Easter

What a RACE! We've had some decent ones to start the year, but yesterday? Goodness gracious. Put her on the Mount Rushmore of All-Time NASCAR races … ever! No notes. 10/10. Perfection. Bristol delivered. It always delivers, but on this Easter Sunday? She rose from the dead and blew our minds. Amazing. OK … has the bit gone too far at this point? Probably. But, it's one of the rare off weeks in NASCAR, which means I'm gonna need to fill some space today. So, yes, I vamped just a bit longer than normal, and ran the same joke I always run on our bye weeks. Whatever. Just let me have this one. No, there was no Cup race this weekend because NASCAR … quietly? … fixed one of its most controversial problems this season. Should there be a Cup race on Easter? There has been the past few years after decades without one, and I'm not sure how I feel. We'll dive in here in a bit. What else? I've got Daniel Dye quitting after the NASCAR #MOB freaked out because he used a "gay voice" on live stream, rising (that putting it lightly) gas prices starting to impact race teams, and a Good Friday paint scheme has the LIBS in shambles. Oh yeah! I've also got a new NASCAR drama series coming to AMC that will undoubtedly piss off a purple-haired Starbucks barista who accidentally clicks on it. So, you know, that's nice. Whew. That's weirdly a lot of stuff for a Monday with no Cup race. This is why we win awards, you know. While the rest of the woke media is sleeping in today, we're up GRINDING our tails off for you guys. Choose your fighter. Four tires, enough fuel to get us to Bristol (but not too much because times are TOUGH), and maybe an updated TV Guide for our older folks in class so they can find the new NASCAR TV show this fall … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘We’re Just Gonna Throw Stuff At The Wall Today And See What Sticks' edition – is LIVE!I'm not trying to get anyone fired up today, but sometimes, the #content just lends itself to it. Some weeks, we all get along just fine. Other weeks, we're ready to rip each other's faces off before 8 a.m. on Monday. This one, it appears, is one of those weeks. There's A LOT of weird tension right now. Let's go ahead and spin the wheel, and start with … This paint scheme, illustrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ – which was run by Garrett Smithley in the Busch race Saturday at Rockingham. Yes, there were races this weekend! Just not Cup ones. Garrett, how's that Chevy looking?!Today is Good Friday. You can’t have the Resurrection without the Crucifixion. Honored to be racing this special scheme to tell the Easter Story on our racecar.I'll tell you what, 90% of the comments under that tweet are positive, which was nice to see. Stunning. RARELY do you get that sort of agreement out of the internet nowadays. Sure, there were some haters, like Jessicahellcat from above, but I'm sure she appreciated Bubba's BLM scheme a few years back. So, even stevens!Garrett, by the way, finished 29th. Not the best look for our Lord and Savior, but it's the thought that counts!The good news for those who did NOT like Garrett's scheme is there's a new show coming out that should make you all feel a lot better!And by that, I mean AMC is basically coming up with their own version of Yellowstone, but making it about a NASCAR driver. Should do well in blue states!Amazing. I knew the SECOND I saw Dennis Quaid as the lead actor, the replies were going to be … something. And buddy, they were! The left HATES Dennis Quaid. Hollywood doesn't love him, either. He's a Trumper. He was literally flying with Trump, for some reason, while we launched our initial attack on Iran in February. What a time to be alive. And now AMC has ordered a new NASCAR drama called "Thunder Road" with Dennis as the lead. By the way, it sounds promising, and I don't say that often anymore, because TV nowadays is generally awful. But …The show is described as "a multi-generational saga of the Whitlock family, whose legacy in stock car racing is as deep as the family’s ties to the southern hill country roots that shaped them," per the official logline. Quaid will star as Duane Whitlock, a.k.a. The Wrecking Ball." He is described as "a NASCAR legend" and "a towering figure who built a racing empire from a legacy of moonshine runs and dirt tracks… and refuses to let it die. This is a story about a blue-collar dynasty at the edge of extinction — and the old king fighting to hold onto his crown.I mean … I've certainly heard worse ideas for a show. Shockingly, Taylor Sheridan is NOT writing this one. Hookstead will be crushed!OK, let's get to a couple quickies because it's a long drive to Bristol … and gas ain't cheap!"We actually have a group text, it's called the ‘traveling group text’ for Kaulig Racing where we plan our trips accordingly," Rice told Sirius XM last week. "If we can wait a day and pick up more stuff in a day, we'll do that. I was talking to our truck (hauler) drivers and saying, ‘Hey, watch fuel prices to make sure that, since we’re only going to Rockingham, do we need to fill it all the way up?"Will the fuel prices come down? We keep our eyes on that. We look for ways that we can find locations that sell it a little bit cheaper. Every dollar matters with us and in the Truck Series."As Trump so elegantly put it on … EASTER SUNDAY … "Open the F----- Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell!"Next? Remember last month when that very same Kaulig Racing suspended driver Daniel Dye because they thought he was being homophobic on a live stream? Well, he's recently been reinstated … and promptly quit:Yeah, I'm not gonna rehash that whole incident. I wrote about it plenty last month. But, that's the video. That's it! That's why NASCAR benched Daniel Dye. And I'm not a Daniel Dye fan. Believe me. But come on. What are we doing here?Anyway, he's now a free agent. Step right up! Hey, not all at once! Form an ORDERLY line!Finally … let's end the day – and start the week – with a question. Did y'all miss having a NASCAR Easter Sunday race yesterday?The NASCAR world is fairly divided on this one. Some think we should corner the market and dominate Easter in the way the NFL dominates … pretty much every other holiday. I'm in the other camp. NASCAR tried to have an Easter race for the past few years, and having NONE for decades, and it flopped. Sure, you could argue that the Bristol Dirt was a bad place to test it out, and maybe you'd be right. But, I think in this sport more than any other, Easter is a big deal. Dale Jr. said as much years ago. I mean, did you see the paint scheme I just talked about? I'd leave it alone. I'm glad NASCAR did.OK, that's it for today. Honestly, I think we nailed it. Sometimes, I dread these off-week classes. They can be tough. Not today. Good work, everyone. Take us to Bristol, Sam Busch!