Category: friday feature

By David G. Firestone

So the Liam Lawson experiment at Red Bull Racing is officially over. Lawson started the first two races, but was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda starting at Japan. Why the sudden shift? Well, let’s look at an analysis by Lawrence Barretto on Formula1.com:

“The New Zealander had a low-key pre-season test in Bahrain – and then endured a miserable debut weekend in Australia, qualifying 18th and then crashing in the race. Sources say one senior member of the team raised the prospect of demoting him after that weekend.

Then in China, he became the first Red Bull driver in their 20-year history to qualify last, when he ended up 20th in Sprint Qualifying and he did so again for the Grand Prix. While he was classified 12th – helped in part by three disqualifications – Red Bull called an internal meeting for after the race weekend to discuss his future.

Sources say the shareholders, plus Team Principal Christian Horner and Red Bull Motorsport Adviser Helmut Marko, agreed unanimously that Lawson should go back to Racing Bulls with immediate effect, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix, with Tsunoda stepping up to replace him.

This was after they had looked at Lawson’s data from testing and the opening two races and concluded that he wasn’t performing to a high enough level, even if they conceded that it was a very difficult car to drive.

It’s believed the team accepted that Lawson had also lost his confidence after conceding he couldn’t understand why he wasn’t able to get pace out of the car.”

To some, this seems to be unfair to Lawson. To those, I say…tough shit! This isn’t karting, this isn’t F3, or F2, THIS IS F1!!! There are a lot of hungry drivers, but only a few seats at the top table. If you get a spot, but can’t keep it, someone else will step up and claim it. It’s no different than NASCAR, IndyCar, the NFL, the NBA, and so on. Those who can’t keep up get replaced.

Liam Lawson is another motorsports hype job. He is a driver who impressed in the lower ranks, and impressed during testing. But the moment he got the chance in the major leagues, he choked. Red Bull Racing looked over their data, saw that he was all hype, and replaced him. The needs of the team matter more than the needs of the individual driver. If this were a lower level F1 team, maybe they would have kept him, but not Red Bull Racing.

I’m not like these other morons who think he should have gotten another shot, or more time. He was given a shot in the major leagues, and choked. If you get a shot at being a Formula 1 driver, whatever you did in the minor leagues isn’t relevant anymore. You could be the greatest F3 or F2 driver, but if you suck in F1, that’s all anyone is going to remember. Again, it’s no different than NASCAR, IndyCar, the NFL, the NBA, and so on. Those who can’t keep up get replaced. Liam Lawson is another one of those guys.

Speaking of releases, let’s talk AEW. Tony Khan rarely releases talent, but what he loves to do is ghost talent until their contract ends. We’ve seen this quite a bit. But the latest victim of the Tony Khan ghosting is Saraya. Saraya, AKA Paige, joined AEW in 2022. She had wrestled in WWE both NXT and the Main Roster from 2011-2018, when a neck injury should have ended her in-ring career. Never the less, she was an on-air talent for WWE until her contract ended in 2022.

With WWE solidly behind her, even making a movie about her life, during her time with WWE, she caused some controversies. One such controversy was the leaking of a sex tape between herself, Brad Maddox, and Xavier Woods. There were a number of other incidents as well. She was getting paid a lot, but she wasn’t that valuable to WWE during that time. So, in 2022, WWE and Saraya parted ways and she signed with AEW.

In a move than can only be described as ungrateful, upon arrival in AEW, one of her first moves was to talk shit about WWE and how much better AEW is. This is the same WWE that paid her more than she was ever going to be worth to the company, while at the same time, causing a lot of bad PR for WWE. Her in-ring work was mediocre, and she really wasn’t that much of a stand out, especially when compared to the other ex-WWE talent AEW signed.

After her release, she claimed that she wanted to return to WWE and reclaim the Paige character. To that, I say, HELL NO! After all the bullshit she put WWE through in her career, all the money they paid her, and even financing a biographical movie on her life, I wouldn’t blame WWE for not resigning her. You look at talent like Brock Lesnar, Matt Riddle, and even Vince McMahon, who were more valuable to the company than Saraya ever was, and are now persona non grata, why should she get another chance? Hell, WWE released Carmella, and she has been more valuable since 2022 than Saraya was.

Here’s the bottom line. I do not think WWE should resign Saraya given everything I’ve said up to this point. I do not think she is a good fit for the current women’s division. I do not think that she would be able to wrestle, or if she would be medically cleared. What I do think is that the indie scene is a better fit for her. She went out of her way to cause problems and burn bridges in WWE, and WWE does not need her anymore.

I’ve said this before, every career has an expiration date, and sometimes that date comes sooner than you want it to be. In many instances, this expiration date is sped up because you are your own worst enemy. Matt Riddle, Brock Lesnar, and Enzo Amore were popular merch movers, and made WWE millions of dollars, yet WWE had no reservation distancing themselves from them. Saraya is no different. She isn’t worth much to WWE in 2025, and they both know it. I wish her well in the indipendent scene.

Sources Cited:

By David G. Firestone

I’ve discussed the idea of rank on my former podcast and The Driver Suit Blog before. Sometimes you don’t get a higher rank because you don’t deserve it. Sometimes you are not the right person for the job. Life is unfair, and you aren’t special. Well it appears that wrestler Ryan Nemeth didn’t get the memo on that.

From 2023 to 2024, Ryan Nemeth was contracted to AEW on a per-date basis, meaning he would be paid when he was used. In wrestling, Ryan Nemeth is what is known as a “jobber,” which means he loses, or “does jobs” to more established wrestlers. Jobbers are typically on the bottom end of the hirearchy in wrestlers. In his AEW career, Nemeth has wrestled a total of 83 times between 2021 and 2024. He has only won 10 of these matches, all of them for AEW’s YouTube programs. In addition, his only championships in the US were tag team champions, and his only singles title is a few minutes with the DDT Iron Man Heavy Metal Championship, which is impossible to take seriously.

Yet, according to Ryan Nemeth, AEW, and CM Punk were on a campaign to ruin Ryan’s career. After leaving AEW on bad terms, Nemeth has filed a lawsuit agains AEW and CM Punk. Apparently, even though he brought nothing to AEW, Tony Khan and CM Punk have been trying to ruin Nemeth’s career. The legal filings are hysterical.

One part of this really stands out. “In early 2023, Brooks assaulted and battered two fellow wrestlers known by the stage names Matt and Nick Jackson. Brooks is known to have an uncontrollable temper and often lashes out in violent tirades against others. Thus, Defendants were on notice regarding Brooks’ violent proclivities.”

Well, that is technically true. Punk did batter Nick and Matt Jackson…AFTER they burst into his locker room looking for a fight after his rant at the AEW All-Out press scrum. That’s something that is present quite a bit in this filing. Some of it is so laughable, I’m stunned it would be filed in a lawsuit.

But we now get to the meat of the matter, and why I had to discuss this. This is from the filing in question:

“On November 25, 2024 Brooks left AEW to wrestle for the organizations main competitor, WWE.

Khan was heartbroken by the departure of Brooks, his idol and that he adored in every way.

Khan was furious with Nemeth. Khan believes that Brooks left AEW because of Nemeth.

The Defendants have embarked upon a campaign to “blackball” Nemeth from

professional wrestling. Specifically, Tony Khan blames Nemeth for Brooks leaving AEW and has used his significant resources to make sure that Nemeth can never again make a living in wrestling.”

I’ve discussed both the incidents at All-In and All-Out. The fact of the matter is that no matter how you slice it, Ryan Nemeth had NOTHING to do with the fact that CM Punk left. The Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho, and Jack Perry were the ones who forced Punk’s hand. All Ryan Nemeth did was to post something on Twitter that got Punk’s attention, and Punk responded. I’m willing to wager a lot of money that Nemeth was just a drop in that cesspool. Yet this low-ranking jobber thinks that he is the reason Punk left.

If Ryan Nemeth really thinks that he is the reason Punk left, he’s delusional. It’s much more likely that he’s trying to get a quick buck from a billionaire, after his run in AEW didn’t pan out. Oh, and the blackball efforts were so successful that Ryan is currently wrestling for TNA and had a WWE NXT Tag-Team Championship match on national TV. So that argument isn’t exactly water-tight.

The facts are that Ryan Nemeth was at the bottom, CM Punk was at the top, Ryan shot his mouth off, and Punk had to put him in his place. Nemeth thinks he’s more important to wrestling that he ever really will be, and he wants money as a result. Tony may settle, Punk probably won’t, and I’ll be interested to see how this plays out.

Souces cited:

By David G. Firestone

We need to talk about AEW. I’ve talked about them before, but every time I think they’ve hit rock bottom, Tony Khan buys a much more powerful jackhammer. I seriously don’t get how and why they do the stuff they do. While I’m used to most of AEW’s baffling moves, I have to talk about two recent events.

Let’s start with AEW Grand Slam Australia. AEW fucked this event up so many different ways, that it was almost impossible for fans, both in the arena, and watching on television, to take it seriously. How have AEW failed thee, let me count the ways.

Let’s start with the venue:

-February 15, 2025-Grand Slam Australia is announced. Tickets were on sale, with Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, with a listed capacity of over 52,500, listed as the venue.

-November 25, 2025-Due to “low ticket sales,” Grand Slam Australia is moved to Brisbane Entertainment Centre, with a listed capacity of 13,500.

Making things even more confusing is the nature of the telecast. Was the event a pay-per-view, or was it a special episode of Collision? AEW never made this clear during the announcement. Then it was announced that this was an episode of Collision, aired on tape delay. Once it was clear that this was just another episode of Collision, fans weren’t happy. When asking Tony Khan about this, he said that since the live event would have aired at 3:30 AM ET in the US, most fans might not have bought the event, which, to be fair, isn’t unreasonable.

Then it was announced that the event would air after the NBA All-Stars Skill Competition on TNT. This was met with aggravation from fans, but there was a silver lining to this. WWE NXT held their annual NXT Vengeance Day event, which was much better than Grand Slam Australia. If Grand Slam Australia had aired at its normal time, it would have done a horrific TV rating. History has shown that when Collision goes up against WWE it loses a LOT of viewers. It still didn’t do great, but it was better.

The fan experience apparently left a lot to be desired. Apparently, there was only one merchandise stand and it sold out very quickly, as they didn’t bring near enough merchandise for all of the fans. How this mistake could happen is anybody’s guess, but it’s clear they wanted to keep transportation costs down. That’s clear because of the big controversy that came out of the event.

Where both fans and wrestlers were both upset was the ring they used. For a company that spends money like water, they couldn’t be bothered to bring their own ring, so they rented a ring for the event. AEW uses 20 foot by 20 foot square rings, and this one was either 16 feet by 16 feet, or 18 feet by 18 feet, depending on who you ask. This was not a good ring either. The ring aprons AEW brought didn’t fit, and the posts were bent. To top that off, this ring was really bouncy, and apparently didn’t have enough padding. Buddy Matthews rolled his ankle during his entrance.

Now, with all of these issues, fans would have been forgiving if the matches were good. This is AEW, so that didn’t happen. Here are the results for the event. Wrestlers who are either from Australia or New Zealand will be marked with a “+”

1-Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega defeated Don Callis Family (Kyle Fletcher+ and Konosuke Takeshita) (with Mark Davis) by pinfall.

2-Mercedes Moné (c) defeated Harley Cameron+ by pinfall-Singles match for the AEW TBS Championship

3-Death Riders (Jon Moxley and Claudio Castagnoli) (with Marina Shafir) defeated Cope and Jay White+ by technical submission-Brisbane Brawl

4-Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Buddy Matthews+ by pinfall-Singles match for the AEW Continental Championship

5-“Timeless” Toni Storm (with Luther) defeated Mariah May (c) by pinfall-Singles match for the AEW Women’s World Championship

Notice a pattern? Yup, every match had at one wrestler from either New Zealand or Australia, and four out of five lost their match. The worst was Mercedes Moné and Harley Cameron. The lead up to this was great as Harley Cameron is a talented singer and ventriloquist, and made a puppet out of Mercedes Moné, who was more entertaining than the real Mercedes Moné. However Harley never stood a chance, as Mercedes Moné is a spoiled, selfish, egotistical bitch who doesn’t care about anyone but herself. We heard stories about her when she was Sasha Banks in WWE.

All in all, Grand Slam Australia had a lot of potential, but was driven into the ground by bad matches, and bad logistics. Australian AEW fans felt cheated, and I don’t blame them. Now, you would think going back to normal operations would at least help, but, being AEW, they couldn’t help fucking things up even more.

At the upcoming AEW Revolution pay-per-view, there is a scheduled match for the AEW International Championship, AKA the AEW All-Atlantic Championship, AKA the AEW Who Gives A Shit Championship. On the February 19 episode of AEW Dynamite, there was a Number One Contenders match for the International Championship between Orange Cassidy and Roderick Strong. This sets up the championship match between Cassidy and Konosuke Takeshita for the International Championship the February 26 episode of AEW Dynamite. Since Konosuke Takeshita won that match, he goes on to face Kenny Omega at Revolution.

If this series of events doesn’t make sense to you, don’t feel bad. Nobody else can figure it out either. Rather than have Kenny Omega face Orange Cassidy on February 26, with the winner facing Konosuke Takeshita at Revolution, there are two championship matches, one setting up the other. Why? What sense does this make? Please, explain this to me! Are matches that determine the top condenser for a pay-per-view match really so out of vogue? It just makes no sense, but it is AEW after all.

Next Week, I discuss an AEW lawsuit.

By David G. Firestone

Welp, this was a weekend for the ages. For those who don’t know, I live in Evanston, Illinois, and on Friday, we had a huge water main break literally 600 feet away from my house. No water at all for all of Friday, and a boil order was in effect from 5 AM Friday to about 7 PM on Sunday. Water pressure is still a little low at the time of writing, but everything is back to normal.

With that, let’s talk racing, specifically, The Daytona 500, The Fresh From Florida 250, and the United Rentals 300. I thought all three races were good races. Daytona is always a track that delivers good racing. After that late-race flip, I wouldn’t hold it against Ryan Preece for not racing at Daytona in August. Given the fact that he flipped both in 2023 and 2025, I would be hesitant to race there too. He’s fine medically, but I wouldn’t blame him for being shook up emotionally.

Obviously, the weather was the issue, given the lengthy rain delay. That’s just how it goes. Wet weather tires would be suicidal at Daytona and Talladega. This saw the race start later, after 5 PM Chicago time. While I did enjoy night races, I did have to DVR the NBA All-Star Game, more on that soon.

I do question the logic of allowing a race to stay green when there are multiple wrecks on the final lap. I get why NASCAR allowed the final lap to continue, but it really sends a mixed message on safety. Outside of that, it was a fun racing weekend, but running water that I didn’t have to boil would have been nice too.

Now let’s talk about the NBA All-Star Game. I remember when the NBA All-Star Game was the best of the best from both conferences, duking it out for supremacy and bragging rights. Anyone else remember how great that was? Well, that’s gone, and never coming back. Like the NHL All-Star Game and the Pro Bowl Games, the NBA All-Star Game has become a gimmick. According to ESPN, link below:

“The NBA eschewed the traditional East vs. West setup in favor of a four-team, single-elimination tournament, with a target score of 40 points for each round. Three of the teams were drafted by TNT “Inside the NBA” analysts Charles Barkley (Chuck’s Global Stars), Kenny Smith (Kenny’s Young Stars) and Shaquille O’Neal (Shaq’s OGs). The fourth team, named for Candace Parker (Candace’s Rising Stars), was comprised of the winning squad from Friday night’s Rising Stars event.”

While last year’s All-Star game was a total disaster, this was a slight improvement. Granted, it was still a slog compared to a normal all-star game. But I think that the traditional approach I discussed above would work. Just because a game is an exhibition, doesn’t mean you have to gimmick it up. I hate the Pro Bowl Games, though given the concussion and injury issues, it’s a necessary evil. The NBA All-Star game has no such qualms. Again, what’s wrong with the best of the best competing against each other for supremacy and bragging rights? Also, the blue and yellow court was hard on the eyes.

While we’re on the subject, why was the All-Star Game on TNT? Why not put it on ABC, and try to get a higher rating? Why, on a Sunday night, with no real scheduled sports competition, would you have the All-Star Game on cable? I don’t understand the logic. I said the same thing for the College Football Playoff Championship Game. Why was it on ESPN and not ABC? It’s only the biggest and most important college football game of the year, why not try and pop a rating? How many viewers and how much money are being left on the table. It boggles the mind!

Now I have one more thing to discuss. It’s an article on USA Today called “Elizabeth Holmes says federal prison stay has ‘been hell and torture'” To refresh who we’re talking about, Elizabeth Holmes is a convicted felon who ran a scam company called Theranos, which purported to be a revolutionary blood testing equipment manufacturer, but the whole thing was exposed as a scam. The equipment didn’t work as advertised, and she scammed billions of dollars from investors. She pled guilty, and was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison in January 2022. For the remainder of this column, she will be referred to as “24965-111,” her inmate number.

In this article, 24965-111 is complaining that her incarceration is hell and torture. I’m going to post some quotes from the article:

-“It’s surreal. People who have never met me believe so strongly about me. They don’t understand who I am. It forces you to spend a lot of time questioning belief and hoping the truth will prevail. I am walking by faith and, ultimately, the truth, but it’s been hell and torture to be here.”

-“I’m not the same person I was back then.”

-“There are things I would have done differently, so many of these women don’t have anyone, and once they’re in there, they’re forgotten.”

“Human beings are not made to be in cells. It goes so far beyond understanding. I’m trying really hard not to tear up right now. I’m trying to grow, as every moment matters. And if one person’s life can be touched trying to help them in a crisis, it matters.”

-” It shatters my world every single time. The people I love the most have to walk away as I stand here, a prisoner, and my reality sinks in.”

-“It kills me to put my family through pain the way I do. But when I look back on my life, and these angels that have come into it, I can get through anything. It makes me want to fight for all of it.”

24965-111 is clearly only focused on herself. She’s never admitted any guilt, and never shown remorse. Her quote “Human beings are not made to be in cells” shows her viewpoint. It’s also wrong. There are a lot of people in cells, and most of them deserve to be there. 24965-111 put herself in that cell. She committed a crime, got caught, got sentenced, and has nobody to blame but herself for her incarceration. I love the fact that she says that she is “hoping the truth will prevail.” The truth prevailed, and she is where she needs to be.

I have no sympathy for the person who commits a crime, gets sentenced, and then cries about how unfair the prison life is. You aren’t a victim. Being held accountable for your bad decisions is a fact of life. Actions have consequences, and sometimes those consequences are much harsher than you would like. If you are able to commit a crime, you are able to do the time. That’s the situation that 24965-111 finds herself in. While I feel bad for her kids, it’s also a fact of life that doing time takes you away from your kids. She has nobody to blame but herself for her current issues.

Above and beyond that, 24965-111 is housed in Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, a minimum security facility. She is with 500 non-violent inmates. She got off lucky. She is in a nicer facility than most federal inmates. Could you imagine how she would react to a medium security, or maximum security prison? Does anybody feel sympathy for her? No? Me either. Just do your time, and shut up. Accept responsibility for your crimes, nobody thinks you are innocent.

With that, this week’s column comes to an end, and I’ll be back next week.

Sources Cited:

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/43883874/new-nba-all-star-game-format-draws-mixed-reviews-players-criticize-stoppages

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2025/02/12/elizabeth-holmes-federal-prison-interview-theranos/78455407007/

By David G. Firestone

First off, I’d like to apologize for my lackluster column on The Clash last week, I wasn’t feeling great, and my week at work didn’t help. I was going to do some news this week, but I’ve been working on a project, and it got me to thinking about the 2025 trading card market, as opposed to when I started collecting cards in 1990.

I grew up collecting baseball and racing cards. Every one of my friend was involved in some kind of trading cards, be it comic book, Magic The Gathering, sports, or other kinds. It was a much simpler time. Recently, I fulfilled a childhood dream of collecting the entire sets of 1990 Topps and 1990 Donruss baseball. Those were the two sets I was really into growing up. Sure, there were others, Score, Upper Deck, Pro Set, Sky Box, etc, but those were my favorite of all baseball card sets.

Looking at the trading card market today, and it’s like night and day. Instead of a series of different companies for each league, now it’s one card company per league. Many of the companies I grew up with are gone, or have been absorbed by other companies. But one thing that has both changed and remained the same is special inserts.

Back in 1990, a special insert was a card with a different design to a common, such as a commemorative event, all-star, or even an autographed card, which Upper Deck started in 1990. In this day in age, we have relic cards, autographed cuts, numbered sets, and a whole bunch of other different special inserts.

Sadly, these new inserts are frankly, worthless. First off, with many “limited edition” cards, number X/100, all they really are is a card with a different coloring and an X/100 numbering. For some reason, these seem to prove popular with collectors. Apparently, using red instead of blue with a number makes something more valuable? I guess so.

But when it comes to relic cards, things have gone the exact way I thought it would, which is the exact thing I thought they shouldn’t do. It started with “game-worn” cards, which have a piece of something worn or used by the subject on the card. Well, nowadays there are “player-worn” and “event-worn” cards that fill these new packs.

Here’s the problem: Marketing something as “game-worn” means that the item was worn or used during a game. “Event” and “player” can mean so many different things. Let’s take event-worn for example. What event? Where? Was it at a team event? Was it at a city event? Was it at cousin Jethro’s annual cookout? In a lot of instances, these “events” were either card conventions, or events hosted by the card companies.

Player worn is much more vague, as the item could have been worn at any time by the player in question. City event, or taking the dog for a walk, doesn’t matter, as long as the player wore it at some point. I mean it isn’t illegal, you are getting what you are advertised. But at what point are collectors going to stop? Real collectors have been questioning and calling out companies about this for years.

Above and beyond that, I’ve got another question: Why are these companies so hell bent on these cards? The only thing they seem to do is help the secondary market. Look at the sheer volume of these cards on eBay. Topps spent lots of money on these artifacts, yet they do not get a cut of any eBay sales.

Never mind the fact that, as the leagues found out that game used memorabilia sells, started making uniform and equipment decisions specifically to sell stuff “for charity” or otherwise. The merch stand is dictating on-field uniforms and equipment, and people are buying into this.

This type of attitude is diluting the market. It’s like printing more money in a financial crisis. Adding more game-used stuff doesn’t make it more valuable, it just makes what is on the market less valuable. The market is starting to over-saturate itself, and that’s before the fraud comes into play. We saw this with Steiner Sports and Eli Manning a few years ago. This isn’t sustainable, and the market will crash.

It pains me to say this, but I’m glad I’ve gotten out of sports memorabilia. I loved this hobby, I still do, but sometimes, you just have to cut your losses, and get out when you can. Any market can bottom out, look at Michael Vick. His market bottomed out, and never really recovered. This will happen to the game-used market eventually. Bad decisions can cost a lot, and there are a lot of bad decisions going around these days.

I really hate to see something I once loved tearing itself apart because of corporate greed, but here we are! The ship is clearly about to hit the iceberg, and it will sooner rather than later. I’ll still buy sports memorabilia every once in a while, but I’m pretty much out at this point.

Next week, my thoughts on the Daytona 500.

By David G. Firestone

Just a brief column, been feeling off this weekend. So, the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is behind us, the NASCAR Cup Season is upon us. The race was good, and, again, if the Clash moves from one historic short track to another each year, I would get behind that. I will say that I do miss the days of the Clash being for pole award winners. If it was, then it would have been a shootout between Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, Shane van Gisbergen, and Martin Truex Jr..

The for the Clash, according to NASCAR is as follows:

Heat Race Starting Lineup – The field will be split into (3) practice groups, with each group receiving (3) sessions. Each competitor’s fastest lap time from their final practice session will determine the starting lineup for the heat races. The fastest qualifier will be on the pole for Heat 1; second-fastest will be on the pole for Heat 2; third-fastest qualifier will be on the pole for Heat 3; fourth-fastest will be on the pole for Heat 4; etc.

Heat Races – Four heat races of 25 laps each with only green flag laps counted – no overtime in play. The top five from each heat race advance through to The Clash.

Last Chance Qualifier – Cars that do not transfer to The Clash will compete in the Last Chance Qualifier Race with their starting position determined by where they finished in their respective heat races. The LCQ race is 75 laps with only green flag laps counted – no overtime in play. The top two finishers in the LCQ will transfer to The Clash.

The Cook Out Clash Feature – The main event will feature 23 drivers competing for 200 laps with only green lag laps counted – the race must end under green. A timed break will be observed at the halfway point of the race (Lap 100).

Lineup: The first 22 starting spots for The Clash is set through finishing positions in the heat races and the LCQ. The 23rd and final starting spot is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2024 season driver points standings who did not already transfer into The Clash.

I like the idea that everybody can race their way into the Clash, and no spots are guaranteed. The heat races were fun to watch, and it was a great way to hold a Cup Series short track race. Again, the lack of pit stops did hinder the race, but all in all, it was a great race

Really, there isn’t that much to say here. It was a fun racing weekend, and I look forward to the NASCAR season.

Source Cited:

NASCAR announces Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium format

By David G Firestone

Well, the Rolex 24 is behind us, and the Clash at Bowman Gray is upon us. With that, I’d like to discuss an aspect of the 2025 Clash that is becoming an issue, at least with me. This year’s Clash is sponsored by Cook Out. Ok, based solely on the name, what does Cook Out do as a business? Do they make grills? Do they make camping equipment? Are they involved in making custom outdoor backyards? Do they make food geared toward camping?

The answer is…none of the above. Cook Out is actually a local fast food burger chain. According to Wikipedia:

“Cook Out is a privately owned American fast-food restaurant chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Founded in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989, the chain has since expanded and now has restaurants in over 100 cities. The chain itself has grown in size with many locations now spread throughout the Southeastern United States.”

The problem that I discussed is that Cook Out is such a generic company name, that it could be used in any number of categories. But this speaks of a larger issue in NASCAR in recent years. A decent number of companies are sponsoring cars, but aside from the company name, they give no information on what their company does. No product images, no slogans, no information at all is given.

Someone explain to me why this is a good idea. Advertising should cover two basic fundamentals: This is what our company does, and this is why you, the consumer, should use us. This isn’t even an oversimplification, just the basics of advertising over the last 200 years or so. Putting a logo or a company name with no other identifying info makes no sense, especially if nobody knows what your company does to begin with.

Here is an example of how a slogan helps out. Last year, Josh Berry was sponsored by a company called “eero.” What does this company do? Well, the slogan on the hood states: “The way WiFi should be.” Ok, that’s acceptable. I now know eero is involved with WiFi.

Many companies can’t figure this out. Here are some sponsors from the 2024 Cup Series that did not have any other info aside from their vague company names on the race cars:

Kubota

Zeam

Schluter Systems

Group 1001

USANA

Fanttik

Draiver

Leidos

Alltroo

Raptor

The Pete Store

Frontline Enterprises

Gener8tor

MotoRad

Ohanafy

Amptricity

City of Refuge

Now if I were to ask you what these companies do, would you be able to tell me? Seriously, based sole on the company name, what do they do? It’s not like these are all one-offs. Schluter Systems, Leidos, Raptor, The Pete Store, Frontline Enterprises, and Gener8tor have been sponsoring cars for some time, but I’m no closer to understanding who they are now than when they first started. In addition, two companies, C.H. Reed, and Coble Enterprises have slogans on the car, but the slogan is so vague, it’s difficult to decipher what these companies do.

I get that it’s possible to look these companies up on Google, but let me ask…why is that my responsibility? Why should I, the consumer, work to figure out if I need your company on Google, when you could add a slogan to the car THAT YOU ARE PAYING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR? This isn’t even a recent problem, it’s been going on for many years.

There should be a regulation stating that a slogan or company product should be displayed by a sponsor. Seriously, it will help, and really isn’t difficult to do. I do not understand the logic of spending the thousands of dollars to advertise your company but not telling us what the company does. It’s like the BASF commercials I grew up with. For years, BASF ran an ad campaign where they said “We don’t make the ___, we make it ___.” But BASF never actually explained what they did. Once they started adding “BASF The chemical company” at the end of their commercials, did they start making a whole lot more sense. Why it took them over 20 years to figure this out is a mystery. Bottom line, tell us what your company does when you sponsor a race car.

Now we get to another story that follows up on something I’ve discussed before. Nostalgia in wrestling needs to die. Many of the wrestlers of years past were assholes in one form or another. Nobody embodies this more than Hulk Hogan. His theme song is that he is a real American. That’s true, he’s selfish, greedy, opportunistic, racist, horrible with money, backstabbing, narcissistic, untrustworthy, and out of touch with reality. He has used multiple drugs over the years, steroids and otherwise.

He has a terrible attitude towards women. He has had multiple failed business ventures. He has had multiple extramarital affairs. He has had multiple failed marriages, lies about being a true Christian, was filmed having an affair with a friends wife. He also associates with right wing politicians and conspiracy theorists.

Since wrestling fans are more open, and accepting than in years past, Hogan is not a well-liked individual, both in and out of the wrestling business. When WWE Raw debuted on Netflix, WWE had The Hulkster come out and cut a promo on how great the fans were. Hogan is so reviled, that the fans booed him mercilessly. Hogan would go on to claim that the boos were because he was a Trump supporter. Well, The Undertaker had Trump on his podcast, and he got cheered. It wasn’t Trump, but who Hogan is that got him booed.

While Hogan had been advertised for the most recent Saturday Night’s Main Event, he was pulled from the show. He claims he did this to attend his son Nick’s wedding, but WWE clearly cut him from the show. This is part of the bigger issue. WWE has to come to terms that they can never truly distance themselves from Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, no matter how hard they try. They can’t rehab Hogan’s image, and they can’t remove McMahon’s influence.

This is just another reason that nostalgia in wrestling never works. It never has, and never will. Focus on the future, not the past.

Next week, more racing news, and my thoughts on the Clash

Sources cited:

Cook Out named sponsor for Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Out_(restaurant)