Category: my thoughts on

By David G. Firestone

Back again this week, got a few stories to talk about, so without further ado, let’s get started.

Our first story centers around a couple little details about the new NASCAR Cup Series charter deal. Apparently, as part of this deal, according to Jayski:

“Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass confirmed Friday that the new charter agreement limits teams to three charters going forward.

Teams with four charters – Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing – are grandfathered in and can continue to run four chartered cars.

Those teams that operate with three charters can enter a fourth car in races and run it as an open team.”

It was also revealed that Front Row Motorsports had finalized a purchase of one of Stewart-Haas Racing’s charters, which came about as part of a court order in the anti-trust lawsuits. Noah Gragson will be driving the #4.

Is it just me, or has the charter system caused more issues than it fixed? Again, look at all the chartered teams that have gone bust since its inception. Look at how none of the teams are profitable right now. When HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS can’t make a dime of profit for years, you think the smaller teams can?

While I get the idea of cost-cutting, at some point you just have to look at all the damage this system has done, and look at all the issues it’s caused, and realize it has failed. The charter system is not sustainable, it never was. NASCAR needs to assess its options, and work with the Race Team Alliance to come up with something better. The original system wasn’t great, the negotiations and their end were a disaster. This new version isn’t much better.

NASCAR and their teams need to realize the survival of the sport is at stake, and with this bullshit streaming deal starting in 2025, that survival is even less stable. The NASCAR Cup Series has six races on Amazon Prime. They lose an average of 1.2 million viewers from broadcast to cable. I can’t fathom how many users Amazon Prime will hemorrhage, including THE COCA COLA 600! How anyone thought this will work is mind-boggling!

Speaking of mind boggling, let’s talk Rick Ware Racing. Rick Ware Racing is a punching bag for NASCAR fans, and justifiably so. Between the length of time and number of teams they fielded, four cars at one time, to their TOTAL lack of on-track success. Rick Ware Racing has proven themselves as a joke.

But for a while in 2024, thing seemed to be looking up. They snagged Corey LaJoie from Spire Motorsports, as well as having Zane Smith as well. It actually seemed like they finally started to make the right moves, and start moving forward. It was really nice while it lasted. Not only did they lose Zane Smith to Front Row Motorsports, but they cut Corey LaJoie from the team as well. Now, while they only have a single-chartered car, the #51, they will run the #15 part time. So, who did they get to replace Corey LaJoie? Well, according to Fox Sports’ Bob Pockrass…CODY FUCKING WARE!

WHY?!? Who in their right mind would replace Corey LaJoie with Cody Ware? Why would you replace Corey LaJoie with Cody Ware? Who, outside of Rick Ware, thought this was a good idea? How out of touch with racing is Rick Ware to replace Corey LaJoie with his son? Cody has done nothing, and I mean NOTHING in his life, let along his career, to justify a full-time Cup Series ride! Corey LaJoie was the best and most obvious choice to race full-time, and they just blew that up!

Is this real? Is this reality? How in the name of all that is good do you give CODY WARE a full-time ride over COREY FREAKIN’ LAJOIE? I’m struggling to comprehend the logic here! I really am! I get you want the best for your son, but sometimes, you just have to cut your losses! Which is more important, your son’s career, or Rick Ware Racing as an organization? I ask that seriously, because they are on the verge of losing their charters for lack of performance, and this doesn’t do them any favors! SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?

This whole thing is almost like being a Chicago Bears fan! I say almost, because the Bears just beat the Packers since the first time since 2018! Even the Shad and Tony Khan Jacksonville Jaguars can win four games in a season! Even the worst teams can find some success sometimes. Rick Ware Racing has NEVER found success, 10 years after they should have stopped trying! At this point, I predict within the next three years, Rick Ware Racing will either go bust, lose their charters, or sell their charters. There is no other option! At this point, Rick Ware should focus his attention on Clay Millican’s Top Fuel dragster in the NHRA, since Millican can, not only win, but win multiple races in the same season! Clay Millican is Rick Ware’s best option, and I’m willing to bet he will mess that up too!

With that, I can’t rant anymore so, I’ll just call things here. I’ll be back next week.

Sources Cited:

Charter agreement caps organization’s charters to three

Front Row Motorsports finalizes deal to buy Stewart-Haas Racing charter

Corey LaJoie not expected to return to Rick Ware Racing

By David G. Firestone

So I’m back from winter break. Santa dropped a new laptop and some parking meters down the chimney this year. I’ve been following a few stories, and I’m going to discuss them. Since the various filings about the NASCAR anti-trust are in legal terms, which are hogwash to me, I’ll hold off on talking about them until later.

Let’s talk about IndyCar, specifically the race at Thermal. The 2024 edition was a shit show, and that’s putting it nicely. The prize money didn’t materialize as hoped, so it was only a $500,000 race as opposed to a $1 million race. Ticket sales were abysmal, due to high ticket prices, and general apathy about IndyCar. The race itself didn’t go over well, with teams, drivers, sponsors, and fans all talking about how bad it was

So you are IndyCar, and you are planning a new season for 2025. You have a deal with Thermal for a 2025 race, what do you do? Well, IndyCar literally didn’t learn a single lesson, and is planning the same event, but in a different year. At the time of writing, it’s back to a $1 million race, no points, just money.

What the fuck? Last year’s event was a certified dud. Nobody liked it. It simply didn’t work. If at first you don’t succeed…WHY? WHY AGAIN? Sure, it failed in every way it could, and yet doing the exact same race in 2025 will somehow yield different results…how does that work?

I’m going to give IndyCar an idea that could save the race. This could be a million dollar idea. Here goes: Take the Thermal race, make it an all-star race, and gimmick the hell out of it. It goes something like this: Every driver who won a race in 2024, and all former champions are locked in. The drivers on the outside will race in a series of heat races, and the winners get into the main event. Qualifying is also done through heat races. The races are a series of races, with new tires and fuel added at the end of each stage.

Sound familiar? This is how the Busch Clash and All-Star races are held in NASCAR. Every all-star game is a gimmick at this point, so why shouldn’t IndyCar follow suit? The marketing writes itself: “The best of the best in IndyCar racing at the most exclusive race track in the United States with a million dollars up for grabs.” Seriously, that would work wonders to get people in the door, and watching on TV?

When Roger Penske took over IndyCar, lots of people, myself included, were optimistic that IndyCar would change for the better. Sadly, it’s become clear that this is another case of “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.” IndyCar continues to stagnate, and, unless some new things are tried, it will continue to stagnate. Sadly, I fail to see any change on the horizon, and I hold out little hope.

Now we move on to wrestling, because a couple of things happened while I was away. First off, WWE revived Saturday Night’s Main Event. The big theme with this version is nostalgia. It was meant to bring back memories of some of the best events of year’s past. It sounds cool on the outside, but it does raise some issues.

First off, nostalgia in sports is a double-edged sword. I’m not saying that it’s truly a bad thing, but in sports where their best years are behind them, all it does is to bring back memories of how much better things were. NASCAR has had this problem for years. They aren’t good at marketing and making stars, so throwbacks and nostalgia serves to remind fans how good things to be.

Pro wrestling is even worse. Wrestling constantly moves forward, not backward. What was good in 1984, and 1994, doesn’t really fly as well in 2024. But the other issue is much more prevalent in 2024.

Wrestling is coming to terms with the fact that many of the wrestlers were very problematic, be it behind the scenes, or after their careers ended. For example, this most recent Saturday’s Night Main Event featured Jessie “The Body” Ventura. Ventura is a notable personality, and was the governor of Minnesota. He is also a right-wing crackpot conspiracy theorist.

Of the other commentators, most are dead, or are so problematic that WWE can’t bring them back. Hulk Hogan is so problematic, WWE can’t bring him back, as is the case with Vince McMahon. It’s amazing how awful these legends are. This is not limited to WWE, as even wrestlers who weren’t in WWE are now being seen as the horrible people that they are.

WWE didn’t do themselves any favors, given all the lawsuits they are currently facing due to actions of their staff and leadership. Focusing on the present is a much better strategy than focusing on the past, as far as wrestling is concerned.

Now we move on to a big wrestling story, this one from TNA Wrestling. At Final Resolution at Center Stage in Atlanta, The System, a team consisting of Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards, faced The Hardys, Matt and Jeff for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, with the Hardys retaining the championship.

During the event, an incident between Edwards and a fan occurred. I will take this description of the event from Cageside Seats:

“Edwards competed alongside Brian Myers in a tables match against the Hardys at Final Resolution (Dec. 13, 2024). The crowd was hostile toward the System and vocalized several chants with curse words. One fan in particular must have muttered something uncouth, then he flipped the bird. Edwards took exception and knocked the fan’s beverage out of his hand. The fan reacted with a slap across the cheek. Edwards retaliated with a much crisper slap to the face. Officials intervened to make sure the incident didn’t go any further, and security escorted the fan out of the building.

This fan didn’t appear to be a plant for story-line purposes. After the knucklehead move, the fan didn’t put up any resistance in his forced departure from ringside. Edwards brushed it off and carried on with the match.”

Look, I get that heels are supposed to get heat with the crowd. I get that heels should be seen as the evil bad guys. However, under no circumstances should the heel physically confront a fan unless in self-defense. If a fan jumps the rail, then the wrestler can defend themselves. In this case, words being exchanged is NOT a reason for either party to slap the other.

This could have severe repercussions for TNA. Lawsuits could be filed against Eddie Edwards, TNA, and more critically, the venue. Venues do NOT like having to deal with lawsuits from fans over incidents like this, and I’m willing to bet that this will cause issues with TNA and Center Stage.

I’m not defending Edwards, and I’m not defending the fan, both parties are equally guilty. I’m saying that this whole thing was handled badly by everyone involved. You are allowed to cheer and boo as you please, but do NOT physically involve yourself with the wrestlers, you will get arrested, and may get beaten. Alternatively, any wrestler who physically assaults a fan could open the door to a lot of legal issues. It’s just not worth it.

This has been an issue in wrestling for decades, and recent events are compounding the issue. I really don’t agree with any attack, but stupid people do stupid shit.

With that, I finish this week’s episode, and I will continue with news stories next week.

Sources Cited:

https://www.cagesideseats.com/2024/12/14/24320992/eddie-edwards-slaps-fan-incident-tna-final-resolution-2024-kicked-out-local-police-no-script-reacts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Resolution_(2024)

By David G. Firestone

I’ve been thinking about the NASCAR anti-trust lawsuit. The question that’s come before this whole thing is “Is NASCAR a monopoly?” Well, the obvious answer is yes, it clearly is. But the bigger question that should be discussed is “is that a bad thing?” From where I sit, I say that it isn’t. Now before you light your torches and gather your pitchforks, just hear me out.

Let’s say we are living in an alternative timeline where stock car racing exists , but NASCAR never gets founded. What would happen? Either another sanctioning body becomes what NASCAR currently is, or something like the National Wrestling Alliance forms, but instead of wrestling territories, it oversees regional stock car groups. In either event, both entities would be critical to the sport’s survival.

One of the big issues that NASCAR has and is dealing with are bad racing promoters. Guys and gals who will promise stock car racing to make a quick buck off the fans, and then disappear with the cash. This was one of the reasons NASCAR was a necessary evil. Before regulation, there were a lot of promoters and track owners who were seedy to the umpteenth degree, and NASCAR rooted them out. This is also the case for teams, drivers, owners, sponsors, and various other things related to the sport.

Is NASCAR perfect in this respect? Absolutely not. However, it has done a good enough job to keep the bad elements out and keep the sport legitimate. It’s the same no matter what sport you are talking about. Say what you want about the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB or whoever, at the end of the day, they are all tasked with keeping the sport in line, the good elements in, and the bad elements out. Sometimes individuals might get thrown under the bus, but that happens in every industry.

At the end of the day, it’s NASCAR’s sandbox. You might want to play, but they own the box, and they own the sand. If you think you know better, go ahead and try, but it probably won’t work. NASCAR will always put the product over the teams should the situation warrant, and sometimes that won’t work out well for some.

Now, when it gets to 23XI and Front Row, they need to consider this: Did you really, after everything that happened, think you could possibly force NASCAR to capitulate to better terms? How? How did you think this would go? There were years of fruitless negotiations between NASCAR and the teams, and the final deal was the best you could get. The fact that two teams had the idea that they could force NASCAR to renegotiate the contract after everyone else fell in line is baffling. This was not a good situation, but two teams trying and failing to get blood from a stone is just moronic.

I have no idea when it became the individual employee over the company, but it is not a smart idea. The overwhelming majority of employees in companies are expendable. If a company can fire the CEO, you honestly think you aren’t getting sacked? I can get sacked at any time. I’m replaceable, you’re replaceable, we all are! If KFC can survive without Harland Sanders, you think you are secure? NASCAR existed long before Front Row Motorsports and 23XI Racing existed. They aren’t as critical to the existence of NASCAR as they think, and if they go under, they will be replaced. Sometimes, you just have to cut your losses, suck it up, and sign the deal.

Another detail that has come to light is that, as part of the proceedings, sponsors can leave the teams. Well, this is another aspect where Front Row and 23XI should be worried. This isn’t 1996 anymore. Sponsors aren’t as loyal as they once were. If they feel like they won’t get the exposure, a better option is available, and they can leave, they will. This is compounded by the fact that, as I’ve discussed, sponsorship money isn’t as plentiful as it once was. If I am an employee of Front Row, or 23XI, I’m thinking positive, but getting my resume ready…it might come in handy sooner rather than later.

All in all, this whole situation is a mess, and I don’t think that the teams will come out on top here. If that’s the case, than they will join the ever growing list of defunct teams in NASCAR. It sucks, but life is unfair, and the sooner you accept it, the better.

With that, I’m done, and now we’re going to switch to the Paint Scheme Awards for next week.