In Trying To Generate Playoff Drama, NASCAR ‘Rigged’ Its Championship
NASCAR has dramatically altered its product in the hopes of retaining fan interest, but it has to live with the consequences of the changes it has wrought.NASCAR has dramatically altered its product in the hopes of retaining fan interest, but it has to live with the consequences of the changes it has wrought.Michael Jordan sues NASCAR but is dealt major legal blow just 2 days before his driver competes in Cup Series championship
Michael Jordan's racing team was dealt a painful blow by a United States district judge who denied his team's request for an injunction just before the culmination of the 2024 NASCAR season.
Jordan, who co-owns 23XI Racing with three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, was joined by Front Row Motorsports in a suit against NASCAR and its chairman. The lawsuit claimed NASCAR gave all Cup Series teams a last-minute offer in September; but both teams refused to sign the offer on antitrust grounds.
Judge Whitney summarized much of the claims by the racing teams as being speculative and not definitive.
As reported by the New York Post, the racing team owners claimed NASCAR's charter system limits competition by binding teams to the series, its tracks, and suppliers in an unfair manner.
The lawsuit said Chairman Jim France and NASCAR are "monopolistic bullies."
The teams wanted the court to grant an injunction that would release them from a clause in the NASCAR charter that prevents them from suing its sanctioning body. However, U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney ruled mid-day Friday that the two racing teams did not meet the burden required to be granted the injunction.
The injunction would have allowed the teams to compete as usual (as chartered teams) while still suing NASCAR. Instead, they may now have to compete as "open" teams, which does not guarantee them a spot in NASCAR races and limits their revenue. This could cause drivers and sponsors to leave the teams because they are not privy to those guarantees.
As reported by NBC Sports, the judge decided that the plaintiffs did prove they would suffer "irreparable harm if the injunction is not granted."
Judge Whitney summarized much of the claims by the racing teams as being speculative and not definitive.
"Although Plaintiffs have alleged that they will face a risk of irreparable harm, they have not sufficiently alleged present, immediate, urgent irreparable harm, but rather only speculative, possible harm," the judge wrote.
The judge also noted that the teams "alleged a possibility" that they will lose sponsorship agreements, citing that this wording is "too speculative."
The judge further wrote that the teams only "allege that their drivers may leave if Plaintiffs compete as open teams."
"Presently, this harm is too speculative to merit a preliminary injunction."
The judge went on, "Plaintiffs have not alleged that their business cannot survive without a preliminary injunction. Instead, they allege that their businesses may not survive without a preliminary injunction."
The ruling went on similarly about "potential" losses and future business losses being "merely speculative."
"As such, this speculative harm does not warrant the extraordinary relief of a preliminary injunction," he concluded.
The ruling comes just two days before the NASCAR Cup Series Championship in Phoenix on Sunday.
Four drivers are headed into the final race in a tie for first place in the Cup Series standings; one of whom is the No. 45 car driven by Tyler Reddick for Jordan's 23XI team.
23XI's other driver, No. 23 Bubba Wallace, is in 18th place. Both drive Toyotas.
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Actor Frankie Muniz leaves 'miserable' Hollywood for good, will race in NASCAR full-time
Actor Frankie Muniz announced he's putting his acting career on hold indefinitely as he prepares to race full-time starting in 2025.
After 20 years of racing, the former "Malcolm in the Middle" star is making a huge leap forward as he's set to become a full-time driver in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Reaume Brothers Racing.
'I can't be part-time, you can't act on the side.'
In an interview with Fox News, Muniz called his new gig "a dream come true."
"It's something that I've always wanted to do, and the fact that I actually get to announce that I'm doing it full-time next year, I'm thrilled," he said.
Muniz continued, "Making the leap up to the Truck Series is a whole other level."
When asked if he was ready to give up acting to be a full-time driver, Muniz said he has been working toward being a professional driver for decades.
"I wouldn't say it was a hard decision. This is something I've been working for for literally 20 years," he told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade.
Muniz gave a candid interview in April during which he expressed similar sentiments about leaving Hollywood, explaining his disconnect with the acting world.
"I never felt like I fully fit in the Hollywood world, even though I was in the world," he recalled. "I was nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes, and I was going to all this stuff, and I was there, and I was like, 'How am I here?'"
Muniz added, "I hated L.A., so I kind of stayed in my own little world, my own little bubble. And moving to Arizona, I did it on a whim, and I realized immediately that I started looking up. I started enjoying looking at trees and birds in the sky. Going to the grocery store was a fun thing. You don’t get that in L.A. It’s a miserable experience."
Muniz added that he wanted to keep his children out of Hollywood. Despite saying he had a positive experience, he noted that he knew a number of people who had "insanely negative" experiences.
For racing, Muniz said he has been chasing the "incredible feeling" of coming in first, and that comes with training and competing just as hard as the other drivers — not acting.
"I can't be part-time, you can't act on the side," he reiterated.
Muniz already has made two starts with Reaume Brothers Racing in 2024, first at the Rackley Roofing 200 in Nashville on June 28 and then the Kubota Tractor 200 in Kansas City, Kansas, on Sept. 27. He finished 31st out of 36 drivers in Nashville and 29th out of 34 in Kansas City, Kansas.
According to NASCAR, the 38-year-old hopes to continue "building chemistry with the team and developing his notebook for the upcoming year."
Muniz will drive the No. 33 Ford next season.
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Joe Rogan triggers woke outrage after he visits US Grand Prix garage
Joe Rogan was invited into a McLaren team garage before the 2024 United States Grand Prix race Sunday in Austin, Texas — and woke Formula 1 fans accused McLaren of supporting a "conspiracy theorist" who spreads "misinformation."
The podcasting legend and UFC commentator — who attended the event with his wife, Jessica Ditzel — appeared in one of McLaren's social media videos.
'Let's see how much misinformation he can spread in 30 seconds.'
"Welcome to the McLaren garage, Joe Rogan," the racing team wrote on Instagram.
A known car enthusiast, Rogan seemed ecstatic as he smiled ear to ear while speaking to the camera: "Hi, I'm Joe Rogan, and I'm here in Austin at the Formula 1 race in the McLaren garage. Pretty amazing."
He added, "We're very excited to be here. Super psyched for Formula 1. Let's go!"
Of course, Rogan's very existence was enough to trigger leftist race fans, who quickly jumped into the comments to criticize his appearance.
"Why on earth are you supporting a conspiracy theorist fascist supporting blowhard?" one viewer wrote.
"Wtf, might as well invite Alex Jones," another said.
Several users claimed that hosting Rogan was an endorsement of "misinformation," likely due to his frequent discussions focusing on politics and controversial topics such as the COVID-19 vaccine.
"Let's see how much misinformation he can spread in 30 seconds," a social media user wrote.
"First Trump and now this?! McLaren is a shoe-in for the misinformation championship. Unfollowed," another replied.
The latter comment presumably refers to former President Donald Trump making an appearance at Formula 1's Miami Grand Prix in May.
At the time, controversy swirled after Miami Grand Prix officials reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to a Trump supporter. The race fan reportedly wanted to sell tickets to his suite at the event for $250,000 and put the proceeds toward Trump's presidential campaign.
In 2023, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton sparked headlines when he criticized Florida during the Miami Grand Prix over "anti-LGBTQ measures."
"I stand by those within the community here," Hamilton said. "I hope they continue to stand firm and push back. I'll have the rainbow on my helmet. It's no different to when we were in Saudi [Arabia]."
On Sunday, McLaren cars driven by Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri finished fourth and fifth, respectively. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished one-two while Red Bull Racing Honda's Max Verstappen rounded off the podium in third.
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NASCAR introduces electric vehicle as part of commitment to 'decarbonization' and 'sustainable' operations by 2035
NASCAR revealed an electric vehicle prototype at a Chicago event and spoke about its plans to "decarbonize" operations.
The racing organization showed off its new EV at the Chicago Street Race and published materials riddled with activist jargon regarding sustainability goals that have been heard ad nauseum from large corporations.
Touting a mission to strengthen its communities by advancing sustainability, NASCAR partnered with Swedish-Swiss electrical equipment manufacturer ABB.
'We actually have the opportunity to evaluate not just the battery electric part, but then also the crossover vehicle part.'
The beloved American stock car league's commitments to electrification echo those of the most basic plans put forth by limitless jurisdictions and manufacturers, stating that it would decarbonize its facilities and reach a net-zero carbon footprint in its core operations by 2035.
Simply put, while NASCAR said it will still use combustion engines in its cars, it would like to be able to tell people that its nonracing operations are sustainable.
"The combustion engine is our core product, and that will remain so for the coming future," Riley Nelson, NASCAR's head of sustainability, told CNN.
NASCAR hopes to have 100% renewable electricity at its racetracks and facilities by 2028 and also to have on-site electric vehicle charging stations. The partnership with ABB will supply the infrastructure needed at operational sites.
The EV itself, the ABB NASCAR EV Prototype, debuted in 2022 and was an attempt to make race cars look more similar to cars on the street, NASCAR said in a press release.
The car has three electric motors (one front, two rear) and regenerative braking. The braking is when an electric vehicle slows its speed to revert surplus energy back to the battery to allow for a longer driving time. This can be an irritating feature of a commercial electric vehicle, as certain driving modes will automatically put the brakes on the EV when it is at very low speeds, such as in a car wash.
"The pilot programs that we've implemented within operations of our core business, and then also the events, has been going really well," NASCAR's Nelson continued. She added the company is "still in the early stages of this journey."
NASCAR’s senior vice president of racing development, John Probst, told CNN that some fans will reject the very idea of electric racing and said that the gas cars are in no immediate danger of extinction. But like Nelson, Probst did not say they will never be eliminated.
The company reportedly has plans to change its fuel to become more sustainable in the future as well, despite currently using 85% gasoline and 15% ethanol.
"We actually have the opportunity to evaluate not just the battery electric part, but then also the crossover vehicle part," Probst said. "So it may be that one or both of these will become something in the future for us."
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Liberty Media’s Blockade Of Mario Andretti Is An Affront To American Racing
Greg Maffei and Liberty Media need to end this selfish boycott against their own country and protect the integrity of motorsport. Let America race.Kyle Larson’s Memorial Weekend ‘Double’ Attempt Is A Tribute To Old School Racers
In his competitive desire, Larson resembles the racers of yesteryear, who would go anywhere to get their racing fix.'People are angry': Tim Pool sponsors stock car in NASCAR feeder league
Journalist and podcaster Tim Pool has sponsored the car of professional driver Cody Dennison, with the driver revealing that he's faced backlash over the deal from a few "tribal" voices.
Pool announced on X that he "did a thing," that being sponsoring driver Dennison ahead of an upcoming race, the Tide 150 at the Kansas Speedway. The race is in the ARCA Menards Series, which is one of the feeder leagues into the NASCAR racing system, for which there are three leagues in the ladder.
"The whole reason we're gonna be able to race all year is I met with Tim PooI ... and we talked about it, and he was super interested in just doing the whole year [of sponsorship]," Dennison said in an interview with Chrissie Mayr.
Dennison explained that the conversation about the sponsorship came up while he and Pool were playing a game of billiards.
"He was really interested," Dennison recalled. The driver said that Pool asked, "What does it feel like to go fast?" about the G-force at play, and, "What do you have to do when you have to p***?"
The conversation continued, and when Dennison noted that he'd been looking for a sponsorship, Pool cut him off and asked about the pricing.
"I just told him the rough estimate, and he was like, 'Yeah I'll do that, 100% let's do it.'"
Dennison also explained that some people in his life were angry to learn about the sponsorship.
"The people that are angry about this are always angry because they're tribal. So, they have sides of whatever conflict they think they're on, but they always end up on the side of people that are entirely self- serving, and they don't do stuff like this," he added.
WEEWWW BOI. We are looking SHARP for Kansas. Can't wait to take this thing to 185 mph. Saturday on FS1!! Thanks so much to @Timcast— (@)
Dennison has been in the public eye for some time as a YouTuber since 2013 and was eventually widely publicized in 2019 after his story about being fired from a GameStop went viral. Dennison spoke about the alleged mistreatment of employees and the company's dwindling stock prices at the time.
In a statement to the Post Millennial regarding why he chose to sponsor Dennison, Pool stated that "Cody is a friend" and that he "wanted to support his efforts and thought it would be a cool thing to do."
The Tide 150 takes place on May 4, 2024, at the Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas.
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Elon Musk pits brand-new Cybertruck against Porsche 911 in a drag race, giving it an unusual handicap
Tesla kicked off the first deliveries of its retrofuturistic Cybertruck this week with an event showcasing the vehicle's capabilities and distinguishing features.
The crowd of shareholders gathered for the milestone at the Tesla Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, appeared happy to see that a ball — this time a baseball rather than a metal ball — was no longer able to shatter the vehicle's so-called "shatter-resistant Armor Glass" windows and that certain calibers of bullets were apparently unable to penetrate its trapezoidal-styled chassis. However, they went especially wild upon seeing how a handicapped Cybertruck was able to perform against a brand-new Porsche 911.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who also made a stir Wednesday telling off the head of Disney and those who "care about looking good while doing evil," ran shareholders through various videos documenting the Cybertruck's alleged strength and power, stating at the outset, "You have a car here that experts said would never be made. ... I think it's our best product. Finally, the future will look like the future."
Musk ran tape of crash tests, noting that "because the center of gravity is so low, it doesn't roll over. And if you're ever in an argument with another car, you will win."
Footage showed the Cybertruck take a vehicular beating but more or less hold its ground. According to Musk, the company retained the vehicle's stainless steel body for production and its "exoskeleton" affords the Cybertruck more torsional stiffness than a McLaren P1.
The Tesla CEO stayed on the combative theme, detailing how an argument expressed in bullets might also go in the Cybertruck's favor.
Feat of Strength 1: Shots fired— (@)
Musk claimed that the truck's doors are bulletproof to .45 caliber and 9 millimeter rounds. Referencing impromptu tests conducted by comedian Joe Rogan, the South African billionaire indicated the Cybertruck's doors also appear resistant to 525 grain steel broadhead arrows fired at roughly 275 feet per second. Accordingly, an argumentative Cybertruck driver might have little to fear from attackers firing arrows and bullets at his waist and baseballs at his head.
After detailing the truck's 11,000-pound towing capacity and 2,500-pound max payload, Musk ran footage revealing how the Cybertruck stacks up against a Porsche 911 in a drag race.
While the crowd celebrated the alleged result — 1/4 mile in under 11 seconds, reaching 60 mph in 2.6 seconds — the circumstances under which the Cybertruck achieved the result are what generated the greatest excitement.
The Cybertruck not only beat the Porsche 911 in the demonstration; it did so while towing a Porsche 911.
— (@)
Musk laughed gleefully along with the crowd following the playback of the drag race.
"It can tow a Porsche 911 across a quarter-mile faster than the Porsche 911 can go by itself," Musk said. "Tougher than bullets. Tow pretty much anything. Faster than a 911 while towing a 911."
The humorous concept of having a Tesla vehicle compete against a high-end sports car while towing that same sports car appears to have been recycled from previous efforts. Motor Trend raced a Ludicrous Mode-equipped Tesla Model X towing an Alfa Romeo 4C against an Alfa Romeo 4C in 2016.
According to Tesla, the Cybertruck seats five adults; has a 6' by 4' composite bed that doesn't require a liner; has 67 cubic feet of lockable storage; and is 223.7" long and 70.5" high.
The Cybertruck also has 120 volt and 240 volt outlets in the bed to operate tools and allegedly could provide up to 11.5 kilowatts of power to electrify a homestead.
Car and Driver noted there are three trims: rear-wheel drive, all-wheel drive, and "Cyberbeast." The RWD model has an alleged top speed of 112 mph, a range of 250 miles, and the ability to tow 7,500 lbs. The AWD model is said to have a range of 340 miles or over 470 miles with "range extender" battery and a curb weight of 6,603 pounds.
The RWD model reportedly starts at $60,990, the AWD model at $79,990, and the Cyberbeast at just under $100,000.
— (@)
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