Did the move look like a disaster waiting to happen? Probably yes. But Larson revealed that his car’s balance and the timing of the call allowed him to pull it off.

“No, I think when you’re leading, you’re in a tough position because the guy in second, or that close, has got the advantage to short you by a lap,” Larson explained on Tuesday’s episode of Kevin Harvick’s “Happy Hour” podcast.

The situation developed during the final green-flag pit cycle. Larson had been leading the race when Chase Briscoe and the No.19 team made their move toward pit road. Hendrick Motorsports immediately reacted by giving Larson a last-second instruction to pit as well and cover the Joe Gibbs Racing driver.

Larson then had to transition from the high lane to the pit entry without compromising the car or missing the commitment line. That was where the risk came in. At Kansas, Larson normally approaches pit road from the bottom lane, which makes the sudden call from the top groove a much more difficult maneuver. A mistimed turn or excessive speed could have sent the No. 5 toward the wall or cost him the track position his team was trying to protect.

The move eventually proved to be pivotal as Larson won the race off pit road, allowing him to retain the advantage over Briscoe once the cycle was complete.

“Thankfully, I think they must have called him with just enough time for our team to call me late,” Larson said.

However, according to Larson, the setup of his Chevrolet made the move easier.

“It worked out because my balance was in a spot where I was having to diamond my exit at that point. So it didn’t really make it that difficult when I got the late call to make a run because my line was already pointed down the track.”

Larson was also dealing with traffic at the time, but according to him, the situation actually helped him reach the commitment line.

“So I’d still ranked really fast, and I think I would have been even faster had I not been behind the 41 car there,” he said. “It was easier to get to the commitment line than it normally feels at Kansas, which typically I do it (pit entry) from the bottom lane.”

In a race that was decided by small differences in strategy, tire management, and execution, that particular decision became a critical factor. Larson emerged from the pit cycle in front, giving him clean air. This allowed him to control the early part of the run and maintain his tire builds, instead of having to chase Briscoe.

That clean-air advantage became especially important because Briscoe was about to mount one of the strongest challenges Larson faced all afternoon. After starting the final green-flag run behind Larson, Briscoe steadily reeled in the No. 5 and passed him for the lead with 30 laps remaining.

Larson had dominated much of the afternoon, eventually leading 235 of the 267 laps and sweeping both stages. However, Briscoe’s charge, although a short-lived one, appeared capable of denying him another win. This is where Larson thought of playing smart.

“I really thought when Chase got by, he was just going to stretch out, but I got some lines going where I could settle in and try to take care of my tires,” Larson said after the race.

That patience ultimately paid off. In an interaction with reporters sometime after the race, Briscoe revealed his Toyota became increasingly ‘loose’ as he pushed to maintain the lead, while repeated contact with the outside wall further compromised the car. Briscoe eventually lost the lead with seven laps remaining and fell to fourth at the finish.

Then in a separate media interaction, JGR crew chief James Small revealed that the rocker panel of the No.19 car was torn open, with a rock or concrete lodged inside, which possibly resulted in the car’s deteriorating state. Briscoe had already described the car as becoming “really, really, really free,” while Small acknowledged that the balance eventually “came apart a little bit at the end.”

This is where Larson was able to cash in. On Lap 261, he moved underneath the No. 19 and completed the winning pass before pulling away to secure his second victory in three races. The result gave Larson a maximum 76 points and opened a 26-point lead over Denny Hamlin in the Chase standings.

Looking back at the pit call, Larson credited the No. 5 team’s ability to react before the opportunity disappeared.

“If I had come out behind him, I probably would have pushed much harder trying to make up that distance,” he said. “So yeah, it worked out. Again, it comes down to execution, and that was really a great, quick call from Cliff and the engineers.”

That execution proved crucial. Kyle Larson’s Kansas victory will be remembered for the late pass on Briscoe and his dominant 235-lap performance, but the foundation for that comeback was laid several laps earlier with a split-second decision, putting him in control of the Chase.

The post Kyle Larson Reveals the Split-Second Decision That Could Have Wrecked His Kansas Race appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Veteran driver Tony Stewart, who’s been a vocal critic, couldn’t help but draw parallels to how racing used to be different back in the mid-2000s. 

“You’re taking a line away because the cars are so aero-sensitive and so aero-dependent. The drivers used to make the difference; the driver, at the end of the day used to take what they had and change what they did with their hands and feet and manipulate the car. The last couple of years I drove, you could not do that,” Stewart explained on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. 

The Next-Gen car features a carbon-fiber body with a packed underbody design. The rear diffuser is another addition that creates massive downforce. Unlike the previous generations of the race cars, the Next Gen platform creates grip through the flow of aerodynamics. And this, in turn, has changed the culture in how teams set up their cars for Sundays. But how did NASCAR reach ‌this point, where a driver is no longer the difference maker despite piloting the car? 

“And I’m going to circle back, that is when the 20 of us drivers went in there. That was the stuff that we talked about. And it just fell on deaf ears, and here we are 20 plus years later and they’re fighting the same thing. And they are worse now than it was then,” Stewart’s response circled back to the meeting that happened between 2013 and 2015.

20 some race car drivers sat down with NASCAR, explaining how the sport needed to move away from aero-dependent race cars, along with suggestions to improve the on-track product. Their idea was simple: give the control back into the hands of drivers rather than race engineers and simulations. But Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR’s Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development at the time, turned a deaf ear to the plan. 

Stewart lost his cool when Stefanyshyn stated their data showed the opposite of what drivers were arguing against. The 3-time champion had made up his mind back then; he was done racing in NASCAR and was looking for an exit. “When I walked out of there, that was the day that I decided I was working on my retirement plan and that I was getting out of the sport.”

Back then they didn’t even have the Next Gen car, but the aero-heavy design of the race car has taken the control away from the drivers. Track position is the king in the modern era, and defense is the preferred tactic within the garage as aero-blocking has become the norm on the racetracks. 

Not to forget, the single-source partsdon’tt allow manufacturers to make any distinct changes to their cars. The only area that OEMs truly can make speed is the body, and that process has been dominated by race engineers, tacticians, and simulators. Credit to NASCAR that they’ve opened themselves up to feedback and are rolling out changes to head in the right direction. 

Increased horsepower, new Goodyear tire compounds, reduced spoiler sizes on speedways — they are trying to experiment with different components. However, these changes are band-aid fixes like a lot of NASCAR fans like to call them, and unless and until the body design undergoes major changes, the current trend of racing is likely to continue.

The post “It’s Worse Now”- Tony Stewart Claims NASCAR’s ‘Deaf Ears’ Mindset Has Stunted the Sport’s Growth for Last 20 Years appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Fans and purists of the sport argue that once the race goes green, dropping a yellow flag on stage breaks disrupts the natural flow of the race, be it race strategies or tactics. However, there’s a reason why NASCAR can’t do away with stage racing and stage breaks, which was explained by Mark Martin.

“I feel the majority of fans don’t like stage racing but I think that what it is that they don’t like the stage cautions… And the argument about the stage caution is if you don’t throw the yellow but you award the points, then when are they going to play all the commercials. And let’s face it. The networks put a lot of money into this sport and they have to run those commercials sometimes,” Martin said on Kenny conversation.

Remember, Mark Martin was on the committee to bring back the Chase format. He wanted a return of pure points racing across 36 races, but he accepted that a 10-race Chase was the perfect compromise. It’s not that Martin changed his stance; he started to get exposure to how things are being run behind the scenes. And according to him, without the stage cautions, NASCAR will have a tough time luring in the media networks.

“I can’t speak for the fans but I think they should think this through a little bit more and they should understand that if you took that caution out now they’re gonna have to play the commercials and you’re gonna miss some racing. I do think some of the stages are too short on shorter races. Maybe a road course only needs one stage break instead of two or some,” Martin added.

For context, NASCAR has four primary media partners: Fox, NBC, Amazon Prime Video, and TNT. NASCAR has signed a seven-year deal with these networks for a staggering $7.7 billion, which is $1.1 billion per year. These networks generate income through commercials, and stage breaks provide them with a strategic window to air those commercials. And even some of them are innovating to ensure that viewers don’t miss out on racing action.

Side-by-side commercials on Prime Video coverage stood out, and their post-race show has been a major hit among the fans. The 2025 O’Reilly Series championship race at Phoenix was an exception: CW Network aired the entirety of the third and final stage commercial-free. So, the media partners are trying to make the experience better, but expecting stage racing to be eliminated is a big ask.

Then there is the points scenario. Winning a stage gives a driver 10 points, and this is huge for drivers competing in the Chase. Denny Hamlin had a bad finish of 18th at Darlington, but thanks to stage racing, he racked up 16 points to soften the damage on that day. Then there is Kyle Larson and his win at Kansas. He won both stages and ‌the race, scoring a maximum of 76 points.

So stage racing is a vital part of the competition and business model for NASCAR. And perhaps that is why Mark Martin asked fans to be more open about their involvement in the events. There is scope for NASCAR to tweak stage lengths and make the viewing experience more seamless. But given the current media and broadcasting landscape, it is hard to see NASCAR races without stage breaks.

The post Mark Martin Reveals Broadcast Issue Blocking NASCAR From Eliminating Stage Racing appeared first on EssentiallySports.

The YellaWood 500 will feature a 3.5-inch rear spoiler, down from the 4-inch version used at Daytona in August. This represents the second major reduction to the superspeedway setup in 2026. NASCAR had already cut the rear spoiler from seven inches to four inches for Daytona.

NASCAR journalist Toby Christie posted about the rule change on his official X account and added that the cars will otherwise remain unchanged from their Daytona-spec configuration.

Back to the Talladega-specific rule change. The aim was to reduce drag and make it easier for drivers to maneuver through the pack rather than relying heavily on track position and fuel-saving tactics.

Jamie McMurray believes the next step could make the racing even more competitive. Speaking to NASCAR.com, the former Daytona 500 winner highlighted drivers’ response to the Daytona experiment and argued that another reduction should create more passing opportunities.

“It seemed like it was a win at Daytona,” McMurray said. “All the drivers thought they could build a bigger run at Daytona than they had in the past. I applaud NASCAR for taking a little bit more off, taking that next step.”

McMurray also highlighted a key difference in dimensions between the two superspeedways, which could potentially free up more passing opportunities.

“The other thing to consider is that Talladega is about eight feet wider than Daytona, so this gives you a little more options if you can generate a run to be able to make a pass. So my anticipation is fairly high for seeing how this works out.”

While the spring race featured the original seven-inch spoiler, the fall race will see the height reduced by three and a half inches in total. McMurray noted that the new 3.5-inch spoiler will be smaller than the support structure on Carson Hocevar’s spring-race winning car. That said, aerodynamics is not the only area where NASCAR has focused for this race.

The stage structure for the playoff race has also been reworked, after Daytona produced a heavy emphasis on conserving fuel. The original Talladega schedule was set to feature 60 laps in Stage 1, another 60 in Stage 2 and 68 in the final stage. That has now been changed to 98, 45, and 45 laps, respectively.

This means that the first stage will run deep enough to require a green-flag pit stop, while the second and third stages can be completed on fuel under normal conditions. NASCAR says it wants to encourage drivers to race harder through the stages, especially since stage points have added importance in the current playoff format.

“We haven’t had stage points in a Chase format, and as we’ve seen this year, the stage points make a huge difference. You can have an average finish at the end if you’re able to capitalize on those stage points,” McMurray added.

A stage win equals 10 points, and knowing that attrition can be high on tracks like Talladega, stage points will be in focus. And with only superspeedway races as a part of the Chase, these changes truly make it a wild card event. But new changes don’t necessarily mean improved on-track product.

The stage adjustment addresses one of the biggest concerns surrounding the Daytona experiment. NASCAR had hoped the shorter spoiler would create more maneuverability and reduce the importance of fuel-saving strategies, but the race still developed into a contest where fuel mileage played a major role.

This is exactly why NASCAR decided to roll out these changes now, instead of waiting for the post-season. The shorter spoiler should likely create more opportunities to build runs, while the 98-45-45 stage structure should make fuel conservation less influential, thus making stage points more valuable.

Will these changes produce the type of racing NASCAR is aiming for? We can’t say just yet. As McMurray himself acknowledged, teams will inevitably search for ways to exploit any new rules package. But for the Talladega Chase race, NASCAR is once again trying to shift the balance by allowing drivers to create their own opportunities on the track.

The post NASCAR Announces Tweaks in Superspeedway Package for Talladega Chase Race appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“Like sand through a hour glass, these are the days of our lives,” Kenny Wallace wrote on X. “I didn’t think I could ever comprehend ALL my heroes dying. Dick Trickle then Tom Reffner and now Mike Miller One by one all the Wisconsin greats are leaving us. May the Lord be with everyone .”

In the 1970s, Wisconsin was the epicenter for short-track late model racing, and Miller drove against the likes of Joe Shear, Dick Trickle, Tom Reffner, Larry Detjens, Jim Back, Dave Watson, and many other legendary racers of that period. 

When he took up stock car racing as a hobby in the early 1970s’, Miller lived in New Prague, Minnesota and raced at Minnesota tracks like Shakoppe Raceway Park and Elko Speedway. In 1971, he competed in the Oktoberfest 200 at Interstate Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin, and by 1972 he became a regular in the late model scene. 

Miller drove a 1970 Mustang to NASCAR late model feature race wins at Raceway Park and Elko in 1973, and in September, he headed to Illinois to compete at Rockford Speedway’s annual National Short Track Championship. He would defeat six-time track champ Joe Shear by half a lap at the banked, quarter- mile oval. 

Fast forward to 1976, Miller won track championships at Dells Motor Speedway and Golden Sands as a way to make his mark in Wisconsin’s short track scene. He would win two more championships at Golden Sands and an additional two at State Park Speedway and a championship at Capital Super Speedway. 

Miller’s win record includes 27 feature races at Golden Sands, 25 at State Park, 23 at Dells Raceway Park, 18 at LaCrosse Fair Grounds Speedway, and nine at Capital Speedway.

Tributes and condolences poured in for Miller across social media. On Facebook, on the All Pro & NASCAR All Pro Racing Series Reunion Page, a tribute was posted on which several folks left comments. 

“I’m so sorry to hear this. Mike taught me so much about racing, and there would be no way to ever repay him,” wrote Greg Campbell, a Machinest at Werner Machine. “Working for Mike Miller opened up so many doors throughout my racing career. All you had to say was, “ I worked for Mike Miller”, and the doors opened up. Race In Peace, Mike.”

“Condolences to his family,” was the comment of a fan on Facebook. “I remember him bringing that Old to the IDC series in the PNW in the Late 70’s early 80’s , ran fast and clean. I still have the hero card.”

That Old referred to in the comment is the 1978 Olds Cutlass that Miller drove in 1978, the same year he began racing in the ARTGO Challenge Series. His first ARTGO win came during the Wayne Carter Classics at Grundy County Speedway in Illinois. Miller finished with five ARTGO wins, including a repeat at the Wayne Carter Classics that year. 

The Olds Cutlass he raced in was one of his most recognizable race cars. Miller designed and built that car along with Bob Uhlir in their joint venture Mil-Lir Engineering. Because of its long droopy nose and rather odd design, NASCAR legend Bobby Allison coined a term for Miller’s car, one that fans still recall dearly. 

“Will forever remember him for ‘The World’s Ugliest Racecar,’ as Bobby Allison so named it,” wrote a fan on Facebook. “Godspeed Racer.”

Not just Facebook; X too was filled with messages. One fan posted pictures of Miller with that same Cutlass with the caption, “Rest in peace Mike Miller .”

Mark Martin, the most popular NASCAR driver to never win a Cup title, was one of those who raced with Miller. A fan drew Martin’s attention with a post on X. 

“Sad to hear of Mike Miller’s passing. If u ever watched the old ARTGO & ASA Series. Mike was a legend there. He will be truly missed. He was 80 years old.   Georgia’s own. He was a good one,” wrote a fan on X. “ I’m sure @markmartin has a Mike Miller story or two.”

Martin’s reply was somber: “I sure do. This one hits hard .”

Miller raced in the American Speed Association sporadically in the 70s and 80s before he went full-time in the series from 1993 to 2001. He racked up a total of 16 ASA wins. In the 1999 season, Miller won five races and finished 2nd in the Series, six points away from being the champion. 

Miller also has two Cup starts to his name. In 1980, he drove a Ford at Charlotte and Atlanta. 

Some drivers may not be in the mainstream, but the comments and memories that people shared about Miller show the impact he had on those around him, even if he wasn’t a household racing name competing in the Cup Series.

The post NASCAR World Mourns the Passing of Legendary Stock Car Driver After Cancer Battle appeared first on EssentiallySports.

On the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Jr. called out Bryant and his team over the incident, despite acknowledging his longstanding respect for the team owner. NASCAR has since indefinitely suspended Bryant and another crew member for their involvement.

“Corey Heim is by the hot dog stand, and Chad Bryant and his guys jump him. Chad Bryant and his guys jumped Corey Heim. It’s all right there on the internet. That was over the line, way over the line.”

Earnhardt’s criticism was specifically directed at what happened after the checkered line was crossed. He acknowledged that Bryant has connections to the grassroots racing scene and the CARS Tour that go a long way back.

“I know Chad, you know, he’s raced in the CARS Tour, he’s raced in late-model stocks for a long time. I got a lot of good things to say about Chad, but not in that moment. That was a bad decision.”

The ValleyStar Credit Union 300 saw Caden Kvapil win the race, while Heim and Lapcevich came in P2 and P3 respectively. During the final stages, Heim and Lapcevich made contact twice, one of which was after crossing the checkered flag. Heim’s car ended up climbing over Lapcevich’s, causing significant damage.

Lapcevich then headed toward Heim, but was stopped by Bryant. The situation later escalated near the hot dog stand, where members of Bryant’s team and Bryant himself physically confronted Heim. Heim did not retaliate, and security and police eventually helped escort him back toward his hauler.

Besides Dale Jr., the incident has also drawn criticism from Lapcevich himself, who wasn’t actually involved in the brawl. In a statement posted on X, he admitted being frustrated and upset after the race, and also revealed his intention to have a conversation with Heim instead of being involved in a physical confrontation.

“What happened with Corey after the race was wrong, and it should not have happened. While I was not involved in the incident, I want to be clear that I do not condone any actions that took place. No matter the circumstances, frustration from a race never justifies putting your hands on another competitor,” Lapcevich said. “I am glad Corey was able to walk away from the situation okay.”

Denny Hamlin was even more forceful in his response while discussing the incident on the Actions Detrimental podcast. The 23XI Racing co-owner and JGR driver criticized Bryant and the crew members involved, arguing that they confronted Heim after he had been separated from his own team.

“Just complete classlessness from Chad Bryant, the owner, and his team. Those f****** cowards waited on Corey Heim to leave his car and leave his team and then jumped him while he was on the way to his hauler. I don’t know who’s in charge of NASCAR Regional, but there’s absolutely no way that any of those guys should be in a pit lane for the next year, at least. And I want them to say publicly what they do to them. And if it’s nothing, I will have a major problem.”

The incident eventually resulted in NASCAR issuing a series of penalties against those involved. As per an official statement on NASCAR’s official page, Bryant was fined $2,000 and suspended indefinitely, while Chad Bryant Racing crew member Steven Civatarese received a $1,000 fine and indefinite suspension.

Both were also suspended from the 2027 ValleyStar Credit Union 300 at Martinsville and placed on one-year probation. Bryant must complete anger-management training through a NASCAR-approved program if he wants to seek reinstatement.

Ryden Lapcevich, Treyten’s brother, was separately fined $500 and placed on probation through the end of the 2027 season. NASCAR also issued penalties to participants in a separate fight following a heat race, bringing the total number of people disciplined over the Martinsville altercations to seven, with two receiving indefinite suspensions.

NASCAR officials said they reviewed the post-race collision between Heim and Treyten Lapcevich before deciding on the penalties. However, the disciplinary action was focused on the physical confrontation involving crew members. Mike Forde, NASCAR’s Vice President of racing communications, also said that crew members putting their hands on drivers is unacceptable, regardless of whether the incident happens at a regional event or a Cup Series race.

There is a certain intensity and emotion behind short-track racing. Dale Jr. knows that far too well, but ultimately, that intensity and emotion crossed many lines at Martinsville. He still has ‘a lot of good things’ to say about the team owner, but what happened to Heim was, in his words and at the risk of repeating ourselves, ‘way over the line.’

The post “Way Over the Line”: Dale Jr. Slams Suspended Team Owner Over Martinsville Fallout Involving Corey Heim appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“I never cried, and you know all the emotions that everything that has built up. I knew I was going to have to do it, and it all came crashing down in the interview. I tried to be a manly man, but I actually cried in the interview. It hurts so bad. I wanted to win that race and dedicated that win to Sarah and Shelly,” Martin opened up on Kenny Conversation.

The Pepsi 400 at Michigan Speedway was under Mark Martin’s control. But a late caution on Lap 179 of 200 completely flipped the script. Martin’s No. 6 car had carved out a 20-second gap over Gordon for most of the race, but the caution allowed the HMS star to get back into contention. All the cars on the lead lap opted for fresh tires. Martin held his lead coming out of the pits, but Gordon found an extra gear when the race went green.

Gordon’s No. 24 car started to close in on the No. 6 car, and they even made contact twice. Martin tried to fend off the charge, but the HMS driver pulled away with eight laps to go, and he didn’t look back. After crossing the start-finish line, Gordon became only the seventh driver in the modern era to win four consecutive races in NASCAR. Meanwhile, Martin was left heartbroken. He was so close to a memorable win but had to settle for fourth after the late-race drama. But there’s another aspect to this Michigan race that most fans don’t remember.

Before getting on the racetrack at Michigan, Martin received a phone call from the president of the United States, Bill Clinton. “I’m headed to the racetrack from the airport and I get a phone call. It’s the president of the United States. My dad and Bill Clinton had a relationship when Bill was governor of Arkansas and my dad supported Bill. So Bill Clinton called me, it was pretty crazy.” Yet, Martin knew his job wasn’t done at Michigan and started preparing for the Bristol race.

Heading into the Bristol night race, Gordon was on the cusp of another record win: five straight victories in the modern era. But this time around, Mark Martin would have his moment. Martin was emotional after bagging his fifth win of the season.

“This helps me because I was so devastated. My relationship with my dad goes way beyond father and son. My dad was fun. I will miss having fun with him.”

Mark Martin finally had his redemption, and it was also an important win with regard to the championship battle. Gordon had opened up a 97-point gap over Martin, but the win at Bristol trimmed it down to 67. Some 145,000 people, the largest crowd in Tennessee’s sports history at the time, wanted to see Gordon win the race, but it wasn’t meant to be.

The veteran racer has penned personal and professional career stories in his book, “Never Lift.” It’s a hefty 544 pages with a detailed account of unfiltered incidents involving team owners, sponsors, and the sanctioning body.

“The stories are fun to tell because the older we get, the more it sounds like the Wild West, racing in the ’70s,” Martin says. “You can’t believe the stories, because you couldn’t do it like that, or act like that now. This world was so different, and so there’s just a lot of interesting stuff. But it was not so much a reflection; it’s just being able to get it all out there.”

If you want to dive into more detailed stories about Mark Martin and his journey, make sure to check out his autobiography, which is available on Amazon.

The post “It Hurts So Bad”: Mark Martin Relives Emotional Michigan Heartbreak After Father’s Tragic Death appeared first on EssentiallySports.

“We did work together; we just didn’t get to work together enough, and honestly that’s probably one of my bigger regrets is that we didn’t actually get to finish what we started with Ranier,” said Stewart on the Door Bumper Clear podcast. 

Stewart was addressing Tommy Baldwin, who was supposed to be his crew chief in his previously agreed-upon Cup Series rookie season at Ranier-Walsh Racing. Back in 1996, Stewart ran 9 races for RWR in the Busch Series while also making his Indy Racing League debut. 

“I started driving for Harry Ranier, and I got hurt really bad in Las Vegas at the first IndyCar race at the Vegas track,” Stewart said. “They (RWR) wanted to run the ARCA race at Atlanta, and I got in the first time, and I told Tommy, I said. I don’t know that I can just get in and out all day. So literally, I got in at nine in the morning, stayed in the car till noon, and then got out for an hour for lunch, got back in, and I was like, man. I don’t know if I can do this.”

“We were half a second faster than the entire ARCA field that was testing, and we ran the next day,” he added. “Same thing got in twice; the whole day didn’t get out of it. And we were, I think, third quick on the sheet with the Cup cars.”

While they never got a chance to team up in the Cup Series, in 1996, Baldwin and Stewart worked closely in the Busch Series, and during testing and practice, Baldwin began to see signs of what Stewart would be capable of in stock cars. 

“I knew how good Tony Stewart was going to be when we left because we were hauling a** and he comes to me, ‘Hey, man, do me a favor. Make it tight, so I know what tight is,” Baldwin said.  “Okay, comes in, ‘Make it loose, make it free, so I know what free feels like,’ so we free it up to it. First 3 or 4 laps, same thing about the 4th, 5th lap. He’s back at the same time; I’m like, this son of a b**** is gonna be good. He can adjust to what the car is doing, slow down his hands, his feet, do whatever needs to be done, and he’s gonna make it work, and then he left me. You left me.”

Clearly Baldwin is still upset, but knowing that Stewart sees that as a missed opportunity must be of some solace. Stewart’s highest finish for RWR was 16th at Bristol, and given that he was still driving in open-wheel and competing for a title there, he decided that 1997 would be too early for a Cup debut. Instead, he looked for another limited race schedule in 1997 before running a full-season, heavy schedule in 1998. 

Stewart backed out of his deal with RWR to race in the Cup Series in 1997 because he felt he wasn’t ready. By then, Stewart had eyes from all over the stock car world watching him. Joe Gibbs was interested in Stewart, and he needed to retain Shell as a sponsor. 

Shell and Gibbs were discussing future prospects when Stewart’s name came up, and Shell asked Gibbs to pursue the soon-to-be 1997 IndyCar champ. Gibbs revealed his unconventional methods of tracking down Stewart, including asking his girlfriend where Stewart would be next. 

When Gibbs finally tracked Stewart down, the IndyCar champ told the JGR owner that he wasn’t ready for Cup. Gibbs got Shell on board to give Stewart 5 races in the Busch Series in 1997 and then another 22 races in the 1998 season. But Gibbs needed a car, so he put him in the Labonte Motorsports No. 44 Pontiac. 

Gibbs would eventually buy the operation from Labonte to monitor Stewart’s progression closely. Although he didn’t win a single race in those 27 races across two years, he got six top-five and seven top-10 finishes. But that was enough for him to gain the confidence he needed in stock cars before entering the big leagues.

And damage aside, Coach Gibbs saw what Stewart would do in a Cup car. Smoke was at JGR from 1999 to 2008 in the Cup Series, and picked up two Cup titles in 2002 and 2005. Yet we wonder how differently things would have shaped up for the motorsports legend had he begun his Cup career in 1997 itself. 

The post “One of My Bigger Regrets”: Tony Stewart Reveals the NASCAR Chapter He Never Got to Finish appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Speculation grew after Kaulig Racing CEO Chris Rice was spotted leaving Keselowski’s motorhome around the time RFK announced its split with the driver. On SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, Rice addressed the situation, explaining how a simple conversation ended up adding fuel to the garage speculation.

“I had a meeting with Brad Keselowski for something completely non-driving, just something he’s on a committee for, and he wanted my opinion, so I had a meeting with him in his motorhome,” Rice explained. “I didn’t think nothing about it; I went in his motorhome, and I [sat] down with him for about 45 minutes and talked about the whole thing that he wanted a conversation about. I walk out of there, I wave at some reporters, and it didn’t even cross my mind. Then the news comes out, and I’m like, oh my god, here we go.”

Rice was quick to shut down the idea that the meeting had anything to do with Keselowski joining the Dodge project.

“I have not had any conversations with Brad Keselowski about driving a Dodge, even if Dodge comes back. Obviously, it’s super late, and you don’t hear me talking about it much, so that should tell you what’s happening.” Matt Weaver shared the update on X.

Earlier in the season, Jordan Bianchi of The Athletic reported that Dodge is “increasingly likely” to return to the Cup Series in 2027. Reports even suggested that Stellantis was open to relying on existing OEM partners to have an engine ready to jumpstart its NASCAR return. Well, there’s no official word from Dodge, and Kaulig Racing has also been mum about this whole situation. With Rice’s denial, the Keselowski-Dodge pairing looks unlikely.

Despite this, it is hard to ignore Keselowski’s intention to keep competing.

“I’m nowhere near ready to be done as a driver. I still have a lot I want to accomplish in this sport, and I’m looking forward to what comes next.” He is a veteran driver with 36 Cup wins and a championship to his name. And it’s hard to ignore the leadership qualities he brings to the table with his arrival. There could be a possibility that Kaulig Racing and Rice are playing a game of bluff.

In February, Stellantis’ North American Motorsports Competition Director Kevin Kidd affirmed, “We aim to get back in the Cup Series” with Dodge. Keselowski drove the No. 2 Penske Dodge while clinching the championship in 2012, and Kaulig Racing needs a face to represent the brand in NASCAR competition. As far as Cup racing is concerned, the chances are pretty slim for Keselowski.

Kaulig has retained AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon. Alex Bowman re-signed with HMS, and Connor Zilisch will take over the No. 48 Chevy in 2028. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. signed an extension with Hyak Motorsports, Jesse Love will drive the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing car, and Josh Berry is heading to Legacy Motor Club. RCR has finalized its lineup, and Trackhouse Racing seems to be content with the current setup. The only hope for Keselowski looks to be his old No. 2 ride at Team Penske.

However, Austin Cindric hasn’t publicly disclosed his contract situation, but he has indicated that he will return to the No. 2 car next year. That leaves Keselowski in a tricky spot, at least with his prospects of returning to the Cup Series next year. But again, no one predicted that he would be leaving the RFK Racing camp, so do not rule out another Silly Season surprise.

Dale Jr. shared his take on this situation, and he believes Keselowski has already plotted his next move. “I don’t believe Brad allows this to happen unless he had a plan B. Brad doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that doesn’t have a plan B ready. If he had a tiny tiny share, he could have been like, ‘All right, you guys, you know, we’re going to do what you guys want. I’m gonna keep racing and being a part of this team.’ If he had a very small stake…I don’t think Brad just jumps off the, you know, off the ledge without a safety net.”

He has a point. Back in 2021, when he announced his exit from Team Penske, he knew he wanted an ownership role along with a full-time ride. And RFK Racing fit perfectly into his plans. With seven Cup Series wins for RFK Racing and multiple playoff runs, despite being a non-Tier 1 Ford team, it is an enormous accomplishment. And this became possible after Keselowski’s leadership within the organization.

Sure, he is not getting any younger at 42, but the amount of experience and respect he commands in the garage is perhaps more valuable. And that could be a deciding factor for an organization that is considering moving for Keselowski. Will it be Kaulig Racing in Trucks, or a Team Penske reunion? Only time will reveal this mystery, but expect this Silly Season saga to continue until the end of the 2026 season.

The post After RFK Exit, Brad Keselowski-Dodge Rumors Take Major Turn as Kaulig Boss Clears the Air appeared first on EssentiallySports.

The timing made it feel like a bomb going off, but I’d argue the bomb had a very long fuse. Keselowski had been dropping hints in public for months, some of them gentle and one of them loud enough to hear from the cheap seats. Once you lay them out in order, the exit starts to look less like a shock and more like a slow argument that finally ran out of patience.

The radio call that gave it away

The loudest hint came at Gateway on September 13, and it came from the middle of a race. Keselowski was running near the front at World Wide Technology Raceway when Joey Logano went by him in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Drivers get passed all the time, and most of them mutter something about the balance of the car and move on. Keselowski went somewhere else entirely. He told his team,

“I wish I was a Ford considered good enough to get one of the good engines,” then called RFK a “shit box team” and said Logano had “motored” past him thanks to a far better engine.

Remember who was talking. This was not a hired hand venting about his ride. This was the co-owner of the team, the guy who had spent five years deciding how that organization should compete, insulting his own operation on an open channel.

The target of the complaint made it sting more. Keselowski spent 12 years at Penske before leaving after the 2021 season, won his 2012 Cup championship there, and collected 34 of his 36 Cup wins in that building. Few people in the garage know what Penske equipment feels like better than he does, so watching the No. 22 leave the No. 6 behind was a data point he understood perfectly.

I’d also stay fair to the facts here, because both teams buy their engines from Roush Yates, and nobody has shown that Ford deliberately shorted RFK. What we know is that Keselowski believed a real gap existed and said so out loud.

He’d already made the case in July

If Gateway were the only evidence, you could write it off as a hot moment. It wasn’t, because Keselowski had been making a calmer version of the same argument since July 3 at Chicagoland. Toyota had won 11 of the first 18 points races, Ford had one, and he was happy to explain why he thought that gap existed.

His point was about structure. Toyota, in his view, had two “A” organizations working closely together, while Ford had an “A,” a “B” and a “C,” and the information was not flowing between them the way it needed to. He said Ford had to find a way to share more among its top teams, that RFK had “proven our merit,” and that both Ford and RFK were in a “lull” he didn’t want to stay in. That is a manufacturer-level complaint from a guy who thinks his team has already done its part.

Put the two moments side by side and the Gateway radio looks different. It was the same grievance he had been laying out politely for two and a half months, only now it came with profanity and no filter. Anyone who read the Chicagoland interview closely should have heard the Gateway call coming.

Why a guy like this was always going to clash with someone

To see why this hurt him so much, you have to rewind to the day he left Penske. Keselowski wasn’t running out of options in 2021. He was leaving one of the top organizations in the sport, and he said exactly why: he wanted a long-term home, an ownership stake, a role in NASCAR after his driving career, and what he called “more control over my overall destiny with respect to matters competition related.” He called that last piece “critical.”

That sentence explains almost everything that came after. He didn’t join Roush Fenway for a bigger paycheck or an easier schedule. He joined because he wanted a hand in how a race team gets built and run, and RFK gave him that. He became a minority owner, drove the No. 6, joined the competition committee, and was set to take on an even larger competition role once he hung up the helmet. He also admitted the move was risky, since he knew he could win at Penske, but he called RFK “a big dream of mine” and bet on it.

So when you hear that the ownership group wasn’t aligned on how to move forward, think about what that means for this particular man. A driver without equity can shrug at a boardroom disagreement and keep driving. Keselowski had traded a winning seat for the right to steer, which means a stalemate about direction cuts at the very reason he came. None of that proves anyone forced him out or that Ford drove him away, but it explains why this fight mattered to him more than it would to almost anyone else.

The rebuild nobody wants to credit

Keselowski had tried ownership once before, and the first attempt didn’t go the way he hoped. His Brad Keselowski Racing team ran in the Truck Series from 2008 through 2017 and helped develop Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Chase Briscoe, which is a hell of an alumni list. Even so, he later admitted BKR never reached the level he wanted, because he felt he didn’t understand engineering and manufacturing well enough, and shutting it down shook his confidence as an owner.

He fixed that by building Keselowski Advanced Manufacturing, and the experience changed how he saw the technical side of racing. By the time he got to RFK, he was convinced he could run a major team. He went after the place with a sledgehammer, too. A 2023 NASCAR feature described how he attacked what he called “legacy thinking,” the habit of doing things a certain way because that’s how they’ve always been done, and he reworked shop processes, pushed common standards and questioned the engineering system. At one meeting he got so frustrated that he told the whole organization, “We suck. We absolutely suck.”

He had a blueprint in mind, and it was Penske. Around 2010 and 2011, Keselowski saw Penske go through its own stretch of disorganization and internal problems before fixing its processes, and then he won the 2012 title. His plan was to run the same play at RFK, with the added goal of building something that would last beyond his driving career.

The results say it worked, mostly

The early going was ugly. He finished 24th in 2022, and NASCAR hit the No. 6 early with a Next Gen penalty of 100 driver points and 100 owner points after finding an improperly repaired single-source body component. Crew chief Matt McCall was fined $100,000 and suspended for four races, and the penalties held up on appeal.

Then the team found its footing. In 2023, Keselowski finished eighth in the standings with 16 top-10 finishes and a 14.4 average finish, and both RFK cars made the playoffs, with Chris Buescher winning three races that year. In 2024, Keselowski finally got his own victory at Darlington in the Goodyear 400, which ended a 110-race winless streak and was his first win as a principal owner. It was also the first win for the No. 6 since David Ragan’s 2011 Daytona victory.

Then 2025 arrived and reminded everyone how fragile progress can be. RFK went winless, Keselowski finished 20th, Buescher 17th and Ryan Preece 18th, and none of the three made the playoffs. RFK was clearly a better organization than the one Keselowski had joined, but it hadn’t turned into the consistent title threat he’d promised himself, and for a guy wired the way he is, that gap is a hard thing to live with.

Then came the money problem

While all of that was happening on the track, a business problem was quietly growing. RFK had run two permanent Cup charters until 2025, when it expanded to three cars and put Ryan Preece in the No. 60, using a charter leased from Rick Ware Racing. That charter won’t be available to RFK for 2027, and Legacy Motor Club is expanding to three cars of its own, which meant RFK needed to find another one if all three entries were going to have guaranteed starting spots.

None of this was a secret. In May, Keselowski said RFK was looking for a charter but didn’t know of one for sale, and on May 28, team president Chip Bowers said the organization would run three cars in 2027 whether it landed a charter or not. If it couldn’t, the third entry would run as an open car, which has to race its way into the field when qualifying is oversubscribed and plays by different financial rules than a chartered one.

That is where Kroger comes in. Jordan Bianchi reported after the news broke that Kroger’s agreement requires its car to have a charter, and that the sponsor would not run an open entry. Preece was expected back, and Kroger was a big part of the No. 60 program, so you can see how a charter shortage could turn into a sponsor problem very quickly. Bianchi didn’t claim Kroger caused the split, though, and I won’t either. He described it as one example of a broader disagreement among the owners about how to move RFK forward.

The uncomfortable scoreboard

The hardest part for Keselowski to swallow might have been the standings. He was one of the biggest backers of Ryan Preece when RFK went to three cars, publicly calling him talented, underrated, hardworking and coachable, and arguing that RFK could give him what he needed to succeed. Two years later, Preece won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, his first points-paying Cup victory, and it put him in the 2026 Chase as the final qualifier.

Buescher made the Chase too. Keselowski did not, which meant that RFK had two cars in the championship fight while its co-owner and flagship driver watched from outside. After Kansas, Preece sat 14th in points, Buescher 15th and Keselowski 18th.

I don’t think Preece’s win caused anything, and nothing in the reporting says it did. But it does tell you something about where the problem sat. The organization Keselowski built was producing results he wanted from other parts of the operation, and the program with his own name on the car wasn’t keeping pace.

A crew chief change eight days before the announcement

Then the pit box started moving. On September 21, RFK and Jeremy Bullins parted ways, and this wasn’t a minor staffing tweak. Bullins and Brad Keselowski had worked together at Penske, a partnership that produced five Cup wins, 23 top-five finishes and 41 top-10s, and Bullins had returned to RFK in 2025. The team called the exit amicable and said Bullins was leaving for a new opportunity, with Skarbowski stepping in on the No. 6.

I’m not going to tell you Bullins left because he knew what was coming, because there’s no evidence of that and it would be irresponsible to imply it. What I will say is that the calendar is hard to ignore. Bullins was out on September 21, Keselowski ran 12th at Kansas on the 27th, and the announcement of his own exit came on the 29th, eight days after the crew chief change.

That is why I don’t buy the search for one clean breaking point. It reads like a slow pile-up of small moments, with the final piece arriving at the very end.

What the Next Gen car does to a team like this

There’s a technical layer under all of this that helps explain why Brad Keselowski’s complaint was about more than horsepower. The Next Gen car cut down the places where teams can create their own hardware advantages, because many major parts are standardized or come from common vendors. It isn’t a spec series, though, since teams still find speed through vehicle dynamics, simulation, suspension tuning, mechanical balance, body prep, tires, strategy and execution.

The practical effect is that more of the competitive burden shifted toward manufacturers, suppliers and technical collaboration. That makes his July comments about Toyota make sense, because Joe Gibbs Racing and 23XI Racing share a close working relationship that Ford’s top teams apparently don’t match. His argument was never just that RFK needed better engines. It was that the manufacturer structure had become more important and that Ford had to improve how its best organizations work together.

The irony is that RFK had already spent years building its own technical muscle. It launched the RFK TeK Alliance in 2024 and added AVL RACETECH in 2026 to strengthen vehicle-dynamics simulation and development. The team was doing what Keselowski wanted it to do, and his complaint was that team-level work only goes so far when the bottleneck is bigger than the team.

What RFK said, and what it left out

RFK’s official statement was careful. It didn’t blame Ford, Fenway Sports Group or Roush Enterprises, and it didn’t describe a feud with Keselowski. The organization said it respected his desire to keep racing, would work with him on next steps involving his ownership interest, would remain a three-car team and would keep pursuing a third charter.

As of October 1, the ownership transfer wasn’t complete, so the question of what happens to his stake is still unresolved. That makes this bigger than a normal driver change. RFK is losing its No. 6 driver, a minority owner, its head of competition and one of the people most responsible for its technical turnaround, while still planning to field three cars.

Bianchi’s reporting fits that picture. He said the ownership interests weren’t on the same page about how to proceed, that the disagreement went beyond Kroger, and that the formal separation hadn’t been in the works for months but developed over roughly the previous couple of weeks. In other words, the long-running tension was real, and the final decision was fast.

The market he’s walking into

Keselowski says he is “nowhere near ready to be done as a driver,” and he wants to accomplish more in NASCAR. The problem is that October is a rough time to be on the market. Jesse Love is headed to Wood Brothers Racing, Josh Berry is going to Legacy Motor Club, Austin Cindric is expected to stay at Team Penske, AJ Allmendinger is committed to Kaulig Racing and the main Spire lineup isn’t expected to change, so most of the obvious seats are taken. NASCAR’s own September 30 analysis raised the real possibility that he could enter 2027 without a full-time Cup ride.

John Hunter Nemechek is a name to watch on the other side of this. Legacy is replacing him with Berry, which leaves him without a confirmed 2027 Cup seat, and Bob Pockrass has pointed to him as a possible fit for the vacant No. 6. He also brings sponsorship support that could help RFK carry the cost of an open entry, though it is still a possibility and not a deal.

Keselowski’s own next step is murkier. Bianchi has reported that his name has come up in discussions about a full-time Truck Series opportunity, and he’s been clear that nobody knows whether Keselowski wants it. The idea is more interesting than it sounds, though, because Keselowski has 66 Truck starts and a win, owned a Truck team that sent drivers up to Cup, and has already won titles in Cup and the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series. A Truck championship is the one national-series crown he’s missing, and a full-time run would give him a shot at it, but nothing about that is confirmed.

The part that doesn’t add up

Look at what he did here. Brad Keselowski left a championship organization to get control, then spent five years changing the shop, attacking old habits, investing in technology and turning an underperforming team into a winning one. RFK won seven Cup races during his ownership period, and he took one of them, the 2024 Darlington win that ended a 110-race drought. Buescher won races, Preece won at Daytona, and both made the 2026 Chase.

By almost any measure the team got healthier, and the man most responsible for that is outside the championship fight and on his way out. By 2026, the question was no longer whether RFK could improve, because it already had. The question was how far it could go, how much investment and manufacturer support the next step required, and who got to decide, and Brad Keselowski had been asking those questions in public for months before Logano’s Ford went by him at Gateway.

So here is what I keep coming back to. If a champion who owns part of the team, runs its competition side and spent five years rebuilding it still couldn’t get the control he left Penske to find, how much real power does any owner or driver have in a sport where the manufacturer holds the keys?

The post Hiding in Plain Sight: Why Everyone Should Have Seen Brad Keselowski’s RFK Racing Exit Coming Weeks Ago appeared first on EssentiallySports.