I had a short column on Formula 1 moving to Apple Tv+ scheduled for last week. I wish I had time to push it back, Last Friday, I woke up to devastating news. Uni-Watch, the sports uniform blog that was instrumental in creating The Driver Suit Blog announced that they would be shutting down as of November 1st.
The reasons given were primarily financial, with an internet wide loss of revenue from advertising. The webmaster was also dealing with health issues. Though selling the site was, at one point, an option, things changed, and it was not an option anymore.
This hit the Uni-Watch community very hard. We are a small but dedicated group of sports uniform enthusiasts. We supported Uni-Watch through thick and thin, and this news hits us hard, especially me.
If, in 2012, I hadn’t decided to write a column for Uni-Watch, I wouldn’t be where I am today. The Driver Suit Blog wouldn’t exist, and I wouldn’t have had some of the opportunities. I wish the best for all the staff, and the readers. Via con dios Uni-Watch.
Greetings. The construction projects continue. Earlier this year, I discussed the moves F1 is making in 2026. Specifically, the notion that Monaco has been moved, and the Canadian Grand Prix will take over Memorial Day Weekend, and run opposition to the Indy 500. I talked about how it’s going to fail, and that most American fans will watch the Indy 500, but I also thought with the ABC/ESPN family of networks, they would do a decent number.
Well, that’s officially out the window, as, starting in 2026, Apple TV+ will be the exclusive home for F1 broadcasts. Yup, rather than stay on ABC/ESPN, where they can get big numbers, F1 chose to go to Apple TV+. So instead of being part of basic cable, where you can get many more viewers, you choose a streaming service that has no momentum or buzz whatsoever.
Seriously, outside of Ted Lasso, Fraggle Rock, Peanuts, and Friday Night Baseball, you’ve never heard of any of these programs. They could be amazing, but they have no buzz whatsoever. While I get that Apple TV+ needs a boost, and this is great for Apple, will this work out well for F1? Well, I promise that they WILL lose viewers, that’s a given.
This highlights a bigger problem in modern broadcasting. The rise of paid screaming platforms. With all the paid platforms, I have to choose which platforms I can afford. I’m missing out on contest simply because I can’t spend $300 a month on streaming and YouTube. I’m also not going to spend money on a platform for one specific show. I have Peacock and Prime TV, since they are free with deals. I also have Netflix, as my family has it as well. Other than that, I don’t have the funds for anything more.
While it has been shown that the new Neilsen rating system is seeing many sports telecasts getting better ratings, this doesn’t really apply to streaming. Formula 1 had the chance to take over as the top racing series in America, and they chose the bargain basement version of a streaming service to do it. Am I shocked? No, this is the way broadcasting has been going for years. Am I disappointed? Yes, this will hurt ratings in the long run. It will run fans off. It’s happened in NASCAR, with Prime TV, and it will happen here.
Given all of the construction issues going on in and around my house, I wasn’t going to post this week at all. I need a break, and unless something major happens, I won’t be posting next week. With that said, something happened this week that warrants all of our attention.
To quote Jayski:
“USA Network receive a .84 rating with 1.717 million viewers for Sunday’s South Point 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The race was the number 2 sporting event of the day and the best viewership since Darlington on Labor Day weekend.”
Oh really? Second most watched sporing event of the weekend? Bullshit! First off, any of the NFL games on Sunday did more viewers than NASCAR at Las Vegas. Second, and I can’t believe I’m saying this…THE NHRA OUT DREW NASCAR BY 348,000 PEOPLE! Seriously, the Texas NHRA FallNationals was the most watched racing event of the weekend, and the most watched NHRA televised event of all time!
For those who want to cry about how NASCAR is on cable, whereas the NHRA was on broadcast, save it. Both NASCAR and the NHRA were running opposition to the NFL, and their numbers are so much better than either one. Here is the fact of the matter. NASCAR has proven that they are not the draw they once were. Between the NHRA and F1, NASCAR has to reexamine all of their current strategies, since it isn’t working.
I also don’t want to hear about the new ratings system. If this is in fact a more accurate system than the previous version, then even fewer people are watching NASCAR than previously thought. Sports ratings are up almost across the board, almost. If I am in a position in NASCAR, I’m really worried right now.
While there are rumors to changing or even eliminating the playoff system, it’s clear the damage has been done both internally and externally. All the old school fans that NASCAR has alienated are gone, and will never come back. With the fact that in the last 20 years three new generations of Cup Series cars have been implemented, to the financial detriment to the teams. If Hendrick Motorsports can’t turn a profit, how do the smaller teams fare?
20 years of bad moves, bad decisions, and bad leadership have come back to haunt NASCAR, and the TV ratings reflect it. The end may be in sight, and I’m wondering how soon it could arrive.
.@USANetwork got a 0.84 rating and 1.717 million viewers for Sunday's @SouthPointLV 400 at Las Vegas; no direct comp to last year as that event was on @NBC.
➡️ That made NASCAR the No. 2 sport of the day on cable behind Broncos/Jets and was the best viewership since Darlington. pic.twitter.com/IVBe8RN6sU
So I’m very busy right now, between work, new YouTube projects, and construction going on inside and out of my house. As such, between now and December, my content on The Driver Suit Blog may slow down. I apologize in advance.
With that said, I’d like to discuss the current broadcast deals that NASCAR has. The current deals feature FOX, Amazon Prime, Turner, and NBC. FOX is the best, aside from Jamie Little in the booth during ARCA and Truck Series. Seriously, she has no idea what she is doing.
Turner’s coverage was mediocre, not Earth shaking, not awful. It wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but not as great as it could have been. Amazon Prime was the same as Turner, though I could have done without Steve Letarte explaining race strategy to a bar full of puppets. Seriously, who thought that was a good idea?
My big question is: Why did NASCAR resign with NBC? Well, it’s the latest move in a long line of NASCAR ignoring the fans, and their complaints. NBC’s coverage hasn’t been popular with fans, and this goes back to the NBCSN era. In the era when IndyCar and the NHRA both have one network deals with FOX, why resign with NBC?
Say what you want about Cracker Barrel as a company, but they at least realized how bad they looked, and reverted back to their original logo and design. It’s not bad to admit you made a bad decision, and reverse course. Doubling down on a failing strategy isn’t good for business. Yet the NBC deal is just another example of NASCAR doubling down on a failing strategy.
Add to that the fact that there is a new issue at play. Nielsen has changed their analysis, which, they claim will provide more accurate ratings and viewership numbers. Well, since this new system has been implemented, viewership numbers are down sharply. This is not a surprise, since AEW has suffered down numbers as well.
This does not bode well for racing moving forward. The 1990’s racing boom is gone, and will never come back. Viewers have left and will never come back. Advertising is down, and will only get worse. Could this lead to the end of racing? No, they are getting over a million viewers per race, and those aren’t bad, given the sheer amount of content we have access to. But long-term, this might lead to lower profits and worse media deals. Time will tell.
With season three of Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butt-Head doing well, it got me to thinking, what’s next for nostalgic cartoons? There are a lot of people who think that there should be more 1980’s cartoons that should get the modern update. I’ve heard people wanting their favorite childhood cartoon brought into 2025.
Here’s the problem: What most of these people forget is that many of these cartoons were poorly animated dreck that was meant to peddle toys, primarily dolls and action figures. The plots were rarely anything more than “good characters stop evil characters from doing evil things.” Outside of the various characters, the sets and plots were very interchangeable.
If you think I’m being harsh, go back and watch some of them. Between He-Man, GI-Joe, and Transformers, you’ll barely get through the first few episodes, before the lack of animation, and plot predictably causes you to turn off. Toy companies justifiably figured out that producing a cartoon so cheap it can’t lose money was a good way to sell toys, and the majority of 1980’s, and some 1990’s cartoons were proof.
Some might wonder: “Why not find a forgotten gem? Surely, there are a few gems to be found.” No, No there are not. There are no hidden gems to be found. Most of the 1980’s cartoons that fell to the wayside deserved their fates. Seriously, who in 2025, is clamoring for a reboot of Defenders of the Earth? Is there demand for Wolf Rock TV 2025? Would anybody be sad if a modern version of The Little Clowns of Happytown never got made?
We all like nostalgia, but we have to remember that time moves forward, not backward. Just because something was popular for a while does NOT mean it has to be remade for modern audiences. Some things can be brought into the modern era, some things should stay in the past.
So, over the past few weeks, we’ve had a lot of things going on and in Driver Suit Blog HQ. As a direct result, we’ve had a lot of technical issues, through no fault of our own. The village is replacing the pipes in our neighborhood, and a cable got cut during the work. As a result, the WiFi has been iffy for most of this time, so I haven’t been able to commit to The Driver Suit Blog as much as I would like.
This is not unique to the blog, as I’m also far behind on YouTube material as well. I knew that this could be a problem, but it’s so much worse, and has been so much longer than I could have ever predicted. So, columns will be shorter until this situation has been resolved, whenever that might be.
With that said, this whole fiasco did have one silver lining, I was able to finally finish a project I’ve been working on since January. In January of 2020, before all this COVID horseshit, I purchased a pachislo machine for the purpose of making YouTube videos.
Knowing nothing about these machines, I purchased a 30 pound lot of tokens for use. I didn’t realize that I needed actual Pachislo tokens, not random quarter-sized tokens. I had to purchase 1000 of these tokens, which left me with the 30 pound lot of over 3300 tokens just sitting in my office.
I eventually organized the tokens into categories, which I kept in bags. In January of 2025, I decided to put these tokens into square coin flips, and eventually in pages in binders. With the time freed up with these technical issues, I was finally able to finish this project last week. All of the tokens worth displaying are displayed, and the rest are listed on eBay.
I love how these binders look, and I love how it looks in the display. I’m also happy I’m done with this project. I’m looking forward also to the sewer pipes being replaced, and the street repaved, so my house will stop shaking when they tear up the street.
I’ll figure something out for next week, hopefully, but if nothing surfaces, you’ll know why.
Just a quick column this week. If you’ve been on the internet for ten seconds in the last few weeks, you’ve probably heard of “Phillies Karen.” If you somehow haven’t, let me remind you. In short, after a father got a home run ball for his son, Phillies Karen walked up, and screamed at him, until he gave her the ball. The Phillies, obviously embarrassed by this situation, was nice and kind to the family.
The internet, as is often the case, was out for blood. The search for who Phillies Karen is underway, with several suspects wrongfully accused.
A question that has been asked about us as a culture is why do we support the “bullying” of these kinds of people. Well, there is a very simple answer. We enjoy watching bad people get what they deserve. Every single one of these stories always ends with the bully getting their noses broken, their eyes blackened, and their teeth knocked out. They lose their jobs, and get humiliated.
Be it sports fans who bully other fans, a veterinarian who kicks a pony, racists bullying minorities, or just being jerks, bullies never change. I’m not going out on a limb when I say that, many people have been bullied, be it at school, at work, or somewhere else. So when we see a bully get bullied, it makes us happy. Good people having good things happen to them is a good thing. Bad people having bad things happen to them is also a good thing. Anytime a bad person gets what they deserve, we are happy as it makes the world a better place.
I typically write these columns on Mondays, unless something of note happens during the week. On Labor Day, I write the column well in advance, so I can watch the NHRA US Nationals. I love FOX’s coverage, they really do have the best auto racing coverage in America.
I do have two issues with the current NHRA coverage. Number one is that I do NOT like the method of having the first two rounds of the nitro categories followed by Pro Stock and Pro Stock motorcycle. I prefer the old way of every round in its entirety followed by the next. It flows much better. This is, to me at least, a much more cluttered way of doing things.
My other big issue is with lead broadcaster Brian Lohnes. Don’t get me wrong, he is great in his role, and he is a student of the game. I really do like Brian Lohnes. That being said, he need to erase the word “eliminator” from his personal dictionary.
For reasons I can’t understand, he will refer to various categories with the word “eliminator.” The category most affected is Pro Stock, which he calls “Pro Stock eliminator.” I’ve also heard him say “Top Fuel eliminator.” If he’s used it in other categories, I’m not aware at the moment.
Why is he doing this? It’s never been “Pro Stock eliminator” it’s just pro stock. Adding eliminator doesn’t really work. If he is doing this on his own, he’s out of touch. If he is being told this is a good move, he’s getting bad advice. Adding a buzz word to a racing category is a terrible move. Unless eliminator is an official name of the category, I don’t want to hear it.
This is only the beginning though. The word “eliminator” in sports is pointless. It’s used in boxing. In boxing, according to betway.com:
“An eliminator is a fight that determines the next mandatory challenger. If a fighter wins a final eliminator, he is guaranteed a mandatory title shot.” I’ll accept that, since it does make logical sense when you think about it.
Now we get to eliminator matches in All Elite Wrestling. Eliminator matches in AEW were cooked up some time ago, and they are just as pointless as you could imagine. An AEW Eliminator match sees a sitting singles champion facing an opponent in a non-tile match. Should the opponent win, they are guaranteed a title shot.
Should the opponent lose however…well…nothing really. It’s not like they aren’t able to compete for the championship down the line. It’s not like Lyra Valkyria in WWE, who can’t compete for the Women’s Intercontinental Champion as long as Becky Lynch is champion as a result of a lost match. They just can’t challenge yet.
It’s also important to note that while these matches were going on, there were also number one contenders for all of these championships. So the whole “eliminator match” bullshit was nothing more than an excuse for a champion to wrestle a non-title match on television. I have no idea if AEW does house shows, but probably not. However, unlike Brian Lohnes, AEW figured out how dumb this was, and killed off the eliminator match.
Bottom line here is that, while some buzz words work, others do not. Eliminator is a word that simply does not work outside of boxing. It’s not working in AEW, and it isn’t working in the NHRA. Please stop trying to make eliminator a thing. It will never be a thing.
I’m not a regular consumer of Cracker Barrel. In the 43 years I’ve been on this planet, I’ve never been to one before. That isn’t likely to change anytime soon. So when I saw that they were redesigning their logos and restaurants, I brushed it off. I just thought this was just another example of a casual dining chain trying to get younger customers. Holy Hell, was I ever wrong!
The response to the announcement was…well…overwhelming to say the least. People were pissed at the changes. Even the President has stated he felt that they should reverse course. Even rival chains have decried the change, to the point that the CEO is walking back a little bit. Not long thereafter, Cracker Barrel reversed course, and announced that the original logo was here to stay.
Well, I can’t say I’m shocked at the outcry now that I think about it. Cracker Barrel is learning a lesson that NASCAR learned years ago. When your core demographics are older Americans and conservatives, you have to understand that they do NOT like change! Many of them are even scared of change.
Another trait that both older Americans and conservatives have is that they are fanatically loyal. That should come as no surprise. But the thing I’ve noticed is that their disloyal sides are disloyal, as their loyal sides are loyal. If alienated, they will leave in droves and NEVER come back.
NASCAR has been learning this lesson the hard way for 20 years now. Their core fan bases WERE older Americans and conservatives. When NASCAR started changing against the wishes of the core fan base, they left. They have lost millions and millions of viewers and fans and are continuing to lose fans. The summer Daytona race lost viewers for fuck’s sake!
NASCAR and Cracker Barrel have fucked around, and they found out. The worst thing any company can do is to piss off their core demographics. There is nothing wrong with going out for new customers, but it should NEVER come at the expense of their core demographics. Sometimes change is needed, but remember that the most fanatical of your clients are also some of the biggest. Keep your big fans, but find a way to find new ones without pissing off your core fans. Sadly, Cracker Barrel figured this out, NASCAR never did.
Now this isn’t really “news” but I found this, and I’ve been mesmerized by it. For those who remember, BK Racing was a NASCAR team owned by Ron Devine. According to Wikipedia:
“Like Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins, principal owner Devine’s many Burger King franchises allow him to advertise the brand on the cars when there is no outside sponsor. Prior to the 2012 Daytona 500, Burger King announced a “licensing agreement” with the team, authenticating the paint schemes of the 83 and 93 and the usage of the company’s logos, though it is unclear whether or not the company and/or franchisee Devine funds the team. According to a 2013 Autoweek article, the partnership is limited to the licensing agreement, with Burger King not sponsoring the team. The Burger King partnership includes the branding of Dr Pepper, a soft drink served at Burger King restaurants.”
Well, this partnership wasn’t very profitable. Again, according to Wikipedia:
“In August 2018, BK Racing was liquidated, with most of its assets acquired by Front Row Motorsports (FRM). Other teams, including Obaika Racing and Rick Ware Racing, also received portions of the team’s assets. FRM won the bankruptcy auction with a bid of US$2.08 million, surpassing GMS Racing’s offer of US$1.8 million. Previously, FRM had purchased a charter from BK Racing after the 2016 season for US$2 million. This transaction is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Union Bank & Trust Company, which claims ownership of the charter due to a lien at the time of sale. On December 20, 2022, team owner Devine was ordered to pay US$31 million to the trust managing BK Racing’s bankruptcy. On October 18, 2023, Devine was indicted on four counts of failing to pay payroll taxes by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Investigations revealed that some of the misused funds were used to finance the team. On January 17, 2025, an appeals court upheld the US$31 million judgment, finding that Devine used multiple corporations and family trusts as alter egos to divert approximately US$6.4 million from the team. On April 29, 2025, another appeals court upheld a separate US$2.5 million judgment. On June 11, 2025, Devine pleaded guilty to federal charges related to the 2023 payroll tax case.”
So Ron Devine is in jail, and BK Racing is dead…right? Maybe? Well, on August 25 at 10:04 PM, the BK Racing Facebook page posted this image:
If this seems odd, you have no idea. All the old content from BK Racing is still there. It’s almost like everybody forgot this Facebook page even existed. Even more perplexing is the fact that the previous posts were from 2022. Long after the corpse of BK Racing was finished off by the vultures. The post before those two. was from February 9, 2015…over TEN YEARS AGO!
I honestly have no idea who posted this, or why it was posted. I will keep paying attention, and if anything changes, I will let you know. It’s an odd little mystery.
So when this news first broke, I was going to add it to the column last week, but it was far too long. So, I’m going to talk about the news about the title sponsor of NASCAR’s secondary series. Specifically, starting on January 1, 2026, NASCAR’s secondary series will go from the NASCAR Xfinity Series to the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
NASCAR President Steve O’Donnell said of the partnership:
“Like the great sport of NASCAR, O’Reilly Auto Parts was born in America and built on the hard work and drive of passionate people. This new partnership allows us to continue to fuel that passion for the next generation of NASCAR’s stars and fans while celebrating the journey we’ve been on together for decades.”
Look, I’ve been a fan for a long time. I’ve seen what NASCAR was in the 1990’s, and I see what it is now. The 1990’s are gone and are never coming back. Viewers are gone, sponsors are leaving, TV numbers are down. At least with the Cup Series, they solved the problem a long time ago.
That was what I was thinking about, for the Xfinity Series. Why not do a Cup Series style sponsor partnership. Instead of one sponsor paying $10 million, why not have four or five sponsors paying $2 million apiece per year? Call it the NASCAR Grand National Series, and that would work a lot better.
Money is tight, and getting tighter, so why not make this better for sponsors, NASCAR, and the fans? For major sponsors, $2 million a year is much more justifiable than $10 million. Think realistically, and fix the problems. Focus on what you have, not what you want. The problems can’t fully be fixed, but the damage can be mitigated at least.
Now to the other major news story. I’ve talked in the past about Dodge wanting to return to NASCAR. Well, they are a lot closer. Starting in 2026, Ram Trucks will be returning to the Craftsman Truck Series with Kaulig Racing. Kaulig Racing does not currently have a Truck Series team, but they will start one in 2026.
While I get that Kaulig Racing is very dedicated to racing, why would Ram Truck choose a team with no Truck Series experience at all? Wouldn’t you at least try to pilfer a team that already exists? At least that way, there are some current drivers and engineers that could provide advice. A couple of small but established Truck Series teams would be a much better bet than one team with no experience. I did notice this quote from the NASCAR.com Article:
“Nate Buelow — SVP of Brand Marketing for Stellantis North America, Ram’s parent company — indicated that for now, the automaker was exclusively partnered with Kaulig Racing as the “anchor team for our entire endeavor.” Buelow said that signing additional partner teams was a part of the manufacturer’s plans, but that Kaulig would be the centerpiece of Ram’s initial thrust.”
Again, the idea of signing with a team that has no Truck Series experience at all as a centerpiece, to me at least, doesn’t make sense. The lack of said experience could hold Ram back for a while, without other teams. I wish them well, but I hold out little hope.
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