Overreaction Monday: Texas

Who had Texas Motor Speedway having a good race on their 2024 Bingo card? After some middling affairs, Texas put on a entertaining race. Was it the best race ever? No, but it did exceed the usual low expectations that fans have for the Fort Worth track. The track challenged drivers, which led to numerous cautions that bunched up the field. While it was missing the comers and goers of other NextGen intermediate races, the constant cautions allowed differing pit strategies to play out. This race might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but it was more compelling than most Texas races. Overall, Texas had a solid weekend. So what headlines are there for Overreaction Monday for Texas Motor Speedway?

Chase Elliott: Championship Favorite

After snapping his 42 race winless streak, Chase Elliott can now firmly be placed into the championship favorite conversation. Ignore William Byron’s 3 wins and the Toyota’s dominance on the short tracks, Chase Elliott will be the champion of 2024. Go ahead and chisel it in stone, get a tattoo to celebrate, and name your next child after the man.

Sarcasm aside, there has been too much extreme takes on both sides For Chase Elliott since he injured himself snowboarding last season. Due to missing the playoffs (and not winning) last year, everyone kept a worrisome eye on Elliott heading into this year. Sure, his statistics were solid when he returned. However, he was not winning nor leading laps. The 9 car had been absent from the front of the pack after he returned from his injury. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson and William Byron were racking up the wins, stage wins, and laps led. Texas was the first time since 2022 where Elliott looked to be the best Hendrick car on track.

Those serious concerns about Elliott were overblown. Despite not winning a race, Elliott maintained the fifth best average finish in 2023. In 2022, he won the regular season championship along with 5 races. Although he missed the playoffs in 2023, he was close to pointing his way in despite missing 7 races. Also, the man has made the Championship Four every season from 2020 to 2022.

Did this win change much of the narrative that should be around Chase Elliott? Slightly, as it is promising to see him back in victory lane. However, there should have been little concern to start with.

Texas Better to Host Championship Race Than Phoenix

Maybe this is not such a hot take when considering how poorly this year’s Phoenix race was. However, Texas should stay far from the championship race conversation. Yes, this was a pleasant surprise of a race. However, how content would fans be if this same race occurred in the playoffs? The entertainment value of the race felt like a game of roulette. When would the bump in Turn 4 ruin a driver’s day? Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell, an Denny Hamlin all fell victim to the bump at different points of the race. All three drivers had fast cars that were ruined due to attempting to maintain track position.

Once again, the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 was a fine race for a spring afternoon. However, the playoffs should steer clear of this track. While a track should be tough to drive, it should not punish drivers for going for it while rewarding the half throttle mentality. Carson Hocevar nets a Top-10 by virtue of survival rather than speed or talent. While there are places on the calendar for that, it should not be a featured element of the championship race (or any playoff race). An intermediate should have the championship race, but not Texas Motor Speedway.

Put Ross Chastain in the Booth Fulltime

Outside of the fantastic finish of the Andy’s Frozen Custard 300, the main topic of conversation among NASCAR fans was how great the commentary booth was. Arguably, the best broadcasts over a race weekend have been the Xfinity Series races on FOX. Adam Alexander with a combination of two Cup Series drivers has been a formula for success (usually). However, Saturday’s booth received rave reviews with the duo of Joey Logano and Ross Chastain. Logano has long been applauded for his time in the booth, especially when paired with Brad Keselowski. However, Ross Chastian’s debut saw him shine.

Ross Chastain has previously done commentary on radio before, but Saturday was his first time on TV. To say that he exceeded expectations is an understatement. Everywhere you looked on social media during Saturday’s race (pre-finish) saw numerous fans applaud the Trackhouse driver. Compared to the other Cup drivers who enter the booth, Chastain has a unique perspective that plays well commenting on the Xfinity Series. Chastain spent a chunk of his developmental career driving for underfunded teams whose goal was a Top-20 rather than a race win. That perspective countering Logano’s, who rose up through the Joe Gibbs Racing pipeline, was an engaging and differing one. Especially considering Ryan Sieg was battling for the win Saturday, the booth was a perfect storm of success.

Now, one race does not equal lasting quality. Chastain has done well in his radio outings, but FOX might have captured lightning in a bottle. Before signing Chastain up to replace Clint Bowyer in the Cup FOX booth, fans should see if Chastain meshes well at different tracks and different booth partners. However, it is a promising start.

Heartbreak for Ryan Sieg

Not an overreaction in the slightest. Ryan Sieg looked to be on his way to his first Xfinity Series win in his 342nd start. He took the final restart from the lead on lap 190 and pulled away from Sam Mayer. However, Mayer started to reel him back in as the laps dwindled down. On the final lap, Mayer passed Sieg on the backstretch. Sieg hit him with the cross over and attempted to pass him back heading to the start/finish line. After some door slams, Mayer beat Sieg by .002 seconds. From euphoric excitement to a devastating deflation in the matter of a single lap.

Outside of the superspeedways, this will likely be Sieg’s best shot at winning a race for his career. However, the man and his race team deserve to be applauded for what they have accomplished. Ryan Sieg and his RSS Racing team are firmly in the second tier of the Xfinity Series. However, they have flashed competitive speed over the past few seasons. This year especially, Sieg’s 39 car is running in the Top-10 on merit rather than fluke or lucky pit strategy. RSS Racing has expanded to 3 fulltime and one part-time team. The other 3 RSS Racing cars are usually competitive enough to finish in the Top-20. While the race win slipped away, it would be a shame to think that this was a flash in the pan. Sure, Sieg might struggle to win himself in a race winning position. However, the 39 driver has legitimate chance to point his way into the playoffs.

Christian Eckes vs. Corey Heim

Friday night’s race was a lot more competitive than it looks on paper. When looking at the results, it seems that Kyle Busch dominated from start to finish on route to an easy victory. However, the racing at Texas was highly competitive. Busch had to work his tail off to keep the Craftsman Truck Series regulars behind him. For the second straight Busch-featured race, a fulltime Truck Series driver gave Kyle Busch all that he could handle. This time, it was Corey Heim. Unlike Christian Eckes at Bristol, Heim was unable to best the longtime veteran. Busch managed to keep Heim in second through the end of the race.

While Corey Heim might still be the championship favorite, it is difficult not to envision as Christian Eckes as his primary contender for the championship. If both are able to make it to Phoenix in the Championship Four, it would not be a drastic argument to say that Eckes should be favored over Heim. Eckes did win the race last year and seems better than Heim on the short tracks. Of course, any championship feelers are still in the “too early to call” stage with how the NASCAR playoffs are formatted. However, Christian Eckes looks to be the driver to beat outside of Corey Heim.