NASCAR Fans Furious With Tone-Deaf Commercial, Death And Pain Suffocate The Sport & Hooters Gianna Swims!

Well, this is it. Our final water cooler talk of 2025. Our last Monday Morning chat. Time to air out the last of our grievances for this year, before we turn the page … just to air out some more!

Smoke ‘em if you got ’em. Put up or shut up. Shit or get off the pot. Last call for all 2025 NASCAR complaints! Three days until we ring in the new year. More importantly, less than 50 (!!!) days until we drop the green flag in Daytona.

That's right. Crazy. The shortest offseason in all sports is chugging right along at its usual pace. And hey! Still no word on if we're getting a new playoff format this season. Tick tock, Steve Phelps. 

We'll get to it. Sort of. 

It's our final class of 2025. We're gonna look back at some of the top NASCAR stories from the year, briefly look ahead at what's to come, and maybe mix in a few newsy items along the way. 

Like – oh, I don't know – NASCAR pumping out an awful Daytona 500 commercial this week? That seems right down our alley, doesn't it? 

You'll see!

Four tires, enough fuel to get us through whatever "work week" you see this being, and maybe a new marketing team in the big glass building across from the Speedway … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘Really, This Was Your Best Effort?’ edition – is LIVE!

NASCAR year defined by death, pain, and anger

Look, I don't want to sit here and be a Negative Nancy on what is always one of the best weeks of every year, but I have no choice. 

And yes, the week between Christmas and the New Year is ALWAYS an underrated week. Nobody works. For those who do work, you're not giving it your best shot this week. It's OK. You can tell me. I don't, either. I'm working today purely for this column, and then I'm off again until Wednesday. 

Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah! Taking a dump on NASCAR's showing this year. Sorry, but I have no choice. It just wasn't a great year. When folks look back at the 2025 NASCAR season, they will remember three things:

- Being pissed about the playoff format. 

- Denny Hamlin. 

- Greg Biffle. 

That's it. That's what we're going to remember. Let's start with the anger … mainly from fans:

Denny Hamlin had a big year!

Look, I could go on and on. Trust me. There ain't exactly a shortage of pissed-off tweets from fans who want the playoffs punted to the moon. 

I've never been super angry about them. I don't love the format, but I don't hate it. Frankly, I've thought y'all have acted kinda weird about it this year. 

Like, we've had this format for a DECADE, and all of a sudden this year everyone hates it? I guess Joey Logano sort of started it last year, but still … it was just an odd thing to watch from afar. 

I don't want a full season format back. And that, by the way, won't happen. No shot. Anyone holding out hope for that will be disappointed here in the near future. 

I think a couple tweaks would go a long way. Mainly, abolishing the win-and-in format. Have rounds and elimination races all you want, but have drivers advance based on points, not on if they win/who wins. Forget that. 

Also, make the final round three races, not one. 

There. Fixed it! Happy now? 

Next? Denny Hamlin. Our lasting image of this season will be Denny crying in his car. And also, Steve Phelps shitting on him – and Richard Childress – in his smug group chat with the rest of the insufferable wokes who run NASCAR. 

Finally, the Biffle tragedy 

"Childress needs to be taken out back and flogged. He's a stupid redneck who owes his entire fortune to NASCAR."

Still my favorite quote of the NASCAR season. Maybe my favorite quote in NASCAR history. Incredible stuff. For those who still don't know what the term "flogged" means and need a refresher, it means to take someone out back and beat the piss out of them, usually with a stick or a whip. 

A stick or a whip! NASCAR's commish, everyone. I'm so glad he lost the court battle to Denny and Michael Jordan. God, it makes me giddy. 

Finally – and, unfortunately, most recently – we had the Greg Biffle plane crash. We don't need to rehash this one too much, given it happened just two weeks ago. There are no real updates at this time, which isn't surprising given the NTSB takes forever to form a report. 

The plane crash that killed Biffle, his wife, and their two kids, is easily the most tragic thing to happen in NASCAR in two decades, and I would hope the sport remembers that as we enter the new season. Can we at least get everyone to hold up 16 fingers on Lap 16 at Daytona like they did with Earnhardt a few years back? 

We'll workshop it. 

This Daytona 500 commercial wasn't the best

So, Biffle, Hamlin, and fans being absolutely DONE with the playoff format. I'd say those are the three things folks will remember about the 2025 NASCAR season. A sort of lump in the court battle with Hamlin, given it was his team on the stand. 

Did I get it right? Miss anything obvious? Lemme know! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com. 

Let's briefly turn the page to 2026 now before we check back out for the week …

Who's ready for Daytona?!

I was confused about the Zane Smith cameo. Nothing against Zane Smith – and McCall Gaulding, of course – but what was the thought process on that one? No Chase Elliott? Blaney? Bubba (be mad, but folks know him)? Logano? LARSON? Kyle Busch? 

I mean, what are we doing here? It would be like the NFL running an ad for the Super Bowl, and using Geno Smith to promote it. Weird. 

The good news? As bad as that ad was/is, it does mean we're getting close to Daytona. And if that doesn't fire you up to end the year strong, I don't know what will. 

Have a great week, folks. Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays. Happy New Year. Happy Almost Daytona 500 Time. 

And, of course, happy to end the year with Hooters Gianna, who I suspect will make a MAJOR comeback in 2026.