What a Sunday we got yesterday! 

Red Zone was BACK on the color TV – albeit it wasn’t commercial-free. Football from 1 to midnight. A crazy game in Atlanta. Maybe the early contender for Game of the Year last night in Buffalo. 

My Dolphins got embarrassed so badly that I was able to unpack my new house all day instead of wasting three hours on them. 

Again, what a day. It was good to be back. 

Oh yeah! There was a NASCAR race, too! Sure, NASCAR puts its playoffs up against the NFL, and nobody watched yesterday’s race in St. Louis because it went green during the Witching Hour on Red Zone, but whatever. 

There was still a race. Allegedly. That’s what they tell me, at least. Google tells me Denny Hamlin won, so I assume they did in fact race. 

I kid (sort of). Yes, Denny won. He’s onto the Round of 12! Whew. I was worried his 56 point cushion wouldn’t hold. Good for him. He might just win it all this season. We’ll see. 

What else? I’ve got a couple FOUL-MOUTHED drivers turning on everyone, including their own team, Kyle Busch starring in a new sex commercial with his wife (seriously), and we’ll end the day by checking the mail. 

It’s been a while, and it’s getting full. Let’s roll. 

Four tires, enough fuel to get us to Bristol for a night race that nobody will watch because NASCAR decided to move it from August to a college football Saturday night in September, and maybe some Gatorade for Samantha Busch … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘Get On The Bandwagon Or Get Run Over’ edition – is LIVE!

NASCAR takes on the NFL

Look, I don’t want to spend all day – and all fall – on this. I don’t. I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here. I’ve talked about this for years now. I bitch about it every season. 

But, yesterday was the first NFL Sunday of the year, so it makes it relevant here. This will probably be the last time I talk about it, until the championship, at least. So humor me, will ya?

I don’t know what the TV ratings will be for Gateway. I have no idea. But, I just don’t think they’re going to be pretty … at all. 

I forgot there was a race on, and it’s literally my job to follow it every week. I had Scott Hanson directing traffic on the Red Zone channel on one TV, and the Dolphins getting absolutely annihilated on the other. 

By the time the dust settled on that one, I finally realized what time it was and flipped over to USA Network to find we were already well into Stage 2. 

Darlington last Sunday night averaged 1.8 million viewers. That’s down 21% from last season. I have a feeling Bristol this Saturday night will be an absolute bloodbath. A quick check of the college football schedule shows Florida-LSU and Texas A&M-Notre Dame on at the same time. Goooooooooooood luck!

It’s a lose-lose for NASCAR, and a kick in the balls to all the teams, drivers, and fans. NASCAR should start in February and end the Sunday before Labor Day. Own the spring. OWN the summer. Punt for football season. 

I’ll die on the hill. Thoughts? Zach.Dean@OutKick.com!

Tiny Ty tells the nerds to kick rocks!

I don’t want to shit on ARCA or FS1 here (especially FS1 given who signs my paychecks), but 43,000 people tuning in for anything is objectively hilarious. Even the dorks at CNN look at the number and laugh. 

Anyway, enough TV talk. Let’s get to some of the highlights from Denny’s win yesterday in St. Louis. He led 75 laps, won his fifth race of the season – his most since 2020 – and punched his ticket to the next round of a playoff system he constantly shits on. 

Bet he doesn’t mind it today!

Love this dude. Sure, he annoys me because he’s constantly bitching and moaning, but, frankly, that’s most NASCAR fans/drivers, so whatever. He’s who Kyle Busch used to be, and it doesn’t appear he’s slowing down any time soon. Five wins in 2025 and he’s turning 45 this fall. What a wagon. 

Speaking of bitching and moaning about anything and everything … let’s check in with Tiny Tyler Reddick AND Christopher Bell’s afternoon!

Kyle, Sam & mail time!

Couple thoughts here …

1. As far as Christopher Bell goes … I say that’s fair game. He doesn’t control the strategy call, so if he doesn’t like it – and he’s the one driving the car – it’s fair to call out your boss over it. 

2. Now, as far as Tiny Ty goes … grow some nuts, dude. You’re driving the car! You control which lane you steer towards when choosing, yes? This isn’t one of those self-driving cars the wokes use, right? It’s not? 

OK, so quit bitching about which lane you choose for the restart. Be a big boy and make that call on your own. Don’t let the nerds in analytics dictate where you start from. You’re a heterosexual, right? 

OK, then act like one!

Before we end the day with Sam & Kyle racing to completion, let’s do our now-weekly Leigh Diffey pulse check with the readers. 

From Justin:

Just finished reading your Monday morning NASCAR article and felt obliged to share a thought:

Surprisingly … I really LIKE Leigh Diffey!  Don’t know who he is. Don’t know anything about him, but I think he DOES add some excitement to the race call.

Just one NASCAR fan’s opinion.

One for Leigh! Yes! Next? Joe W.

I don’t mind him. He does quality work. Could care less about his accent. I’m older than most, but I remember when Jackie Stewart did the Indy 500 on ABC. David Hobbs was excellent on CBS. What’s the problem? I look at Mike Joy like the old pair of shoes I keep in the garage to mow the lawn. Nothing special. 

Two for Leigh! He’s up 2-0. While I appreciate a good analogy, we respect Mike Joy around here. Gonna have to dock Joe points for that one. 

Finally, let’s check in with Stephen in Wisconsin!

I lived in England for 11 years and from experience I can tell you the announcers would scream in excitement in all the wrong places at the wrong time…and in that fake excited voice…Leigh D is the worst of the worst.

I watched my first race since NBC started broadcasting the races…NBC is the worst of the broadcast networks…I will probably not watch another…I cannot even find the Busch…err…Ex-junk-ity races…how stupid is Woke-Car for blacking out half its fanbase?

Sad for Leigh. He was so close to a clean sweep this week. Thank God for Stephen in Wisconsin! And yes, Woke-Car is very dumb for putting the Busch races on the CW. We started today’s class by beating a TV dead horse, so I won’t end it with that rant. Next time. 

Here’s Kyle and Sam instead, talking some premature ejaculation. Naturally. 

See you at Bristol.