I'm just a normal guy who collects race-worn driver suits, helmets, sheet metal, and other race-worn items. I will use this blog to help collectors, and race fans alike understand the various aspects of driver suits and helmets, and commentate on paint schemes.
So I hope you all are safe after all the weather issues we’ve had here in the states. Last weekend was the perfect weather to stay indoors, order food, and watch auto racing, so that’s exactly what I did. I watched as much of the Rolex 24 as I could. I’m passed the age where I can watch all 24 hours.
This year’s Rolex 24 was fun to watch, except for the safety car period. After the sun had set, a torrential downpour hit the track, and the race was run under the safety car. This safety car period was six-hours and 33-minutes, and was over 250 laps in total. This is offically the world’s longest safety car period. In case you are wondering the record was previously held by the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans, which was four hours and 26 minutes in length.
Watching the event during this caution period, I could understand why it was needed. The visibility alone was awful. During the worst part, you could barely see pit road from the front of the track. When cars were on pit road, you could make the lights of the car, but not the full details. At points, you couldn’t see the backstretch from the front of the track.
My question was…why wasn’t the race red flagged. While I’ve complained about drivers wanting breaks during NASCAR races, there is a major difference between a 3 hour, 500 mile race, and a 24 hour race where the winners drove 1,762.5 miles. These type of races push everyone involved to the limit, and if a situation presents itself where everyone can rest and recharge, it should be taken.
Safety is a critical issue in auto racing, and it’s also a moving target. Decisions need to be made to protect all involve. Seriously, I don’t think anyone would have been upset for a two or three hour long red flag at 3AM. Again, letting teams and drivers get a chance to rest isn’t a bad thing.
Even with just over 25% of the race run under caution due to weather, it was still a fun event to watch. I’m not the biggest IMSA fan, but I do enjoy it. Now, we have the Cook Out Clash, starting tomorrow, and I’ll have more to say next week.
I was going to do a column on something else, but I saw this story, and I have to talk about it. Every so often, a story comes along, and you read it and think “why didn’t I think of this before?” Well, Utah has provided such a story with a new law concerning alcohol.
The story starts on April 26, 2022, when a serial drunk scumbag named Mason Andrew Ohms left a West Jordan bar, and got behind the wheel. Ohms ran a red light, and hit and killed 13-year old Eli Mitchell, who was legally crossing the street in a crosswalk. Ohms then drove away, leaving the boy to die. He was arrested not long thereafter, and was convicted and sentenced to 1 to 15 years in prison.
This was Mason Ohms’ sixth conviction for DUI. This was not lost on Eli Mitchell’s family, who decided to do something about it. Glendon Mitchell, Eli’s grandfather worked to intoduce House Bill 437. HB 437 also know as the 100% ID Law, mandates that bars, restaurants, and any location where alcohol is sold ID checks every customer purchasing alcohol regardless of age or appearance.
HB 437 also mandates a new set of rules for those convicted of driving drunk. According to KSL.com, under this new law:
-Judges may restrict alcohol purchases for certain offenders.
-Individuals convicted of an extreme DUI—defined as a blood alcohol content of 0.16 or higher, or driving above Utah’s 0.05 limit with illegal substances present—may be designated as “interdicted” and prohibited from buying alcohol for a period of time.
-Interdicted individuals will receive a special ID. Their driver license or state ID will display a “No Alcohol Sale” label across the photo. This notation is visible during required visual ID checks by anyone selling or serving alcohol.
Given the sheer number of DUI arrests, and how many repeat offenders there are out there, it’s amazing it took this long for this approach to happen. Holding establishments that serve booze to intoxicated people responsible is a good move. I live in Illinois, and have worked in a retail store that sells alcohol. State inspectors can, and do bust cashiers for not checking IDs. I don’t think that there is a state that doesn’t have these laws, but more rigid enforcement is a good thing.
The idea of special ID cards that instruct establishments not to sell booze to convicted drunk drivers is a stroke of brilliance. Given how many repeat drunk drivers there are out there, this approach is a great move. Many of these people will never change if left to their own devices. Some people really need to be protected from their own worst instincts, especially when their actions put other people in dangers.
Also, let’s discuss who are against this rule. The first group are retailers who sell booze. Well, as I said, above, there are laws all over the country concerning this, now they are being enforced. I’ve also heard that some people think that this new law infrindges on their “personal liberties.” Well, that’s an ignorant take if ever I’ve heard one.
While prohibition on a national level is not a thing due to the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, cities, counties, and even states can be dry. Jack Daniel’s whiskey is headquartered in Lynchburg, Tennessee, which is in Moore County, a dry county. You can’t buy a bottle of Jack Daniel’s, the biggest whiskey company in America in the county it is made in.
Furthermore, nobody in the United States has a right to drink alcohol. If it isn’t an established right, it is a privilege. If a judge decides that you can’t drink due to an arrest, then you can’t drink. Being held accountable for your actions might suck, but the law is the law. Abusing a privilege can and will cause you to lose said privilege.
I love this thought process, and I love the idea of dealing drunk drivers like this. I hope this thought process spreads to other states. We need to crack down on drunk drivers, and this is a great way to start.
So I was originally going to talk about something else, but given recent circumstances, I’ve given up on that. Due to my schedule, I write Friday Feature columns on Mondays. After I finished last week’s column, two stories happened. While it would have been easy to write about one of them, I decided it would be better to put some more time and effort into it.
I discussed the anti-trust lawsuit, and some of its fallout last week, and I stand by what I said. But one more bit of fallout happened, in that NASCAR commissioner Steve Phelps resigned as a result of text messages sent concerning Richard Childress. According to ESPN.com:
“But the top executive at NASCAR was deeply bruised during the trial — and the discovery process leading into it — when communications he exchanged with top leadership was exposed. In one exchange, Phelps called Hall of Fame team owner Richard Childress “a stupid redneck” who “needs to be taken out back and flogged.”
That led Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris, an ardent supporter of both NASCAR and Richard Childress Racing, to write a letter demanding Phelps’ removal as commissioner.
Editor’s Picks
NASCAR settled the lawsuit with 23XI Racing, owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin, and Front Row Motorsports, owned by Bob Jenkins, the day after Morris’ letter.”
Even if Richard Childress is “a stupid redneck,” you really can’t argue what he’s done as a team owner. In the top three NASCAR Series, he has won seven Cup Series championships(1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994), seven O’Reilly Auto Parts Series championships(2001, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2019, 2025) and two Truck Series championships(1995, 2011). He also co-owns the Carolina Cowboys, a Professional Bull Riders Team Series team, as well as founding Childress Vineyards.
My point here is that Steve Phelps might see Richard Childress as “a stupid redneck,” but he is a very successful “stupid redneck.” He’s not stupid! He’s a very smart, self-made businessman. Sure, RCR isn’t where it once was, but after Dale Earnhardt’s death, how could it. RCR will never fully recover from losing that level of talent. But you can’t ignore how good of a businessman Richard Childress is.
Some more texts that came out in discovery are gems too. These include:
“Childress is an idiot. If they don’t like the state of the sport, sell your charter and get out.”
“Did I mention Childress was an idiot?”
“If he’s that angry (and apparently he is) sign your charter extension and sell. He’s not smart, is a dinosaur, and a malcontent. He’s worth a couple hundred million dollars – every dollar associated with NASCAR in some fashion. Total ass-clown.”
This is why many corporate lawsuits are settled. Big companies are worried about what is going to come out in discovery. TKO, owners of WWE settled a lawsuit filed by MLW over WWE being a monopoly. To anyone who wasn’t TKO, it was clear that MLW needed money, and was trying to get some from WWE. TKO, fearing discovery settled. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that if this had gone to trial, WWE would have prevailed.
Now, there’s another question, was Phelps’ resignation his own choosing, or was he pressured into it? Well, the letter from Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris didn’t exactly help. Morris, and Bass Pro Shops are a loyal sponsor of NASCAR, and it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to think that the potential loss of a major sponsor would force NASCAR’s hand. It’s also not impossible that there were other issues with Phelps, and this was the tipping point.
As of the time of writing, Phelps is still the current commissioner, his resignation scheduled at the end of January 2026. No successor has been announced, and it remains unclear who will fill the role. I will say, I think there needs to be more changes than just a new commissioner if NASCAR is to survive.
In the other major NASCAR news stories, NASCAR brought the Chase back as their playoff system. The new system will feature the following changes:
“‘Win and you’re in’ is gone. A race win will no longer guarantee automatic entry into The Chase, increasing the importance of every event on the schedule. Winning is still valuable, but drivers must continue to perform at a high level throughout the regular season.
Race winning drivers earn more points. A win will now earn the race-winning driver 55 points. Previously, a win paid 40 points. The goal is to reward drivers who go for wins, not just strong points days, and ensure aggressive racing and strong team performance remain central to each weekend. Points for all other positions, including stage points, remain the same.
The Chase will feature the top drivers in regular-season points. Returning to a points-based qualification system reinforces the value of consistent, season-long performance and ensures the drivers who execute across the full schedule earn the chance to compete for a championship. The Chase in the NASCAR Cup Series will feature 16 drivers; the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series field will be set at 12 drivers, with the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series field at 10.
The points leader after the regular season will receive a meaningful advantage. As recognition for sustained excellence, the top driver at the end of the regular season will earn a 25-point cushion over the second seed.”
Like many NASCAR fans, I wanted full season points. I hate this whole playoff system. This is another case of NASCAR tuning out what the fan base wants in favor of their own needs. Many old school NASCAR fans are gone, and will never come back. I’ve seen the TV numbers, and they are bad. Hell, the NHRA beat NASCAR in TV ratings. At what point does NASCAR realize they need to keep the fans happy?
While there was some positive reaction on social media, I do not like these changes. I’m not looking forward to this new system. What I would have done is to have the top four drivers in points locked in to the final race of the season, winner take all. It’s almost the same as a full race season, but there are four drivers giving their all for the Cup. I hate racing playoffs.
Ok, I need to end things here. I’ll have some more news for next week.
DGF2099-Main Page 
