NASCAR on TV this week

Couch Potato Tuesday: Jeff Gordon Gets Disrespected

Michigan International Speedway brought the unveiling of the new ultra-low downforce package, one that Darrell Waltrip described as having a smaller rear spoiler than at any time in the past 40 years.  It’s a little hard to ascertain.  It’s not like restrictor plates, which can be tracked thanks to Jayski’s Plate chart.

FireKeepers Casino 400

As you probably remember, the Pocono broadcast was overshadowed by Brad Keselowski calling out Jeff Gordon for bias in the booth over his comments about Keselowski’s penalty.  While yes, Gordon did refer to a punishment at Las Vegas that was never levied, he did make a parallel.  The fact that the video from Las Vegas was already cued means that this topic might have come up prior to the race.

Sunday saw the two champions sit down together and talk.  Isn’t that lovely?

Gordon stated after the piece aired that they were already scheduled to do the interview at Michigan before everything at Pocono went down.  It does say something that Keselowski was still willing to do the interview after all the fallout.

While he did seem to come off as friendly, Keselowski held rather firm to his beliefs after Pocono (mainly since he’s held these opinions for something like six weeks).

“When you exit the realm of talking about drivers and get into talking about the cars, specific things to the regulations, rules, teams, etc.,” Keselowski said.  “That should be considered out of bounds when you have an investment in the sport.”

Gordon appeared taken aback by this statement.  I think anyone reading this, if they were in Gordon’s shoes, would feel the same way.

As far as I’m concerned, it is ludicrous.  While he never came out and said it, he’s basically saying that FOX Sports should have never hired him.  At best, he’s saying that Gordon needs to hold his tongue and not be honest.  I don’t get the whole thing about Gordon’s brand knowing that Darrell Waltrip is there, has been there since 2001 and owned teams during his time in the booth.  He spent part of the interview metaphorically kicking Gordon square in the nuts.  I’d argue that this was nothing short of disrespectful.

Did Keselowski feel the same way about Michael Waltrip being on the FOX broadcasts when Michael Waltrip Racing was still in the Sprint Cup Series?  How about Dale Earnhardt, Jr. doing the XFINITY race on Saturday in the booth?  Or, since he’s done a couple of XFINITY races this year, himself in the booth?  I don’t know, because he never broached the issue.

Outside of the Pocono spat, Keselowski did mention that he believes that the best drivers are bipolar.  That’s an interesting notion.  Sir Jackie Stewart described this to Jim McKay in the aftermath of the Danny Ongais crash in the 1981 Indianapolis 500.

https://youtu.be/aQovNpXfzjs?t=2m42s

Obviously, given his track record, Stewart was not like what he described on-air here out of the car.  I guess there is merit to Keselowski’s quote here.

As far as I’m concerned, this is probably not over.  Although with only one race left in the FOX portion of the Sprint Cup season, you might not see it quite as starkly for the rest of the season, I feel like this issue is going to pop up again before the season ends.

For the race itself, I felt that FOX did a decent job showing the various races for position in and around the restarts.  Outside of that period of time, it was hit or miss.  It seemed to me that a couple of teams got the lion’s share of the coverage.  No, Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t really one of them.  He didn’t last long enough in the race to be one of them.

There were a number of things that I wish actually did make the broadcast.  One was a replay of what happened to Jeffrey Earnhardt to bring out that yellow.  He had already hit the wall to bring out the fourth caution and had slowed on the track.  It seems like he hit the wall again, but I don’t know what happened there.  I’m operating under the assumption that he blew a right front tire, smacked the wall and broke something off that caused the fire.

Secondly, anyone that was looking on Twitter probably could have foreseen Kyle Busch’s engine failure.  Busch’s wife Samantha tweeted this out during the previous caution.

I feel like this was a missed story for FOX.  Kyle stated that he had “30 laps of warning” for the failure.  That’s more than enough time for FOX to report on the issue.  He had paper on the grille early in the race and that probably hurt the car more than anyone wants to admit.  This is why you can’t get napkins or straws at the races these days.  If I want to drink a fountain drink in the Media Center in Daytona without a threat of spillage, I have to bring one from off the property and hide it in my bag.  Now, I’m not saying that FOX’s pit reporters need to troll Samantha Busch’s Twitter feed during the race; believe me, they’ve got enough stuff going on as is.  They could have gotten similar information by either talking to Adam Stevens, or by using their headsets (one side of it has driver audio).

One of the main topics of discussion was the rules package and how it affected the racing.  The most obvious result was that it made the cars loose as heck.  The restarts were complete scrambles.  However, it only slightly helped the clean air issue and didn’t change the lines that were being run at all.  Earnhardt Jr. pointed out on Saturday that the groove seemed to move downward during the XFINITY race.  That’s been the case since the track was repaved.

Post-race coverage was about average on Sunday.  Viewers got a few interviews and a quick check of the points before FOX Sports 1 left the air to get to New Jersey.

Overall, I thought the broadcast was just ok.  The race itself did not have any controversial moments.  There were things that need to be improved (more inclusivity, better reporting of storylines, perhaps better replays that include the biggest hit in a crash (Brian Scott’s hit seemed to be considered secondary to Danica Patrick wiping out)).  There was no final opinion given on the rules package, despite it being the major topic of discussion for most of the day.  I think it’s ok, but it’s not the end all.

Menards 250

Saturday brought the XFINITY Series back to Michigan for their one and only appearance of the year.  While Daniel Suarez was the big story of the day on the track, the Monterrey native was not the story of the day on TV.

On FOX Sports 1, the big story of the day was the inclusion of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the broadcast booth for the first time as a guest analyst.  While yes, Earnhardt, Jr. had made guest appearances in the booth in past ESPN races, he’d never stuck around for the full race.

Going in, I didn’t know quite what to expect out of Earnhardt, Jr.  In some ways, my thoughts were similar to what was going through my mind when I first heard that Clint Bowyer was going to be in the booth.  Personality-wise, Earnhardt Jr. is kind of “Clint-lite.”  He’s conversational, but not crazy.  Last week, I asked which Dale that we would get, Racer Dale, Business Dale or Watercooler Dale?  We basically got Racer Dale, or more honestly, Interview Dale.

Earnhardt Jr. is probably the best driver to interview in NASCAR. He probably values the media more than most of his immediate colleagues and is more willing to give quotes.  On Saturday, you got a 41-year old man in the booth that put a lot of thought into his input.  Maybe he wasn’t running his mouth a mile a minute, but the analysis that he added to the broadcast was actually pretty good.  Earnhardt Jr. spent part of the race focusing on the various lines that drivers were taking and how those lines really weren’t moving around despite the 92-degree weather.

He admitted after the race that he was concerned about the tire blistering that ended up being a real issue on Saturday. With the cooler temperatures during the Cup race, it wasn’t that much of a thing, though.

The overall racing was not that bad.  Focus was rather tight at times, but viewers were able to follow Suarez’s charge up through the field.  We could see where Suarez was catching Kyle Busch late in the race and what he needed to do in order to pass his more experienced teammate.

Since the race ended much quicker than FOX Sports 1 expected, there was a lot of time for post-race coverage.  FOX Sports 1 provided ten driver interviews, plus checks of the points and unofficial results and analysis.  The large amount of post-race content gave viewers a rather complete idea of what went on during the race.

Overall, for the sake of this column, Earnhardt, Jr.’s appearance in the booth may have overshadowed the race itself.  Ultimately, the race will be remembered as the day in which Suarez finally broke through.  I’m surprised that it took this long for him to win, knowing how strong Joe Gibbs Racing has been so far this year.

Earnhardt, Jr. was reasonably solid in the booth debut.  It seems like he had fun with it, which is probably the most important thing for someone who isn’t working in the booth on a regular basis.

Besides the fact that he enjoyed himself, Earnhardt, Jr. didn’t need to be prompted to give his opinion on-air, like some guest analysts have had to in the past.  While I’m unsure how much Earnhardt, Jr. prepared for his time in the booth, he did come prepared to contribute to the broadcast in a fair fashion.

Yes, he did have three cars in the race via JR Motorsports, but he really didn’t let that get in the way.  We did get some good insights on what he sees in Alex Bowman, who is in the middle of a nine-race deal to drive the No. 88.  Bowman getting the ride might have been a surprise to some, but Earnhardt Jr. seemed to have the opinion that he was an untapped talent.  I guess he saw something he liked out of the Arizona native when he was driving the No. 99 for RAB Racing with Brack Maggard.

Rattlesnake 400k

A split weekend brought a change to the broadcast booth in Texas for the Rattlesnake 400k. Michael Waltrip chose not to make the trip to Denton County for the truck race, run as support to the not-quite-finished-yet Firestone 600.  In his place was Todd Bodine in a rare booth appearance.

Having Bodine in the booth instead of Michael Waltrip does lead to a completely different feel.  Bodine’s commentary trends more to the Ricky Craven style than anything else.  He’s methodical, but makes his input count.  For example, he criticized Tyler Reddick for what he believed to be a number of rookie mistakes after Reddick had a right rear tire failure early on.  Reddick then drove more than a lap after spinning out before getting it changed.

Bodine’s commentary here was kind of harsh, actually.  He made it clear that he felt that Reddick should have known better.  If he was trying to stay on the lead lap, it didn’t work as he still got lapped.  He also ended up with pieces of his tire in the truck with him.  That’s a new one.

Speaking of tires, they were a big topic of discussion during the race.  Matt Crafton led early, then had some kind of tire issue that put him in the turn 3 wall.  Crafton then pitted for four tires and destroyed the field.  I haven’t seen a field evisceration like that since Joey Logano nearly lapped the field in the 2008 Carolina 500 at Rockingham.  However, we never really got an idea of just how bad the tire wear was.  Sure, we got radio quotes from Johnny Sauter that indicated that he had run the front tires off in 45 laps, but that’s not the same as seeing the evidence.  Even Buford T. Justice knows that.

Viewers did get to see the right rear off of Reddick’s No. 29 after his spin, but it was ripped up enough that you couldn’t really tell what happened.  I feel like FOX Sports 1 should have done a better job in showing us those tires (which were apparently the same compound used back in April for the Sprint Cup/XFINITY weekend).

Post-race coverage was quite short.  Viewers got interviews with the top two finishers (William Byron and Crafton), along with Rico Abreu, who could have earned his first win.  Afterwards, since the race ran long, they immediately jumped to MLB Whiparound.

While I would have liked to see more post-race coverage, I understand that the race ran long.  I did like the dynamic in the booth with Bodine in place of Michael Waltrip.  It led to a more professional-sounding broadcast.  Bodine doesn’t really have anything to promote.  He’s just there to cover the race and be as informative as possible.  He doesn’t feel the need to be an entertainer, as Michael Waltrip has said to us previously this year.

That’s all for this week.  The Sprint Cup teams are off this weekend, but the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series will both be in action at Iowa Speedway.  Meanwhile, Formula One makes its first trip to Azerbaijan for the Grand Prix of Europe (a relative term, if you will) and the ARCA Racing Series presented by Menards will race at Madison International Raceway.  TV Listings can be found above in the TV Schedule tab.

I will provide critiques of the XFINITY and Camping World Truck Series races from Iowa for next week’s edition of Couch Potato Tuesday.  Should be fun, but make note that the production may be stripped down a bit.  The “Hollywood Hotel” is not making the trip to Iowa and the overall setup might be a little limited.  I don’t expect any less than four in-car cameras (Note: The Cup race Sunday had only four; I don’t like that much), but keep an eye out for stuff that might normally be in an XFINITY broadcast that doesn’t make the cut in Iowa.

If you have a gripe with me, or just want to say something about my critique, feel free to post in the comments below.  Even though I can’t always respond, I do read your comments and I’m happy with the increased number of comments so far this year. Also, if you want to “like” me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, please click on the appropriate icons. If you would like to contact either of NASCAR’s media partners, click on either of the links below.

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As always, if you choose to contact a network by email, do so in a courteous manner. Network representatives are far more likely to respond to emails that ask questions politely rather than emails full of rants and vitriol.

Phil Allaway has three primary roles at Frontstretch. He's the manager of the site's FREE e-mail newsletter that publishes Monday-Friday and occasionally on weekends. He keeps TV broadcasters honest with weekly editions of Couch Potato Tuesday and serves as the site's Sports Car racing editor.

Outside of Frontstretch, Phil is the press officer for Lebanon Valley Speedway in West Lebanon, N.Y. He covers all the action on the high-banked dirt track from regular DIRTcar Modified racing to occasional visits from touring series such as the Super DIRTcar Series.

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kb

Phil, Click bait “Jeff gets disrespected”. Lol. A few weeks on the job and he is a veteran of race reporting? Come on man. How about Keselowski or any other driver in this situation having an honest and truthful observation of what is said and isn’t said in the booth? Brad just said what most reasonable race fans KNOW. Do you really believe if it was Gordon’s owned car or another other person in the booth who’s car it was there would have been that detailed conversation and enthusiasm? NO!!!! More like “lets go to our Sunoco Fuel Pit Stop driver move of the race so far or whatever! And then when that little segment was done, it would have been a small mention, then onto the fantastic action on the track!! Brad’s message obviously is lost on most, and seeing you mentioned (in your mind) Brad basically is saying Fox “never should have been hired Jeff”, well seeing how it has turned out with all these guys plugging their “families”, paid alliances, and paychecks…I think you are right, most of them should not have been hired! With your logic regarding Kes’ comments I can infer with Jeff’s gushing of Chase he is thinking…’if I had a 20 year old son his name would be William Clyde Elliott.’ So silly.

Bill B

You and Brad have a lot in common. You both think everyone gives a shit what you think.

Broken Arrow

Bill B, you nailed it!

Ken

You know Bill B, you used to be a little more respectful of people and their comments. Now, you have become rude and take every opportunity to malign anything anyone else says, especially if they dare defend their driver. I expect this crap from that character broken arrow and that spot guy, two people who have no respect for anyone. I for one am very disappointed in you! What happened? You don’t have a player, so now you turn rude and mean?

Bill B

Ken,
I calls them as I sees them.

Ken

Maybe so, but you are being very rude these days, and you were not like that before. As I said, I’ve read comments from you and you used to be a lot more respectful of people and their opinions. Now, you are very disappointing!

Bill B

Sorry to disappoint you Ken (well as sorry as I can be considering I don’t even know you). The degree of my rudeness is proportionate to the validity of the opinion being posted. As I said last week, in my experience those claiming a high degree of bias amongst writers and commentators are those most biased themselves. As such I have a hard time respecting such tilted opinions.

spot1

Ken, so sorry to disappoint you…………..well, maybe not. There are a lot of people I have a lot of respect for and then some I have absolutely zero respect for. Every post I have ever read from the kb bitty has been bitching, pissing and moaning about the same ol’ shit every week. If she is that unhappy with the sport, please do something else. And, like Bill B says, I will continue to voice my opinion in that way any time I want. Read the kb comments again this week. Every single one of them is crabbing about this, that, whatever. Ken, you want to stop me, go to the source and get the bitty to quit.

kb

Well Bill B. Apparently YOU DO, you can’t wait to get your poodle humping comments attached to mine, You and your twin Spotty 1 seem to feed off my comments, and attack like the little ankle biters you are. Bill B. I get it you don’t like my comments, I DON”T CARE..you have a very high opinion of yourself. Why do you care so much? You do care greatly Billy, you and your idiot twin Spotty. You seem to get some perverse pleasure of getting your petty little digs in. Watching your digs for years and you are sinking lower and lower. Ken is correct, you are hitting new lows. Why aggravate yourself over a poster you don’t even know? I ain’t gonna change and my opinion is my opinion…they are not from Mars the way you like to project them, you just don’t like them..it doesn’t mean they are wrong. Last I checked regarding this site, you were not the police, self appointed or otherwise. Did you get a kiddie Sheriff’s tin badge? Your own self importance seems to be getting the best of you, and you seem to be throwing that tin Sheriff badge around theThe Frontstretch. I am sure they didn’t deputize you. Shaddduppp Billy Boy and Spotty1, go make snide comments at the nursing home Go Fish high stakes card game. You both seem very bored and angry. And Bill YOU CARE, you really do, you cannot help yourself. If you didn’t there would be no nasty ankle biting and poodle humping with your boy Spotty1. Now..no doubt will be the Bill B. nasty retort telling me to go “Fluck myself”. What a nasty old fluck you are Bill.
And you ARE GETTING WORSE. Is it time for the yearly mental exam? And Spotty1, go back under your bridge, take Billy Boy with you. Nasty obsesssed jerks.

Bill B

At least I limited my mean remarks to two sentences but I obviously pushed the right button. LOL
As for getting any pleasure, not really. I wish I could block your comments from my view as I am sure you would mine.

kb

Sure Bill, whatever helps you keep that superior opinion of yourself going!!!!!! It seems like it is full time endeavor.

spot1

Hey Bitch, go fuc* yourself. You remind me of an out of work school teacher. You think very highly of yourself and think you are so much smarter than anyone else but the truth is, the school of street smarts would eat you alive as you have no common sense whatsoever. Now why don’t you shrivel up and blow away as I’m pretty sure part of you already has. Maybe that’s why you’re such a bitch. And, your comments are right on course, as always………still the same ol’ shit, bitch.

kb

Spotty, goodness whatever fantasy you have…glad it works for you. However in the reality you haven’t a clue. Say I am from Mars it has about as much truth as your statement. Why, why, why…do you have this obsession with what I write? You and Billy Boy seem to think by bullying me into submission, I will stop writing or giving my opinion ABOUT THE TOPIC THAT IS WRITTEN ABOUT? You on the other hand could be writing a retort in the comments section about the Piggly Wiggly hotdogs being burnt..you don’t seem to have a clue or care as to the subject matter, other than zeroing in on my opinion. How flucking obsessive is that? Apparently other posters notice too. Funny how you are humping your boy Billy again, time stamps are fascinating. Are you one in the same? Again, I have never seen you comment on the racing at hand, only my comments that seem to get you very “excited”. EEEWWWWEEEE, sad life..are you arthritic and cannot help yourself? You seemed to have alot of pent up (well, ssshhhh, you know) Just asking Spotty.

kb

Oh and one other thing…do you notice what board you are on with the vial shit you put out regarding my comments that you and Billy Boy start first? I am embarrassed for these folks doing the best they can with this website, whether we agree with what they say or not, you too seem to gotta go on the attack of other posters. Why? Who the helll are you? Get a life, you seem to have none.

spot1

Oh gee, I do seem to have struck a nerve. Guess that you don’t like having people figure you out for what you are. You must have a sad, lonely existence to be typing the bs that you write and then reading the responses. Why else would you continue to type the same ol’ drivel each and every week? Apparently other posters do notice this as well. And, please, get over yourself. You’re not half as intelligent as you think you are. You not as superior to everyone as you think you are.

Sue

Phil/////Normally I consider you one of the most unbiased writers on this website but I sure think you screwed the pooch on this article. I have been trying to give Jeff G the benefit of the doubt all season but have to stick up for Brad on this one. Brad is not being disrespectful of Jeff. Are you saying that because he is Jeff Gordon, no one is supposed to call him on things they disagree with? Jeff is bias and it shows. Not as bad as DW and Adam A. but bias just the same. And no one is saying he cannot show his knowledge and his opinions. I like the way he uses his knowledge. Every time Brad voices his thoughts, people jump in there with all the nasty comments. Usually, I just consider the source but some of these jerks just go over the top.

Broken Arrow

Nicely said, Mr. Allaway. It wasn’t Mr. Keselowski’s initial objection to Mr. Gordon’s comments that caused a furor. It was the way he continued on and on about “inbred commentators” and questioning whether Mr. Gordon deserves his job. What’s the point of TV analysts who know nothing about the sport they cover? We have enough of that online with the proliferation of amateur bloggers.

kb

Thanks for your reply Phil. I view it differently from you. I do believe Jeff Gordon is invested into his eyeballs with HMS, CHEVY and sponsors. Power to him! I do not believe for a minute if it was the 48 in the same situation his zeal would be the same. Or anybody else in the HMS/Chevy Camp. Back in the day, it was car so and so and now the “excitement aspect” of the TV deals insist in getting down and dirty, personal BS because somebody thought it would be great to fill the whole programming personel with retired drivers (but not removed from allegiance, the tangled web), at expense of other teams. Brad is not wrong about the bias in the booth. Brad owes Jeff nothing as far as “respect” goes with him interviewing him. Brad did mention and laughed of course the interview would be on camera..so the sincerity in my mind did not exist by the network. I did not call your opinion of what you said regarding Jeff click bait, the headline was most certainly was. No doubt about it. Brad again is not wrong with the term “inbred”, after all they are all incestuously not by blood but by $$$$. related. The definition of those terms did not change because some happen to fawn over the booth bias or the love of the newest member. Many of the old commentary race day, these guys never did get into a race car, were not beholden to team so and so or sponsor so and so..and they DID A GREAT JOB IF NOT BETTER than the BS going on now!

kb

Brad did quip before the interview (I am paraphrasing) he was approached to “talk” and then he found out and quipped “of course it is in front of the cameras”. Glad he didn’t lift on the obvious, most back peddle on camera.

Steve

The way that that FOX misuses the in-car camera, its not a bad thing that they only use 4.

Broken Arrow

Frankly, I’m pleasantly surprised and impressed with Jeff Gordon in the booth this year. He is both knowledgeable and articulate, well beyond the cringe-worthy ESL we get from Mike Joy, Darrell, Mikey, and Larry McReynolds. Of course, the whole reason for hiring him was to bring his expertise and fan appeal to the booth, but Kez wants a bunch of know-nothings up there so his transparent attempts at cheating will go unnoticed. Furthermore, Jeff’s support for WCE II (aka Chase) is refreshing in that most retired jocks hold a certain level of resentment toward their replacements.

Kez is a big mouth and a whiner. At least KyBu has learned to shut up before he says something stupid. It seems Horse Face never will.

Ken

Your hatred for Brad is quite obvious. May I ask, is it because he says what he thinks? Is it because he drives a Ford? (You regularly bash Ryan Blaney, so I think that might be why!) Watch it Broken arrow! Hatred can be a strong, overpowering emotion! Look what happened when hatred consumed that guy in Orlando!

Besides, drivers have always been taking shots at the commentators. A few years back, Ryan Newman was taking every opportunity to tell good ol’ DW what a jerk he was, and did it to his face. He even did it one night when he was on the old Trackside show! DW even looked a little surprized that Newman told him off to his face! I always loved that show when it was on.

By the way, what a grown up thing to do, calling Kes Horseface. How juvenile!

Bill B

Yeah, he probably laughs at fart jokes too (like I do).

Broken Arrow

I don’t hate Brad. But I am certainly not a fan of the way he drives or talks. My bad for calling him Horseface. It will be Mr. Keselowski from here on.

As for hating Ford, that is a real funny you said there! I have been driving Ford products since I first owned a Pinto in the 1970’s. My faves in the past were a T-Bird and a super-charged Mercury XR-7, but as a certified old person, I am now quite happy with my little Ford Focus.

And oh yeah, I became a Chase Elliott fan because I was a fan of his dad no matter what brand he drove. Brand names in NASCAR are irrelevant to me. I cheer for drivers, not teams or car makes.

I like Jeff in the booth way more than I expected to, because he can actually speak a proper English sentence, something no one else in sports broadcasting seems able to do. I also remember Awesome Bill in the booth for Watkins Glen when he was recovering from a broken leg. He had great insight, diagnosed problems on the cars before the pit reporters confirmed he had got it exactly right. Jeff brings that insight to his comments, even when they hurt Mr. Keselowski’s feelings.

Broken Arrow

And Ken, to say I am going to shoot up a nightclub because of Mr. Keselowski is a ludicrous, childish personal attack. Better watch your own hatred and rage before you worry about me.

Ninjarob

I think Jeff fits in for that very reason. I am a Brad fan yes but even before this year I would get totally creeped out listening to DW gush on about Danica when she would be running 30th. The FOX booth is VERY biased, always has been in my opinion. DW’s crush on KB is painfully obvious – as with many others, I mute the TV and either listen to the drivers or MRN…

Upstate24fan

Obviously there is more bad blood between Brad and Jeff stemming from the Texas incident. It sounds like Jeff is more over it than Brad for some reason. What was interesting to me is that when Brad was originally asked the question at Pocono, the reporter never mentioned Jeff’s name. Brad volunteered that one. I liked Brad when he was coming up. He fought hard to get to the Cup level and raced with a chip on his shoulder, but now he thinks he’s the “Ruler of the Garage and Driver’s Council”. He talks like everything is a conspiracy against Team Penske. I’m getting tired of his antics. Obviously, he doesn’t think he’s too biased to do commentary for Xfinity races where the 22 Penske car runs.

LovingNASCAR88

Wow Upstate24fan it’s like you read my mind, exactly! I also “was” a big BK fan, thought the veterans (Carl, Kyle, Denny, etc.) tried to push him around and he wasn’t having it. Now, I can’t stand to hear anything he has to say.

rg72

Off topic, but where was the Thinkin’ Out Loud column this week?

smatlack

I like to call it cheerleading and yes it puts me off. Im starting to dislike Kyle Larson because of Gordon’s cheerleading. I first liked Jeff in the booth and still do but not as much now for obvious reason.

If he likes someone and they’re doing good in the race, he’s all excited and complimentary. If he dislikes someone he does not show any enthusiasm when they’re doing good.

Interstingly, he doesn’t go out of his way to cheer for Jimmy Johnson. Sometimes I sense the opposite and seems sometimes to critique.

for the record: I am not a Chase Elliot fan ever since he dumped ty dillion in the road race in the truck series. Just was a unsportsmanlike finish in what was great racing between the two up till then ( I am not a childress fan either since he punched out Kyle Bush (whether he deserved it or not)

One final note. kb you listening?? cough cough .. whenever you put a driver on a pedestal they sure as shylock will let you down.