NASCAR on NBC analyst Kyle Petty on why he believes Las Vegas Motor Speedway marked the beginning of the “real” 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season; his trip to Daytona Bike Week; William Byron’s overtime victory over Kyle Larson in a 1-2-3 finish for Hendrick Motorsports at Las Vegas; Martin Truex Jr.’s gamble and why didn’t more drivers try it; Chase Elliott breaking his leg in a snowboarding accident; why KP believes Chase Elliott deserves a waiver; the optics of Elliott getting hurt the day before Cup cars are on track; more takeaways from Las Vegas; is Stewart-Haas Racing in big trouble?
KP’s general takeaways from Las Vegas and why it’s the “first” race of the 2023 season (1:30); KP’s trip to Bike Week! (3:30); why didn’t more cars stay out with Martin Truex Jr. on the final restart? (5:30); particularly those in the last half of the lead lap (7:30); William “Lord” Byron reigns again, but he’s been here before, too (9:30); initial reactions to Chase Elliott being sidelined with a broken left leg from a snowboarding accident (11:30); the reaction of NASCAR fans (13:30); the case for giving Elliott a medical waiver for the playoffs (14:45); why being injured might not be as large of a negative in the simulator era (16:15); does Kyle Busch’s championship comeback in 2015 from a broken leg bode well for Elliott (18:30); the optics of Elliott getting hurt the day before practicing and qualifying a Cup car at Las Vegas (20:00); the other layers of Hendrick drivers running dirt cars and what Rick Hendrick’s reaction to the Elliott accident might be (23:00); when The King broke his thumb before the Daytona 500 (25:00); why this controversy wouldn’t happen with other drivers (27:30); assessing where Cup teams rank through three races (29:00); in praise of Corey LaJoie (31:30); is it time for Stewart-Haas Racing to hit the panic button? (34:00); “Kevin Harvick can’t run the ball on every play; none of those other drivers help Kevin Harvick move the team forward” (36:00); a dissection of the driver dynamics on multicar teams (37:30).