By Adam Carabine & Logan Morris
Logan Morris: Hey Adam, We just saw another unique race at COTA. Christopher Bell out-dueled Kyle Busch and William Byron to go back to back. You were there! What are your initial takeaways?
Adam Carabine: Firstly, I thought the race was awesome. They talk about COTA as being a world-class facility, and while it looks nice on TV, I never quite understood why until I got here myself. The place is beautiful, and the track made for a couple of great races this weekend.
I’m not sure I’m getting the same warm and fuzzies from you, though. What did you think?
LM: First off, I’m thrilled you enjoyed yourself. I thought the strategy of the last stage was wonderful! However, the first two stages left something to be desired. The race hit a lull after the chaos on lap 1, after that, from a TV viewer's perspective it began to take on the feel of a “Sunday drive.”
AC: That’s fair, I suppose. I mean, we’re never going to see as much passing on a road course as we do on speedways. But I felt like the newly redesigned course was a hit, and it kept the drivers guessing enough to keep things interesting. I was actually shocked when talking to the drivers at the start of the weekend at how little they knew about the new layout.
These days it seems like they spend their weekends on track, and then the rest of the week in a simulator. But apparently the team that does the track scans for their simulators had not had a chance to get out and look at the new redesign, so a lot of it was just based on everyone’s best guess.
Some drivers mentioned that there had been 4 or 5 different iterations of the course on the simulator before settling on what they thought was ‘the closest they could get.’ Ahead of practice, the drivers were noticeably antsy to get out there and get a good feel for things.
LM: That’s pretty incredible when you consider how clean the race was. The TV broadcast during practice on Prime mentioned that the simulators were struggling to capture the course. However, they gave the impression that it got figured out in the end. Were you surprised it was such a clean race, overall?
AC: I think based on the drivers who were up front near the end, no, I’m not surprised. But I will say, Turn One was less crazy than we’ve seen in years past. I think that makes for a better product, even if the TV announcers like to play up the thrills and spills of Calamity Corner.
As a quick aside, it’s actually really interesting to watch a race from the media center, as you have access to a lot more than your normal TV broadcast at home - however they are also playing the TV audio in there too. It’s interesting to see how they decide what to show and what not to pay attention to. This isn’t even necessarily a criticism, it’s an amazingly difficult task to see it all playing out in real time and to decide what’s important to highlight. But I do like the peek behind the curtain.
But yes, I was impressed with the clean racing - and you could tell the drivers were pleased about it too. I was bracing myself for a cranky Kyle Busch on pit road after the race and he was honestly so pleasant about the whole thing.
LM: He had a wonderful day, all things considered. With around 10 laps to go, I had become convinced that he was going to finally break the winless streak. He’s been close a multitude of times. But this weekend felt more like it was his to lose than any other race where he’s come up short recently. However, if RCR keeps building him cars like the one he had Sunday, it’s simply a matter of time before Kyle Busch is back in victory lane in NASCAR’s top series.
AC: He did say something to that effect on pit road after the race. He said that as long as he keeps getting cars that can run in the Top 5, the win will come soon. He was surprisingly in good spirits.
I will agree with what you said earlier. The last stage was the best part of the race. But there was plenty of action in the first half too, at least I thought. What did you make of Shane Van Gisbergen? I know he couldn’t close it out but he’s pretty bad fast at these lefts and rights!
LM: While he didn’t win, in every single road course we run in this Gen 7 era he continues to prove he’s the man to beat. I thought that trend continued this weekend despite the final result. Similar to how we saw Chase Elliott master road courses in the Gen 6 era. There’s a very good chance that the man called “SVG” will be right up there with Hall of Famers like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart when it comes to road course prowess when it’s all said and done.
AC: Agreed. The guy just loves his road courses! I hope he sticks around in NASCAR for a while, he’s fun to have around.
One last thing I want to ask you before we move on to our awards - did the TV broadcast talk at all about some of the controversy around Turn 6 and track limits?
LM: Absolutely. Much was made of the rules that were in place. Then, even more chatter ensued after NASCAR seemingly called an audible and decided no track limits at Turn 6. I’m very curious about your take on what we saw there.
AC: I was listening to Kyle Busch’s radio at the time, and they were hesitant to try and cut the corner in Turn 6, saying something like “it’ll be us that gets dinged on it if we go.” It wasn’t super clear to us in the media center either what the rule really was. Obviously there were strict limits in the previous turns, called the “esses.” But suddenly Turn 6 is a free for all? And they only really let everyone know after like 20 laps into the race? Very confusing.
And also, my main question is why? The track limits are there because that’s the way the track is designed. If you go beyond the limit, you get a penalty. Why should one corner be different from any other?
LM: I couldn’t agree more. If I were to describe the officiating thus far this season, it can be summed up by saying “consistently inconsistent”
AC: Agreed. Anyway - let’s get to our weekly awards!
Best Performer
LM: For best performer I have to go with Kyle Busch. While he didn’t win, this was his most complete performance in quite some time. He led 42 laps and was a factor from the drop of the green flag. Richard Childress has to like what he’s seeing out of his veteran star.
AC: Those 42 laps were the most of anyone in the field. Busch is a great choice in this category, and while it feels strange to say - there was a part of me rooting for him!
Just to be different, I’ll say Christopher Bell. Sure, it’s easy to choose the guy who won the race, but he really put on a masterclass in the final 15 laps or so in clean, hard racing. While it was sad to see Busch falter at the end, Bell truly did deserve the victory.
Biggest Move of the Race
LM: My biggest move of the race has to go to the entire No. 9 team. The Dawsonville, GA native battled back from adversity from literally the first lap. To have a Top 5 after seemingly struggling all day, credit where it’s due. That’s what playoff and championship caliber teams do more often than not - truly salvage a day. It’s early to be talking points, but Chase Elliott and company kept themselves in a solid position Sunday.
AC: It was a gutsy call to go and get fresh tires on that last caution. I have a friend who is a big Chase Elliott fan who was texting me during that. “Why did [crew chief] Alan Gustafson have Chase pit here! 2 laps ago he said he had Top 5 speed. Now he went from P13 to p22!” It turned out to be a great call.
Not to be unoriginal, but I’m going to pick CBell again here for this award. For a while it was clear that Bell had the better car, he just couldn’t get past Kyle Busch. There was a moment when they were both approaching Turn 1, and Bell had him. Busch threw a pretty aggressive block with his line into the corner. Bell could easily have taken him out, and not really even taken any blame for it. But he checked up, swerved away, and let Busch go. Eventually he caught him and the rest is history.
It was a respectful racing move, possibly aided by the memories of last year’s COTA race where Bell clobbered Kyle Busch in approximately the exact same spot. Bell wasn’t proud of it then, and it showed maturity to let him go, only to chase him down and catch him a little later on.
Biggest Disappointment
LM: There are a few people I’m considering this week. But, I have to go with A.J. Allmendinger. While his day wasn’t nearly as bad as his final result showed, a 30th place finish for one of the all-time great road racers in NASCAR history is bitter disappointment. As I’ve said previously, it’s early to be discussing points, but you know Allmendinger has every road course circled for his best opportunities to sneak into the playoffs.
AC: You’re not wrong. He had some good runs up there, but ultimately it’s sad to see someone who should be succeeding not meet that potential.
For me, my disappointment is for Connor Zilisch. The young phenom took the Xfinity race by storm on Saturday, winning despite some major adversity. He becomes the second youngest driver to make their Cup Series debut (Joey Logano holds the record), and even in just half a race, he showed some flashes of brilliance. The kid can wheel.
To see him go out (and take his teammate with him) in the way he did was sad, and I have a sneaking suspicion he might have made his way to the front and at least challenged for the win if he’d managed to stay in the race.
What to Watch for Next Weekend
LM: Next week we begin what is now the truncated “west coast swing” Phoenix carries extra importance for a few reasons. The big one being it’s where the Championship race is held so it’s a big opportunity for everyone to get some notes in the notebook. Secondly, it serves as our first look at everyone’s short track package this season. Christopher Bell will go for three straight victories at a track he won at last spring. We could be talking about a trifecta next week!
AC: You’re not wrong there, Bell is aces at Phoenix, and Vegas too right after that if we’re being honest. When does someone else win next?
I don’t love Phoenix as our Championship track, but I suppose that’s a conversation for another day. Nonetheless, it’s a good measuring stick for the teams that hope to challenge for that Championship later this fall. It also marks the point in the schedule where we get more to the ‘normal’ NASCAR tracks. The first three races of the season this year have been wildcards - Phoenix should show us who is a legitimate challenger this year.
Until then, thanks Logan!
LM: Always a pleasure, my friend. Let's enjoy a little fun in the sun!
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