Sports

Larson emerges from Wallace Incident to dominate Miami


That’s the end of the business of NASCAR Cup Series season. Joey Logano won his spot in the final race for the championship on November 6 in Phoenix, and seven other riders are looking to book tickets to join him.

And while the battle for the title is still as open as ever, there’s still a lot more to be said, from Kyle LarsonHomestead-Miami’s dominance over Bubba Wallacesuspension for people who were preparing for a big weekend in Martinsville on Sunday. So with a lot of stakes in classic car racing, ESPN turned to Ryan McGee and Marty Smith to take over their roles in the final few weeks of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Watch Formula One All Season on ESPN
– No ESPN? Instant access

McGee: You and I haven’t talked about this yet, but Bubba Wallace has been suspended for a race. This is the first time a Cup Series driver has been parked for a race incident since Matt Kenseth was in 2015. Marty, where did you get all that? Because I feel like the consequences are still rolling in.

Blacksmith: I think they absolutely are. And since we haven’t discussed Wallace’s actions, it’s completely unacceptable in every way. There are certain rules that must not be broken. And the #1 unwritten driving code rule is that you don’t run right behind someone and hook them up to a fence at 185 mph.

McGee: In traffic. Out of move. All very wrong.

Blacksmith: Every bit of it is unacceptable. And to quote Logano, who was so outspoken afterwards, it may have killed Larson. Luckily, he wasn’t even injured. And then, after Wallace hooked Larson to the fence, Wallace got angry, got out of the car and started shoving Larson, who had been trying to stay calm all this time and wasn’t involved in the fight. . I don’t know how he does it, quite frankly.

I understand Wallace’s frustration, stemming from his feeling of being barricaded, but he vented that frustration in a completely overdone and wrong way. If another opponent ran up to me after doing what Wallace did and started shoving me, I certainly wouldn’t have the composure to walk away like Larson did.

McGee: And then turn around and knock everyone out next weekend at Homestead, and look a lot like Kyle Larson, the 2021 NASCAR Cup champion.

Blacksmith: That’s what’s great about Larson at the Homestead-Miami Highway, where, if you want to win, you have to run at the top of the track, you have to get the top job done. He’s probably the best ever at creating top work. Larson has brought that into the sport in many ways. Dale Earnhardt Jr has been very good at running at the top in the last years of his career – actually generating that momentum out of the corner, which is remarkable – but Larson has taken it to the next level. different from his world-class history. Control cars from being too proficient on dirt roads.

McGee: I think having a weekend like Homestead-Miami is super important to NASCAR, because when it’s over, everyone’s talking about the race. Everyone talks about Larson. Everyone is talking about heading to Martinsville, a race to get ahead of the four championship finals. As we speak on Tuesday, there’s no point in sitting and waiting for a penalty or consequences report to come out of NASCAR, and it feels like every Tuesday for the past two months we’ve solved the problem. decide on something other than racing. So I think it’s a pretty good day for the sport.

Blacksmith: No doubt about it. And it’s an exciting time for NASCAR, because all the way back to February when we started this season, you and I just felt a unique energy. And every year, almost always, you go into summer and it’s that bleak period of the season and it starts to feel like a really long tagline. But I still feel a real new momentum despite the fact that we’re 35 weeks old and I can’t begin to tell you who’s going to win the championship. And that’s really rare, man.

That’s another factor that makes NASCAR beneficial is that it’s actually shaping up to be the kind of Game 7 concept they wanted years ago. They’ve implemented a “four riders, one race, winner” format that seems to always have a reward for the best team, but we’ll see what happens in 2022 when we get to Phoenix here after a few weeks.

McGee: I never went into the last two races of the year without knowing what was going to happen. During the first part of his career, Jeff Gordon must have won a month ago, right? And then we have this, what I still call the new format, with the final race worth everything, but even then, you’ve got a pretty good idea of ​​who’s the lover. likes and who doesn’t. And now we are in a world where Ross Chastain leading the league in the top five finished, and I thought that was amazing, but it also made me realize that I didn’t know what was going to happen. And I dig into that.

Blacksmith: I still have my money Chase Elliott. I just feel like that number 9 car, they just have a very unique chemistry with him and his crew chief Alan Gustafson, and they understand what it’s like to get it done. I think right now a lot of people are thinking, “Okay, this could be Denny Hamlinof year? Could this be the moment that he ends it? “And you know, next weekend is going to be very important for him, because he’s so good at these short songs.

McGee: Martinsville is the best because it’s crazy and unpredictable, but you’re exactly right. We’re going to a place Hamlin has been racing since he was barely able to walk, back to Allison Legacy cars. That was the first time I saw Hamlin racing. And oh, by the way, you know who else is really good in Martinsville? Bubba Wallace.

newsofmax

News of max: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button
Immediate Matrix Immediate Maximum