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On this week’s Happy Hour, hosts Trey Lyle, Michael Massie and Caleb Barnes dive into Tuesday’s (Aug. 27) news that NASCAR will race in Mexico in 2025.
As they pour one out for the loss of Richmond Raceway’s second race date, the trio discuss what the expectations are for the Mexico City event at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
With one race left before the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, the guys speculate about which drivers will make it and which won’t this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Will Ty Gibbs and Chris Buescher hold their ground, or will Bubba Wallace and/or Ross Chastain jump them? Or will a new winner shake the entire equation up?
Speaking of the playoffs, Harrison Burton came from 34th in points, last among full-time drivers, to snap a playoff spot with his win at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night (Aug. 24). The trio talk whether it’s fair that someone who had had such a rough season until this point can steal a playoff spot.
This past weekend, Trackhouse Racing announced Shane van Gisbergen would move up to Cup to drive the team’s third car full time. The surprising part: he’s bringing back the No. 88 that hasn’t been seen since early in Alex Bowman‘s career. The guys discuss what to make of that news, and they predict what will happen next for Zane Smith, who was released from the team.
In the bonus segment, with NASCAR’s return to an international track next year, the guys each select which country they want to see Cup go to next.
Watch the whole show below or listen to the audio version wherever you get your podcasts.
A Graduate of Virginia Tech in Sports Media and Analytics, Trey Lyle has been covering NASCAR since 2021 as the producer of the Fast Lane with Ed Lane on VTRN Sports 93.3 FM in Lynchburg, Va.
Trey joined FS in 2023 to cohost Happy Hour and help out on the podcast front as the producer for Brining the Heat with Bryan Nolen. Now, he oversees the entire podcast operation for Frontstretch.
Caleb began sports writing in 2023 with The Liberty Champion, where he officially covered his first NASCAR race at Richmond in the spring. While there, Caleb met some of the guys from Frontstretch, and he joined the video editing team after graduating from Liberty University with degrees in Strategic Communications and Sports Journalism. Caleb currently work full-time as a Multi-Media Journalist with LEX 18 News in Lexington, Kentucky and contributes to Frontstretch with writing and video editing. He's also behind-the-scenes or on camera for the Happy Hour Podcast, live every Tuesday night at 7:30!
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020. Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.