Horrific NASCAR Crash Had An Earnhardt Look To It, Driver's Vile Signal To Fans & Danica Buries Quitter Simone

There's been a ton of talk over the past few months about where the championship race should go next. 

Now that NASCAR has finally freed us from the Phoenix chains and announced they're going to a rotation model starting next season, everyone wants to throw different tracks in the ring. 

I've heard Daytona. Martinsville. Bristol. Kansas. Charlotte. Atlanta (or whatever stupid name it's called now). 

But … what about Michigan? 

Because buddy, that was a good automobile race yesterday! Sure, it's cold in Michigan in November. Sure, it could very well be snowing. So what? All outdoor playoff games for major sports are played in the cold. Football? Cold. Baseball? Cold. If they can handle it, why can't a bunch of dudes sitting in 100-degree cars? 

You know what the average high temp is in Brooklyn, Michigan, on Nov. 3 (the date of this season's championship race)? 57 degrees. 

Let's go racing, boys! 

Anyway, just a thought. I'm sure it's not an original one, because a ton of fans are gonna have that same one today, but whatever. It's early, so it's original for me!

Yes, we're gonna talk plenty of Michigan. We're also gonna check in with Alex Bowman, because that hit had me feeling queasy Dale Earnhardt things that I don't love feeling. After that, we'll murder a squirrel, and then end the day by having a pillow fight with a couple NASCAR WAGs. 

Sound good? Good!

Four tires, whatever fuel Denny Hamlin's team is using, and maybe some ear-muffs for all the fans at the 2027 NASCAR championship race at Michigan … Monday Morning Pit-Stop – the ‘Denny Gives Fans The Worst Kind Of Finger’ edition – is LIVE!

This Alex Bowman hit had NASCAR fans a little jumpy 

We'll get to Denny in a minute, but we're gonna go ahead and start with Alex Bowman nearly dying. Seems like a decent place to start, right? 

No, he didn't almost die. Well, not that I know of. But, if this hit happened 25 years ago? Yeah, I mean, there's a decent chance we're having a much different class today. 

These are the ones that make me feel queasy. Not the flips or the spins or the rolls. These, right here:

RIP to this squirrel

Yeah, I mean … whoooooooof. Those are the wrecks you hold your breath until you see the window net come down. 

I was at the Newman wreck years ago at Daytona when Corey LaJoie nearly impaled him, and that was a bad one. But that was also a flukey one. 

These happen more often, but obviously people don't die anymore because of the SAFER barrier revolution, which is nearly 25 years old now. 

It also makes you realize how wild these fellas were back in the day. Hell, how wild this sport was, too! They just … raced with concrete walls around them. They'd go faster, and they'd have less protection. 

Sounds like me in high school! 

Did you have the same feeling yesterday? Lemme know! Zach.Dean@OutKick.com. 

Anyway, the whole ‘that reminded me of Earnhardt’ thing trended on Elon's Twitter yesterday, and it's the first thing I thought about when I saw Bowman hit the fence. 

PS: I'm a race car driver. I hit shit. I've hit a lot of shit lately. I would like to stop hitting shit. 

What a line from Bowman! Get that on a shirt, STAT!

OK, let's move on to someone who hit the absolute SHIT out of this rogue squirrel on pit road yesterday … Ty Dillon!

Denny loves Michigan!

I've run over one animal in my life, and it was a stupid opossum a few years back on some random Georgia road during Thanksgiving. I was also in a Kia Hybrid, so that's probably not a very relatable feeling, but whatever. When you know, you know. 

I knew. So did Ty. 

Where the hell did that little guy come from? How'd he get there? These jackasses always have a death wish, too. They're famous for running out in front of you, hitting the brakes about halfway through, and then turning around right before you get to them and scurrying back to the sidewalk. 

They do it to me all the time in my neighborhood, to the point where I don't even bother stopping anymore. I don't. I try to hit them. It's like a game. 

If you're gonna play grab-ass all day, then I'm gonna just have to let the chips fall where they may. Sorry. If you die, you die. Circle of life. 

What a way to go. 

Anyway, while this squirrel was making all the woke losers at PETA faint during the race, Denny Hamlin was making Michigan fans do the same when it was over:

Ram, Riley, Danica & Jenna

Yeah, I mean, Denny Hamlin is easily the most likable driver in the garage. There, I said it. If you're a new fan to the sport, you have to love that. It's just so nice to someone with a set of balls and an ounce of personality. 

I know Denny is pushing 45 (!!!), so who knows how much longer he has around here. Not earth. Just NASCAR. But still, he's gonna be done sooner rather than later. 

And then what? You ain't getting that from most of the Cup garage. It's a gripe I've had for years now. The old guard is leaving town, and the new guard just ain't ready to carry the torch. Not yet, at least. 

Kyle Busch and Denny. Those are pretty much the only old dudes left that mix it up. Maybe Logano. Maybe. But that's it. 

Enjoy it while you can, folks. 

OK, let's get to some quick-hitters before we do something only idiots do, and cross the border … INTO Mexico. 

First up? Welcome back, Dodge!

YES! For the first time in years (decades?), we finally have a new OEM in NASCAR. Now, it's a new/old OEM, but a new one nonetheless. And now there's also a rumor that Honda could be looking to join the Cup Series, too. 

That would be two new OEMs, for those who are poor at math. I'm not sure any of us envisioned a world where two OEMs would be joining NASCAR again, especially with how down the sport was just a few years back. 

But credit where it's due – they've adjusted to the times, somewhat, and are trying new things. Clearly, it's working. 

PS: the fellas in marketing don't have a hair on their ass if they don't recreate this commercial next season:

Chills every time. Remember Jeremy Mayfield? Dude used to be the next big thing, and then he sort of went nuts. Great commercial, though. Back when these advertisers actually gave a shit. Now it's mostly virtue-signaling and woke crap. 

Speaking of, let's check in with Riley Gaines and Danica Patrick!

"This issue has a shelf life. I truly believe common sense will prevail," Patrick, 43, said on Instagram Sunday. "But until then, I am grateful for people like Riley Gaines who are making sure no one gets away with it. Not to mention the fact that she actually lived it."

"Defending men in women’s sports is the woke mind virus and/or another issue that requires therapy. Either way, it is so irrational," she added

Danica and Riley are obviously right, by the way. 

We're at the end of class, so I really don't want to bog us down with this, but for those who missed it … insufferably woke Simone Biles, who once quit in the middle of the Olympics and then took a two-year mental health day (seriously), is now defending biological men beating the shit out of women in sports. 

Riley told her to piss up a rope, and now the internet is on fire. There, you're all caught up!

Danica said it perfectly: these lunatics need therapy. Is shock therapy still a thing? If so, let's go ahead and get that going! 

OK, that's it for today. We've squeezed in a ton. We're at 1,300 words already! That's a lot of words without a lot of hot NASCAR WAGs. 

Let's bring in Harrison Burton's bride, Jenna Petty, to fix that. 

See you in Mexico (gulp).