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By David G. Firestone

Just a brief column, been feeling off this weekend. So, the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium is behind us, the NASCAR Cup Season is upon us. The race was good, and, again, if the Clash moves from one historic short track to another each year, I would get behind that. I will say that I do miss the days of the Clash being for pole award winners. If it was, then it would have been a shootout between Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Michael McDowell, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs, Chase Elliott, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, Shane van Gisbergen, and Martin Truex Jr..

The for the Clash, according to NASCAR is as follows:

Heat Race Starting Lineup – The field will be split into (3) practice groups, with each group receiving (3) sessions. Each competitor’s fastest lap time from their final practice session will determine the starting lineup for the heat races. The fastest qualifier will be on the pole for Heat 1; second-fastest will be on the pole for Heat 2; third-fastest qualifier will be on the pole for Heat 3; fourth-fastest will be on the pole for Heat 4; etc.

Heat Races – Four heat races of 25 laps each with only green flag laps counted – no overtime in play. The top five from each heat race advance through to The Clash.

Last Chance Qualifier – Cars that do not transfer to The Clash will compete in the Last Chance Qualifier Race with their starting position determined by where they finished in their respective heat races. The LCQ race is 75 laps with only green flag laps counted – no overtime in play. The top two finishers in the LCQ will transfer to The Clash.

The Cook Out Clash Feature – The main event will feature 23 drivers competing for 200 laps with only green lag laps counted – the race must end under green. A timed break will be observed at the halfway point of the race (Lap 100).

Lineup: The first 22 starting spots for The Clash is set through finishing positions in the heat races and the LCQ. The 23rd and final starting spot is reserved for the driver who finished the highest in the 2024 season driver points standings who did not already transfer into The Clash.

I like the idea that everybody can race their way into the Clash, and no spots are guaranteed. The heat races were fun to watch, and it was a great way to hold a Cup Series short track race. Again, the lack of pit stops did hinder the race, but all in all, it was a great race

Really, there isn’t that much to say here. It was a fun racing weekend, and I look forward to the NASCAR season.

Source Cited:

NASCAR announces Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium format

By David G Firestone

Well, the Rolex 24 is behind us, and the Clash at Bowman Gray is upon us. With that, I’d like to discuss an aspect of the 2025 Clash that is becoming an issue, at least with me. This year’s Clash is sponsored by Cook Out. Ok, based solely on the name, what does Cook Out do as a business? Do they make grills? Do they make camping equipment? Are they involved in making custom outdoor backyards? Do they make food geared toward camping?

The answer is…none of the above. Cook Out is actually a local fast food burger chain. According to Wikipedia:

“Cook Out is a privately owned American fast-food restaurant chain operating in North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Founded in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1989, the chain has since expanded and now has restaurants in over 100 cities. The chain itself has grown in size with many locations now spread throughout the Southeastern United States.”

The problem that I discussed is that Cook Out is such a generic company name, that it could be used in any number of categories. But this speaks of a larger issue in NASCAR in recent years. A decent number of companies are sponsoring cars, but aside from the company name, they give no information on what their company does. No product images, no slogans, no information at all is given.

Someone explain to me why this is a good idea. Advertising should cover two basic fundamentals: This is what our company does, and this is why you, the consumer, should use us. This isn’t even an oversimplification, just the basics of advertising over the last 200 years or so. Putting a logo or a company name with no other identifying info makes no sense, especially if nobody knows what your company does to begin with.

Here is an example of how a slogan helps out. Last year, Josh Berry was sponsored by a company called “eero.” What does this company do? Well, the slogan on the hood states: “The way WiFi should be.” Ok, that’s acceptable. I now know eero is involved with WiFi.

Many companies can’t figure this out. Here are some sponsors from the 2024 Cup Series that did not have any other info aside from their vague company names on the race cars:

Kubota

Zeam

Schluter Systems

Group 1001

USANA

Fanttik

Draiver

Leidos

Alltroo

Raptor

The Pete Store

Frontline Enterprises

Gener8tor

MotoRad

Ohanafy

Amptricity

City of Refuge

Now if I were to ask you what these companies do, would you be able to tell me? Seriously, based sole on the company name, what do they do? It’s not like these are all one-offs. Schluter Systems, Leidos, Raptor, The Pete Store, Frontline Enterprises, and Gener8tor have been sponsoring cars for some time, but I’m no closer to understanding who they are now than when they first started. In addition, two companies, C.H. Reed, and Coble Enterprises have slogans on the car, but the slogan is so vague, it’s difficult to decipher what these companies do.

I get that it’s possible to look these companies up on Google, but let me ask…why is that my responsibility? Why should I, the consumer, work to figure out if I need your company on Google, when you could add a slogan to the car THAT YOU ARE PAYING THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS FOR? This isn’t even a recent problem, it’s been going on for many years.

There should be a regulation stating that a slogan or company product should be displayed by a sponsor. Seriously, it will help, and really isn’t difficult to do. I do not understand the logic of spending the thousands of dollars to advertise your company but not telling us what the company does. It’s like the BASF commercials I grew up with. For years, BASF ran an ad campaign where they said “We don’t make the ___, we make it ___.” But BASF never actually explained what they did. Once they started adding “BASF The chemical company” at the end of their commercials, did they start making a whole lot more sense. Why it took them over 20 years to figure this out is a mystery. Bottom line, tell us what your company does when you sponsor a race car.

Now we get to another story that follows up on something I’ve discussed before. Nostalgia in wrestling needs to die. Many of the wrestlers of years past were assholes in one form or another. Nobody embodies this more than Hulk Hogan. His theme song is that he is a real American. That’s true, he’s selfish, greedy, opportunistic, racist, horrible with money, backstabbing, narcissistic, untrustworthy, and out of touch with reality. He has used multiple drugs over the years, steroids and otherwise.

He has a terrible attitude towards women. He has had multiple failed business ventures. He has had multiple extramarital affairs. He has had multiple failed marriages, lies about being a true Christian, was filmed having an affair with a friends wife. He also associates with right wing politicians and conspiracy theorists.

Since wrestling fans are more open, and accepting than in years past, Hogan is not a well-liked individual, both in and out of the wrestling business. When WWE Raw debuted on Netflix, WWE had The Hulkster come out and cut a promo on how great the fans were. Hogan is so reviled, that the fans booed him mercilessly. Hogan would go on to claim that the boos were because he was a Trump supporter. Well, The Undertaker had Trump on his podcast, and he got cheered. It wasn’t Trump, but who Hogan is that got him booed.

While Hogan had been advertised for the most recent Saturday Night’s Main Event, he was pulled from the show. He claims he did this to attend his son Nick’s wedding, but WWE clearly cut him from the show. This is part of the bigger issue. WWE has to come to terms that they can never truly distance themselves from Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, no matter how hard they try. They can’t rehab Hogan’s image, and they can’t remove McMahon’s influence.

This is just another reason that nostalgia in wrestling never works. It never has, and never will. Focus on the future, not the past.

Next week, more racing news, and my thoughts on the Clash

Sources cited:

Cook Out named sponsor for Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Out_(restaurant)

By David G Firestone

So I was originally going to discuss some racing news this week. However, a few things happened, independent each other, that prove something that I’ve been saying for some time. I’ve been a wrestling fan, and wrestling fans give wrestling fans a bad name. Well, as it turns out, football and baseball fans can also give their own fan bases a bad name.

We start with Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell. During the Wildcard match-up between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers, Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell took it upon himself t berate and curse out a female Packers fan. He called her some very nasty and vicious names, and made an ass out of himself. He didn’t realize that he was being filmed, and the footage went viral. Well, Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell is no longer a true Eagles fan, as he has been banned from all Eagles home games, and I suspect many other stadiums might ban him too.

Well, as these things go, it went from bad to worse. Since Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell worked for BCT Partners…a DEI-focused management consulting firm based in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Well, BCT Partners issued a statement via social media on January 14, 2025, which reads as follows:

“We, the management of BCT Partners, have concluded the internal personnel investigation regarding an employee who was caught on a video outside of the workplace making highly offensive and misogynistic statements. In keeping with our company values, which are firmly centered on respect, dignity, and inclusion, we have decided to part company with the employee. This separation is effective immediately.

We condemn our former employee’s conduct in the strongest possible terms. This individual’s conduct and language were vile, disgusting, unacceptable, and horrific and have no place in our workplace and society. Such conduct is not who we are and not what we stand for.

At the same time, again to be true to our values, we can condemn the actions without condemning the individual. None of us deserve to be remembered for actions taken on our worst day. We have offered grace and support to our former employee. We hope that he will grow and we all can learn from this deeply disturbing incident. That’s what real inclusion is and does. That is also who we are and what we stand for.

We sincerely apologize to the victim and for the many ways in which these events already have impacted so many people. We remain committed to gender equity and fostering a culture of respect and dignity for all.”

Ryan Caldwell has had his life ruined by his own actions. Rather than just come out and apologize for his actions, Caldwell had a different take on the situation. According to Caldwell himself:

“While attending an NFL game last Sunday to support my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, an incident occurred that I deeply regret. What began as banter with two Packers fans sitting near me escalated to something more serious, and I said things that were unacceptable. In the heat of the moment, I chose unforgiving words to address one of the fans, Ms. Ally Keller.

I want to sincerely apologize to Ms. Keller for those words, and to my wife, family, and friends, my former employer and colleagues, Packer fans, Eagle fans, the Philadelphia Eagles, the City of Philadelphia, and all who were offended. That said, there are two sides to every story. The video clip circulating online does not reflect the full context of what transpired, and my actions were not without provocation. I will live with this experience, and I am certainly paying a personal price. For those who don’t know me, this incident does not reflect my values or the respect I have for others and is not indicative of the person I am.”

Ryan Caldwell needs to learn the concept of “let them be the idiots.” Just because other people are acting like idiots doesn’t give you the right to act like one too. Be the bigger person and not respond. You gave the world the rope they needed to hang you with, and now you’ve lost the ability to go to Eagles games, as well as your occupation. Hope you like working at Target. By the way, do you know how shitty of an EAGLES FAN you have to be to be seen as the worst?

The second story took place during game four of the World Series in New York. As Mookie Betts tried to catch a foul ball, Yankee fans Austin Capobianco and John P. Hansen interfered with the catch. Well not only did they get ejected, but Major League Baseball took action. In a letter sent to the duo, the MLB was very clear about their stance on the situation.

“On Oct. 29, 2024, during Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, you interfered with play by intentionally and forcefully grabbing a player. Your conduct posed a serious risk to the health and safety of the player and went far over the line of acceptable fan behavior. Based on your conduct, Major League Baseball is banning you indefinitely from all MLB stadiums, offices, and other facilities. You are also hereby banned indefinitely from attending any events sponsored by or associated with MLB. Please be advised that if you are discovered at any MLB property or event, you will be removed from the premises and subject to arrest for trespass.”

It’s good to see that the teams and leagues are stepping up and kicking fans out of the fan base. These are not isolated incidents. Two fans were banned from MLB for running on to the field and made contact with Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuña Jr.. In Braymer, Missouri, the Braymer C-4 School has been banned from participating in high school basketball games because of bad fan behavior. I could go on, but the point is that bad fans need to be dealt with.

I’ve said this before, I’ll say it again, fan bases need to eat their own on a regular basis. Fan-bases need to identify the liabilities in their own groups, and expel them from the fandom. If they don’t, then the teams and leagues will, and they will NOT show mercy. The EAS scenario community is a community that will expel their own when needed, and they have not hesitated when needed.

I get being a fan, I get supporting your team, and I get having a good time in the stands. This does NOT justify abusive behavior in any capacity. This does not justify running on to the field, or court. This does NOT justify cursing out other fans. Go to the game, support your team, but behave yourself. As the fans I discussed found out, attending games is a privilege, not a right. Your bad behavior will come back to haunt you in this day in age.

Next week, back to racing news…hopefully.

Sources cited:

https://nypost.com/2025/01/14/sports/internet-sleuths-found-repulsive-eagles-fan-and-his-life-might-be-ruined/

https://www.delawareonline.com/story/sports/nfl/eagles/2025/01/15/philadelphia-eagles-fan-banned-verbally-abused-green-bay-packers-fan/77717513007/

https://nypost.com/2025/01/15/sports/eagles-fan-ryan-caldwell-breaks-silence-on-vile-video/

https://www.abcactionnews.com/sports/yankees-fans-who-interfered-with-mookie-betts-during-world-series-banned-from-all-mlb-games

https://apnews.com/article/braves-rockies-acuna-fan-0b9cf0752440a7f93429bae4341be025