Kyle Busch Crushes Vegas, NASCAR Driver Gets Wild At Office Party, Blaney Attends 'The Match' With Hooters Girlfriend
Another week of the NASCAR offseason in the books, and the fellas are spread out across the country.
We've got guys in Charlotte dressed liked elves and letting loose at an office Christmas party, folks gambling in Vegas and rolling 8s, and the sport's hottest couple taking in the sights and sounds of 'The Match' down in Florida.
Talk about a wide spectrum!
Elsewhere, we do have tiny bit of actual racing news, including one NASCAR team accusing a sponsor of flaking on payments, and other teams threatening to go rogue on the big-wigs.
Tis the season!
Four tires, skip the fuel this week - let's be honest, we're not going far this time of year - and maybe add a little air pressure in the right rear.
Monday Morning Pit-Stop - 'Everyone-Parties-In-Their-Own-Way' Offseason Edition - is LIVE!
Kyle Busch gets new sponsors and crushes Vegas with Samantha
Kyle Busch was the story during the 2022 NASCAR season, and the man is still making headlines during the offseason.
Busch left Joe Gibbs Racing for Richard Childress in a drawn-out - and highly public - saga that lasted all summer, and last week unveiled his new-look No. 8, along with a laundry list of new sponsors.
Atop the list is Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen, which, if you ask me, is one of the more underrated food spots in the US of A. Bold statement? Maybe. But every time I've gone I've walked out fat(ter) and happy, so I'm glad they're jumping in with Kyle Busch headfirst.
Busch and RCR also unveiled a "revamped" No. 8 for this upcoming season that was "personally designed by Busch and his team."
Didn't know you could tweak how a car number looks, but I also think Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen is underrated, so what do I know?
Finally, Kyle Busch and wife Samantha - NASCAR's power couple if you ask me - spent the week in Las Vegas raising money and rolling dice.
And they CRUSHED it.
Ross Chastain dresses like an elf for office Christmas party
From Vegas back to NASCAR's second HQ in Charlotte, where Ross Chastain got LIT at the annual Trackhouse Racing Christmas party.
And by annual, I mean second annual ... because the team has only existed for two years. Semantics.
Anyway, Florida's most famous Watermelon Farmer (look it up, I don't have the time right now) dressed like an elf, had some punch (allegedly), and was the life of the party.
Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez have very different party attire.
PS: How about the different approaches to a Christmas party by Chastain and Daniel Suarez, who looks like he's in a dunk tank.
Ross the Boss goes ALL IN with the Elf on a Shelf look, while Daniel clearly takes the Jim Halpert approach to office parties.
If you've followed Daniel's recent doings, though, you probably wouldn't question him. Guy is becoming a STAR on and off the track.
Ryan Blaney and Hooters cover girl girlfriend Gianna Tulio attend 'The Match'
From Vegas to Charlotte to Florida, where we find NASCAR's hottest couple taking in 'The Match' at Pelican Golf Club.
Ryan Blaney and Gianna Tulio have been together forever, and they're all gas, no brakes this offseason.
I've seen them at weddings, in breweries, on a ranch, and, of course, at last week's NASCAR banquet.
Over the weekend, the two kicked it up another notch by heading to Florida to hang out with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
Ryan Blaney and Gianna Tulio continue to kill it.
Love these two. Blaney is a STUD on and off the track, and has been an absolute #contentmachine for us during the offseason.
These two are going to be rockstars in the NASCAR marital world before long, and seem like the perfect couple to step in for Kyle and Samantha when they decide to step down.
PS: How about Ryan Blaney's offseason mustache? It gets better every week. Gives us some serious 'Most Interesting Man in the World' vibes.
NASCAR team accuses sponsor of ghosting them
On our way out, let's try to fit in some actual tangible NASCAR news this week.
We'll start in the Xfinity Series, where Jesse Iwuji Motorsports has has filed a $4.125-million lawsuit against one of its top sponsors - Equity Prime Mortgage.
The lawsuit was filed in Florida (of course) last week, and alleges that Equity Prime failed to make its agreed-upon monthly payments of $187,500.00 over the past two months.
How about that?! A MORTGAGE company misses back-to-back monthly payments because, according to one executive, they got "margin-called" and are suffering from "mortgage rate hikes."
Doesn't feel so good when you're on the other side, does it Equity Prime? Pay up!
We don't get any breaks for out missed mortgage payments during this miserable recession (yep, I said it), and neither do you!
NASCAR teams send warning shot to the sport
On our way out, Part 2 ...
Earlier this month, NASCAR teams, under the umbrella of the Race Team Alliance, let it leak (accidently, I'm sure) that they've started to explore the possibility of staging their own exhibition races during the offseason.
Sports Business Journal reported that RTA has hired a marketing agency to “explore exhibition race opportunities, both domestically and internationally.”
Why? Well, follow the money!
According to SBJ, teams are interested in this because they are struggling to come out in the green at year's end, and are looking to find any possible new revenue streams.
The events would likely occur in the offseason and apparently would not involve NASCAR.
While this is all "very exploratory" right now, it is notable that a new media deal is right around the corner, and teams could very well be using this as a bargaining chip to get a bigger share of whatever new pot is negotiated.
Right now, the TV money split is 65% to the tracks, 25% to the teams, 10% to NASCAR.
And on that happy note, we hand it over to Larry Mac, who has a ... nice ... Monday morning message for us.