Sad State Of NASCAR On Full Display In Pathetic Commercial, Fans Furious, Idiotic New Rule & OK. Cheerleader!

Five weeks, boys and girls. That's it. Five weeks. 34 days. 840 hours. 50,400 minutes. I'd do seconds, but I Googled it and a number came up that I'd never seen before, so I'll just stop here. You get the point. 

This is crunch time, folks. While the Big J journos are trying to work in one final vacation before NASCAR returns, I'm up at 7 a.m. working my tail off for you because this column never sleeps. Never stops. No days off. No months off. 

Sure, the pickins' are slim right now in terms of topics, but whatever. That's my problem, not yours. And, frankly, it ain't even a problem today. I've got plenty to discuss, mainly thanks to NASCAR being the new No Fun League. 

Seriously, it's like these guys try to pump out the dumbest rules ever just to make us as angry as possible. Well nice job, dummies! You did it!

We'll get to that in a bit. What else?

Well, I've got folks angry at Fox (oh no!) because the NASCAR commercials haven't exactly been flying off the TV screens lately – as opposed to IndyCar – and it's got everyone in a tizzy. Obviously, I'll have to tread lightly here and be delicate. Good thing that's right down my alley!

I've also got Sam Busch working in a lift to start the new year AND ex-Oklahoma cheerleader Taylor Reimer gearing up for the Chili Bowl Nationals this week. 

We LOVE having Taylor stop by every few months, and it's been a while, so this is a welcome return on an otherwise slow Monday in January. What a blessing.

Four tires, a half-tank of Sunoco racing fuel, and maybe a towel for Taylor (just kidding!) … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘The Inevitable NASCAR vs. IndyCar Dick-Measuring Contest Has Begun’ edition – is LIVE!

Should NASCAR fans be annoyed at Fox here?

Love starting a new week with a topic that could cost me my job. Talk about getting the juices FLOWING on a Monday morning. 

So, for a few weeks now, folks on the internet – mainly Elon's app – have been a little bitchy and moany about the fact that Fox has pumped out plenty of IndyCar content, and no Daytona 500 content. 

Fox, of course, bought the rights to IndyCar last year, in a move that was surely only for the Indy 500 because nobody watches that nonsense the rest of the year. But, the Indy 500 is a massive draw, so it'll probably end up working out. 

Anyway, the Daytona 500 is routinely the biggest of the season in America (sorry, Indy fans, but it's true), yet Fox has been somewhat radio silent on this front all offseason. 

Until yesterday, of course – when we got competing commercials from the folks in marketing!

Where do we stand?

Well … hm. I don't know. It's … odd, to say the least. But maybe not surprising? This is a tough one for me, mainly because these guys sign my paycheck, and I'd very much like to keep receiving one. 

Yeah, you know what? Screw it. That's bullshit. There, I said it. Bullshit!

We got a 50-second Josef Newgarden commercial that's worthy of an Emmy, and then we got … 15 seconds of Joey Logano? Huh? WHAT? Look, I know Joey's the reigning champ, but come on. 

Honestly, though, maybe that's also part of the problem NASCAR faces right now. It's an issue, folks, and has been for years now. Frankly, it might be getting worse. 

There isn't a superstar on the circuit that's marketable. Sorry, I love Chase Elliott. Love him. But he clearly wants nothing to do with it, which is pathetic and sad, but whatever. 

So, who else are you trotting out there? Denny? Bubba? Blaney? Kyle Busch? I mean, I don't know. It's a huge identity crisis right now for NASCAR, and one that becomes a glaring problem when you see Fox put together Josef Newgarden commercials like THAT. 

Maybe it's not so much on Fox as it is on NASCAR, and, more specifically, the NASCAR PR team? Dale Jr. ain't walking back through that door. He's been gone for years now, and you still haven't found a suitable replacement. 

In fact, you just had Fox run an entire Daytona 500 commercial featuring … old drivers! Old content. Dale Sr. and Jeff Gordon! 

Do you see the problem with that?

Again, everyone thought it would be Chase Elliott. NASCAR prayed it would be Chase Elliott. He's the Most Popular Driver a billion years running. He's young. My wife tells me he's hot. Unfortunately, he refuses to embrace any of it, and chooses instead to keep to himself. 

Meanwhile, this Newgarden fella is trotting out his hot wife for the cameras!

See the problem here? So, is it on Fox to market NASCAR, or on NASCAR to give Fox someone worth a damn to market? 

It's a good question. I don't have the answer, but I'm leaning towards the second one (for obvious reasons). 

Lemme know! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com. 

What a dumb rule

Whew. What a way to start a new week! Don't you dare accuse me of mailing it in on the second Monday of January. No chance! We've got piss and vinegar FLOWING through our bellies today!

Which brings me to the next thing that annoyed me over the weekend:

So, NASCAR pumped up a ton of rule updates over the weekend, and it was all relatively monotonous besides a few. 

Obviously, this one is a biggie. Remember last year when Kyle Larson ran the double, but rain in Indy forced him to miss the NASCAR race that evening? Well, he eventually got a waiver to compete in the playoffs later in the year – after some more dick-measuring contests (hey, Kyle won this one!) – and all seemed A-OK. 

Except, it wasn't – not in NASCAR's eyes, at least. To them, Kyle skipped the Coke 600 to run the Indy 500. Now, obviously, he wasn't doing that, but Mother Nature put him in a bad spot, and, in turn, NASCAR has now tightened its grip on the whole NASCAR-Indy Double that drivers have been doing for years. 

The good news? Drivers can still do it. The bad news? NASCAR A) has final say in granting a waiver (no appeals), and B) if they do grant one, the driver starts the playoffs with the baseline minimum in points. 

The NASCAR No Fun Series strikes again! But also, I just got done making fun of IndyCar, so maybe I'm with NASCAR on this one? 

I don't know. I'm all over the map today. Sorry. It is Jan. 13, after all. Give me a break!

Sam, Taylor & Larry Mac take us home!

After some deliberation – and by that I mean I went to take a piss and refill my Maxwell House – I've decided that I'm with … the drivers on this one! Piss off, NASCAR. If they want to run the double, let them run it with no consequences. It's good for motorsports, and Memorial Day Sunday is your biggest day of the year. 

Take advantage of it and put the tape measure away for once!

OK, let's end the day with A) Sam Busch working out, B) Oklahoma cheerleader Taylor Reimer getting ready for this week's Chili Bowl Nationals, and C) Larry Mac!

Which one do you wanna see first? Larry? Coming right up!