The very exact reason I write this post is to express a sole opinion. 

This past Saturday night at Iowa Speedway, the NTT IndyCar series did somthing I didnt expect to happen: Complete a race to its full distance AFTER a massive thunderstorm ramsacked the speedway only a short time before the green flag was set to fly. If anyone watched the broadcast from NBCSN, you would know how rough it got. With all that being said, and it got into the 10-10:30 pm hour, myself personally, along with others on social media, had it locked in our mind that the race wasnt happening. But to the credit of Jay Frye and the IndyCar team….they werent giving up. They didnt, as a series, let Television dictate when the race would be ran. We know that has happened before from the NASCAR ranks, because some have openly admitted it. The IndyCar series committed to getting the race ran, and at 1:35 am, because I WAS awake watching the event, the race reached its completion. In times past, there have been races delayed at Iowa from the stock car ranks, due to weather. If an IndyCar race can get it done, NASCAR can EASILY do the same if the track has lights to do it. I say this because I know this for a face, if tracks like Texas, Kentucky, Chicago,Atlanta and Kansas have lights and are located in the proximity they are ( away from a major city center), theres no excuse at times NASCAR cant tell the TV people we are gonna get this race in TODAY. Because IndyCar did it. If I am paying $60-$150 for a ticket to a race, I want the series to get the race in if the track has lights and CAN run at anytime. 

       When NASCAR made the rule change in the off season that any race winner in the top 3 series that fails post race inspection would be disqualified, a collective ” its about time” came from many peoples mouths, including mine. It is the right thing to do, no doubt, because I see it on a weekly, constant basis in the ranks of dirt racing. Any vehicle that isnt within legalities of the rulebook during post race teardown shouldnt be still awarded a win. 

       Well kids, it happened…but the first victim was unexpected. 

      With the ups and downs that Ross Chastain has encountered since last year, he didnt deserve it to happen to him. He straight dominated the M&M’s 200 at Iowa, in similar fashion that Christopher Bell dominated the Circuit City 250 later that day. Heres where I think this rule needs to be adjusted, and adjusted in a big way……..

     NASCAR needs to establish a system to determine if any rule violation that warrants a disqualification is done out of intent/malice. I am a staunch advocate of this, because speaking from a driver/car owner view, its not fair to disqualify a driver and strip a win if his or her shock fails, or a spring collapses and causes the ride heights to settle .05 below minimum ride height requirements. The area in violation, whether its a corner of the respective vehicle, or even a whole end of the car, whether its front end or rear end, needs thorughly inspected fully, along with the components of the area { shocks, springs, suspension components, etc.). After a full inspection of the parts, if its deemed that a part failed due to stress/conditions, allow the team/driver to keep the win. If there is any part that is apparent somthing has been changed within the part that causes the part in question to change form, therefore causing the race vehicle to fall outside of requirements, then the disqualification is fully warranted. 

    There has to be a line drawn to determine if a rule violation is caused from part failure, or intent. Because in the racing world, I have seen things done with intent MANY TIMES.

  Without one shadow of a doubt, the drama and intensity of Bump Day for the Indianapolis 500 mile race came back in a way yesterday like many didn’t think would. The new format including the Last Row Shootout for the final row had a great look to it on paper, but many, including myself, wanted to see how the on track look would be. My gosh did it deliver in ways that were not imagined. The Last Row Shootout is PURE GOLD. 

  For ones that didnt get to see it….

The new format was to be a one shot, 4 laps, leave it all on the track style shootout, which raised my eyebrows from here to the moon. You had drivers the likes of Sage Karam, Max Chilton, Kyle Kaiser, Patricio O’Ward along with James Hinchcliffe and 2 time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso. The latter 2 drivers had everyone anxious. James Hinchcliffe in my opinion was a surefire lock, and I had the feeling Fernando Alonso would be as well. When the NBCSN team reported on the broadcast that a Penske setup, along with Andretti Autosport suspension components were on Alonso’s McLaren entry I said to myself he definitely should be okay, after the appearance of the Carlin Racing technical alliance was a massive failure. When Alonso laid a 4 lap average down of 227.35 down, comparing it to Hinch’s average of 227.5..natural thought is to be he’s good. Now here comes Sage Karam……

  After he threw down a 227.7 average…..Indy went on edge wondering if Alonso would get bumped or not.  O’Ward and his 4 lap average wasn’t going to cut it only being a 226.8.  In the old biblical terms of David vs.Goliath, we were getting that very setup. Juncos Racing and Kyle Kaiser were on deck. They had rebuilt their car in 1 day after Kaiser crashed and destroyed it. Many thought that after they had struggled to get up to speed, only topping 225 before the crash, they were not gonna make it. Kaiser and Ricardo Juncos then proceeded to have the greatest ” hold my beer” moment that I can remember in a while at Indianapolis. 4 laps later, he had an average of 227.37, besting the world powerhouse of McLaren by .020 mph. The little engine that could took down the high speed bullet train at Indy.  Later, in what I consider an admirable move by Fernando Alonso, he rejected an offer from McLaren to have a ride bought so he could drive after the team failed him in epic proportions. In his words, ” Its not fair to take another persons seat that has EARNED their spot in the race.”  From a driver, that’s called keeping pure class in an embarrassing situation. McLaren didn’t have their stuff together this time for Indy, unlike 2017 when the alliance with Andretti paid off for them until the engine failure occurred. So McLaren, considering you have a Team Principal in the likes of Gil DeFerran in your corner, id utilize him a million times more that it appears you did and have your stuff better in line and better alliances formed before you roll out the Orange and Blue #66 again so you save your driver a lot of embarrassment. 

Several times over my driving career, many times one specific question has been asked of me….

“Do you ever get nervous?”

99.8% of the time, the answer is mostly a one word answer:  ” NOPE”.  Well, here’s the real truth…

The late Ayrton Senna was quoted once as saying, ” The helmet hides unfathomable emotions”. He is absolutely spot on. When you cinch down that helmet strap, and latch the HANS clips on, its time to go to war. Many emotions do hit, and I would be a total fool to say nerves don’t hit a driver at some point. They would be telling a total lie if the said so. Nerves hit drivers at different times. For me personally, nerves strike me at only one point. That point is when I get the helmet latched and I am alone in my thoughts. It gets magnified more when I am in the car, alone in my thoughts with nobody around, the National Anthem is playing loudly, and I am anticipating the command to start engines. The very first big event I ran in back in 2010, the field went to the frontstretch, and shut the engines off. We all stood beside our cars, paid respects to our country, then proceeded to climb back aboard our chariots. That race imparticular, waiting on the command felt like an hour, while they did driver intros. In that specific moment, that was the first and only time in my career that I have been nauseated in a car like that. All from pure nerves. But anyone that has had their foot in a throttle on a racetrack will tell you, when you hit that start switch and the 650 man choir under the hood starts to sing..the butterflies go “adaios”. Anytime the track is taken on, you truthfully are putting your life on the line. Hence the reason I say, if a driver tells you he or she doesnt have some nerves….he or she is lying to you. Point Blank. Because you truthfully face danger everytime. 

   Many people in this world don’t have a clue how hectic the life of a driver that races on a weekly basis. Whether it be on dirt, on the 1/4 mile, or on the asphalt, life can be extremely straining. Many things come with the territory. Life for me on the dirt is physically draining, emotionally taxing, but my gosh is it fun.

   Being behind the wheel is an adrenaline rush that many cant comprehend.. The way I describe it is you’re in your own little world with 700 horses, 24 enemies that want to defeat you, and your thoughts. Sometimes you have to react without thinking. Case-in point, lets rewind back to 2013……..

  I was in competition that night at Talladega Short Track, competing in the Thunder division. That night, we had a 16 car field. Dad and I had worked on the car hard that day, making hardcore setup changes to search for any speed we could find. When we unloaded, we were better, but not great. Made one simple change to the rear end geometry and it was like we were shot out of a cannon in the qualifying race. Started p2, and went to the lead. I stayed in the middle groove for the first 4 laps, because that night that was where the track was the fastest. With 2 laps to go, I was the recipient of a “bonzai” move. The second place car dove into turn 3 too hard, washed up, and slammed me in the left front. My initial thought was we were done that night because the suspension components were probably destroyed. I was wrong.

  The extent of the damage was only a cut LF Tire, and a bent wheel. I had an identical spare to it. We threw it on, and went into head hunting mode. Most of my family and fans had left due to them thinking we were done. When time for the main event rolled up, I was set to start last in p16, due to being the only car to have to retire in the heat race. The competitors in front of me knew I was extremely fast that night, and I told them all to don’t hold me up because I was coming through. After the green flag flew, I had worked my way to 10th by the exit of turn 2. Little did I know CHAOS was about to ensue……

  Competitors at the front of the field got together, and blocked the whole track. I was carrying so much speed and didn’t know what was happening…until I saw a dayglow orange number 80 on the side of one of the cars. All within the timespan of about .5 of a second, I had to react. My reaction was to throw the car sideways, because if I didn’t do that, I very well could have left Talladega in a helicopter headed to the hospital. A Natural “React without thinking” move. I went underneath another car, did 2 360 degree spins, and it was over. The good lord was watching out for me that night. 

  I thought the car was history. But it wasn’t. Between me, dad, and my grandpa along with about 200 man hours, we fixed it. It gave us a sense of pride like we never had, because we re-built a destroyed car, and it was better than it was. We won a race 3 weeks later…..that’s the definition of VINDICATION.

(I am in between the car against the wall and the blue car with orange numbers)

 With the upcoming Geico 500 weekend at Talladega Superspeedway approaching us, this will be my 30th consecutive year attending events there. Yes, I said 30. I attended my first race there in July of 1989. Terry Labonte won that event. Looking at it, its been an absolute thrill to go there for all these years. I have personally watched that place evolve into a motorsports mecca.

I can remember the old awning that used to be over the tri oval lower level stands, and people used to fight over seats in the shade. Shaded seats were a premium for those July races which felt like you were in Death Valley, CA at times because the heat was so extreme. Now with the first phase of Transformation Talladega nearing 100% completion, it still amazes me to steadily see that place continue to evolve into a motorsports palace.

I used to dream as a kid to be able to compete in a race on those historic high banks, and I’ve been very fortunate to turn laps there in a driving experience car to be able to feel what 33 degrees of fury feels like.

Beginning in 2017, I was able to start being a part of the team there. That was an unexpected blessing. Having a mentor for broadcasting, like Steve has been for me, has been a blessing in disguise. I never knew, nor imagined I’d enjoy radio and broadcasting work as much as I have. That led me to be a part of the PA team there.

Wherever that road leads from here on out, so be it, but no matter what, its a dream come true for a kid that grew up in Southern Talladega County that goes to races religiously there to be able to say hes a part of the team at a place he adores. From sitting in Turn 2 in a truck bed in July 1989, to the Control Tower in 2019, and all points around and in between, Ive seen races from all points imaginable at the track, and what a thrill it has been. I still get a thrill turning into the main entrance on Speedway Boulevard on a race weekend.

Until the good Lord says its time to come home, I’ll still walk through those gates at Talladega Superspeedway, two weekends every year.

Dear Jenna Fryer, 

As many years as you have written for AP covering motorsports, you should have better respect for someone that is as large of a figure in NASCAR as Darrell Waltrip.

In my own personal opinion, that opinion piece you wrote on him, basically begging FOX sports to make a change, was absolute trash. Everyone in their own respective field at some point runs their course out. Nobody is perfect in this world.

I am a rookie broadcaster and I make mistakes. Darrell is a man that is highly regarded and respected in the booth, and behind the wheel. Dave Moody of MRN was spot on for the rebuttal article about DW. 

All was pretty quiet about Darrell until that garbage article was written, and then, his hand was basically forced in my honest opinion. Heck, you recently have written an op-ed for of all news outlets..THE WASHINGTON POST.

Stick to covering motorsports in a respectful manner for the AP and only the AP. When you write for those rags like THE POST, you’re basically letting politics get filtered into our beloved sport. Shoot, imho, you’re even stooping to a level as low as Jim Utter, a person that lets his liberal views overrun his job way too much.

In the words of Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots…..DO YOUR JOB. Cover the sport and stop with the nonsense articles trashing a Hall of Famer.