This week we return to Earnhardt Country... Talladega. Since its first race in 1969 Talladega has been filled with memorable crashes, speeds, finishes, and images its crazy past is what brings us back every time. These are my Top 5 Talladega moments, and a few honorable mentions. Honorable Mention - 1987 Winston 500 A race weekend that changed NASCAR and Talladega forever. This was the race where Bill Elliott qualified with an average speed of 212.809 MPH, and had the "World's Fastest Race Car." - 2013 Aaron's 499 The ICONIC Front Row Motorsports 1-2 finish. Talladega is home to the underdogs, and the 2013 Aaron's 499 was no different. A relatively new and underfunded team lead by David Ragan, and David Gilliland the two locked up and had an immaculate drive to the lead. This was an organization altering moment, and this finish perfectly encapsulates the underdog potential at Talladega. THE LIST 5. 2009 Aaron's 499 "Brad Keselowski has won this race," a truly unforgettable moment where Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards are racing to the finish. The two pulled ahead of the field coming into the trioval, and Edwards was trying to block Keselowski. Keselowski however; got his nose just underneath Edwards and it sent his car flying into the fence. Keselowski went on to win, but after the wreck Carl Edwards finished the race on foot to the cheers of thousands of fans. 4. 2003 Aaron's 499 This race is notable for two things primarily, and the first was the largest crash in Cup Series history. The crash was on lap 4 as Ryan Newman blew a tire, and involved 27 cars in total. The other, and honestly significantly more memorable is Dale Earnhardt Jr. setting a new record of winning 4 races in a row at Talladega. In a track that his dad dominated Jr. earned his own place in the record book, 3. 1985 Winston 500 Awesome Bill from Dawsonville rallied from two laps down to win the race. Rallying from two laps down to win is impressive, but what's even crazier is that he did all under green flag conditions. He had a car that was so dominant he was legitimately drove through the field three times. Awesome Bill truly was in a league of his own in 1985, and it shows here. 2. 2000 Winston 500 Dale Earnhardt's final win...enough said. Actually this race included Kenny Wallace and Dale Earnhardt sorting through the field going from 18th to 1st in four laps. An unforgettable run when Earnhardt pulled out in front of the field with the crowd screaming. We didn't know it was Dale's final win, but even then this race is an all time Talladega moment. 1. 2020 Geico 500 You may think this pick has recency bias behind it, but I think it is the most memorable Talladega moment. The unity, and support the drivers showed Bubba Wallace is a a borderline tear jerker. Wallace is leading NASCAR's social justice reform, and that reached a new high at Talladgea. After the garage stall noose incident every single driver walked down pit road with Bubba Wallace putting his car in front of the field. The NASCAR community made a major statement standing behind Bubba, and it has changed the sport forever.

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/NASCAR_Trucks)

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/NASCAR_Xfinity)

This past Friday night, the NASCAR Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series playoffs continued at Las Vegas. This race was a story of domination throughout the majority of the race. There was not much action on track, overall. The playoff drama was still present, however, as every driver tried to get as many points as possible before the cutoff race at Talladega. The race started with the unfortunate news that Natalie Decker was not medically cleared to compete. No update on her condition or future was offered at the time it was first reported. The first two stages of the race were uneventful. Sheldon Creed took the lead from his GMS teammate, Brett Moffitt, on lap 2 and never gave it up again for the remainder of the stages. There were no cautions for incident throughout the first two stages. Creed was able to get the win in Stage 1 with Moffitt, Kraus, Enfinger, Z. Smith, Rhodes, Eckes, Gray, Crafton, and C. Smith all earning stage points behind him. Creed was able to continue this dominance in Stage 2. He led every lap of Stage 2 getting yet another playoff point to add to his total. Z. Smith, Moffitt, Kraus, Rhodes, Sauter, Eckes, Crafton, Hill, and Gray followed Creed to earn stage points in Stage 2. The final stage here in Las Vegas under the lights appeared to be the same as the first two. However, a spin by Ben Rhodes on lap 85 would prove otherwise. Rhodes made some contact with fellow playoff competitor, Todd Gilliland. This contact sent Rhodes up a couple lanes where Stewart Friesen, trying to get by the incident, get Rhodes around with the air off his truck. This shook up the field and allowed Austin Hill to take over the lead. Sheldon Creed attempted to track down Hill but ultimately did not have enough time to do so. Austin Hill would pick up the win over Creed securing his spot into the Round of 8. Following Austin Hill in the top 10 would be Creed, Gray, Friesen, C. Smith, Enfinger, Z. Smith, Eckes, Crafton, and Ankrum. Todd Gilliland (13th), Brett Moffitt (15th), and Ben Rhodes (23rd) were the only playoff drivers to finish outside of the top 10. After Vegas the playoff standings shape up like this: 1. Austin Hill - Advanced 2. Sheldon Creed - +52 Points 3. Brett Moffitt - +44 Points 4. Zane Smith - +39 Points 5. Grant Enginger - +31 Points 6. Tyler Ankrum - +15 Points 7. Matt Crafton - +15 Points 8. Christian Eckes - +6 Points 9. Ben Rhodes - -6 Points 10. Todd Gilliland - -19 Points There are certain drivers that look like they have a solid spot locked up for the Round of 8. However, Talladega has proven to be a wild card in the past. Given the fact that it's a cutoff race, that makes it even more so. Austin Hill is the only driver that can truly rest easy. This week's race at Talladega should prove to be a fun one.

2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES Schedule March 7 – Streets of St. Petersburg (NBC) April 11 – Barber Motorsports Park (NBCSN) April 18 – Streets of Long Beach (NBC) May 1-2 – Texas Motor Speedway doubleheader (NBCSN) May 15 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (NBC) May 30 – Indianapolis 500 (NBC) June 12-13 – Detroit Belle Isle GP doubleheader (NBC) June 20 – Road America (NBCSN) July 4 – Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (NBC) July 11 – Streets of Toronto (NBCSN) Aug. 8 – Streets of Nashville (NBCSN) Aug. 14 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway GP 2 (NBCSN) Aug. 21 – World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway (NBCSN) Sept. 12 – Portland International Raceway (NBC) Sept. 19 – WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway (NBC)

Tune in tonight on our Facebook or Youtube page for Racing Refresh's weekly installment. NASCAR Cup Series Rookie Quin Houff joined our team earlier today, and answered questions from AJ Appeal and Zach Bell. We are excited we were able to have him join our show.

The hometown kid cashes in on the correct strategy call. In a race dominated by Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Alex Bowman; Kurt Busch lucks into the race winning strategy. The race featured several good battles throughout the field, but the lead was hogged by Denny Hamlin. Hamlin and Elliott were the only two able to drive off from the field. Stage 1, after the competition caution the stage was dominated by Denny Hamlin. The competition caution reset the field a little bit, but as Hamlin pulled away it was a battle for second between Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Chase Elliott. The hard racing between those three was the most entertaining part of stage 1. The early restarts highlighted the aggressiveness necessary to get up front in this aero package. Stage 2, was dominated by Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin, but the man with the final word, for the stage, was Chase Elliott. Alex Bowman fought up to the top three. At the start of stage 2 Hamlin made an aggressive move on Kyle Busch, and Joey Logano taking the lead. As Hamlin dove under the two entering turn 3 Kyle Busch got into Joey Logano, and Logano had a tire rub regulating him a lap down for the majority of the rest of the race. A caution free stage watching Elliott, and Hamlin battle it out and sort through the traffic at the end was fun to see. As darkness was starting to settle on the track at the start of Stage 3 the question became "Who was best prepared for the track change?" Hamlin, Elliott, and Bowman controlled this race. After a mid stage debris caution the majority of the field was 5-10 laps short on fuel. Around 35 to go the leaders started the green flag pit stop cycle, but with 30 to go there was a caution that flipped the field. 10 guys lucked into the correct strategy lead by Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto. Most of the leaders took the wave around, but were stuck in the traffic of those who had fresher tires. A caution with roughly 15 to go split the lead lap cars with the bottom half gambling on fresh tires. After sorting through the traffic a caution that sent the race to overtime setup a battle between Kurt Busch, Matt DiBenedetto, Denny Hamlin, and Alex Bowman. Kurt Busch prevailed after having a fantastic restart to win. Kurt Busch's win drastically shook up the playoff picture. Busch came into the race 12th of the 12 playoff drivers. Austin Dillon's late race mechanical issue regulated him to a 32nd place finish, 32 points behind 8th place Alex Bowman. Clint Bowyer, Aric Almirola, and Kyle Busch head to Talladega outside looking in on the playoff picture.

The winningest crew chief of the modern era will no longer be on top of a pit-box beginning with the 2021 season. He received a promotion to an executive position with Hendrick Motorsports as Vice President of Competition. He will oversee all crew chiefs , pit chiefs, engineering teams , fabrication teams , assembly , and competition staff. No announcement has been made in regards to who will replace Knaus as the leader of the #24 Chevrolet team. In his career as a NASCAR Cup Series Crew Chief , Knaus has won 82 races , 7 cup series championships (all with Jimmie Johnson) , and his drivers have made the playoffs every year since the original playoff 'chase' format back in 2004.

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/SportsCenter) Last week it was officially announced that Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin would be buying the charter from Germain Racing and that Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr would be driving for the new team next season. It’s a move that puts an end to only some of the speculation that has run rampant in this unprecedented silly season. There had been rumors cropping up the past few months that this could happen, but, I must admit that until Wallace announced that he would be leaving Richard Petty Motorsports at the end of the season I didn’t give much credence to those rumors. Now that it’s official there’s been plenty of speculation what kind of success the trio will have. It’s exciting news for NASCAR, and you simply can’t overstate what kind of positive impact Michael Jordan and all that comes with him could have on the world of NASCAR. Jordan is arguably the greatest basketball player ever, but more importantly for NASCAR his brand something that attracts unprecedented attention. His brand may be more iconic than any other, commercials, endorsements, movies. Michael Jordan is money. This could be a match made in heaven. Notice the phrase “could be” When it comes to a momentous moment like this, it’s easy to get caught up on it, the possibilities, the best-case scenario. It’s easy to just view Michael Jordan as an iconic individual who can’t fail. It’s so easy to set expectations far too high, especially in the first year or two of something fresh like this. One of the most underrated aspects of this entire deal is the kind factory support Toyota is sure to give this car. They will be doing whatever they can to make this a success. I said on last week’s Racing Refresh that part of the reason that Toyota and NASCAR would be doing so much to try and make sure this experiment is a success is because of the fact Bubba Wallace is the most relevant NASCAR driver in terms of pop culture ever. When AJ Appeal pressed me and said that title belongs to Dale Earnhardt Sr, or perhaps his son I clarified that relevance isn’t always popular. Bubba Wallace is, in a word, polarizing. He’s attracted new eyes and driven away old ones. If you get caught up in the NASCAR bubble it would be easy to believe he’s only hurting the sport’s popularity, but if you look further and see all the personal sponsorship he’s gained and how often he’s a guest on The Today Show you’ll see he’s getting the attention that certainly at least rivals the Earnhardt family. The only thing missing is the on-track success. His detractors seem to only look at his cup results. Never seeming to factor that he drives for Richard Petty Motorsports. You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger RPM fan than me among the Racing Refresh crew, but, there’s simply no denying their funding issues. Wallace won with Kyle Busch Motorsports in the truck series 6 times. He also has 35 top tens to his credit in the Xfinity series. Those numbers aren’t staggering but it’s explanation enough to know RPM’s issues have no doubt played a role in his results. What’s my point? Wallace isn’t my biggest question mark, it’s the ownership side. Michael Jordan has controlled the basketball operations of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets since 2006 and how has he done? Well here’s a few things to know Since he took over control of the team The Hornets have only finished with a winning record 3 times and has never finished higher than second in their division. Under Jordan, the Hornets have never advanced past the first round of the playoffs. Overall The Hornets have a 464-651 record since Jordan took over the helm. That’s a .416 winning percentage. He was the man in charge of Charlotte when the team finished 7-59 in 2011-12. That would go down as the worst record in NBA history. When you’re that bad for that long, it’s not just bad luck or a longer than expected rebuild it points to serious mistakes in judgment and seemingly not correcting them. This all has happened while he has operated a team in the sport he knows best. How will he do an entirely different world? There have been cross-over success stories. The biggest one being Joe Gibbs. Gibbs started Joe Gibbs Racing in 1992. As an owner, he’s a 5-time cup series champion and a two time Xfinity Series champion. His team is arguably considered the best way to have success in the current NASCAR environment. The biggest fly in the ointment with this situation is due to Denny Hamlin’s co-ownership with Micharl Jordan. Hamlin is currently under contract as a driver with none other than Coach Joe Gibbs. This leads to an easy assumption that Wallace’s car will have a Gibbs alliance. On paper that points to on-track success and it very well could, but for how long? Previous alliances haven’t lasted. Furniture Row Racing shut down only a year after winning a championship. Levine Family Racing is shutting down at the end of the 2020 season. Spire Motorsports purchased the assets and will be expanding to a two-car team next season. They were both Gibbs affiliated teams. Another added wrinkle is the next-gen car coming in 2022. Is Michael Jordan and company prepared to shell out the massive amount of funds it’s going to take to be competitive in the coming years? Based on Jordan’s history as an owner, I don’t have that answer. Is he prepared to take the lumps that will come from the NASCAR fan base? In basketball, Jordan is revered and rightly so. NASCAR is a different world. Bubba Wallace is getting heavily booed at almost every track that allows fans. Jordan has always walked a tight-rope when it comes to political and social issues in our country. Is he ready to face the push back that could come with him having Wallace as his driver? You may say none of that matters and truly you’d be correct, but, Michael Jordan has always cared about his image, and he has done his best to quell any talk that Lebron James may have surpassed him as the greatest basketball player ever. Look no further than him agreeing to do The Last Dance documentary, it reaffirmed and convinced many that Jordan was better than James. That was one of the reported reasons Jordan agreed to do it in the first place. I believe that next season should be a wash for this team. I think they could compete for a win or two in 2021 depending on just how much funding and sponsorship the team and Wallace have when the dust settles with RPM at the end of the season. Michael Jordan is an icon, who has built an empire. However, that empire was built on his unprecedented success as a basketball player. He has struggled mightily as an owner and you have to wonder how he’ll split his time between NASCAR and the NBA and if he can’t do one effectively full-time, how will he do both? We all know Michael Jordan loves to gamble, this may be his greatest gamble ever. If you’re a fan of this trio coming together your goal shouldn’t be championships anytime soon, your only goal should be survival. It’s not insanity... It’s Loganity.

(Photo Source : Twitter.com/KyleBusch) Written by AJ Appeal Appealing Opinions Kyle Busch is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series Champion. He is one of only 16 drivers in the sport's history to have more than one cup title, and is the youngest on that list. Racing Refresh made a prediction at the start of the year that Kyle Busch (often known as 'Rowdy') would go winless in his 2020 campaign, and after 29 races he still has not found victory lane on a Sunday. We often joke on our radio show about the curse that was started on-air by saying that he would not win, but the reality of the situation is that things aren't adding up for him and the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota team. The season as a whole has been as up-and-down as the stock market and there are a million excuses as to why they are not in their usual form. Kyle in his interviews often times will mention that he feels the current package that is run in the cup series prohibits passing for lead position. While that may come with evidence at some of the tracks we see, it never stopped him from winning in 2019. The Covid-19 era of the world put a halt to so many things and we can only assume that every NASCAR team is having to regroup and re-organize their efforts as they return to the race track each week. It is certainly possible that the lack of practice and qualifying has hurt them the most. The #18 team is known for making great car and setup changes, and we saw that most recently at the Bristol race on Saturday night. Let's fast-forward a little bit and assume Kyle Busch's car doesn't finish first in the remaining 7 playoff events. He'll certainly lose the championship without a victory; only Matt Crafton's 2019 Truck title has been won without a race win. A streak of 15 consecutive seasons with at least one win in the Cup Series would also come to a finish. A rebuilding stage would start for Kyle, the #18 team, and their sponsors. They would have the most challenging off-season they've had since starting together in 2008. Some fans would look over the 2020 season and think Kyle has finally met his match. Rowdy Nation would mourn by the millions, while the other half of NASCAR's fanbase would dance in the streets celebrating the most infamous driver's lack of success. When driver's go winless, we often times consider it to be the beginning of the end to their career. For Kyle Busch, this is only the beginning. Busch's talent level and nearly 20 years in NASCAR have already made him go down in history as one of the sport's greatest drivers ever. He has won everything (except the elusive Daytona 500) there is to win in NASCAR. There are two recent drivers who are in a similar talent group as Kyle that had multiple winless seasons only to rebound. Let's take a look at some recent examples before we jump to any conclusions with Kyle's future. Jeff Gordon is the first driver that comes to mind. The 'Wonder Boy' as he was called for the first half of his career is now a Hall-of-Famer and a 4-time NASCAR Cup Champion. He's one of the most successful drivers in the history of the sport and still remains involved in NASCAR in many different ways. Gordon's career wasn't all perfect, though. He had a couple of hiccups along the way. Gordon's first full season in 1993 was a year that came with no trips to victory lane. Once he started to win beginning in his sophomore season, though, his #24 Chevrolet was on top of the leaderboard more often than most. He earned at least two wins per season from 1994 to 2007. A total of 81 Career wins in that 14 year stretch. In 2008, Wonder Boy wasn't as fortunate. In 36 starts Gordon failed to win a race, despite 4 poles and 13 Top-5 finishes. Many wondered if Gordon had started to trend downward or if he had lost his stride. From 2008 to 2010, Gordon won only one race in total. As speculation increased that retirement may be near, Gordon assured fans and friends that he still had more to prove. In 2011, Gordon returned to where he had been for so many years. In his final 5 seasons of full-time racing, he earned 11 more wins. Only 58 drivers in history have 11 wins in their entire career...Gordon added 11 after a slump. He managed to make the playoffs every remaining season of his career as well, and finished third in the standings after making the finale with a surprising final career win at Martinsville. Jeff Gordon managed to prove that with hard work and talent, you can rebound from a bad season or two. The other driver that should be mentioned when it comes to amazing career rebounds is a young man named Kevin Harvick , ever heard of him? Happy Harvick's Cup Series career has been well documented for his succession to the iconic Dale Earnhardt following his tragic crash at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500. Harvick was promoted into stardom and awarded a large portion of Dale's fanbase overnight. In only his third career start at Atlanta, Harvick won by passing above mentioned Jeff Gordon for the win. At the time of the feat, a win in his 3rd start was a modern-era record. Harvick won 5 races in his first 5 career Cup Series seasons, this included a winless season in 2004. In 2006, it appeared he was in championship form as the #29 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team won 5 cup races, the most in a single season for the team since Dale Earnhardt won 5 in 1995. Unfortunately, the 2006 season was not the start of a magical dynasty. Between November of 2006 and April of 2010, Harvick found victory lane only one time in his memorable Daytona 500 victory from 2007. The winless streak ended at Talladega in the spring of 2010. Harvick defeated veteran Jamie McMurray by a margin of 0.11 seconds that day, his first win in over three years. This win started a trend that is still very alive today. Since the 2010 campaign, Kevin Harvick has won 3 or more races in a single-season 9 times. He switched teams from Richard Childress Racing to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014 and won the NASCAR Cup Championship that season with new crew chief Rodney Childers. He has won 47 career Cup races since the end of his 3-year winless streak. As of the time of this article, he has won 9 races in the 2020 season alone, a new career high. Kevin Harvick has shown along with Jeff Gordon that legacies can still be added to after moments of defeat. At the rate he is winning races, he may be the next driver to pass some key Hall of Famers on the all-time win list. So what does this mean for Kyle Busch? Kyle Busch is the most recognizable name on the race track. He may not have the most fans, but between his fans and his haters combined, he demands the most attention no matter what track or series he is running. He continues to win in the NASCAR Xfinity and Truck levels on a somewhat regular level where he holds the all-time win records in both series. As a driver in the Cup Series he has earned the respect of the media and most of his competitors for his charitable and interactive nature off the track. On the track, he is a fierce, and challenging personality with everything to prove in his own heart. If he cannot win, he is unsatisfied. This is what makes him a 2x Cup Series Champion. He is in an awkward part of his career, where as a reigning champion, he is expected to contend for victories. Unfortunately, his winless streak continues. There will be a day when we see Kyle Busch back in the Cup Series victory lane. Maybe in 2020, probably in 2021, and certainly by 2022. When that day happens, he will win more often than we have ever seen. Expect the number 18 to do unbelievable things once he gets that monkey off his back. Kyle Busch is a winner. He's a champion. He's the past, present, and future of NASCAR.