. Yeah. And, and if Baba had a great jump on that, he's known as a great restarter, but then the final one of the race didn't. And, you know, William Byron put on a good move.
00:29:52
Speaker
And it was it was Byron's from there. But what is I mean what a season he doesn't have a win. But I think what Bubba is doing is as impressive of a story in the cup series right now as any driver. He's he's knocking on the on the door of the round of eight. Certainly hopes to have a good digger run and then going to the robo after that looking at.
00:30:22
Speaker
the Cup Series playoff standings and the results from yesterday. How about, you know, Ross Chastain finishing second and he's a guy that we've talked about where some weeks we're like, where is he? And here it is in, in this playoffs and at Texas, he kind of, you know, has a ho hum race finishes second finishes very strong. And so you never know. And, um,
00:30:52
Speaker
And so that's a really good run for Ross. Yeah, I think Bubba is going to have to step it up, especially at Talladega. It's a good opportunity for him, given that he is admittedly not a comfortable road course racer, but is certainly working to improve it. But he's got an average finish of 16.4 this season. Only five top fives and eight top tens. I just feel like it's going to be difficult for him to
Wallace's Playoff Chances
00:31:21
Speaker
to get things going and move past this round. I mean, he can certainly get his way into the next round if he has a good race at Talladega, right? But after that, I mean, it's only uphill from there. And it's deeply uphill from that because he has no playoff points, actually. So even then, he has a lot of work to do. We know he's going to Talladega, which is
00:31:51
Speaker
One of his historically better tracks, but you look at the other Super Speedway races of the year, and Bubba crashed at the Daytona 500, 27th at the Spring Atlanta race, 28th in a crash at Talladega in the spring, Summer Atlanta, 25th, and then the Daytona Summer Race, 12th, his best finish at a Super Speedway. So you can't even really, I guess, count on that as being a sure ticket into the round of 12 for Bubba Wallace.
00:32:20
Speaker
But it's gonna be certainly intriguing to watch throughout the the next couple weeks to see if he's able to claw his way up into a qualifying spot for the round of 12. So I agree to to a point I look at his Talladega stats and his average finish there is 19.7 which I think is kind of misleading because he is a really really good plate racer and I think the biggest thing with guys like Bubba who
00:32:48
Speaker
are good play racers is that they have generated and gotten a lot of trust from other drivers. So like if he sees a line that's fast, people are going to want to follow him. Now, obviously, the finish is the most important thing sort of in this instance. But stage points are also extremely important. However,
00:33:05
Speaker
um at five races at the rovel his average finish is 20.4 so not super far away from the his talladega average finish but in his last two i think rovel races last year was seventh overall uh seventh place finish and then year before that was 14th so
00:33:25
Speaker
He has gotten better at road courses. I mean, he's still not great. However, though, about that, Andy Road course was a top 20. And I think there was another road course this year where he wasn't bad at it.
Talladega Predictions
00:33:43
Speaker
So I mean, I think honestly, the pathway is there for him to make the next round.
00:33:52
Speaker
a good run. And I mean, like a solid run without a win would probably help punch his ticket into the next round because guys like Kyle Larson are historically not good finishers at these tracks. So and there are some drivers who have to dig themselves out of big holes that very well could get wrapped up in the big one, several big ones potentially. So I am going to say that he does punch his ticket into the next round.
00:34:23
Speaker
I would certainly hope so. Looking at, you know, down at the board, though, you know, you mentioned there are a few guys still. I mean, everyone that's left is good. I mean, that's why they're there. But you mentioned Larson. A guy like, you know, Martin Truex, usually on super speedways, he usually isn't, you know, up in the front of the pack.
00:34:50
Speaker
Then you look at a guy in below the cut line right now, like Orion Blaney is, you know, is Dega is really his big opportunity as well as, as Wallace below the line. And Braxton mentioned earlier about Kyle Busch and his recent success at the Talladega. You know, this is the type, you know, this is why, you know, Dega has always been in the fall, but for it to be in the playoffs and have, you know,
00:35:20
Speaker
heightened excitement level like this, because it really is a major wild card. And who knows? The winner could be someone out of the playoffs. That's just as likely as a playoff driver winning at a track like this. So it's definitely an opportunity for a lot of people. And then it's an opportunity for a lot of people to have really bad days and really knock themselves out of contention. I think from the finishing order, you mentioned a second ago, Steve, you have to give a shot out to
00:35:50
Speaker
Ross Chastain and really the entire track house organization because They got Daniel Suarez both cars in the top ten Chastain seconds Suarez eighth after they've largely as we mentioned often times this summer been invisible For much of the summer. So a great job by them. Also got to give a shout out to to shr There was a point late in that race towards one of the last restarts. I think we're all for shr cars or three of the four were
00:36:19
Speaker
Right there in the top 10 or top 15 great run by them. They end up with Harvick in 6th Brisco in 10th Almorola 18th and then Preece in 23rd But they had all four of their cars and that you know the last two, you know Almorola in 18th and Preece in 23rd are down mid-pack whatever that is still a far cry from where those cars have run for good chunks of the year, so
00:36:48
Speaker
Certainly worthwhile there. And then another good run by Brad Kozlowski and Chris Busher. The RFK cars did well. Michael McDowell was competitive throughout the day. And I don't think we can continue to say enough about the job Carson Hosevar has done, especially the way he was the car that pancaked the wall.
00:37:14
Speaker
Started the big one if you will He he bent up some some suspension things in the right rear that car was not driving Well, he still drove his car to a 16th place finish and finished all the laps He's gonna get his first crack at a Cup Series Super Speedway race this weekend at Talladega and He's done a great job my concern for hosts of our at Talladega is that he's got that big yellow stripe on his bumper and I have a feeling he it's
00:37:45
Speaker
more likely than not that he's just based on that alone, he's going to get hung out to dry. Besides the fact that Toyota or sorry, Chevrolet has put them on our island, not giving them any help. I can't imagine Chevrolet is going to go out of their way and include them in in manufacturer orders this weekend.
00:38:05
Speaker
Well, especially considering William Byron is and when we get to the pop up shower, I'll have more to say about this, but to say basically that, you know, William Byron right now is.
00:38:20
Speaker
able to capitalize on so many good opportunities late in the race that they're not super concerned about what anybody else is doing, including some of the other cars in the stable. So yeah, I mean, it's kind of a weird dynamic that Chevrolet has with some of their teams, but I completely agree. Well, anything else we want to add about the
00:38:49
Speaker
the Texas weekend besides the fact that I think it still needs to be bulldozed and I don't know if it needs to be bulldozed. I think it just needs to be ground up. The top layer of vassal needs to be ground up. Get that PJ one the heck out of there. Um, and while you're at it, just restore the banking in terms one and two. So it's equal with three and four. And if you're going that far, you might as well just make a progressive banking like homestead and it's going to be fantastic.
00:39:19
Speaker
I think that you got to get the PJ one out of it. I still think it needs a bulldozer. I don't think that there's going to be. I just I don't think that there's going to be anything that really makes this track better. You know, I if if multiple drivers are saying that it needs to be, they need a new track, then I'm going to stick with what they think. You know, I think the PJ one obviously is going to be a big.
00:39:46
Speaker
Like it would help not to have it, but at the end of the day, like the biggest thing that you need is it's just a new track.
00:39:58
Speaker
So I think that ends our Texas discussion. Actually, one last thing to mention about Texas, not really NASCAR-related, but the IndyCar schedule came out today, and Texas not included on it. So there certainly could be a NASCAR domino to fall with that once the NASCAR schedule comes out any day now. We're waiting, waiting, waiting on that for sure.
00:40:25
Speaker
Let's go on to our pop-up showers. And what do we have there? Jake, do you have a pop-up shower for today? Yes, sir. We were just talking about the good run at Texas, and a shout out to Stewart Hoss Racing, because they, in all honesty, haven't had many this year. My pop-up shower, it just showed up today for paint schemes for Talladega.
00:40:54
Speaker
I have to, I have to mention this Talladega night steam with old spice. So what for chase Briscoe and Wonder bread for Ryan priests, um, Adam Stern of the sports business journal says the activation will include merchandise, show cars and digital content about 2000 retail displays. So it's pretty cool. They're doing this and they're, uh, you know, on their way to Talladega and those are, um,
00:41:21
Speaker
pretty big brands. I mean, so that's, that's always nice. And so a shout out to a steward house racing for having a little bit of fun with their sponsorship there. See if they can shake and bake their way to the front. Yes. No shot. Steve is not on that train. You're pulling for genre, right?
00:41:42
Speaker
Uh, yes. You know, it's funny. I watched that movie a couple of weeks ago again. I mean, I've seen it, but I probably haven't seen it in like 10 years and I forgot how funny it actually is. Like it's a legitimately good movie. Uh, but it's also very, are you going to make some crepes on Sunday morning? I was going to do my French accent, but I don't want to drive people away. So, okay. Uh, you can go ahead with your pop-up shower though.
Byron's Late-Race Wins
00:42:08
Speaker
My pop-up shower isn't anything that has anything to do with actual news, but it was a really funny tweet that I saw. So I'm going to do the best that I can to explain it. The picture is Jimmy Johnson with his seven Cup Series championship trophies. And then the tweet says, William Byron, if there was an automatic caution with 10 laps to go every race.
00:42:36
Speaker
Cause it just seems like he is completely, you know, if there's, if he's close at the end of the race, uh, and there is a caution, he's going to take advantage. Cause like Bubba was focused not on the wrong things, but focused on, you know, kind of trying to side draft and then by Byron made a good move and, um, you know, it, it worked out. Yeah. It's, uh, it's funny how Byron does find himself at the right place at the right time. So.
00:43:08
Speaker
Uh, so my pop-up shower, I kind of have three, which I know is a lot, but there was a lot going on this weekend.
Racing Event Recap
00:43:15
Speaker
So, uh, in drag racing, uh, Mike Salinas became the first NHRA driver in history to go 300 miles in the eight, 300 miles an hour and the eighth mile. He set a.
00:43:29
Speaker
Uh, new track record at ZMAX Dragway and, uh, in Charlotte, right next to Charlotte Motor Speedway, 364 with a seven. So it's 3.64 seconds at 338 miles an hour, uh, which is absolutely hall in the mail. Uh, also from that race, uh, Tony Stewart got disqualified. His team found with, uh, illegal magnetos on his, uh, top alcohol, extra car, nothing he had any involvement with. He just gets in and drive.
00:43:59
Speaker
The team says it was an issue with a part that they had bought used from another team and then My pop-up shower number two. We're going to go to Martinsville Speedway where they hosted the premier late model stock event of the of the year the thought I start credit union 300 even before the the main event started during the qualifying races I think we shared this video on in our group chat the fight that happened in the pits and
00:44:28
Speaker
Poor guy in the purple car ended up with all like his right front fender like completely trashed by a grown man being thrown into it But that was that was quite a pit scuffle I don't think there were any drivers like actually involved as all crew members and then some drivers got out and tried to break it up But then if you guys haven't seen it the finish of that race was absolutely epic two cars door banging side to side I
00:44:55
Speaker
And they weren't like trying to wreck each other. They were just both trying to win and it was a great finish to a great late model stock race. Uh, and then, uh, my third pop-up shower, uh, is gotta go to our guy, Travis Braden, who was a guest on the podcast year front of the pod. He, uh, went back down to five flag Speedway in Pensacola, Florida with a jet motorsports in the super light model race, uh, down there. He got quick time and qualifying, unfortunately in the redraw.
00:45:24
Speaker
He drew eighth, so he started eighth, but he finished top 10. Uh, so getting back in the car and, uh, getting a pole position and a, uh, a top 10 finish is, uh, not a bad way to, um, to dip your toes back in. He was in the car earlier this summer and back in it this past weekend. Uh, so great to see, uh, Travis doing well. Um, sorry for my accident to pop up showers, but there was a lot going on. Like I said, it was a pop-up hurricane just about, uh, and hopefully.
00:45:53
Speaker
I guess, fortunately, the hurricane that did hit the East Coast hopefully will be cleared out by the time the NASCAR series gets to Charlotte next weekend for the Rojo weekend. Although that is a road course, it could be a rain race. So certainly some interesting things could happen there if it were to have a hurricane. I hope there's not. You'll be exactly. That's why I selfishly hope there's not like actually part of me thinks it would be just an adventure just to, you know,
00:46:22
Speaker
go through all of that and get drenched to be like, see a heck of a race. Another part of me is like, no, that sounds miserable. I would not want to be in the rain at a NASCAR race, even if they were, you know, driving. So I, but yeah, I, I, I hope that doesn't happen. The, the Xfinity series race that happened there a couple of years ago in an absolute deluge. It looked fun as hell to watch on TV from everything that I've ever heard from anybody. It was not fun as hell to be there.
00:46:52
Speaker
So maybe that's the key there. Let's get to our random picks if that's good with you guys. So Jake had a great day on our real picks. Everybody else had a crap day. Jake with the win with William Byron. That is Jake's second win of the season after he picked Denny to win at Kansas in the spring. The rest of us
00:47:21
Speaker
Dylan had Kyle Bush who we mentioned earlier had a pretty pretty crappy day and finished in 34th Ryan Blaney was caught up in the In the big one at the end finishing 28th That was Steve's pick and then my guy Tyler Reddick kind of was involved in that he pancakes the wall shortly before Carson Hosevar did I did a little damage to his car and finished 25th after I
00:47:45
Speaker
He had a good run going for parts of the day and pit strategy found his way back and forth through the field, but 25th place for Redick. So Dylan picks first. He has texted us, not able to be with us tonight. He has gone with a young man, young Ryan Blaney for the win at Talladega. Not a bad pick for him, I think.
00:48:11
Speaker
who had Blaney finished second at Talladega in the spring, Jake had him. So not a bad choice there. Steve, you're up next. Well, I had Brian Blaney last week. And I was considering picking him this week, also. But that was, you know, I think that's, I think that would, for me, that would have been bad luck. I think I bring Brian Blaney bad luck.
00:48:38
Speaker
Um, you picked him at Kansas and he finished 16th. Yeah. In the spring. So I think I picked him at Bristol dirt and he finished 23rd. Good. So I think I'm never going to pick him again. Um, sorry, uh, to hit, sorry to him. Um, and 36, 36, the summer Daytona.
00:49:03
Speaker
I've picked him a lot, but it's hard. I don't know. I mean, I don't know how you guys feel not to get off like on the tangent, but it's hard to pick drivers when you know, there are places that they go that you think they could be good. I just, you know, I'd feel sometimes like I, like, I don't want to pick William Byron because he won last week and I feel like that's like tempting fate. But anyway, um,
00:49:24
Speaker
So I don't want to do it. I'm hoping that it happens. But he's won this race before. I'm going with the nine of Chase Elliott.
00:49:40
Speaker
I think next week would be an interesting one at the rovel for him. But I feel like that's too good to be true. And he's won at Talladega before. So yeah, I think I think he's going to mix up the playoff standings by by winning this race. OK, remember, folks, Chase Elliott, the nine car is in the owner's playoffs. Chase Elliott not in the driver's playoffs, but he still has something to race for in the owner's playoffs. So as Steve going with the nine there,
00:50:11
Speaker
I'm going to go with a, I'm really torn between two drivers and their teammates that have found themselves at the front. They always do well at super speedway races. In fact, one of the guys finished second at Daytona a few weeks ago in the summer race. I'm going to go Brad Kozlowski, finally get the monkey off his back and get a win as a team owner.
00:50:40
Speaker
Was that you laughing back there, Jake? Oh, no. What side event? I thought you were trolling me already, given that you just won with Willy B. No. I'm laughing and smiling because Brad was written down here on my Microsoft Word document for the show. OK. So good. Thanks.
00:51:07
Speaker
I, so because my drivers have finished so bad recently, I mean, since Pocono in the last 10 races, I have exactly one top 10. I thought about picking Bubba, and I'm like, no, that would be the worst wedding gift to ever get Jake is to Jinx's driver of Fertaladega.
00:51:28
Speaker
Well, you know what it is with that being said, it is my wedding weekend. So go big or go home. I will pick up. Okay. I left him. I left him for you, Jake. Thank you guys. So, uh, I think so. Even though he only got three points on Sunday, uh, yesterday with Kyle Bush, Dylan has cracked the 1000 point threshold. He has a thousand and one points.
00:51:53
Speaker
on the season in our actual picks. We joked around last week about how he only needed like... Exactly, yeah. He only needed two points and he only got three. Steve, you're in second, 75 points behind. Jake, you're only eight points behind Steve. So close battle there for second place. And I have a ways to go. I'm at 878 points. So what was that? 22 plus 17 is...
00:52:24
Speaker
45 no wait 39 35 wait 22 plus oh 22 plus 17 Yeah, so 39 points for me to try to get into the battle there and given that I like I said I've only had one top 10 In the last 10 weeks.
Talladega Expectations and Anecdotes
00:52:43
Speaker
I think the it's tough slutty I've kind of like the Bubba Wallace in this situation that I need I need some big things to happen here in the next couple weeks So uh, so Jake has Bubba
00:52:53
Speaker
Dylan has Ryan Blaney, Steve has Chase Elliott, and I have Brad Kuzoski in our actual picks. In our random picks, Steve and I had tough days. Dylan had an okay day, actually a surprising day with Daniel Suarez. And then, of course, Jake with the winners. He had William Byron both in real and in random.
00:53:15
Speaker
Our points look like this. I lead the way with 770 Jake is next 73 points behind at 697 Dylan only five points back of that at 692 and Steve finds himself quite a ways back at 610 in the in the random standings, so
00:53:37
Speaker
For Talladega, we'll go through the random spend. Do one of you guys want to look up a forecast since Dylan's not here and see what this is going to be like at Talladega? It's Talladega, so it's going to be rainy. Let me take a look. Talladega forecast, so that'll be Sunday.
00:53:59
Speaker
I guess Saturday and Sunday. Actually, there is a trick series. We should mention that after we do our arena picks here. Oh, and speaking of, and it looks like it's supposed to be on a Saturday, well, Friday,
00:54:17
Speaker
Looks like it's partly cloudy, going all through the day and night. And it's kind of the same on it's going to be hot, 86 degrees, it looks like. But yeah, looks like it's going to be all good weather, really small chance of precipitation all weekend and shouldn't run into any weather issues. It's fantastic. That's good news for sure.
00:54:47
Speaker
Don't worry, Dylan, we're not firing you. Chandler Smith, how about, by the way, going to be running in the 25 in the truck series. He's doing double duty. He's got the 25 in the truck series. And the 13, you're going to run in a third open car for colleague, in the third car, an open car, in the Cup Series race.
00:55:11
Speaker
In our random picks, they go like this. Jake, you got the 38 car, which I believe is Todd Gilliland this weekend. Dylan got the guy he picked to win the race in his actual picks back in the spring, Kyle Busch. I got Christopher Bell. And Steve, you got the podcast's favorite Cup Series driver. Read Sorenson, baby. Whoever's in the 15 car, yes.
00:55:38
Speaker
Uh, it is 50 to see the entry list, Brennan pool, Brennan pool. Okay. I guess, is that right? I I'm looking at the entry list as well. And, uh, I just say Brennan pool there.
00:55:55
Speaker
Alright, so yeah, so we got Brennan pool in the 15 or I guess look look go through the drivers who were kind of surprise entries here Chandler Smith is in the 13 for a colleague Brennan pool is in the 15 Rick Ware car Riley Herbst will be in a third front row car and the 36 machine Carson hosts of our once again filling in in the 42 for legacy Motor Club JJ Ailey will be in the 51 and BJ McLeod will be in the 78
00:56:26
Speaker
In the truck series we got to mention the truck series because they do have a race coming up this weekend in the Talladega, so this will be the First race of their second round so their second round will see me Well so
00:56:49
Speaker
They just had to cut off. They just had to cut off after Kansas. So this would be the second race of the second round. Second race of second round. So Corey Haim won at Bristol. They go to Homestead after Talladega. No, they run the truck series. They do go to Homestead. So this is second race of second round. And then Homestead is their final cut off race before Phoenix.
00:57:14
Speaker
So Haim is in to the Finally our final four, excuse me I guess hosts of our and in finger all looking pretty good. I guess is plus 29 hosts of our plus 18 and finger plus 14 Zane Smith Ben Rhodes Nick Sanchez and time Majeski all have work to do Zane Smith needs 14 points Ben Rose needs 19 Sanchez and Majeski each need 22
00:57:43
Speaker
I find it interesting that the three Ford trucks and the playoffs and the cut truck series are all outside looking in and it's three Chevys and then the one Toyota of Haim who was in the top four. And speaking of alliances, I noticed too in the Cup Series standings that I almost wonder because Talladega is on a cutoff race if maybe the five and all the all the Toyotas that are in the playoffs will work together and be like,
00:58:12
Speaker
Let's just all try to get ourselves up into the top 12 in points, and then y'all can fight it out at the roval. I mean, that was certainly how Bubba's caused, right?
00:58:24
Speaker
Well, I mean, I think so. I'm pretty high on him. I mean, I know that it's crazy to think he could punch his ticket somehow into the... I also want to say that without Bowman and Elliot in the playoffs, I think he's obviously taking advantage of a situation that he may not have been in otherwise, but he's looked really, really good. So I think at this point, he's got...
00:58:54
Speaker
he may have been like, well, you know, we made it in. But now he really has multiple chances to advance to multiple rounds. And, you know, I think he's going to look for any opportunity to do that. Absolutely. Looking at the truck series entry list, the tri-con number one truck is entered as a Toyota and a driver TVA. Same with Young's Motorsports number two. Oh, to Chevrolet.
00:59:18
Speaker
You have Cory Roper making a one-off start Jennifer Joe Cobb coming back to the series for a a One-off start here. She's not been full-time this year last couple years, but making the trip down to Talladega and
00:59:35
Speaker
Greg Van Alst, the ARCA Series Daytona winner back at the beginning of the year. He'll be in the 20 for Young's Motorsport. Jason M. White will be in this 22. Chandler Smith, we mentioned he is going to be in the 25 for Rackley War Racing after that team decided to part ways before the end of the season with Matt DiBenedetto.
00:59:58
Speaker
Brian Doza, Brett Holmes, Keith McGee, also in the race. Parker Klugerman and the Henderson Motorsports team will be in the 75 truck there. And then they announced just earlier today, Brett Moffat will be in the 34 truck, a second entry for front row Motorsports, all a sponsorship from Freight Auction. So what's his name? I want to point out, by the way,
01:00:24
Speaker
One thing about Brennan Poole is that he has one career top 10 in the cup series, and that top 10 came Italian. There you go. So Brennan Poole, Reed Sorensen, two top 10, this one. There you go. So there are 40 trucks going for, I think, 32 spots, maybe 34. So a handful of trucks will go home in the truck series.
01:00:53
Speaker
Something certainly keep an eye on there and anything we want to make mention of before we get ready for Talladega I'm all good. Are you ready for the Eric Church song to be played a whole ton this week? God, I'm so sick of that song
01:01:13
Speaker
It's on my do not playlist. Well, so I kind of did the math. I think I said I don't know if I said this before, but I did the math. And when you're listening to that song, he talks about like it was the summer before the real world started. So he's 46 years old now. Right. Which means that you're guessing that this was the summer before something like the summer right after you graduated high school.
01:01:44
Speaker
Right, which means that that would have been 30 years ago. 28, yeah. So how, or wait, yeah, 46. So 46, so he would have been, that's 28 years ago, which means that that would have been 1998. Is that right?
01:02:00
Speaker
hold on 2023 minus no no 95 so first of all i don't know what summer talladega race but uh and i think he made everything in that up but that winner of that year would have been i think mark martin okay in the six car so yeah for me picking brad k in the six
01:02:20
Speaker
It all it all works out. But yeah, so I don't want to hear that song at all this weekend. But I know that I know that NBC is going to be playing it for sure. So I did see Jake on Saturday at a football game and his bride was there as well. And it was
01:02:40
Speaker
My idea was very quickly shot down. I suggested having one of the bridesmaids holding a phone or a tablet to where Jake could see it, you know, out of the corner of his eye a little bit at the altar while he was getting married so he could watch the extended series race.
01:02:55
Speaker
And I imagine the scenario where he's being asked the vowels and stuff, and do you take this woman to be your bride? And he fist pumps and goes, yeah. And he's like, no, no, no, there's something happened in the race. Yes, I do. Or trouble. Classic Mike Joy trouble.
01:03:18
Speaker
Right at the altar. Have you guys seen that one video where the guy's walking down the aisle after the vows, and he says, the Celtic's lost? And then he looks over at his friend, and the guy's like, Celtic's lost. And he's like, they lost? And then he keeps walking down the aisle. He could just hold up the iPad right there. I guess, fortunate for Aaron, I will not be at the wedding, or else I probably would do that.
01:03:46
Speaker
Yeah, you might get escorted. Yeah, that would not be a good time. Yeah, it's all in fun. Well, we certainly wish Jake and Aaron all the best as they get married this weekend. And I'm correct in assuming, Jake, that means you will not be with us next week as we talk about the Roval. I will not be here next week. I'll probably still be having it not here where I live in Charleston, West Virginia.
01:04:14
Speaker
So I'll be away and visiting with family and still celebrating. Where's the honeymoon going to be? Phoenix for the championship race? That's the plan. Or maybe Texas Motor Speedway.
01:04:32
Speaker
Well, like I said, certainly wish you all the best and we'll catch up with you after the removal, which will be an exciting episode. So actually next week I will be in Charlotte on Monday night. So we'll have the next episode. How are we coming to you from the city of Charlotte?
01:04:51
Speaker
As we look forward to the roval weekend and then I'll be at the race and then some scheduling things in the air with work, but I might actually be still in Charlotte for the recap episode after the roval. So we're going on location for clouded with a chance of racing and we're going to have some fun with it for sure. So a big thank you to all of you for listening to clouded with a chance of racing. If you like what you heard, please give us a subscribe.
01:05:19
Speaker
And a cloudy racing pod on, uh, on X formerly Twitter, Instagram, and, uh, threads. You can also find this anywhere you get podcasts, uh, cloud or the chance of racing in there. We would appreciate a subscribe and a review as well. So for Steve and Jake, I'm Braxton. Thanks so much for listening to cloud at the chance of racing. We'll be back with you next week after Talladega. Have a good one.