NASCAR's DEI-Obsessed Commish Who Mocks Rednecks Is TOAST, Fans Should Prepare For The Worst & Tragic Audio

Well, this is it. Today is the DAY. Today's the day that NASCAR either further alienates its fragile fanbase, or starts to win you back. 

I say ‘you,’ by the way, because I didn't really mind the old playoff format. Sure, it had its flaws, but I wasn't losing sleep over it. You were, and NASCAR today will unveil the NEW format for this season (and beyond). 

READ: NASCAR Whitewashes Commish Steve Phelps As ‘Social Justice’ Hero Despite Resigning in Disgrace

Will it be the new-old format? Will it look like ‘The Chase’ of yesteryear? Will it focus more on points, and less on wins? Or – and this one is the one I'm rooting for – will NASCAR double down on their position and make winning even MORE important?! Will we get even MORE chaos? 

No. They won't do that. But I'd LOVE to see that fallout if they did. 

The announcement comes sometime this afternoon. And then, all eyes turn to Daytona. There's an automobile race there in 34 days, you know. 

That's right. Thirty-four days! And that's not even counting the Clash. That's in 20 days. Twenty!!! Pull those belts tight ONE MORE TIME, as Larry Mac would say. We're almost there. 

To be honest, we don't have much else today. It's gonna be mostly playoff talk. Sadly, we do have some new Greg Biffle audio to get to. I don't love revisiting that story, but news is news, and this is news. The 9-1-1 calls are out, and they're predictably chaotic. 

Oh yeah! Since we last spoke, Steve Phelps resigned!!!! Well, sort of. He announced that this would be his final month as NASCAR's commissioner before "stepping away." OK. Sure thing, Steve. 

When I inevitably say something a step too far here at OutKick and write the "I'm stepping away from MMPS after this month" story, please know that it means I was fired and they're letting me go out with some dignity. 

We'll get to it. Bye-bye, Steve!

Four tires, just a splash of fuel to get us the rest of the way through the offseason, and a ‘don't let the door his you on the way out!' for Steve Phelps … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘NASCAR Is Going To Screw This Up, Aren’t They?' edition – is LIVE!

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. offers a tease 

So, like I said, we're gonna talk about the new format a lot today. And by that, I mean we're going to start with it because it's pretty much all that's going on in NASCAR on Jan. 12, and then hope I vamp long enough to get to the part of class where we show the hot wives and girlfriends. 

Sound good? Good!

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. joined my good buddies over at Fox & Friends and spilled the beans (not really) on what a new format will probably look like. 

No, Ricky doesn't know for sure. Yes, Ricky kinda-sorta knows. You think drivers are just now finding out about this? Doubt it. They've been kept in the loop. 

"I assume there's gonna be more points-incentive type racing," Trump-loving Ricky said. "Obviously, you still want to win races and put yourself in the best possible position to be in the playoff ... Come Monday I'll probably have a little bit better idea of exactly what the format's gonna be."

That's the prevailing notion, right? It's what I've said since last fall while you were all bitching and moaning about the playoffs EVERY SINGLE WEEK. 

NASCAR will most likely go back to some version of the old ‘Chase’ format, where winning still very much mattered, but it wasn't the absolute focus. The old chase focused on points rather than wins. Obviously, the more you won, the better your points position was going to be, but you didn't need to win. 

I would also assume – well, I would hope – that NASCAR does away with the single-race championship. That's my biggest issue with the whole thing. By and large, the ‘win-and-in’ format usually worked itself out in the end. The drivers who were supposed to be in the championship race … were usually in the championship race. 

But then they just had one race to decide a 36-race season? That seemed silly. I'd like NASCAR to make the final round a three-race championship. I don't know if that happens. I doubt it. We'll see. 

Steve Phelps is OUT, Greg Biffle audio & Georgia in Hawaii!

Industry executives are predicting a simplified system that shifts closer toward racing norms but without going all the way back to the sport’s old-school points formula.

Sounds like NASCAR is going with the half-measure approach here. Not going all the way in, but dangling (hey now!). Normally, I hate that approach. But in this case, I think NASCAR would be wise to do it. 

But, again, I'm not someone who lost sleep over Joey Logano winning a championship two seasons ago. A lot of you did, which is why we're here. We'll see. 

OK, couple quickies on the way out, because we're up to nearly 1,000 words and it's Jan. 12. 

Steve Phelps is OUT. Two months after text messages leaked showing he called Richard Childress a "stupid redneck" who needed to be taken out back and "flogged," NASCAR's commissioner is DONEZO. 

Weird how that works, right? Calling Dale Earnhardt's old boss a "stupid redneck" didn't fly in the garage? Didn't see that one coming! 

Yeah, I mean, good riddance. This guy was OBSESSED with DEI crap, and not the good kind. In fact, he was so enamored with being as diverse and inclusive as humanely possible, the press release about his "stepping away" highlighted just how inclusive he was! 

#SocialJusticeWARRIOR!

Phelps, who joined NASCAR in 2005, will transition out of the company by the end of the month leaving a legacy of leadership and a strategic vision that delivered significant growth and lasting innovation, championed equity and social justice initiatives, and created industry-wide opportunities for all stakeholders.

Among his most important priorities has been welcoming all fans into NASCAR.

Yeah, he was all about social justice. He loved everyone, even the "stupid redneck" car owner and fans! Get outta here with that nonsense, NASCAR. Don't slap lipstick on a pig. Don't insult us. I know we're just stupid rednecks, but we ain't stupid!

Next? Like I said, I don't want to do it, but I have to go ahead and share the newly-released audio of frantic 9-1-1 calls that came in mere seconds after Greg Biffle's plane crashed in North Carolina last month. 

Listen if you want. They're all depressing. 

Not great. Not fun. Not how I want to end a day/start a week by any stretch of the imagination. 

So, we're going to quickly pivot and end it with Sam Busch working out, and Georgia Kryssing in Hawaii. Because that's what patriots do. 

Take us home, girls. And Larry!