(h/t to The Strokes, though they didn’t use a question mark)
1. No One Should Probably Ever Use the Word ‘Scripted’ When Talking About NASCAR
Do you know what was wild this weekend? Cody Rhodes finally finished the story, yes. But the NASCAR Cup Series had just as much of a feel-good moment for the fans at Martinsville Speedway as WWE did at WrestleMania, albeit one that wasn’t planned that way.
Hendrick Motorsports was celebrating 40 years in the sport, complete with nifty matching paint schemes and the whole deal. Then its drivers went out and flexed on the field, becoming the first organization to ever sweep the top three spots at Martinsville.
Coincidence? No, but not in the way the conspiracy theorists might think.
In case no one has been paying attention to the start of the Cup Series season, Hendrick has been the most dominant force so far. All four of its cars are in the top 10 in points, with three in the top six. Hendrick drivers have won half the races in 2024, with William Byron finding victory lane three times.
NASCAR doesn’t need to fix any races to have HMS smack the rest of the garage around. Yet it still makes one cringe when Jeff Gordon, Byron and even FOX Sports’ Clint Bowyer used the words “scripted” or “script” after the race.
I get what they were trying to convey. It’s hard to have arranged things any more perfectly than they turned out on such a big day for Hendrick. It was as if someone had written them that way.
It’s just not good to say it in those terms. People want to believe conspiracy theories more than ever before. It’s easy to find them on social media complaining about the NFL predetermining things, using things like the colors of the Super Bowl logo as evidence.
(No, really.)
The best way to stamp out that foolishness is just not to give observers any ammunition. Starting with not ever saying “scripted” in reference to a stock car race in any context is a good way to start.
2. A Tale of Two Chases
It’s not like Ford is out of the mud just yet. Roughly a third of the way through the regular season, there have been zero Ford Cup Series wins, and Ryan Blaney still feels like he’s battling the entire world by himself.
But Martinsville at least gave us a pulse for the Ford camp. Blaney was the highest Ford finisher in fifth, Quelle surprise, but teammate Joey Logano, who has had a 2024 to forget to this point, was right behind him. Even…
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