NASCAR Drops Woke Act And Becomes Watchable Again, 17K Fans Give Middle-Finger & Worst National Anthem Ever?

You know what? That was a good little automobile race last night. Hm, let's see … NASCAR ditches woke LA and comes back to the sane part of the country, and BAM – we had a good Busch Clash. 

Funny how that works. Go to where you are appreciated, and you'll be rewarded. Grassroots racing is the best. A Friday night at your local short track beats a Friday night anywhere else (that's definitely not true, but whatever). 

Credit to NASCAR for pulling their heads out of their collective asses and recognizing this last year when they were finalizing the 2025 schedule. I know they wanna do Chicago and LA and Mexico (happy Tariff week!) and, most likely, New York City at some point. I get it. But what you saw this past weekend at Bowman Gray was actual racing. 

From the grandstands (only 17,000! Smallest ever for a NASCAR race? Maybe. Didn't sound like it. Didn't feel like it), to the actual racing on the track, THAT's how a Busch Clash should feel. 

Everything is better in the south! Keep it simple, NASCAR. Resist the urge to gaslight and virtue-signal. 

I know it's hard, but you can do it! Let's go have a big year. 

Chase Elliott won. We'll talk about it. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got flipped off by 17,000 folks at one time. We'll talk about it. NASCAR fans LOVED the national anthem (they did not). We'll talk about it. 

Kyle Busch is still miserable AND McCall Gaulding is still pumping out St. Barths content. We'll talk about both of those, too. Duh. 

Four tires, enough Sunoco racing fuel to get us from Carolina to Daytona, and maybe a security escort for poor Ricky … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘NASCAR Came Back Home And Became Normal Again, What A Concept’ edition – is LIVE!

Newsom would've thrown a FIT if this happened in LA

So, for years now, all I've heard is "NASCAR needs to reach new fans!" and "If they don't diversify, they will DIE."

I'm gonna be honest, I think I'm just about completely out on that at this point. I think it's all bullshit. You know what it is? It's the DEI crap that we're trying to purge ourselves from in America right now. 

For years, NASCAR has tried to cater to whoever these "new fans" are. They've gone to LA. They're in Chicago now – and NOT Chicagoland. Just … crime-riddled, downtown Chicago. Yuck. 

Frankly, I thought the most patriotic the sport has looked over the past decade was when Chase Elliott won the Fourth of July race at Road America in 2022, and then they promptly scrubbed that race from the schedule. Nice. 

Point is, I reckon, is that new ain't always better. Clearly. The two best atmospheres over the past year? North Wilkesboro last May, and last night in North Carolina:

Now, to be fair, the racing last year at North Wilkesboro was relatively shitty. I have to call it as I see (saw) it. But this past weekend at Bowman Gray? The fans came and it delivered. 

And then they all told Ricky Stenhouse Jr. to hit the BRICKS, pal! 

The Chase vs. Denny battle was good, but Denny has bigger problems right now

Incredible. You ain't getting 17,000 middle-fingers anywhere else, except NASCAR. You think Goodell would let that happen? No shot. He'd probably cancel the season. That stupid NBA commissioner with the long neck would probably have everyone wear a BLM mask at the next race as punishment. 

But not NASCAR. We tell drivers to piss off, and we do it proudly. The hippies out at the Coliseum would've fainted. Welcome home, NASCAR. 

Although, to be fair, this chick would probably fit in out there:

What a pistol. Also, the sneaky best part of that video? The DuPont jacket. Aura out the ASS. You ain't finding that at the Chicago street race. 

Now, you WOULD probably find a similar Chase Elliott vs. Denny Hamlin battle, because those two seem to always find each other on A) road courses, or B) short tracks. 

Right on cue, they were the two best automobiles on the track last night – until Ryan Blaney crashed the party with 50 to go. 

Good for NASCAR, good for the ratings, and, hopefully, good for Denny, who is about three days away from having to knock on doors and beg for money like a girl scout:

Angry Kyle picks up right where he left off! 

Two short track ringers, and they both managed to do it without punting the other into the moon. Nice work, fellas. Y'all have come a long way since the Martinsville incident! #Progress. 

Now, let's get Denny some sponsorship, for the love of GOD. Look at that hauler! This isn't some shitty rookie driving the No. 72 car that you've never seen nor heard of. This is DENNY HAMLIN. He's only got 54 career Cup wins in 20 years. No biggie. 

I know FedEx left Denny after last season, but my God. Who in the hell do I have to tariff to get Denny some sponsorship? 

Let me know! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com. 

OK, couple quickies (hey now!) on the way to Daytona. First up? Kyle Busch had a great weekend!

I didn't even include it there, but Kyle was ALSO wrecked in last night's main event. Wrecked in the heat. Wrecked in the main event. Rode Justin Haley's ass for two laps. Looked miserable. Sounded miserable. 

We are BACK, baby! Let's go have a great year, Rowdy. 

Speaking of usually-angry drivers, let's check in on Ryan Blaney after he nearly went from worst-to-first over the course of 200 laps:

Yeah, I mean – he's right. Although, to be fair, I feel like even Chase fans would've appreciated Ryan punting him at a place like Bowman Gray to win the race. 

Don't know if you noticed, but that racing sort of lends itself to it. You almost had to move someone out of the way last night to make a pass, which is kinda the point. 

They don't call it the Madhouse because everyone leaves there singing Kumbaya. At least not that I know of. 

Exhibit A:

Take us to Daytona, McCall!

Looks like Justin Haley had himself a great weekend in North Carolina! Made friends, made memories, and didn't even make the main event. 

Solid few days!

Before we get to the hot NASCAR wives – and Larry Mac! – let's quickly check in on the national anthem from last night, which came to us courtesy of the Winston-Salem band. Shockingly, NASCAR fans hated it:

Yep. It's the worst thing I have ever heard, and that includes the drunk country broad from last year's MLB Home Run Derby who had to check herself into rehab the next day. 

HAD to be an audio problem with FOX, right? I mean, it could NOT have sounded that bad in person. Did it? That was shockingly bad to listen to live, and it's just as bad this morning. 

Congrats to Winston-Salem State, though! Big moment. 

OK, that's it for today. Glad the NASCAR offseason is officially over … except just kidding! It's back this week because of the stupid Super Bowl. 

Bet you ain't seeing 17,000 middle fingers next Sunday!

Take us home, Larry Mac – and McCall. Mostly McCall.