The NFL regular season is done, college football ends tonight, and I spent eight hours yesterday watching a NASCAR Daytona 500 commercial on FOX every five minutes.
That, folks, is when you know racing season is just around the corner.
But of course it’s not here yet. We still have some offseason mixed drink left (shoutout to all the brave ‘Dry January’ souls this month), so we’ll keep scraping the bottom of the barrel until our fingernails are reduced to dust!
And by the barrel I mean…Ryan Newman?
Ol’ Rocket Man himself trended big last Monday for all the wrong – but also right – reasons, so we’ll get to him in a bit.
We also talk about Mother Nature starting in 2023 with a BANG on JR Motorsports, Tyler Reddick and his girlfriend ending the Broncos season, Daniel Suarez celebrating a birthday and, yes, the Chili Bowl!
Four tires and some destroyed Goodyears (we don’t waste the sticker tires today), Monday morning pit stop – the edition of “For The Love Of God, Is This Offseason Over Yet?” – is a GO!
Damar Hamlin collapse revokes Ryan Newman NASCAR memories
I hate to do this, because yes, I’ll admit that I’m pretty tired of this story at this point. See the article : Injury Report: Week 4 at Panthers.
BUT, this is the first time we’ve talked since Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest last Monday night during the Bills-Bengals game, so I have to at least touch on it.
One of the first things I thought about while it was happening was Ryan Newman’s horrific crash in the 2020 Daytona 500. I was at the track that day, and everything I saw Monday night was eerily similar.
Here’s the final lap of the Daytona 500 in which Ryan Newman’s car flipped at the line.
We will continue to keep you updated on its status as we learn more. pic.twitter.com/qkEwQBpoP0
The FOX broadcast, like ESPN’s, had no idea what to do. They wouldn’t show us Newman, and ESPN wouldn’t — and couldn’t — show us Hamlin. That’s when you knew something was wrong.
It took what seemed like forever to cut Newman out of his car, and get him to the ambulance and across the street to the hospital. And then you wait days for answers. At one point, let’s be really honest here, you thought he was gone.
I don’t recall a moment during a sporting event where these thoughts ever entered my mind until Damar Hamlin went down last week. Apparently I wasn’t alone.
As I mentioned earlier, Newman trended on Twitter almost immediately.
Damar Hamlin’s situation tonight stirred many feelings that I have always associated with motorsports. I was in the stands for Ryan Newman’s crash at Daytona. I watched Justin Wilson’s last race on TV. I remember exactly where I was when I found out that Dale Earnhardt had died.
On February 17, 2020, Ryan Newman was seriously injured in a wreck at the Daytona 500, the Nascar community came together and prayed. Ryan Newman walked out of the hospital a few days later. January 2023, Damar Hamlin seriously injured, and the nfl community came together.
This whole situation reminds me a lot of the Ryan Newman incident in NASCAR a few years ago. I literally stayed up all night scrolling through social media waiting for an update. This is scary. So many prayers go out to Damar, his family and his teammates. 🙏
I remember the shock, terror and anxiety I felt when Ryan Newman crashed in 2020.
I hope and pray the best for Damar Hamlin.
Newman survived and so did Hamlin. Thank God for both.
Let’s not cut it that close again.
Lightning strikes Dale Earnhardt Jr. NASCAR team truck
OK, now that the serious stuff is out of the way, let’s talk lightning! This may interest you : Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean: Old Dawgs learn new tricks.
How about this video that just went viral of a lightning strike absolutely hammering a truck in the JR Motorsports (Dale Jr.’s Xfinity Team) parking lot.
Yowza. Growing up in Florida, you were taught to be TERRIFIED of lightning. There are just a few things you can’t mess with, and lightning is near the top of the list.
If there is even the slightest thunderstorm in the sky, my wife will not go outside. Won’t do it. It could be very clear with a little dark cloud, and we sit inside for an hour until it goes away.
We can make alligators and panthers and snakes and sharks down here, but not lightning. That is where we draw the line.
And, frankly, can you blame us? Watch those videos! Want that piercing through you while trying to walk the dog? Didn’t think so.
We’ve reached the Chili Bowl portion of the offseason
Ah yes, it’s finally Chili Bowl week. Read also : Roy-Hart and Barker share a cheerleading routine. The annual week that pretty much signals the end of the offseason and the beginning of the motorsports year.
The week-long midget car event in Tulsa has over 370 entries this year, including several NASCAR boys. Shockingly, neither Kyle Larson nor Christopher Bell — two Chili Bowl vets — are competing, but Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe are giving it a go.
Other names you may recognize include JJ Yeley, Josh Bilicki and Carson Hocevar (Truck).
Oh yes, former Oklahoma Sooners cheerleader Taylor Reimer, who made midget car history last year when she became the first woman to win a National Midget race, will also be in the field after last year as 11.
Tyler Reddick takes in terrible Broncos, Russell Wilson
A few quick notes on our way out…
Weeks after Ross Chastain was on the field for the Chargers game with Miss North Carolina, Tyler Reddick and girlfriend (wife? I don’t know!) Alexa De Leon found herself on the sidelines for another Chargers game – this time in Denver.
Can’t imagine spending a Sunday watching Russell Wilson, but hey, to each his own.
Anyway, Reddick was obviously there for the football, while his wife was just trying to catch a sneak peak at Wilson’s wife, Ciara.
Fun fact, by the way, about these two lovebirds. Apparently they have a deal in place in 2019 that Tyler could name their first child if he wins the Xfinity Championship, which he did.
Baby Beau Reddick was born next January, and is an absolute STUD. What a damn name.
Daniel Suarez turned 31 over the weekend
Finally, we can’t get out of here without wishing NASCAR’s favorite amigo, Daniel Suarez, a happy 31st birthday.
It’s been a massive offseason for Suarez, who got engaged to Julia Piquet in November, partied with Ross Chastain in December and attended Bubba Wallace’s star-studded wedding on New Year’s Eve.
OK, that’s all I have for today. Feel like we did our best because the fact is literally nothing is going on.
Anyway, we’re just about there, ladies and gentlemen. Rolex is a few weeks away, followed by the Busch Light (yum) Clash in California (ew) and something called the Daytona 500.
Happy Monday! Hope you all had a good weekend! The days just keep flying by and it’s ONLY NOW…….”41” days until the 2023 Daytona 500 @DAYTONA and on @NASCARONFOX #NASCAR
