Denny Hamlin Finally Called Out, Shy Kyle Busch Grabs Some Butt, Hailie Deegan Gets Dirty, NASCAR Stars Flip Off Foreigners And Samantha Busch Enjoys The Pool

Michael McDowell (that's MACdowell, by the way) beat Chase Elliott on a road course to keep him outside the playoff picture. Didn't think I'd be typing that this NASCAR season, but that's why you always have to keep your head on a swivel!

Good Indy road coarse race yesterday. Solid. Not the best one I've ever seen, but not a snooze fest -- mostly.

OK, we did pretty much run green the entire time. No cautions. No restarts. No stage breaks. Just full throttle horsepower from start to finish.

Would a late restart have helped in the Entertainment Department? Of course. That being said, NASCAR is woke and made a young driver quit over a social media post, so they don't deserve it.

Whoa! What a transition. Didn't see that one coming, did you? Yes, I'm being a little dramatic, but there's definitely more to this Noah Gragson situation than meets the eye. We'll talk about it.

What else do ya'll wanna talk about? Kyle Busch can't catch a break right now but he did grab a handful of butt over the weekend. Speaking of wife Samantha -- she revealed her true colors by the pool!

Michael McDowell made Denny Hamlin eat crow, so that was cool. Angry AJ Allmendinger was angry as hell at Ryan Blaney yesterday. Oh yeah, we also had the American drivers destroying the international ones AND Hailie Deegan getting a little dirty earlier in the week.

Whew. How's all that for a little NASCAR tease? Yeah, you're still with me. I see the engagement time, I know. You ain't going anywhere yet!

Four tires and maybe some free fuel for Noah Gragson since he's now on the unemployment line ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop -- the 'He Flipped Me The Bird, And Then He Was Gone' edition -- is LIVE!

Michael McDowell proves Denny Hamlin wrong, which the haters love

Normally I don't start with the winner unless he won in dramatic fashion and/or threw punches. Michael McDowell -- a good man of faith, by the way -- did neither.

He did, however, call Denny Hamlin out a few weeks ago, basically called his shot in this race, and then followed through by damn near leading every lap en route to his second career NASCAR win.

True story, and we have the receipts.

AJ Allmendinger continues to be one of the angriest NASCAR drivers around

Michael McDowell, by the way, is going on Denny's podcast today. Can't wait.

As for Chase Elliott, NASCAR's Most Popular Driver has pretty much one more legit shot at making the playoffs. He has to win this week at Watkins Glen, which isn't a terrible thing because it's his best track.

If he comes up one spot short again, he heads to Daytona in two weeks with a wing and a prayer, just hoping to get lucky at the end. Austin Dillon did it last year, so it's not impossible, but not something you can bank on.

You know, I've heard that place can be pretty unpredictable. We'll see, I reckon.

PS: I think Chase wins Sunday, for what it's worth.

Only if he can avoid angry AJ Allmendinger, though, who got spun by Ryan Blaney at Indy and the vowed to exact revenge.

Or, was it the other way around?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. continues to love this great country

I mean, be pissy all you want AJ, but from where I stand you sort of had that one coming to you. Don't think he'll be invited over to Rhino and Hooters Gianna's house any time soon.

You know who should be, though? Ricky Stenhouse Jr., who loves America more than any other NASCAR driver in the world.

Our man first declared his patriotism at Daytona a few years back, and then doubled down on it yesterday by making it his mission to take out every foreign driver in the field.

Sad Kyle Busch grabs some butt to recover from a tough day

That last video still makes me laugh to this day. That was my second summer covering NASCAR, and that was maybe of my favorites moment from the track. If ever I was going to get a tattoo -- which I won't -- it would be 1776, We Are The Champs!

You know who could use a laugh today? Kyle Busch, who actually had a good race car yesterday only to possibly break a spring valve halfway through and limp her home 36th.

For those at home keeping count, that's four finishes of 20th or worse in the past five races for Rowdy.

Things have gotten so bad recently for Busch that he wasn't even angry after the race. I would've loved that. Instead, we got dejected Kyle Busch, which was frankly just sad.

Grab some butt and cheer up, Rowdy. You'll be fine.

Hailie Deegan gets dirty and more NASCAR bird-flipping

What a story! Beautiful. Shy Kyle Busch asking a friend to tell a friend to tell the cute girl over by the lockers that he likes her really brings me back to the good old days.

You know the ones ...

The pre-social media, pre-texting days where if you wanted to find out more about someone you'd have three different people spread the word in the hallways hoping she'd find out and may get back to you in a week or so.

It was the carrier-pigeon version of texting back in the mid-2000s, and it was awesome.

Ask Kaley if she likes anyone, but don't let her know I like her. But, like, maybe ask her if she likes someone and if she says yes, ask her if it's Zach.

The best.

That, by the way, was an actual convo I had several times back in elementary school. Needless to say I was a loser.

You know who's not? Hailie Deegan -- at least in the SRX world.

Nothing better than having Tony Stewart sing your praises at a place he literally dominates every single year. Not a bad dude to have in your corner.

You know who Tony would definitely appreciate? Ty Gibbs, who allegedly flipped off the media's favorite international driver, Shane Van Gisbergen, after Sunday's Indy race.

Samantha Busch shows off her vacation bikini

I'll be honest with you, I can't tell what's going on in that video. Would definitely not put it past Ty Gibbs to flip off SVG, though. Guarantee you Ricky Stenhouse Jr. would approve!

On our way out, let's quickly talk Noah Gragson before cooling down by the pool with Queen Samantha.

Noah was suspended by Legacy Motor Club and NASCAR last week after liking a social media meme of George Floyd from three months ago. Yes, it's as dumb as it sounds -- but wait, it gets dumber!

Gragson and the team parted ways three days later after, wait for it, Gragson requested his release.

Yeah, OK. Sure. Whatever ya'll say.

Here's what I think happened. Gragson and his new team never really vibed at all this year, the rookie was having an AWFUL season, the team was looking for an easy out and they found it here.

My guess is they A) either told him as much and he said the hell with you, or B) they told him he was gonna be fired and they were letting him go out with some dignity.

Either way, the decision to suspend him in the first place was so on-brand for virtue-signaling NASCAR nowadays that it didn't even surprise me.

I hope Noah finds a new team down the road -- he will -- and wins a billion races. And I hope he gives NASCAR, and Legacy, a better middle finger than Ty Gibbs when he does.

Here's bikini Sam to take us to Watkin Glen.