During practice for the Indy 500, two Team Penske cars were busted for technical violation. This, in turn, led to the firing of Tim Cindric, IndyCar managing director Ron Ruzewski, and IndyCar general manager Kyle Moyer. Tim Cindric was the highest member of the team to be fired. According to Wikipedia:
“Tim Cindric served as the Team Manager for Team Rahal from 1994 to 1999, before joining Penske in October 1999. He was promoted to the position of president at Penske Racing in January 2006. He also serves as strategist for the Penske-owned IndyCar teams of Will Power (through 2016) and Josef Newgarden (from 2017). His teams won the IndyCar championship for the 2014, 2017 and 2019 seasons. He departed the team in May 2025, three days after Will Power and Josef Newgarden’s cars failed technical inspection for having a modified part during the Firestone Fast 12 in qualifying for the 2025 Indianapolis 500.”
The reason for the firing was the modification of a rear attenuator. What is a rear attenuator, I hear you ask, well, let’s look at a well-written article on Motorsport.com by Bozi Tatarevic.
“In order to understand what transpired at Team Penske, we need to start with the function of the rear attenuator on an IndyCar. This rectangular piece sits at the back of the car and is attached to the gearbox where it serves two basic roles. Its primary role is to absorb impact in a crash and reduce the g-forces felt by the driver. It also serves as the mount for the rain light assembly.
According to multiple sources that aren’t authorized to speak publicly, Team Penske started receiving these updated attenuators back from Dallara in early 2024 and members of leadership were not pleased with the aesthetics of the new glued-on panels as they showed a bright glue line that stood out and with a large raised edge. A member of the technical leadership is rumored to have instructed members of their team to “clean up” the edges on the pieces in order to make the bright glue stand out less so these technicians applied a dark compound to the edges and smoothed them out.
Once these attenuators were modified, they were cleaned up and coated with sealer – per the standard procedure for many carbon fiber parts at Penske – and placed into their parts rotation to be installed on the cars to start the 2024 season.”
This whole situation is amazing, since, realistically, it didn’t provide any on-track advantage at all, and was just for aesthetic purposes. Many fans are complaining that IndyCar overreacted to the violation. Realistically, there could be other reasons for the firings.
It’s not out of the realm of possibility that were other things that were brewing in Team Penske. Looking at the standings, it’s clear Team Penske isn’t where they need to be, in terms of on track performance. I’m willing to bet that Roger Penske saw the opportunity to clean house, which isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes you have to take what isn’t working, throw it out, and try something new.
But this brings me back to something that’s not talked about as much. The fact that the owner of IndyCar also owns a team in IndyCar is a massive conflict of interest. Say what you want, but if the NFL, NBA, NHL, or MLB owned one of the teams while the rest were owned by outsiders, wouldn’t that be a conflict of interest?
The fact is that Roger Penske does not look good here at all. He may have fired three of his top guys, but that still doesn’t make him innocent in all of this. If you are the owner of a business, and your subordinates make a mistake, even if you weren’t at said business, it’s still on you. Nobody blames the janitor when the company goes bankrupt. Nobody blames the guy in the mailroom when a major industrial accident happens. The top brass gets the blame.
Roger needs to sell Team Penske if he is going to own IndyCar. It’s just that simple. Even if he his not involved, his name is still on the team. He will still be blamed for everything, regardless of personal involvement. Any boss who claims that he isn’t responsible for his subordinate’s actions needs to be replaced anyway.
In addition, the conflict of interest will only make things worse. If the owner of the league’s team gets busted again, or suddenly starts seeing success without explanation, wouldn’t that look suspicious? Roger Penske has given his critics all the rope they will ever need to hang him with, and they will hang him at some point, it’s just a matter of time. This will not end well at all.
As anyone who knows me will attest, I hate coffee. I haven’t had a cup since 2006. As such, I don’t go to Starbucks. Well, last week, after I wrote my column for the week, I came across an article on Starbucks. Specifically, how a number of Gen Z baristas are up in arms over the new dress policy. What specifically is the issue? well, according to the chain itself:
“That’s why, starting May 12, we’re evolving our dress code in all stores to focus on simplified color options that allow our iconic green apron to shine and create a sense of familiarity for our customers, no matter which store they visit across North America.
The more defined color palette includes any solid black short and long-sleeved crewneck, collared, or button-up shirts and any shade of khaki, black, or blue denim bottoms. We’re also making a new line of company branded t-shirts available to partners, who will receive two at no cost – including partner network options.”
Yes, you read that correctly. The Starbucks union employees are up in arms over the fact that the chain is mandadting them wearing a black polo shirt. As dumb as that may sound, here is a snippet from the New York Post article:
“In a video posted to X, Starbucks union workers in Seattle can be seen marching on management in response to the new dress code.
The clip was captioned, “Starbucks workers across the country are facing understaffing, inaccessible benefits, discrimination, and low wages.
“Instead of fixing these issues, Starbucks decided to introduce an unpopular, more conservative dress code.”
A barista wearing a bandana and a party hat can be seen addressing management, saying, “I don’t understand how [the dress code] is in good faith of letting us express ourselves.”
Another worker then says, “We’re just expected to lie down and accept it,” as union members clap and cheer.”
To those who think that this policy is unfair, let me add my own take. Young people have a tendency to be dumb, but this new crop, holy shit!
I’ve worked a number of different jobs in various fields over the years. Every single one of them had a dress code which outlined what I could and couldn’t wear. Sometimes the rules were for aesthetic reasons, khakis and polo to look professional, and sometimes they were for safety reasons, no loose clothes near machinery. Rules are rules, and you have to follow them, even if you think they are unfair.
It’s called being an adult. You’re going to have to grow up at some point. When you get hired to work anywhere, you work for the company, but the company does NOT have to work for you! You WILL spend a lot of time being unhappy, and life will be unfair against you, more often than not. Grown up adults can accept it, but these adult children can’t.
On the Fark.com comment section, one comment, made by
DeathByGeekSquad has a very apt take on Starbucks employees:
“There are three types of people who work at Starbucks stores.
“1. The manager – the person who is or wants to manage a store for the sake of padding their resume for a few years.
2. The paycheck earner – the person who is there while they figure things out but generally just cashing their check
3. The complacent – the people who want to do as little as possible to earn just enough to cover basics and complain about their life. They’re not out looking for better jobs, or looking to do anything that improves their chances of better employment.
The first two don’t care about dress code requirements, it’s part of the job. The third complains about everything, and therefore complains about dress code. They’ll also complain about Partner Services. The Playbook. The hours. The manager. The Assistant Store Manager. The customers. The menu. Their coworkers.
They’re a toxic presence at an otherwise smooth operation.
They’re made up of the dropouts, the people who are too stupid to become an ASM or Shift Manager, or semi-functional addicts looking for a payday.”
Starbucks isn’t a high-end cafe in a rich part of town. Starbucks isn’t a highly praised local or regional coffe house. Starbucks is pretty much the McDonald’s of coffee chains. People don’t visit Starbucks because of what the barista is wearing. You are there to make coffee, not put on a fashion show. Wearing a polo as part of your employment isn’t “fascism,” it isn’t “repression,” it isn’t “censorship.” It is, at best, a minor inconvenience.
Anybody who feels that their anger is justified is also part of the problem, in my eyes at least. Rather than just accept that rules are rules, and that life is unfair, they just can’t accept it, even though they are adults. Again, I’ve worked in many different jobs, in different fields, and all of them have had very specific dress codes. I had them in elementary, middle, and high school. College was more relaxed, but there were still rules. Just go to Amazon, and buy some cheap polo shirts. It’s not the end of the world, and it really doesn’t warrant union intervention.
I’m not a big corporations suck-up, but I do NOT have any sympathy for grown-up children who have no clue whatsoever how to be adults. Adults can handle dress codes and can abide by them, with no issues whatsoever. Grown-up children don’t like being told what to do, and will cry over the most meaningless issues. Sadly, the grown-up children will never learn, and these issues will come back again. Seriously, life is unfair, just accept it!
I’m not the biggest NFL fan, and I don’t watch college sports at all. But the biggest story of the NFL Draft was Shedeur Sanders. Shedeur Sanders, is the son of legendary NFL Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. Coming out of Colorado, many people thought his on-field talent would make him a first-round draft pick, but he got drafted in the fifth round. For some people, this was “racist,” for some, this was perplexing.
But for me, this was another case of a kid with too big of an ego for his own good. Many of the more level-headed people pointed out that the average Joe Schmo is not a talent scout. But I think Albert Breer’s take on Shedeur Sanders is very abt. This is from “NFL Draft Takeaways: An Honest Discussion About Shedeur Sanders,” on SI.com link at the . Here are some key points:
“This starts with teams’ evaluations of Sanders as a player. The story we had on Tuesday on the quarterback class as a whole covered it. If you read that, you know it wasn’t easy to find coaches or scouts who viewed the Colorado quarterback as a first-round talent coming into the draft. He’s not a great athlete. He didn’t show great arm talent. He had bad habits in taking unnecessary sacks and bailing out of the back of the pocket. He had trouble playing on time in general and did things off-schedule that weren’t going to translate to the NFL.
A lot of times in combine meetings, teams will have a player’s worst plays ready for him when he enters the room and, along those lines, one had a particularly rough interception teed up for Sanders in Indianapolis. When asked to explain it, Sanders didn’t take blame. And as they dove deeper into it, and how it might relate to the NFL level, Sanders simply concluded that maybe he and the staff he was talking to might not be a match.
Ahead of another visit, he got an install with mistakes intentionally planted in it—done to see if a quarterback would catch them. Sanders didn’t catch them. A coach called him on it, and the resulting exchange wasn’t pretty.
Instead, in this case, a lot of teams either had a tough experience with Sanders or didn’t have an experience with him at all. Which made it tough to spend a pick on him, because if you were looking for a developmental quarterback who’d be content to slide into the shadows and work at his craft, this didn’t seem like the guy.”
This is another example of a point I’ve been making over the years. It’s simply impossible to judge anything solely on how successful it is. Too many athletes, musicians, actors, politicians, and celebrities are finding out that if you give anybody the rope they need, they will hang you with it. Shedeur Sanders is no exception.
Professional sports is full of athletes with big egos, that’s to be expected. Sometimes though, an athlete’s ego is too big for his own good. That’s the problem with Shedeur Sanders. Based on everything I’ve seen so far, he clearly thinks he is 1000% more important than he really is. If he was as egotistical as he is, but was as talented as Tom Brady, he’d would have been a first-round pick. His talent didn’t equal his ego, and now he’s a developmental player for the Cleveland Browns.
But there’s another issue at play here. Specifically, the NFL Combine, and the various meetings. If Shedeur Sanders had any common sense, he’d understand that the NFL Combine is the football equivalent of the first part of a job interview. A huge lesson I learned in middle school about job interviews is that the best thing you can do is to convince the company hiring you that you don’t make bad decisions. Shedeur Sanders never got that lesson. Read the quotes I posted again. It’s clear that he didn’t really understand the significance of the meetings, and if he did, he didn’t care.
Say whatever you want about Deion Sanders’ ego, but you can’t argue he didn’t back it up. Hell, Deion Sanders was the first and only player to both play in both a Super Bowl and World Series, but who also WON both a Super Bowl, and World Series. While it’s also clear that Shedeur Sanders has the ego of Deion, but not the on-field talent of Deion.
Here’s the bottom line: It’s clear from everything that Shedeur Sanders wasn’t meant to be a first-round pick, and that he needs work on his game, and work on his ego. While he still has hope for making it in the NFL, it’s going to be a long road, and he’s going to need a lot of humility, which, I don’t think is going to happen, at least not very easily. He can prove everyone wrong, but does he really have the work ethic to do so? Time will tell.
Just a brief update for this week. So, due to reasons that were beyond my control, I didn’t upload anything the week before Easter. This was due to a series of personal and family issues. While I’d like to say that everything is back to normal, sadly, this is the new normal for me and my family. As such, due to theses personal issues, it’s less than clear where The Driver Suit Blog will go from here.
What I can say is for the time being, I will try and regularly upload and post, but real life can and will get in the way. If I’m not able to post as much as I previously had, that’s why. I’m not giving up on The Driver Suit Blog, at least not yet. That’s really all I have for this week.
Sometimes in life, luck is on our side. Sometimes luck is against us. We all hate seeing bad things happen to good people, and we all hate seeing good things happen to bad people. On the other hand, it’s always satisfying when good things happen to good people, and when bad things happen to bad people. Today, we focus on the latter.
Johnny Somali, real name Ramsey Khalid Ismael, is an IRL streamer, who claims he is an internet troll. His MO is to travel to other countries to piss off as many people as possible, by being racist and ignorant. He is basically the kid who would eat paste for a nickel, only he annoys citizens of the country he is in for a $5 donation. He’s been banned from most streaming platforms, including Kick. Do you know how much of a douche you have to be to get kicked off of Kick?
In his travels, he traveled to Japan in 2023, and promptly proceeded to make an ass out of himself. He frequently made references to the atomic bombings, made numerous racist statements, got beaten up, and was arrested. He went to Israel, and conduted himself in much the same way. In both cases, he was arrested, and deported. At this point, he felt himself to be invincible. But he forgot one thing. Karma has a unique way of showing up at the worst possible time.
Johnny Somali’s downfall began on September 27, 2024, when he traveled to Seoul, South Korea. He acted the same way he did in Japan and Israel, only this time, he overlooked one critical detail. South Korea isn’t as tolerant of these issues as other countries. Currently, he is on probation, and is prevented from leaving the country. He is facing five charges, and was set to attend court on March 7, 2025.
In this situation, where you are facing serious charges, I would take this as seriously as possible, and be on my best behavior. Not Johnny Somali. Somali showed up to court over an hour late, was incredibly hungover due to a “shots for donations” livestream, and wore a MAGA hat. Court officials told Somali to take the hat off, but he kept putting it back on. During the hearing, it became clear he wasn’t getting another slap on the wrist. Each of the five charges carries the potential of five years in prison. He’s going to trial next month, and I’m looking forward to it.
Johnny Somali has proven himself to be a clown, a troll, and a moron. He’s a trash streamer, who will do anything for a $5 donation. He has never been put in check and all, until this most recent incident. Now, he’s going to prison, hopefully for a long time. Sadly, there are a lot of Johnny Somali style streamers, and we need to send a message to them, that we won’t tolerate this behavior at all.
Now we move on to our second story. Hulk Hogan’s ex-wife Linda Hogan went on an unhinged rant on her family life. She talked about her hatred for Hulk, and blamed him for their daughter Brooke not being a part of her life. It’s such an amazing rant that I can’t really do it justice. But let’s dive a little deeper into Linda Hogan.
Hulk and Linda were married in 1983 and divorced in 2009. During the divorce, Linda dated a man 29 years younger than she was. She took Hulk to the cleaners in the divorce. In terms of personality, she is just as bad as Hulk. She’s just as selfish and narcissistic as Hulk. She is an awful person, and is undeserving of mercy.
Linda’s rant drew the attention of Brooke Hogan, now married with two kids. I’m going to post some of her response here.
“There was a recent video posted by my mother that was concerning enough for people to send to me, making me feel the need to address the tip of a very large iceberg that is my immediate family. What little I am addressing does not even scratch the surface of what I’ve dealt with my entire life.
I will start by saying this video is mild compared to the behavior I have witnessed for the greater portion of my life. This also comes in addition to false claims that she has previously posted and then deleted. That being said, she has been through a lot of trauma and pain—my heart breaks for her. You can’t control how others treat you, but you can control how you treat others and how you cope with things.
Too many times, I have ignored things said about me and haven’t spoken my truths. Even so, I will keep things as vague as possible to continue to protect people… people who should have protected me.
Most importantly, I have completely separate reasons for going no contact with each of my parents. No contact with my mom has nothing to do with my dad, and no contact with my father has nothing to do with my mother. This also pertains to my dad’s second and third, now current, wife. This decision was made based purely on how they have each dealt with me directly my entire life.
I have been EXTREMELY verbally and mentally abused since childhood. Sadly, it would frequently turn physical. And sometimes, it’s not by the person you would assume—abuse comes in all shapes and sizes. This vicious pattern has robbed me of any sense of self-esteem or confidence—I’ve been trained to pretend I have it.
Up until adulthood, I’ve received berating and vile text messages, verbal and public reamings with unbelievably hurtful words said to me that cannot be forgotten. I’ve been asked to defend poor behavior to the public and have done so out of love, only to find I was misinformed, manipulated, and lied to. Still, to this day, I face constant ridicule for the poor decisions of others.
I’ve watched others benefit financially off my suffering and embarrassment caused by their selfish behavior. While it caused my life to crumble, I continued to stay strong and silent.
I was expected to—and DID— forgive massive blows to my career and personal life, nasty behavior, omissions of truth, blatant lies, manipulation, and repetitive errors in hopes of renewing previous family bonds.
I’ve been used as a pawn, a buffer, and treated like I’m downright stupid, too. No child or human should ever experience something like this.
Feeling injustice, not speaking my truth, dealing with smear campaigns, flying monkeys, enablers of this behavior, watching fake win over what’s real, and losing other family members and friends in an attempt to stop gossip and ongoing drama is also a painful side effect of this decision I deal with daily.
I gave endless chances hoping for the best and was met with more disrespect. At a certain point, I had to stop setting myself on fire to keep others warm.
One day, my family will look back and see that I never exposed the full truth. I was a waitress making $2.13 an hour to build a business of my own with no help from anyone. Nobody can take that away from me.
You can forgive people but still not allow them to mistreat you. I have nothing left to give to people who take, take, take, and never give in return. I choose peace. But my silence and my kindness should not be mistaken for weakness.
There are far more important things in this world. There are people out there trying to survive. And yet, there are families who have had all the opportunities in the world, and still choose to destroy each other.”
Based on everything I’ve seen, I fully believe Brooke’s side of things. She’s clearly hurt, she’s clearly avoiding the spotlight, and she is the most believable of the group. But what really strikes me here is that she did something that many people can’t, or won’t do…cut ties and run.
I am a big believer in cutting ties with people who are toxic. Many people in my life think I’m toxic, and have cut me out of their life. I’ve done the same with a lot of people. Brooke is smart enough to realize that Hulk and Linda were Superfund levels of toxic, and the only escape is to cut and run. She doesn’t want her kids to experience the same toxicity she had to endure. She is, without a doubt, the most mature and intelligent member of that family.
I don’t care who they are to you, I don’t care how much they may have meant to you, and I don’t care how much you may love them. Anybody who tries to tear you down for their own selfishness is toxic, and should be cut out of your life quickly. Don’t let them destroy you. I applaud Brooke, and I’m glad she’s in a good place now. She summed it up better. “At a certain point, I had to stop setting myself on fire to keep others warm.”
If I had a favorite non-Goodwrench Dale Sr scheme, it would be this one. No disrespect for Wrangler, but this is so much better! Unless something better comes along, this is my pick for Throwback of the Year! A
As much as I liked the original scheme, I, like a lot of fans, felt that Jeff should have raced the original rainbow warriors scheme. Still, this is really good. A
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.
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: https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/breaking-tsunoda-to-replace-lawson-at-red-bull-from-japanese-gp-as-new.49qawI5Q4YYPhhMJpHqUiOhttps://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/analysis-why-red-bull-decided-swift-action-was-needed-as-tsunoda-is-promoted.55Sa5D01dZuz7Akwu5IOvihttps://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/the-data-behind-red-bulls-choice-how-lawson-lost-his-seat/10707571/https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25175582-saraya-announces-exit-aew-following-comments-about-being-open-wwe-return
Hello and welcome back to The Driver Suit Blog. I took a spring break vacation last week, as I needed a break. As I come back, let’s talk some news stories before I discuss Thermal.
First, is an IndyCar story. I praised the move from NBC to FOX as a smart move. NBC is a spent force, in terms of sports coverage, and FOX is much more dedicated. But there are some growing pains. For example, the in-car cameras had graphics on the sides, whicn covered logos that sponsors paid for. For the race at Thermal, these were adjusted, and the issue was mostly fixed.
Now we discuss the Hendrick Motorsports/Hooters lawsuit. The suit was settled recently. According to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass:
“Hooters has agreed to pay $900K to Hendrick Motorsports, according to court records. HMS had originally sued Hooters for $1.705 million plus interest for what it had not paid for 2024 sponsorship for Chase Elliiott ($1.75M deal; team had announced three primaries plus associate).”
The original lawsuit saw Hendrick suing Hooters for $1.705 million for unpaid sponsorship dues for the 2024 season. Well, the downfall of Hooters continues, and, let’s be honest, their time has past. They aren’t the powerhouse in the chicken wing market, and their over sexaulized waitresses are as in vogue as evening newspapers. I’m glad they are going away. Wingstop and Buffalo Wild Wings are much better anyway.
Now we get to the suspensions in the wake of the Las Vegas race. A total of six suspensions were handed out, and while four of them are expected, two came out of the blue. Specifically the suspensions of Josiah Wright, and Corbin Sklener. According to Spors Illustrated.com:
“Josiah Wright, and Corbin Sklener were both issued indefinite suspensions from NASCAR due to violations of the substance abuse policy.
Wright had been the Rear Changer on Brad Keselowski’s No. 6 RFK Racing pit crew this season, while Sklener had been the Jack Man on the No. 74 Mike Harmon Racing team in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.”
It remains to be seen what exactly they were popped for, be it recreational drugs or performance enhancing drugs. However, it’s very well known that teams and crew members are given very specific rules and guidelines on what is legal and what isn’t legal. There is no middle of the road here. It’s the same as other sports as well as other jobs. Rules are rules, and I’m glad they are being enforced.
Now, we switch to wrestling. My, how the mighty have fallen. Alberto El Patron, AKA Alberto Del Rio, AKA Dos Caras Jr. has fallen. He was the WWE Champion, the WWE Word Champion (different title than WWE Champion) twice, the US Champion twice, he won Money In The Bank and the 2011 Royal Rumble. But after he left WWE, he just kept getting into trouble, be it personal or legal. He went from being at the top to wrestling in front of indie wrestling crowds.
Well, he won’t be wrestling in Tijuana for a while. According to Cageside Seats:
“Last Friday (March 14) at an AAA show in Tijuana, Alberto El Patron wrestled El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr.
At some point during El Patron’s victory, fans at Auditorio de Tijuana were said to be throwing coins at the former Alberto Del Rio. He went into the stands to confront someone in particular, but is unable to reach them and throws a chair in their direction. Another chair is thrown at El Patron from a different spot in the crowd, and connects. He then gets a few drinks thrown at him while officials get him out of the seats.
Several accounts of the night include mention of a woman needing to be taken to the hospital after the incident.
The commission which oversees wrestling in Tijuana issued a statement suspending El Patron from wrestling in the city for 180 days.
The ban only applies in Tijuana, so it’s unlikely to impact any plans AAA has for their top titleholder. Viper points out that the company isn’t scheduled for any major shows in the Baja California metropolis right now.”
Look, I’ve said this before. I encourage every wrestling fan to go to the matches, cheer the babyfaces, boo the heels, and have fun. Do not touch the wrestlers, do not throw things at the wrestlers, do not try and jump the rail, and, above all, respect the wrestlers, and their rights to privacy. I’m not going out on a limb when I say that throwing coins at wrestlers is a terrible idea.
Granted, Alberto was also in the wrong. Given his history, it’s hard to feel bad for him, but, in all honesty, the bear was poked. I’m not defending what he did, as he threw what moral high ground he had out the window, but you can’t argue he wasn’t provoked. I’m a big fan of not giving people the rope they need to hang you with, and that’s what some fans did. The fans who threw coins were wrong, and Alberto was wrong for attacking.
Now, I discuss my thoughts on the IndyCar Thremal race. First off, let’s get the technical issues out of the way. FOX had issues broadcasting from Thermal, and so much of what was supposed to be the IndyCar race was a simulcast of the NASCAR Cup Series race. While I might normally complain, I didn’t have to watch as much of the Thermal race.
I noticed something about Thermal, which makes me hate it more. It’s an amazingly empty track. Most road or street courses have large grandstands and paddocks. This at least gives the track a look that all racing fans are used to. With Thermal, this is not the case. It’s amazing how empty the track is, and how amateur it looks. I’ve never seen a more empty race track in my life.
The empty look really doesn’t help the aura of the event. The racing was fine, nothing really to write home about, and they at least changed the name of the event to The Thermal Club INDYCAR Grand Prix. Realistically, it’s difficult to justify this venure for future IndyCar events. They tried, it didn’t work, let’s try something else. Now granted, I felt the same thing last year, but they renewed, so we’ll see.
Sources Cited:
FOX's in-car graphics during IndyCar broadcasts are great – until they cover your sponsor's logo… https://t.co/rlH4c6clxo
Hooters has agreed to pay $900K to Hendrick Motorsports, according to court records. HMS had originally sued Hooters for $1.705 million plus interest for what it had not paid for 2024 sponsorship for Chase Elliiott ($1.75M deal; team had announced three primaries plus associate).
So, as I sit here, unable to do YouTube work, I’ve been thinking about Mopar and NASCAR. It has been announced that Dodge wants their RAM brand to return to the Craftsman Truck Series, and may do so as early as 2026. This may open up opportunities for eventual opportunities to return to the Xfinity Series, or even the Cup Series. But here’s my question: Does NASCAR really need Mopar in 2026?
When Dodge returned to NASCAR in 2001, the landscape was much different. Chevy was the dominant brand, Ford was in second place, but it was Pontiac that was the issue. By 2001, Pontiac was all but a spent force. Granted they had just won the 2000 Cup Series Championship with Joe Gibbs and Bobby Labonte. At that point, Pontiac, not just the racing program but the brand itself was on life support. While the brand would last until 2010, the NASCAR program died in 2003. Their final victory was at the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400.
Dodge’s return was needed, as a fourth manufacturer was clearly needed at that point. But that was back in 2001, this is 2025. It does not appear that Chevy, Ford, or Toyota, is on the way out of existence. But is there a need for another manufacturer program? Do they know something we don’t?
I bring this up because over in the NHRA, Toyota announced at the beginning of the season that 2025 would be the last year they would be involved in the NHRA. This led to a number of statements from teams and drivers, but nothing from the NHRA. Toyota has a lot of success in the NHRA, so the timing is odd.
In the words of Paul Doleshal, group manager, motorsports, Toyota Motor North America: “Our NHRA Drag Racing involvement has brought much success and pride across our entire organization. Our NHRA drivers and teams have truly become part of our Toyota family. We look forward to competing for more wins and championships with our supported teams in the upcoming season, and we will work diligently along the way to make sure each team and driver have the tools necessary to compete at the highest level for the years to come.”
Now, this may not be the last year, as both Ford and Chevy have returned after exiting the NHRA in years prior. But, in years past, manufacturers left racing because of lack of on-track success. You really can’t argue that here. Toyota has been very successful. To quote autoweek.com:
“Toyota Motor North America first entered NHRA Drag Racing competition in 2002 and won for the first time at the Winternationals in March of 2004. Toyota has more than 200 race wins, 12 world championships—including back-to-back titles in Top Fuel with Kalitta and Brown.”
Why now? Well, politics may have a hand in this, as certain mindsets in the current administration might hinder Toyota’s ability to perform, both in racing and in business. Could this be another issue for the current administration? Well, it’s not out of the question. Given all of the other bullshit we’ve had to deal with, I wouldn’t be shocked, given that Toyota is a Japanese company.
I’m not trying to stir the pot, just trying to understand this whole situation. I wish Toyota well. I wish Dodge well. I want them to succeed.
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.
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