Latest news with #NASCARFans
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Fans Want NASCAR Employee Fired Immediately, 'He Has To Go'
Fans Want NASCAR Employee Fired Immediately, 'He Has To Go' originally appeared on The Spun. NASCAR fans want a longtime employee fired immediately following his controversial take on social media. The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season is approaching the finish line, with the Cup Series Playoffs not too distant. The 2025 Playoffs begin on Sunday, August 31 with the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. There's been talk of changing the Cup Series Playoffs, as perhaps the current format isn't the best way to determine the best racer in the sport. That's the goal of the playoffs, right? To determine who is the best driver in the sport? That's what most NASCAR fans thought, anyway. However, one NASCAR employee's admission has fans outraged. Mamba Smith, the "Chief Hype Officer" at NASCAR - technically, an analyst for and NASCAR on Fox - sparked controversy with his admission on social media. He does not think the playoffs are meant to crown the best driver. "The point isn't to crown the best driver… It's to crown the best team who executed the best when the pressure was at its highest and the lights were the brightest," he wrote. NASCAR fans immediately reacted with rage "Oh boy. Oh boy," one fan wrote. "Mamba. The point *IS* to crown the best driver. Yes, NASCAR is a team sport. But it's main and single biggest draw has ALWAYS been the drivers. And there's been a big superstar problem as of late," one fan added. "Are we for real here?" one fan added. "Oof. Bro said the silent part out loud 😬 it's never been about having a legitimate champion," one fan added. "Pack it up. Winston Cup Nascar will never be seen again until all the management and media involved is replaced. Unless Nascar listens to people like us," one fan added. "That's not the point of the Championship? Really. This is a real problem with NASCAR media. They think they can just redefine what things mean in this sport and many of them, like Kyle Petty, act like if we don't accept it then we are the problem," one fan added. NASCAR drivers are upset, too It's not just NASCAR fans that are bothered by Mamba Smith's comment - NASCAR drivers are annoyed, too. Denny Hamlin, perhaps the biggest name in the sport, had a three-word reaction to the post on social media. "Oh man, yikes," he wrote. As many fans are pointing out, it's quite literally referred to as the Driver's Championship. Mamba Smith might be regretting this one. Fans Want NASCAR Employee Fired Immediately, 'He Has To Go' first appeared on The Spun on Aug 18, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Aug 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
NASCAR Fans React To Daniel Suarez's Big Announcement
NASCAR Fans React To Daniel Suarez's Big Announcement originally appeared on The Spun. Over the past five years NASCAR driver Daniel Suarez has enjoyed some of the best racing of his entire career including two trips to the NASCAR Cup playoffs and his first two race wins. Advertisement But on Tuesday, Suarez made an announcement about his career that could significantly change his fortunes. He announced this afternoon that he will be parting ways with his Trackhouse Racing team at the end of the season. "Trackhouse and I have mutually agreed to part ways at the end of the 2025 season. I've had some of the best years of my Cup Series career at Trackhouse. We had great successes as a team and I gained some incredible friends... "I wish Trackhouse nothing but the best, this 99 team will always be special to me. And like I always say, The best is ahead!" NASCAR fans were overwhelmingly disappointed to hear that the two sides will be parting ways. Advertisement "Damn! I know it's part of the process in NASCAR race teams but this still sucks! We all kind of saw something like this happening when @pitbull left the team. No matter where you end up @Daniel_SuarezG , you will always have my support! You'll always be my driver," one user replied on X. "I really hope you find a top tier ride, you deserve it and I want you to succeed," wrote another. "Heartbreaking. 💔 I'm sorry to see you go @Daniel_SuarezG, I hope nothing but the best for you and hope you still are able jump into a completive seat next season and beyond!" a third wrote. DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 19: Daniel Suarez, driver of the #99 Freeway Insurance Chevrolet, waves to fans as he walks onstage during driver intros prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 19, 2024 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by)"You came to united states with barely anything. Learned the language. Got your own rides, became an @NASCAR_Xfinity series champion. A @NASCAR cup series winner! And became an American citizen!! You sir a shining light of the things people can accomplish if they work hard!!" Advertisement Suarez made his debut in the Cup Series with Joe Gibbs Racing back in 2017, enjoying close to two dozen top-10 finishes while he was with the team. He had a year with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019 and competed with Gaunt Brother Racing in 2020 before joining Trackhouse. It's believed that Suarez's seat will be filled by teenage sensation Connor Zilisch in 2026. Related: Daniel Suarez Criticizes NASCAR for Inexperienced Driver's Debut NASCAR Fans React To Daniel Suarez's Big Announcement first appeared on The Spun on Jul 1, 2025 This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Fox News
29-06-2025
- Automotive
- Fox News
Chase Elliott Stoked After Energizing Crowd With Wild Atlanta Win
HAMPTON, Ga. — Chase Elliott does not show emotion often, but the exhilaration he showed in winning Sunday night at Atlanta indicated that this win was a highlight among his 20 NASCAR Cup Series victories. Elliott wasn't the only one excited. Having grown up and still living 85 miles from the track, Elliott remains NASCAR's most popular driver and one of Georgia's favorite sons when it comes to athletes. That was most evident in the roar of the crowd as they cheered his triumph. "To see them that excited after the race for me was just crazy," Elliott said. "It was surreal. I don't really know how else to describe it. It's just one of those moments you wish you could bottle up and relive it." Elliott hasn't had much of a chance to experience victory celebrations in recent years. The 2020 Cup champion snapped a 44-race winless streak with the win. Not only had he not won a race this year, he had not even won a stage. In his previous 99 starts, Elliott had managed just one victory. So while he had five top fives and nine top 10s in 17 races coming into Sunday night, Elliott's solid-but-no-trophy season had the vibe of more pretender than contender. The victory Saturday night maybe changed all that. He won a wild race where only 21 drivers finished on the lead lap and 12 of the 40 cars were eliminated by accidents. The racing at Atlanta, a 1.54-mile high-banked track, is supposed to be the same style as Daytona and Talladega. But drivers could often make runs even without help. Now when they had help, the run was virtually unstoppable. The runs at the end were furious, and one of the best in this style of racing, Brad Keselowski, was out front in the final laps. But Elliott, with the help of a push from Hendrick teammate Alex Bowman, got out front and then Keselowski had no help as Bowman certainly wasn't going to push Keselowski past his teammate. "All the cards fell on the right places there those last couple laps," Elliott said. "What a crazy race. ... It was wild from my seat. I'm so glad we got to run that thing out there to the end."Elliott probably wouldn't have won without the push he could rely on from a teammate such as Bowman. "I didn't really have a choice there on the last lap of what I was going to do," Bowman said. "There wasn't an opportunity for me to win the race, unfortunately. The way the race would shuffle the leader out every handful of laps, I just led too early there. ... I just got the timing wrong and didn't maintain control the race." For Bowman, having Elliott win the race was better than the other drivers, as Bowman is on the bubble to make the playoffs on points. Elliott was a winless driver but seemed to be in a comfortable position as far as points. But the rest of the drivers jockeying for the win — Brad Keselowski was second, followed by Bowman, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Zane Smith — could have impacted Bowman's hopes to make the playoffs. "I didn't think about that, but you're not wrong," Bowman said about Elliott's win being good for him personally. "Obviously, it's a team of us [Hendrick drivers] out here, so having a Hendrick car in victory lane is always a good thing. Obviously, it was a good thing for Elliott, who could take pride in winning the wild race but as he noted, he will take wins any way he can get them. "Just to win a race is nice in general," Elliott said. I'm not going to get picky with whether it's wild or boring. It was nice to come out on the good of that. It could have been one of five or six of us at the end. "For me, fortunately, the runs just really timed up at the perfect time, and we were able to do something with them." Elliott has had up-and-down results at Atlanta, with only one top-10 finish in his four starts since a win in July 2022. He has not run well when he has sported a paint scheme designed by a patient of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta as part of a fund-raising program by his foundation. So that just made a special night extra special. It was a special night in the making over the last couple of months. A bad pit stop at Kansas ruined his chance in that race in early May. In the previous two weeks, he finished third at Mexico City and fifth at Pocono, where he showed more speed. Elliott doesn't get so absorbed in the results as much as the process and the way they race, regardless of what happens with the results. "Were we relevant? Did we actually a shot? I believe in this sport, if you're doing all those right things, that's something to be proud of," Elliott said. "And if you're doing them regularly, you're going to get your turn. The last three or four weeks have been an example of that." And how will Elliott celebrate in the wee hours of Sunday morning after he satisfied his media obligations? He planned to drive himself home. "It's not that far," said Elliott, who should be able to make the trip in about two hours. "I'm going to sleep in my bed." Bob Pockrass covers NASCAR and INDYCAR for FOX Sports. He has spent decades covering motorsports, including over 30 Daytona 500s, with stints at ESPN, Sporting News, NASCAR Scene magazine and The (Daytona Beach) News-Journal. Follow him on Twitter @bobpockrass.
Reuters
27-06-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Stubbs: NASCAR Madness keeps the subplots churning
June 27 - On Saturday, the elimination portion of NASCAR's inaugural In-Season Challenge will begin at EchoPark Speedway in Hampton, Ga. The five-week, 32-driver, bracket-style challenge features a grand prize of $1 million, but why should fans bother to pay attention to yet another storyline in a sport full of them? Perhaps it is not the shameless gimmick that it seems to be at first glance. The idea of having an in-season tournament is not exclusive to NASCAR. The NBA introduced one in 2023 as a way to spice up the first half of the schedule. That's exactly what NASCAR is attempting to do with its In-Season Challenge. Despite several bold scheduling initiatives, including the addition of the Chicago Street Race, a return to Nashville Superspeedway and the return of the Brickyard 400, NASCAR's summer stretch has seemed relatively stale compared to the rest of the season for years. Fans annually endure one of the longest seasons in professional sports, and races in the dog days of summer generally don't generate the same hype that races over the first and final quarters of the season do. NASCAR's In-Season Challenge is an attempt to remedy that stale feeling and get fans excited well in advance of the postseason. The five-race tournament begins Saturday, where half of the 32-driver field will be eliminated. Those 32 drivers were seeded based on their best finish over the last three races: Michigan, Mexico City and Pocono. Following the Chicago Street Race on July 6, the field will be chopped to eight. Following Sonoma on July 13, the field will be whittled down to four before the July 20 race at Dover decides the final two drivers left standing. From there, the winner of the tournament is decided in a crown jewel event, as the Brickyard 400 on July 27 crowns the champion of the inaugural In-Season Challenge. So scoff at the creation if you must, but on the surface, the In-Season Challenge is a harmless storyline that has the potential to liven up the summer. If anything, it will place a spotlight on fights for position that otherwise would have seemed pointless. A battle for 27th place may be the battle to advance to the next round. If the race leader is running away with the win at Indianapolis, a spirited tussle for 14th could determine who gets an extra $1 million. Advancing in the tournament carries with it the knowledge that you beat another competitor head-to-head in a pressure-packed situation, regardless of the circumstances. Bragging rights and a big check may be on the line for competitors, but fans will get to see different strategies and calls be made as teams attempt to do whatever they can to advance. Without the In-Season Challenge, certain strategies or decisions may not seem noteworthy. But during the In-Season Challenge, they could be the difference between $1 million and the wrong kind of blank check. Saturday's race at Atlanta is pretty much guaranteed to feature soap opera levels of drama with or without the In-Season Challenge. But pitting 32 drivers against each other in head-to-head matchups, in a race where working together is the key to winning, makes the fourth superspeedway race of 2025 appointment viewing. Fans also have the opportunity to win their own $1 million if they can fill out a perfect bracket. It adds a March Madness wrinkle to the viewing experience. Throw in a street course, a road course, a unique one-mile oval in Dover and a crown jewel race at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and a chaotic slice of the schedule is ready to offer even more twists and turns. The In-Season Challenge won't be the sole focus of teams as they try to win races and position themselves to make the Cup Series playoffs. But it's a chance for NASCAR's summer stretch to cut through the noise of a busy entertainment world and give fans a reason to be on the edge of their seats for every lap of the next five races. With a million bucks on the line, you can bet the drivers will be on the edge of their seats, too. --Samuel Stubbs, Field Level Media
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Kurt Busch Comment Unexpectedly Sparks Chorus of Boos From Pocono Crowd
Kurt Busch Comment Unexpectedly Sparks Chorus of Boos From Pocono Crowd originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Kurt Busch and his fans will never forget Pocono Raceway. There are good memories from the 2.5-mile Pennsylvania track, including three wins in 2005, 2007 and 2016. Advertisement But there's a really bad one that happened on July 23, 2022. That's the last time the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion ever competed in the sport when he backed his No. 45 car into the wall during qualifying and suffered a concussion. On Saturday, the 46-year-old returned to The Tricky Triangle for the first time since his accident three years ago and admitted during Prime's coverage of practice and qualifying that it was a 'cleansing/purging' experience. Kurt Busch addresses the media at Daytona International Yeazell-Imagn Images The scheduled Grand Marshal for Sunday's race then drew an unexpected response from fans when asked by analyst Corey LaJoie if he was going to wave the green flag as part of his weekend duties. Advertisement 'I'm gonna be 'Gentlemen, start your engines,'' the former driver said. 'The governor wants to wave the green flag so I'm learning how to share with that.' A chorus of boos rang out from those standing nearby, obviously expressing their displeasure with Governor Josh Shapiro. 'Whoops. Normally I'm the guy getting booed,' Busch joked. 'No, you guys have been awesome.' Busch rubbed plenty of fans the wrong way earlier in his career. However, in the later years, the tide had turned and many of those same fans were supportive of the 2017 Daytona 500 winner. And there was no better evidence of that than three years ago when his career came to an abrupt end at Pocono and he received so many well wishes from those fans and the industry as a whole. Advertisement Related: Kurt Busch Makes Painful Pocono Admission During Emotional Return to Tricky Triangle This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
