Kyle Busch releases ‘Everything Is Great’ T-shirts after Kobalt 400 brawl
Everything’s great as far as Kyle Busch is concerned.
That’s what the Las Vegas racer said — repeatedly — after emerging from the NASCAR hauler at Phoenix last weekend. Stock car racing officials gave Busch and Joey Logano a talking to after they tangled in their cars on the last lap of the Kobalt 400 on March 12 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, then tangled with their fists on pit road.
Cooler heads did not prevail.
And so the two were put on double secret NASCAR probation or whatever, though they were not fined.
Busch, taking his cue from Marshawn Lynch at the Super Bowl, said: “Everything’s great. Looking forward to getting back in my racecar,” to five consecutive questions from the media.
Every time he spoke on camera at Phoenix, he prefaced his remarks by saying “Everything’s great …”
So now you can get an “Everything Is Great” T-shirt.
They cost $22 — which just so happens to be Joey Logano’s car number — and can be ordered through the driver’s website, rowdybusch.com.
Proceeds will be turned over to the Kyle Busch Foundation, where Everything’s Great.
#EverythingIsGreat! Including these t-shirts for $22 + free shipping. All proceeds 2 @theKBFoundation Order now https://t.co/wKNVkxnc6Y pic.twitter.com/c1woJniNEH
— Kyle Busch (@KyleBusch) March 20, 2017
SHRINKING SPEEDWAYS
After word got out that Las Vegas Motor Speedway was considering removing additional grandstands to reduce seating capacity from 104,000 to about 80,000 for NASCAR races, the Charlotte Observer reported sister tracks under the Speedway Motorsports Inc. umbrella soon might undergo similar reductions.
Grandstands at Charlotte, Atlanta, Kentucky and New Hampshire are said to be on the chopping block in what SMI is calling a “re-purposing” project.
From SMI’s securities filing: “Seat removal and alternative use of desirable advertising space help improve pricing power, and provide increased marketing appeal from fuller grandstands because those areas are frequently displayed during television broadcasts, in photos, and are viewable by large numbers of fans attending our speedways.”
In other words, people just aren’t going to NASCAR races like they used to, no matter how often the rules are changed to make the races more interesting.
BULLRING BECKONS
Eight classes of cars, headlined by the NASCAR Super Late Models, will hit the asphalt Saturday night as the 2017 season at The Bullring opens.
Defending Champions Justin Johnson (NASCAR Super Late Models), Don Sargent (NASCAR Super Stocks), Peyton Saxton (NASCAR Grand American Modifieds), Sam Jacks (NASCAR Bombers), Cameron Morga (USLCI Legends-Pro), Chris Bosley (USLCI Thunder Cars), Brian Williams (USLCI Legends-Semi-Pro), Michael Todd Glazier (USLCI Legends-Masters), R.J. Smotherman (USLCI Bandolero Bandits) and Robert Smotherman (Skid Plate Cars) are expected to compete.
It will be the first of 15 racing weekends at the three-eighths-mile oval, with opening ceremonies beginning at 7 p.m. Race fans can receive a discount on tickets by calling the LVMS ticket office at 800-644-4444 in advance, or by visiting LVMS.com.
TOP FIVE FOR REICHERT
Jason Reichert, a lone wolf among young aspiring professional racers from Southern Nevada — he’s trying to make it to the IndyCar series instead of NASCAR — finished fifth in a Pacific F2000 race at Willow Springs International Raceway in California. The solid finish moved the Henderson teenager into sixth place in season points after two races.
WHITE FLAG
Brendan Gaughan took some of his Richard Childress Racing teammates and crew members into the desert to run off-road buggies on the morning after the Kobalt 400. I’m told the desert tortoises still haven’t poked their heads out of their shells.
"I will race until I'm 80 years old."- Veteran @Brendan62 takes his young @RCRracing teammates on a desert ride. https://t.co/OHE57Kuwkr
— FOX SPORTS: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 18, 2017
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.
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NASCAR TV RATINGS
Sunday’s Cup Series race from Phoenix earned a 3.0 overnight rating on Fox — down 17 percent from last year (3.6), down 21 percent from 2015 (3.8) and the lowest overnight rating in the 12-year history of the race.
Blame it on March Madness? To an extent.
But last year’s Cup Series race in California, which also was up against the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, had a 3.5 overnight — significantly higher than the Phoenix ratings.
— Ron Kantowski/Review-Journal
SCHEDULE
NASCAR MONSTER ENERGY CUP
What: Auto Club 400.
When: Friday, practice, 10:30 a.m. (FS1), qualifying, 4:05 p.m. (FS1). Saturday, practice, 11:30 a.m. (FS1), practice, 11:30 a.m. (FS1). Sunday, race, 12:30 p.m. (KVVU-5).
Where: Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2 miles), Fontana, California.
Distance: 400 miles (200 laps).
Last year: Jimmie Johnson rallied past a dominant Kevin Harvick.
Last week: Ryan Newman won in Phoenix after starting 22nd. He snapped a 128-race winless skid in the series.
Next race: STP 500, April 2, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia.
XFINITY
What: NXS 300.
When: Friday, practice, noon (FS1), practice, 2 p.m., (FS1). Saturday, qualifying, 9:30 a.m. (FS1), race, 1 p.m. (FS1).
Where: Auto Club Speedway (oval, 2 miles), Fontana, California.
Distance: 300 miles (150 laps).
Last year: Austin Dillon led just one lap, the final one, to snap Kyle Busch’s three-race winning streak.
Last race: Justin Allgaier broke through with his first win of the year in Arizona.
Next race: My Bariatric Solutions 300, April 8, Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, Texas.
CAMPING WORLD TRUCK
Last race: Christopher Bell had a dominant run in Atlanta, the only March race in the series.
Next race: Alpha Energy Solutions 250, April 1, Martinsville Speedway, Martinsville, Virginia.
VERIZON INDYCAR
Last week: Sebastian Bourdais opened 2017 by winning in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Next race: Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, April 9, Long Beach, California.
FORMULA ONE
What: Australian Grand Prix.
When: Thursday, practice, 1 p.m., practice, 5 p.m. Friday, practice, 3 p.m., qualifying, 7 p.m. Saturday, race, 5 p.m.
Where: Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit (circuit, 3.29 miles), Melbourne.
Distance: 191.1 miles, 58 laps
Last year: Nico Rosberg opened 2016 with a win in Australia and later won the F1 title before retiring.
Next race: Chinese Grand Prix, April 9, Shanghai.
NHRA MELLO YELLO DRAG RACING
Last race: Tony Schumacher took Top Fuel honors and John Force won in Funny Car at the Gatornationals in Florida.
Next race: NHRA Nationals, The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 31-April 2.
