NASCAR Driver With Violent History Gets Handsy Again, Driver Nearly Impaled & Race Wife's 6-Pack/Bikini Combo

While most of America was gearing up for Lions-Chiefs, us GRINDERS were watching Denny Hamlin beat our favorite drivers. 

A 5:30 race on a Sunday in the fall? My God. That one was for the sickos yesterday. I actually went to look for the race during the 1 p.m. slate of games, mainly because I couldn't take the Dolphins anymore. What a miserable, rotten franchise. Gross. 

Anyway, I flipped on over to the USA Network looking for a NASCAR cleanse, and instead got yet another Law & Order rerun. This one was in the SVU universe, for those who give a shit. Go figure. ‘Weird,’ I thought. But hey! Maybe it was actually on network TV! Maybe NASCAR put the race on NBC, which would make sense given it's the PLAYOFFS. 

Nope. Of course not. Don't be silly. The 2025 World Aquatics Swimming World Cup was on instead. Makes sense, given we're a swimming nation, NOT a NASCAR nation. I get it. Smart. You know what they say? America was built on … swimming. 

Finally, I wised up and just Googled the damn start time, only to see it was … 5:30? On a Sunday? In the fall? 

I mean, what are we doing here? The NASCAR schedule – from locations, to networks, to start times – will never cease to amaze me. It's truly impressive how dumb it is. 

All that being said … let's talk about yesterday's great race!

Denny Hamlin won for the 60th time in his career, and got surprisingly emotional about becoming the 10th winningest driver of all time. What am I missing there? It's 60, not 160. There's more at play here. You'll see. 

What else? We had a DOOZY of a scuffle down in the Busch Series on Saturday, William Byron nearly impaled a driver, Sam Busch worked in a lift, and NASCAR is firing up the horses next season. Thank God. 

Four tires, enough fuel to get us to God's Country ('Dega), and maybe some witness protection for Jesse Love (you'll see) …. Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘Denny Gets Dicey In Vegas’ edition – is LIVE!

Denny wins 60, punches his ticket

Vegas was a solid race, right? Usually is, to be fair, so I wasn't stunned. These Next Gen pieces of (woke) trash cars STINK in most places, but they're usually nails at 1.5-mile tracks. 

Chase Briscoe rolled the dice with two tires, held off Denny and Larson best he could, but eventually succumbed. Good racin' at the end. Decent drama. No arguments from me. 

For those who haven't been following Denny Hamlin on NASCAR's all-time wins list – and that's most of you – this was his 60th win. It sent him to his first championship race since 2021, which seems weird, but whatever. 

Anyway, it was all ham & eggs after the race. Everyone was in a great mood, especially Denny, who … cried? 

Did NOT see this coming:

William Bryon had a fun day

So, a couple things … 

1. We never see Denny get emotional. Ever, ever, ever. It caught me off guard. He couldn't possibly be THAT emotional about winning his 60th career race, right?

2. Right. His dad, 75-year-old Dennis, has been sick for some time now. We don't know what's going on, but Denny's mentioned it a few times this season. It's sad. 

3. Wild to hear Denny talk about a ‘championship window’ at age 44. You don't get a window like that in other sports. 44!

4. Six wins this year is the most for Denny since 2020. If it doesn't happen this year, I don't know that it will. Of course, we've said that 47 times about Denny Hamlin, and he always finds a way back to the finale. We'll see. 

5. Moving on …

… to someone whose championship window this year is in BIG TROUBLE after yesterday – William Byron. 

Head on a SWIVEL, Billy!

Busch Boys, Sam Busch & fire them horses UP!

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaa Nellie! What a HIT! You don't see that every day. The Chevys were dominant for most of yesterday, but this was an absolute killer for poor William Byron. 

And by that, I mean he went from firmly in Phoenix, to almost needing to win at either 'Dega or Martinsville:

Barring wrecking each of the next two weeks, it looks like Kyle Larson will be in. Everyone else? Strap in. Well, except poor Ryan Blaney. He has to win now, which, frankly, isn't a bad thing given he dominates Talladega. 

The Penske Fords are going to be the ones to watch this week at Talladega. Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney probably have to win to get in. This is the type of race and track they've owned in this stupid new car. Logano, in particular, will almost undoubtedly wreck people to win. Can't wait. 

And hey! It's BACK on NBC! And at 2 p.m. Watch what happens to the ratings, NASCAR. Take notes. 

OK, couple quickies on the way to Alabama. First up? On the way, let's make a quick stop down in the Xfinity Series to check in on the youngins!

Don't do it, Jesse! Trust me. Run for the HILLS. Nick Sanchez is an absolute LUNATIC, buddy. For those who don't really know Nick, but his name is familiar … he's made one appearance in this class before, and it was an all-timer back in 2023:

I'm gonna f--king kill you at Homestead! You f--ked with the wrong guy, motherf--ker!

Yes! Nearly two years to the DAY that Nick Sanchez and Matt Crafton nearly murdered each other at 'Dega, Jesse Love is poking the bear again. Careful, Jesse. Tread lightly. 

Before we end the day with Sam, let's give NASCAR a round of applause for doing SOMETHING about these shitty cars. 

Kudos to everyone!

Good start. Still some tweaking to do, certainly, but a good start. Leave the mile-and-a-halfs alone, and go to work on everything else. Make Stock Cars Fast Again! MSCFA! Doesn't quite roll off the tongue, but whatever. 

Kyle Larson, thoughts on the big news?

Okeedokee! Good to know. Thanks. 

OK, that's it for today – and this week. Good work, everyone. Good race. Good start to the Round of 8. We've got three races left this season. 

Let's roll. 

Take us home, Sam. Not the sixer I have at my house, but I'll take it!