NASCAR Driver Has 'Target On Back,' Bubba Wallace Almost Throws A Punch, Hailie Deegan Promoted, F-Bombs & Fireballs

We had non-playoff drivers blowing up the NASCAR picture, drivers racing like "winos going to the liquor store" and drivers going up in flames -- while driving a pizza roll car!

That's called running the spectrum, folks. Can't do it any better than that.

Hard to believe, but we're now down to just four races left in this NASCAR season. Three in this penultimate round, and then we head to Phoenix to run a couple hundred laps for the championship.

Unfortunately for NASCAR -- at least the folks in the shiny building here in Daytona who run the numbers -- the most interesting drivers are all out of the playoffs now.

Chase Elliott never made it. Joey Logano was ousted after one round. Yesterday, both Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace were eliminated.

The only person to root against now is Denny Hamlin!

The good news for Bubba, though, is that apparently he's now matured enough to the point of not punching a wall after a rough race like yesterday. I'll let him explain in a minute.

We'll get to that, burnt pizza rolls, Hailie Deegan and celebrate AJ Allmendinger's big win with his wife, Tara -- also known as Miss North Carolina!

Four tires, a little fuel and maybe a fire extinguisher -- or three -- for the Ricky Stenhouse Jr. machine ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop -- the 'F-Bombs & Flames' edition -- is LIVE!

Let's start out with NASCAR star Josh Bilicki!

Obviously that's sarcasm, but we are gonna start with Josh and Corey LaJoie. Unconventional, I know, but -- unlike last week -- I don't have death threats from the garage to carry the show today.

We don't have our A-game today, so we're gonna have to manufacture some runs like the old days. Square your ass up and get that runner into scoring position!

So, instead of Miss North Carolina, we're rolling out a little Josh Bilicki vs. Corey LaJoie feud to start today's show.

Roll tape?

Kyle Busch's first year with RCR ends with a thud

All due respect to Josh Bilicki, but I'm just not sure he warrants having a target on his back. He's got an average finish of 31st over seven NASCAR Cup seasons. He finished 26th yesterday, which was actually tied for his best of the year.

Now, maybe Corey LaJoie is just really bad at apologizing? Hell, most guys are. I'm awful at it. Believe me, the First Lady reminds me all the time.

Or ... maybe he just hates Josh Bilicki and he DOES have a target on his back? Who knows! The important thing is none of us care enough to truly find out -- unless we get more punches in the pits. Then I'm 100% all in on these two.

Kyle Busch, thoughts?

Bubba Wallace is all grown up

Tough end to a pretty good first year with RCR for Kyle Busch.

That race team has by in large stunk over the past decade besides a couple Austin Dillon wins, and he came in and won three times this season. Pretty decent debut.

Plus, you know, Samantha Busch. Big fans around here.

It's in the 50s this morning in Florida, so I'm with Sam on that one.

Now, back to racing.

Bubba Wallace at one point yesterday looked like he was gonna advance, but ultimately fell just short and was eliminated from the postseason. And while I'm sure everyone reading this is just heartbroken for Bubba, he handled it pretty well given his history of being overly-dramatic.

And hey, it could've even been much worse!

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. goes up in flames

As someone who turned 30 earlier this year, I can confirm that I punch way less walls now than I used to. I will say, watching the Dolphins every Sunday tests that theory, even though they're 4-1.

Hey, Tua -- maybe stop throwing picks in the end zone? Thanks.

Good run for Bubba this year, though. I know ya'll hate him, but goodness does he give this column the content we need more weeks than not. Let's finish strong, Bub!

Let's now check in on Daytona 500 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.!

Hailie Deegan NASCAR promotion and Sunday's 'Best Of'

Can we talk about underrated pizza rolls are? I feel like you never hear about them/see them any more, but my God they were electric back in the day.

There was no better feeling than coming home from a tough day of middle-schooling and throwing some pizza rolls in the microwave. That was living. Fire up the dial-up internet, crack open the door on AIM and settle in for some shenanigans. What a time to be alive.

Let's get back on track with some random radio-bites from Sunday's automobile race in Charlotte:

TOUGH day at work for Erik Jones, huh? Yikes. And how about race-winner AJ Allmendinger throwing out the term wino in 2023? Haven't heard that in a minute. Hell, probably since my last pizza roll.

Merriam tells me a a wino is a person who drinks excessive amounts of cheap wine or other alcohol, especially one who is homeless. Don't you dare tell me this column ain't educational!

Before we get to Miss North Carolina, let's congratulate Hailie Deegan on graduating to the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time next year despite never winning a race and leading two laps in three full-time seasons in a truck.

Relax, I'm joking. I know she's the Most Popular Driver, and that pays the bills. I like Hailie! Believe me, this sport needs all the content it can get, and Hailie Deegan can provide that.

Congrats to AJ Allmendinger and Miss North Carolina!

Give 'em hell in the Xfinity Series next year, Hailie! Bring us home a winner.

Speaking of winners -- congrats to AJ Allmendinger for dropping his road-racing nuts on the table yesterday and running laps around the rest of the field. That was AJ's first NASCAR Cup Series win since 2021 and third overall.

Good for him. Better for us, because Tara Allmendinger deserves all the shine she can get.

Welcome back to MMPS, Tara! It's been a minute.

Off to Vegas.