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NASCAR is Off To Its Best Start in 20 Years | Coffee With Kenny · Kenny Wallace Media

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  Happy Monday morning to everybody sitting here by the
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  swimming pool. Can you hear the water running?
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  No, it's alright. Alright.
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  Uh, Monday morning after the incredible successful night that
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  NASCAR and everybody had, all of us at Bowman Gray, who could
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  have ever thought that it would have been that perfect last
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  night? Sunday night, Charlie Marlowe
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  and myself, we went on the Kenny Wallace YouTube show live and as
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  we were talking and communicating with the vans, we
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  realized it's been a long time. I, I, I, I deemed it the best
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  start for NASCAR in 20 years. And of course, here's why.
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  It was the best start for NASCAR in 20 years and here's why.
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  First of all, the playoffs, the NFL playoffs were last week and
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  and that was it. And we know that the Kansas City
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  Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, we know that's our Super
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  Bowl match up. So guess what was going on this
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  week? That's right, nothing.
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  NASCAR hits a home run with the date.
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  There was nothing going on. And Fox, Fox TV, they continue
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  to deliver. They are, they are the place
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  that, let's just face it, all the racers are there.
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  The broadcast was out of this world.
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  You got Kevin Harvick. Yeah.
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  You know, Clint Boyer. I really like that.
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  Jamie McMurray is an incredible addition to the broadcast.
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  He is well spoken. He's got it all together.
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  And then, of course, Mike Joy just knows what's up.
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  He, he's not a guy you got to teach anything about.
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  He just knows what's up, right? And they put this baby, they put
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  this Bowman Gray race right in prime time.
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  I mean, this race got over. It was over and it was like
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  what, 8840 in, in St. Louis, MO?
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  I don't always look at East Coast time, right?
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  But it, it was over like at 9:40.
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  It was over at 9:40 on a Sunday night.
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  The the Grammys went longer, let's put it that way.
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  The Grammys went longer and they're on their own little, you
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  know, they're on their own little island out there in LA.
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  The Grammys are. So as far as sports go, NASCAR
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  was number one for the whole darn, whole darn weekend.
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  One thing that was also a home run was the the Modifieds.
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  You, you, you tied the local crowd in, you know, and and
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  listen, I want to tell you right now, when I say things, you
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  know, I don't, I don't say them perfect and I say them like that
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  on purpose. So you can respond right here.
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  I said, now remember, there's only 5000 people in the
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  grandstands at Bowman Gray. Well, there's a handful of you
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  that were so excited to correct me.
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  And sometimes I do that stuff on purpose to let you all play and
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  see if you're paying attention. And right away, there were
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  several people. Herman Bowman Gray holds 17,000
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  people. I'm like, that's right.
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  So that was one of the smallest crowds in modern day history.
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  So NASCAR, this is a lesson in psychology, everybody.
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  Bowman Gray Sunday night, the Clash, the cookout clash, one of
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  the smallest modern day crowds in history at 17,000 people, and
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  it might as well been 100,000 people.
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  It it, it's just like a good restaurant.
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  You can't get in. Don't make, don't make more
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  restaurants. Just keep it small and make it
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  hard to get in. So that race, the date was
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  right, the venue was right and NASCAR got lucky.
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  Are you kidding me? 1st of February and they pulled
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  it off. Everybody was cold, but you know
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  what? There was no rain for all these
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  reasons. That's why I say the best start
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  in 20 years for NASCAR. All right, so the, the, the
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  modifieds, they do really good on, you know, Saturday, you tie
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  in the local crowd, the local crowds there, you know, hell of
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  a race there. Fleming wins, you know, they 2
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  locals going at it for the win. They had their natural, you
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  know, wrecks that Bowman grade, the football stadium, Bowman
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  Gray's a football stadium and they decide to race around.
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  NASCAR has not raced there since the 70s and one would have
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  thought, OK, back in the day, the cars didn't have any
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  horsepower. It was OK, the track was OK, But
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  then you know the sport, you're thinking the sport outgrew it.
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  So they left because we needed to put more than 17,000 people
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  in the grandstands so to make room for people to watch these
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  races. History repeats itself.
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  They go back and it it was just all feel good.
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  Now, another reason this was the best start to NASCAR history,
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  the seven time most popular driver won Chase Elliott.
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  We had a little debate last night and Charlie Mahler myself
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  you were talking about, I always say we don't have any superstars
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  in the sport except Denny Hamlin.
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  And I believe that because Denny just said, you know, Denny was
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  controversial again this week in a good way.
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  Danny Hamlin said, I don't believe.
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  I think it's a gimmick that NASCAR's having this provisional
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  for these world class drivers. There you go.
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  That was a good sound bite. Had everybody talking.
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  You hear what Denny Hamlin said. Denny Hamlin said it's a
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  gimmick. They shouldn't have any
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  provisional. Elio Castroneva shouldn't get a
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  provisional. He's a big boy.
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  This is the big sport now. I'll respond on that a little
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  later. I don't want to get sidetracked
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  here. We're talking about why this was
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  the best start for NASCAR in 20 years.
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  And I just picked 20 years because it could be 30 years.
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  It could be the best start for NASCAR in 30 years.
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  Respond right here. Chase Elliott wins and somebody
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  said, well, Kyle Larson's he he, he's a game changer.
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  He's our superstar. And I looked at him, I said,
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  listen, I like Kyle Larson more than you do.
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  And you know that Kyle Larson invited me out to the high limit
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  race and I was out there for Kyle Larson and Brad Sweets.
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  So I don't want to hear it. I'm good friends with Kyle
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  Larson. But if my friend Kyle Larson is
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  so famous, why doesn't he win a NASCAR most popular driver?
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  The bottom line is, is the fan base we got, they're still
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  living. Listen, Dale Earnhardt Junior,
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  his number 8 Budweiser souvenir trailer for his Late Model, his
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  souvenir trailer's on display at the NASCAR.
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  I mean, they're selling souvenirs for Dale Junior.
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  He's not even racing and everybody's still living through
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  awesome Bill from Dawsonville Whale.
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  The thing of it is, and on top of it, Chase Elliott delivers
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  and wins the race. So for once we all go back home
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  and it was a hell of a race. Of course, the last chance
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  qualifier went the way we thought it would go.
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  Desperation, dive bombing, wrecking each other, you know,
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  and, and it was really cool to see Kyle Larson come from mid
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  pack and win that race. But it was even cooler to see
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  Josh Berry, local hero for The Wood Brothers right up the road,
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  finish second in that last chance race and make the big
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  show. So do you see what I'm saying?
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  All the stars started aligning. The Wood Brothers, The Wood
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  Brothers, they ran Bowman Gray all the time.
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  They, they made the race. Their new driver, Josh Berry
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  made the race. All right, everybody, we'll keep
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  it right there. But today's coffee with Kenny is
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  just about why that race was so good.
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  There's a lot more to talk about.
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  There's a lot more to talk about it.
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  Should the race come back next year?
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  Should have we caught on to something?
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  Have we caught on to something? Does the Clash go around to all
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  local short tracks now? Is that even viable?
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  Can we, can we take the soft walls away from Roman Gray and
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  put them in Hickory? It costs millions and millions
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  of dollars to put soft walls up, and that's what the insurance
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  regulations call for. Now, if you're going to have a
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  Cup race, you got to have soft walls.
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  I don't think it's going to happen.
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  If it happens, I'll be shocked. But but to say take it to
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  Hickory next year, hold on. I mean, I know NASCAR's got all
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  the money in the world, but is it just that easy?
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  Because these soft walls, I'm going to say this, listen, these
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  soft walls at Bowman Gray, they were the same soft walls that
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  they used from the LA Coliseum. So they they saved millions of
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  dollars. I listen, I want to see it at
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  Hickory too. And then the next race, I want
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  to see Florence, SC, so on so forth.
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  Maybe like the SRX series, but it's February, so you got to
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  remember whether you cannot say, bring the class to Berlin
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  Speedway up here in Grand Rapids, MI simmer down February
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  in Michigan. So you got to think about a lot
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  of things. But I can tell you one thing,
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  NASCAR has had the best start in 20 years.
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  So we take a break. Let the Super Bowl go.
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  Now. Let's let let's let the Super
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  Bowl do their deal and then we come out with a Daytona 500 on
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  February 16th. Until then, I'm gonna grow my
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  dirt car tonight out of Lucia. So I'll see you all out of Lucia
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  night. Happy Monday, everybody.