So the 2026 NASCAR Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is behind us. It was, well, a thing. It wasn’t overwhelming, but not underwhelming either. It was fine for what it was. Like I’ve said, I think the Clash and All-Star Race should be held in different classic stock car venues every year.
Obviously, the major issue here was the weather. The snow storm gripping the country forced multiple changes. First, all Saturday events were canceled outright. Then the Clash got moved from Sunday to Monday. Then the Clash got moved to Wednesday, and then it was held. I think we can all agree that weather delays suck.
Again, The Clash was alright for what it was. I know I complain about this every year, but the lack of pit stops really hindered the race, at least in my opinion. All of the racing I watched pretty much lived up to what I thought it was going to be.
I will say that moving the race to FS2 to air The Masked Singer was a slap in the face of fans. I get that weather was an issue, but come on! Have a little respect for the fans!
Congratulations to Ryan Preece for winning the Clash, and now we look on to Daytona.
So I hope you all are safe after all the weather issues we’ve had here in the states. Last weekend was the perfect weather to stay indoors, order food, and watch auto racing, so that’s exactly what I did. I watched as much of the Rolex 24 as I could. I’m passed the age where I can watch all 24 hours.
This year’s Rolex 24 was fun to watch, except for the safety car period. After the sun had set, a torrential downpour hit the track, and the race was run under the safety car. This safety car period was six-hours and 33-minutes, and was over 250 laps in total. This is offically the world’s longest safety car period. In case you are wondering the record was previously held by the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was four hours and 26 minutes in length.
Watching the event during this caution period, I could understand why it was needed. The visibility alone was awful. During the worst part, you could barely see pit road from the front of the track. When cars were on pit road, you could make the lights of the car, but not the full details. At points, you couldn’t see the backstretch from the front of the track.
My question was…why wasn’t the race red flagged. While I’ve complained about drivers wanting breaks during NASCAR races, there is a major difference between a 3 hour, 500 mile race, and a 24 hour race where the winners drove 1,762.5 miles. These type of races push everyone involved to the limit, and if a situation presents itself where everyone can rest and recharge, it should be taken.
Safety is a critical issue in auto racing, and it’s also a moving target. Decisions need to be made to protect all involve. Seriously, I don’t think anyone would have been upset for a two or three hour long red flag at 3AM. Again, letting teams and drivers get a chance to rest isn’t a bad thing.
Even with just over 25% of the race run under caution due to weather, it was still a fun event to watch. I’m not the biggest IMSA fan, but I do enjoy it. Now, we have the Cook Out Clash, starting tomorrow, and I’ll have more to say next week.
I was going to do a column on something else, but I saw this story, and I have to talk about it. Every so often, a story comes along, and you read it and think “why didn’t I think of this before?” Well, Utah has provided such a story with a new law concerning alcohol.
The story starts on April 26, 2022, when a serial drunk scumbag named Mason Andrew Ohms left a West Jordan bar, and got behind the wheel. Ohms ran a red light, and hit and killed 13-year old Eli Mitchell, who was legally crossing the street in a crosswalk. Ohms then drove away, leaving the boy to die. He was arrested not long thereafter, and was convicted and sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison.
This was Mason Ohms’ sixth conviction for DUI. This was not lost on Eli Mitchell’s family, who decided to do something about it. Glendon Mitchell, Eli’s grandfather worked to intoduce House Bill 437. HB 437 also know as the 100% ID Law, mandates that bars, restaurants, and any location where alcohol is sold ID checks every customer purchasing alcohol regardless of age or appearance.
HB 437 also mandates a new set of rules for those convicted of driving drunk. According to KSL.com, under this new law:
-Judges may restrict alcohol purchases for certain offenders.
-Individuals convicted of an extreme DUI—defined as a blood alcohol content of 0.16 or higher, or driving above Utah’s 0.05 limit with illegal substances present—may be designated as “interdicted” and prohibited from buying alcohol for a period of time.
-Interdicted individuals will receive a special ID. Their driver license or state ID will display a “No Alcohol Sale” label across the photo. This notation is visible during required visual ID checks by anyone selling or serving alcohol.
Given the sheer number of DUI arrests, and how many repeat offenders there are out there, it’s amazing it took this long for this approach to happen. Holding establishments that serve booze to intoxicated people responsible is a good move. I live in Illinois, and have worked in a retail store that sells alcohol. State inspectors can, and do bust cashiers for not checking IDs. I don’t think that there is a state that doesn’t have these laws, but more rigid enforcement is a good thing.
The idea of special ID cards that instruct establishments not to sell booze to convicted drunk drivers is a stroke of brilliance. Given how many repeat drunk drivers there are out there, this approach is a great move. Many of these people will never change if left to their own devices. Some people really need to be protected from their own worst instincts, especially when their actions put other people in dangers.
Also, let’s discuss who are against this rule. The first group are retailers who sell booze. Well, as I said, above, there are laws all over the country concerning this, now they are being enforced. I’ve also heard that some people think that this new law infrindges on their “personal liberties.” Well, that’s an ignorant take if ever I’ve heard one.
While prohibition on a national level is not a thing due to the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, cities, counties, and even states can be dry. Jack Daniel’s whiskey is headquartered in Lynchburg, Tennessee, which is in Moore County, a dry county. You can’t buy a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, the biggest whiskey company in America in the county it is made in.
Furthermore, nobody in the United States has a right to drink alcohol. If it isn’t an established right, it is a privilege. If a judge decides that you can’t drink due to an arrest, then you can’t drink. Being held accountable for your actions might suck, but the law is the law. Abusing a privilege can and will cause you to lose said privilege.
I love this thought process, and I love the idea of dealing drunk drivers like this. I hope this thought process spreads to other states. We need to crack down on drunk drivers, and this is a great way to start.
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