I’m frustrated by the ongoing conversation about Ford's "struggles" when, in reality, Chevrolet has faced even greater challenges. Aside from Hendrick Motorsports, consider the following: Trackhouse has generally been underwhelming, RCR has performed terribly, JTG's performance has significantly declined this year, and Spire has been dismal apart from Hocevar. Kaulig Racing has consistently placed around 30th. Outside of Hendrick, Chevrolet's performance has been dreadful.
Only one of those typically shows speed consistently, and only half the team at that. Spire and Kaulig are always a joke and RCR is always hit or miss.
I agree with everything except partially Spire. LaJoie hasn't been dreadful, he's part of that cluster of cars that interchangeably ends up 20th in points each week. Though Berry, McDowell and Gilliland have begun to separate themselves. Zane Smith? Let's not talk about him lol
I feel like he is wrecking them on purpose too. Ain't no way you're luck is that bad in a B-/C+ team. RCR looked better last year, Busch looked better last year, he frees himself up from all distractions and gets worse? Ain't no way.
@dethangel88 its really stupid to believe that a driver is intentionally ruining themselves. Busch as a record braking win streak to keep alive. He isnt the type to let that slip away. Also rcr has been on a down trend since summer last year they are falling behind on development.
@Carlovingbozo8 My perspective is, especially when we see drivers out there outperforming the equipment they're in. Busch should be doing as well as Larson was doing at Ganassi. Instead he's letting his temperament get to him, he seems like he is just giving up. Maybe it's time for him to retire after all. Who knows, I wanted good things to happen for him.
@@OldsmobileCutlass1969Va agreed. Best thing they could do is send Hill away, go down to one car in cup and open a third charter in Xfinity. Put Austin and Ty in Xfinity RCR equipment, and if they still can’t cut it, move them to management or PR. If they can cut it, then that’s great. I for one would be interested in watching the Dillon brothers battle it out for a NASCAR title. But it will never happen in cup.
Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson were sitting across from each other, talking about how they respect each other, racing, and championships. This was a few years ago at the Chili Bowl. History being repeated. Who else remembers this?
Same, I put him in my fantasy top 5 kinda as a joke then got really excited to see him actually running in the top five, then was very sad to see him fall😢
This was one of the most entertaining races of the year IMO. It was boring up until the rain hit, then we saw some insane racing. Josh Berry passed 16 cars in a couple of laps. I really wish NASCAR allows teams to make strategy on wet tires because that would be so much fun. NHMS in the wet reminded me of Bristol earlier this year. The Next Gen absolutely can race well on short ovals. You just need to change the tire/grip equation. Whenever there's rain or Bristol tires the racing is legendary.
Absolutely today proved it and if somebody could convince Goodyear in NASCAR that they refuse to mess with the tires on all tracks they're going to bring what they think will produce the best racing when they know it doesn't and look what they did on these rain tires how far did they go they ran a lot of labs number 20 and it's easy to see what Kyle Larson's problem is he burns his tires off his rear tire was gone and it was a great call by Cliff Daniels to tell NASCAR we need to come in and change tires and they did because that's Mr H's car we do what they say I loved it absolutely loved it and they even blew a motor in the 48 that hasn't happened in 250 races wonder why other Hendrix Motors in other cars blow up and theirs don't run.😂
Hamlin does that cuz he knows it gets under Larson's skin and that's cuz Larson's a p**** and won't fight back if he doesn't have a dominating car he just throws a baby fit we have to remember that I'm sure 11 didn't mean to do that cuz it was Larson Larson's tires were burned up on the back and were driving in these rain tires at 4 seconds slower than pace everybody was all over the field and how did we even finish this race with all these guys that can't drive or to s*** sliding wrecking and spinning out that was great I loved it I loved every minute of it you almost think that NASCAR won't let this happen again😂
Chase Elliott involved in a wreck Restarts 26th Recovers to 9-12th Bad restart Finishes 18th Hes so good at damage management He maintains his status as the only driver in the field to not finish 20th or worse in a single race or more
They're buying new motors at every race they think Justin's gonna be good at. Being on the Roush campus let's the RWR engineers go in and hand pick which of the available motors to buy. It may not seem like much, but it's allot better than prior. When they were buying and running mostly used motors/equipment.
My father and I were at NHMS this past weekend. It’s a regular trip for us. We actually left the track and headed home when the stands were cleared because of the lightning in the area. We continued to listen to the PRN broadcast on the car radio and were surprised, as were the PRN commentators, when the race restarted. Eric, I think you would enjoy a visit to NHMS. There is an interesting New England racing museum on the NHMS grounds.
Coming from an FRM fan: Todd Gilliland showed real speed today, running top 10 and sometimes even top 5 consistently today Unlucky for Michael McDowell, he was running around the same as gilliland, would’ve been a top 10. I’d much rather have had the race end under rain, McDowell p4, Gilliland p6. Gilliland is starting to show why I like him as a driver.
That was the same storm that hit me last night. There was a small tornado, it ripped someone roof off. It was maybe 5 or 10 miles west of me. Stay safe Eric.
Getting back to racing in wet weather is fine but when you have no competition pit stops it makes for a dull race and better chances for restart chaos. I love that they have rain tires but until they get a tire that last longer than 20 laps and are able to have a dry pit lane to have competitive stops it’s all just a regulated race by NASCAR.
I think Chevy gives nearly all their support to Hendrick which is why the other Chevy teams aren’t so great. Seems like Hendrick is the only tier 1 team for Chevrolet.
I think the only one who had a worse day than Kyle is my guy Alex Bowman, finishing last. First HMS engine failure in 236 starts, and of course it happens to him. Big points hit. Starting to sweat again like last year with this bubble race tightening up.
Being in europe some race will not be live, this one wasn't because of the 6 hour at the glen. I love watching the groovy gage for knowing if I should watch the race or not
The Busch RCR stuff reminds of when Bill Elliott went to race for junior johnson in 1992. Good results the first half of the year, absolutely fell apart the second half, then went winless the very next season. The same thing is currently happening with Kyle at RCR. Another case of nascar history repeating itself.
I’m so happy NHMS is getting good races now. I know all the management guys at the track and it’s my home race, and they all work so hard and to see the track getting the races it deserves is just awesome!
For Kyle Busch, New Hampshire has been a love/hate relationship. He has won here before with Hendrick and Gibbs but also had several bad races. A few incidents include blowing right front tires in the Pedigree #18, wrecking while in the lead due to rain, which lead to Kyle hitting the pace car in frustration, a broken sway bar during the 2008 Chase that caused him to lose a big chunk of points, and today’s race where he was off the pace and not really in contention before crashing out.
With my own eyes I saw briscoe hovering around 23rd to 30th the entire race, but when NASCAR puts on the “wet” tire he drives forward. This was a one off.
NBC's coverage was so much better than Fox. Other than a bit on Suarez there were no cut aways for fluff pieces. Really good analysis including speculating what the rain on the paint might do, which we saw when Gragson lost control.
3 SHR cars in the top 15 again. That's been trend over the last while. The races was great, but that were a lot of yellows on top of the red flag point. At least NASCAR didn't do like the FIA did at Le Mans last weekend, rain poorly down on the track, cars spinning out hitting walls.. and they penalized teams for putting wets of when the FIA still hadn't called it a wet track yet. I'm betting the FIA isn't paying bills for the damage caused by their stupidity...
Bell's win was a huge boost for me. I've been in a shelter lately but seeing my favorite driver win when I wear his hat every day got my mood wayyy up. Bell is easily going to be a multi-time champion, I'm calling it now
I think Hendrick's success masks the problems that Chevy might be having right now. Think about all the drivers who haven't won races yet that people expect to win a race at some point. if they are Chevy Drivers, it's probably Chastain and Bowman, and that's it. The rest of them have not been nearly good enough to be considered potential winners. Spire is mostly being held up by Carson Hocevar (a rookie in 23rd), JTG is down almost 10 spots from what they were last year. RCR is getting decked hard, especially in recent weeks, and Kaulig is so bad that both cars are being beat in the owners points by Rick Ware's 51 (which is also within striking distance of surpassing Corey Lajoie). Ross Chastain hasn't won yet, and honestly hasn't really looked like he can win anywhere just yet. Suarez had an epic finish at Atlanta, but even he is frustrated with the performance he has had this year outside of that. Simply put, Chevy, without Hendrick, might be the worst of the three manufacturers in NASCAR right now.
I think they should be able to run on wet weather tires if it's sprinkling. That kinda rain isn't gonna affect drivers visibility with spray like at COTA
Even though KB is a 2x champion and has won at least 1 race since his rookie year, I think for the first time in his cup career, he has to be the leader of the organization. Even his early days at hendrick, he had gordon & johnson. Look at the teammates he had at Gibbs. Started with stewart, Hamlin had seniority in the organization. Truex, edwards, Kenseth. All fellow championship contenders and hall of famers.Johnson. Kinda crazy to think that after 20 years in Cup, he has more pressure on him now to succeed.
I didn't think they'd get back to racing or get the full thing in, so that was cool and I understand much of the decision making, though they seemed indecisive at times, such as initially not allowing that final tire change. I also want to say New Hampshire has been producing some good races in the last several seasons or more. It used to be one of the least enjoyable tracks for me, but I've legitimately enjoyed the various NH races I can remember in recent seasons. For now, I don't get tired of highlighting good runs by Justin Haley. We can maybe move on from that next season, but I enjoy it for now as it's genuinely surprising and unexpected. I saw Frontstretch reported that Haley picked up damage from the wreck between the 34 and 12. Apparently, the 51 suffered nose damage. The 17 also got into his left side, but that might not have factored in. Haley dropped like a rock on the restart before Brad spun. Looked like he was otherwise on his way to a strong top-10 if not squeaking out a top-5 finish. On the Larson radio, I think that's not something productive to bring up with the driver behind the wheel. They're on edge there, so there's less of a chance for that to go well. That's something to discuss during the week. But it's also the kind of thing that ultimately has to be left to the driver. Larson is obviously not lacking for success on the track. He very well can pass Hamlin's impressive win total if things keep going as they are, and he's already a Cup champion unlike his friend. His approach serves him very well. However, I agree that Larson owes Hamlin a few if he wants to. I can only go by what I have seen on TV, but I haven't seen a lot of good opportunities for Larson to take a shot in a meaningful way(an important detail). Typically, when I see the 11 and 5 on track together, either the 5 is so fast he passes with no issue, or the 11 is a bit faster and does what we saw yesterday to get by. So this is something I'd leave fully to the driver unless there are more situations like at Pocono where it damages the car.
With the rain tires on that was the best racing ive ever seen at New Hampshire 9 lanes drivers everywhere Im glad I stayed up to watch the end Shot out to Justin Haley
I wish NBC and USA could learn where to put their cameras based on Fox's coverage. The only food part of Fox coverage is that they blanket the track with cameras and almost always have good views of on track incidents, and it is the one spot that NBC seems to lack.
Love your videos. Keep up the great work. I have a challenge for you Eric. I double dog dare you to do an entire video with your hands tied behind your back. 😂
One hell of a comeback for Truex today after his pit crew screwed him yet again and then Brad K spun him out . Restarted 27th after the red flag and finished 9th .
I think one thing that's being missed is at the track the forecast was BAD. Thunderstorms, hail, heavy rain and tornado alerts, so when the drops started everyone left and assumed that would be it. But the forecast was way worse than what happened, and I think that's what's being missed by people not at the track.
Keslowski spun out on purpose at the end to give the 17 a good points finish to keep him inside the bubble. Check out the 6's in car cam, clear as day. Well, not today
I do give NASCAR credit for trying the “wet weather tires” (they’re Intermediate tires NASCAR, ffs) on a slightly wet New Hampshire, I do like NASCAR is trying wet tires on short ovals, but there’s still a lot of improvements to be made. I think NASCAR kinda doubts how much water on track they can race with. Granted I’m not talking 2020 Charlotte Roval Xfinity or 2021 COTA monsoon, hydroplaning, nonexistent visibility levels of standing water, but enough to get enough spray where running wipers r needed. Especially at a track like Martinsville for example where 36-40 cars r constantly running on 1-2 lines, so a dry line is gonna form within like 20-30 laps at most depending how wet the track is. The races at Martinsville in the Trucks in 2023 and Richmond in Cup really showed my point the most. The only exception to where caution to racing in wet conditions on short tracks is like Bristol since it’s a high banked .5 mile track. NASCAR has tested, but I do t think it’s certain how wet it can be run on unless it’s done first hand in an actual race. Although NASCAR should definitely let teams decide what tire to run on in drying conditions like other motorsports do. It was an absolute pain when done for road courses pre 2021 COTA when it they allowed teams to chose tire choice, and it’s an absolute pain even now. Especially in cases of running damp conditions on short ovals where the track is dry before 10 laps. Like literally with 30 laps left at New Hampshire the track was dry enough for slicks but NASCAR said “nah stay on them wet tires” for no reason. I honestly believe they just did it just to test how grooved tires would affect the racing before actually trying it when obviously the compound isn’t up for it. It honestly reminded me of the 2014 Xfinity race at Road America where rain was in the forecast and it was like “ok track is dry. Oh now it’s raining so we’re gonna stop the race to see what it does. Ok it’s not raining for rain tires yet. Ok now there’s enough rain where rain tires r needed, everyone can change over. Ok track is slick but we’re keep em on rain tires. Ok now the track is drying so everyone can switch to slicks if they want to” like it’s freakin annoying. It’s one of those things where teams can decide for themselves, not NASCAR dictate what should or shouldn’t be done.
At this point Im done with RCR, Kyle has done everything he can yes he has lashed out and do some dumb things but his team keeps letting him down. He's done what I believe as a leader right but it's the team that's letting him down. The more the team is not competitive the more frustrated he's going to get any driver at this point would be in the same position. Both of their cars are bad not even close to being on pace like this is not only sad but it's embarrassing for a team like this. RC really needs to step up and take notice because if he wants Kyle to stay longer than the team really needs to step up.
I agree w/ you on the Chevy body. I’ve thought that at length lately. Byron is so hit or miss the past few months. Chastain and Suarez are underwhelming. RCR is toast
RCR is a B level team that explains most of their problems. The grandson doesn't belong there also. Bush is getting older and is probably loosing a bit of his edge . With the cars so close, it doesn't take much to loose your edge. Same thing happened to Johnson when driving for an A level team as he got older.
Eric, I would consider Kyle Busch's worst race the year he won the cup championship after his comeback from missing the first 11 races 2015. Remember Kyle sustained a compound fracture of his right lower leg and a left mid-foot fracture in a crash during a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Daytona season opener February 21, 2015!
The wet tires most definitely put on better racing at the end but nascar wasn't clear on what the purpose of the wet tires are for because they made it sound like they can run the race with the wet tires when it rains like how they do on road courses
I felt so bad to Haley and Gilliland. They both had top 10 running the ending of the race. Hope this doesn't put a downer on their confidence, they had speed yesterday!
I think the 3 car having the issues that it’s had is starting to bleed over into the 8 team. When your teammate is that abysmal, it’s gotta start bleeding over to the rest of the organization.
Denny used to do Elliot the same way, it cost Chase a week off, but Denny races him cleaner. Kyle is going to have to end #11s day to earn Denny's respect. It wouldn't surprise me if Bucsh did a C Edwards. Something happened last year with Kyle selling KBM, just seems he's not as committed. Also look at RCR and ECR something is going on there also.
KFB has quite literally finished 35th in 3 of the past 5 races! (Gateway, Iowa, New Hampshire) “I suck just as bad as you!” “UNBELIEVABLE! KYLE BUSCH IS FADING! BUSCH IS FADING! FADING FAST!”
