If the entire racing season could be compared to a single race weekend, we’d be at that point when the haulers have backed into their assigned spots with uncanny precision (honestly, it’s an art).
This time next week, we’ll be talking about the pending Rolex 24 test weekend at Daytona, which precedes the next week’s Rolex 24, which precedes NASCAR’s Clash, then a one-week breather, followed by that familiar February-to-November whirlwind.
All of that to say we’re still at the time of year when you must hunt for substantive subject matter in order to go through this old-school four-speed gearbox each week.
ROLEX 24 TICKETS How much do they cost for 2025 IMSA race at Daytona? What are options?
First Gear: Who needs a cookout when you have Cook Out?
Whew. It was getting kinda awkward there for a while as NASCAR’s Clash stood naked before the racing world.
But the season-opening exhibition is once again cloaked in marketing garb and officially now known as the “Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium.”
Yes, it still answers to Clash.
Here’s the roll call of former corporatized names: Busch Clash, Bud Shootout, Budweiser Shootout, Sprint Unlimited, Advance Auto Parts Clash, Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
It’s quite an ongoing run for Cook Out, the burger-and-shake chain based out of North Carolina since 1989 (340 locations in 10 states, says the official literature).
Less than two months after the Clash, we get the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville, not to be confused with the Cook Out 400 later in the season at Richmond, which is just two weeks before the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington.
Cook Out has honed in on a Southeast U.S. strategy that has so far not gained a foothold in Florida, as if no one down here is ready for a drive-through that also offers hushpuppies, corn dogs and cheese curds.
Finally, not to quibble, but shouldn’t it be Cookout — one word? “Cook Out” sounds like you’re ordering us to do our own cooking, since you always cook out at a proper cookout.
Second Gear: NASCAR still highly favored by race viewers
Someone hunkered down and did the research, and while NASCAR, like every sports-entertainment venue not selling football, doesn’t get the TV numbers it did in the prior generation, it still dominates North American auto racing.
Of the 38 most-viewed races of 2024, 36 were NASCAR Cup Series events. The Daytona 500, as always, led the way, but its numbers were down (about 6 million viewers) due to rain pushing the race to Monday. The Indianapolis 500, as often happens, was second on the list, with about 5 million viewers.
Proving that fans will tune in to watch a high-wire act, the four combined races at Daytona and Talladega all made the top 14 viewed races. The numbers were posted on X by the popular account known as nascarman.
Oh, the other non-NASCAR race in that top 38? The F1 race from Miami, which was 16th.
Third Gear: Slow your roll, three-car teams
No more four-car teams!
Well, except for those we already have.
NASCAR has said, going forward, teams will be limited to a max of three charters. Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, longtime four-car teams, are grandfathered into the old standard and will continue as such.
A three-car team is still allowed to run a fourth car in any or all races, but it will be entered as a non-charter (“open”) car without a guaranteed starting spot if more than 40 cars show up.
Is this some sort of fallout from the ongoing lawsuit involving the Front Row and 23XI teams — both of which recently expanded from two to three cars?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Fourth Gear: One more run at Chicago
Are you a fan of the downtown Chicago street race?
The weather has stunk for the first two editions, but the backdrop is cool and it gave us a chance to meet (and keep) Shane van Gisbergen.
But if you’re a fan of that race, you better enjoy the 2025 version because it sounds like it’ll be the last.
“We’re just looking at 2025,” NASCAR’s COO, Steve O’Donnell, told the Sports Business Journal recently. He also added, “We’ll get through the event, see where things are … but concentrating on 2025 and making that event as successful as it can be.”
That’s not what you say if you’ve had positive talks with the locals about extending the relationship.
A departure from Chicago wouldn’t be the least bit surprising, given that the original deal was for three years and given the rumors of talks with other major cities — San Diego, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati have been tossed out as potential new street-race venues.
— Email Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR news: Clash now a Cook Out; TV numbers are in; Chicago will end
