2025 Schedule Reaction pre-playoff power rankings are here and now that we've had a few days to absorb the 2025 NASCAR schedule let's break down the biggest [Music] events how's it going y'all my name is Eric welcome to out of the groove hope you had a great Labor Day weekend want to give a quick shout out to my friends at peanut patch they'll be at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend later in this episode we'll invite a couple of their guys on to talk more about what they've got going going on but first we've got some overdue assignments that I have to catch up on I was out of town for a few days last week of course that's the week NASCAR finally releases the 2025 schedule we'd already discussed some of the highlights Mexico City Gateway New Hampshire being added to the playoffs Talladega in the round of eight we've touched on the highlights in the past but we haven't talked since the full truck exfinity and Cup schedules were officially released so that's what we're going to do right right now first a look at the 2025 Nascar Cup Series schedule The Clash at Bowman Gray February 2nd opens the season some other notables Homestead Miami confirmed has moved up to March some folks wondering if that's to give them more time to make renovations to bid for the 2026 finale fingers crossed that happens Mexico City of course June 15th that's Father's Day weekend replaces the Spring Richmond date more on that in a minute Dover gets pushed back to July 20th and On a related note Michigan has been moved up to early June Dover and Michigan have been plagued by bad weather in recent years and since both tracks now only get one cup weekend a season I think this is a good move by NASCAR to try and move things around hopefully catch some sunny skies also worth noting Iowa Speedway has moved back to August August 3rd but great to see Iowa back saw last week that Iowa is not expecting to finish the rep I mean the Cup race was pretty good there this year despite some Lanes not being repaved can't quite say the same about Indie Car Indie Car fans let me know if I'm way off base here I'm sure they would have preferred to see a full fully finished repave but uh yeah I guess more of the same from Iowa next year except now that race will not be in June instead it will be in August we've already talked about the playoffs Talladega being in the round of eight I still don't know how I feel about that that's dangerously close to Championship weekend if you ask me but there you go a look at the 2025 Nascar Cup Series schedule more on that in a moment let's take a look at the exfinity series scheduled this was also released late last week they of course began their season at Daytona the big news though is the return of Rockingham Speedway Easter weekend the cup series will be off but the truck and exfinity series will head to the rock for the first time since 2013 right was the last time the truck series was there I don't think the exfinity series has been there since 20 2004 when the cup series left also as you can see on the xinity schedule they will join the cup cars in Mexico City June 14th and 15th the xinity series then Nationwide Series raced in Mexico City last in 2008 and that race was won by Kyle Bush but there you go good look at the Xfinity series schedule the truck series schedule next year is actually longer they've added at least one race 25 races on next year's Craftsman Truck Series schedule here you go they will of course be part of that rocking double header in April Michigan is back on the schedule slated for early June Lime Rock Park scheduled for June 28th I believe this is the first time the truck series will have raced at Lime Rock Park the Connecticut road course that's pretty cool kind of a surprise but those are some of the highlights here is the full 2025 Craftsman Truck Series schedule so let me know what you think I'm going to let you know real quick what I think again a lot of the details have been leaked over the past few weeks few months but now that we've had a few days to fully absorb all this information here are some of my takeaways one off week for the Nascar Cup series is kind of insane especially since it's so early in the season I'm sure many in the industry are happy to have Easter Sunday off but that being the only off week followed by a 28 we grind to the Finish is kind of absurd is kind of insane NASCAR already has one of the longest schedule in professional sports they race from early February to Mid November that's close to 9 months out of the year the drivers will be fine it's the crew guys the road crew the mechanics I worry about we already hear from those in the industry that it's hard to retain talented crew members lot of other jobs out there offering similar pay and maybe a lot less time away from home 28 straight weeks of racing 28 straight weeks of travel that is a grind Easter Sunday off cool but that being the only off weekend is grueling the cup schedule does end a week early so that's one less week they will compete head-to-head with the NFL so from a rating standpoint I completely get having one off week but that is a brutal schedule for an already I would say overworked industry my second big takeaway Rockingham is back see this has been rumored for months probably but honestly I'm not sure I fully believed it until I saw it officially an anounced I visited the rock a little over a year ago I uploaded that video to my channel I met the owner toured the facility saw some of their recent Renovations this was I think last April so almost a year and a half ago at that point they'd repaved the big track they'd added safer barriers in the turns at least not on the straightaways yet but the grand stands were still being torn down sweets were still being remodeled there was still a lot of work to be done I at the time did not expect the Rock to land a national NASCAR series date anytime soon but I guess I was wrong I mean that was a year and a half ago it took a while but I mean it's happening it is happening probably a little sooner than I would have expected and exfinity like trucks okay I could see that but exfinity 2 on Easter weekend Friday and Saturday whoa it's another racetrack in North Carolina so I hope people pack the stands I mean North Carolina I get there's more NASCAR fans there than like any other region in the world but there's two Charlotte dates North wilksboro is back Bowman Gray is now on the Cup Series schedule the rock is back now nearby Bristol has two dates Darlington has two dates Martinsville has two dates I just hope the crowd is good especially considering there's no Cup Series race to headline I'm glad that this lands on sort of an open weekend so that the truck and the exfinity series truly get their chance to shine at Rockingham like it's not like they're racing Rockingham but cup in Mexico City at the same time because if that happened everyone would be talking about this very few would be talking about Rockingham no Rockingham gets its time to shine trucks Xfinity no cup to steal the headlines that's awesome that's great I hope it goes well U I think trucks and XFinity are the right place to start I'm not sure we need another Cup Series race in North Carolina again when we have wilksboro and Bowman gry now on the schedule as well but I love that a historic racetrack is back on the schedule I'm a bit surprised see when I visited the facility last year the owner really only wanted to talk about music festivals not much about racing but hey racing brings in big bucks and racing is at the core of what Rockingham Speedway always has been so this is very exciting I'm sure fans in the area are thrilled to see it back my third and final takeaway and I've already touched on this one in the past but Mexico City on the cup series calendar this will be the first points paying Nascar Cup Series race outside of the United States in well over 60 years I think it's a brilliant move as I've said before every other major sports league is pushing International Major League Baseball and the NFL have played games in Mexico City the NFL is about to play a game in Brazil bringing American Sports to these different countries is exciting for them I saw clips of of dozens of photographers and media members there for the Mexico City announcement these kinds of events do create Buzz do create excitement so I completely get why NASCAR is doing this I also get why some let's say longtime loyal NASCAR fans don't love this move it's replacing Richmond one Richmond date let's be clear I understand the push back from some fans nobody wants to feel like they're being left behind I'm sure it hurts to see a Richmond Raceway date move across the country across borders even why are you taking my thing and giving it to somebody else I get it one of the most human emotions is the fear of Abandonment no one wants to be forgotten so I completely get the push back but I also want to add some important perspective while Richmond maybe losing a date as NASCAR attempts to grow the sport internationally Nascar has given those Grassroots fans a lot in recent Seasons between North wilksboro Speedway Iowa on the schedule in recent Seasons IR P for trucks Now They're bringing back Rockingham Lim Rock Park gets a truck date Bowman gry stadium is going to host a sanctioned Nascar Cup Series event in the year of Our Lord 2025 what so while I completely understand the concern from some I hope this adds some perspective Nascar has been criticized in the past for abandoning their roots and in many cases I think those criticisms are valid not in this case Nascar has returned to its roots in many ways the past few seasons and I hope fans realize that NASCAR continues to tow this line between its past and its future they've done a lot to bring up the past to revitalize historic racetracks but they're continuing in turn to push new boundaries I hope fans can be okay with that see NASCAR used to be a strictly Regional sport but it hasn't been a regional sport since at least the '90s blew up in the 90s early 2000s became a nationwide sport a worldwide sport in many ways and with that new exposure with that expansion came a lot of money increased purses increased sponsorship increased TV Revenue teams started to build these massive shops this turned into a huge industry it's hard to go back to being just a regional sport The Way Forward is to push into new markets come up with creative events some of them International but the fact that NASCAR is able to do do that while recently keeping an eye on its tradition and its past I think is admirable that's a difficult line to walk and I think Nascar has done a very good job balancing that tight RPP for the past couple of Seasons so I completely get the concern Richmond Raceway losing a date but let's be honest Richmond hasn't filled the stands consistently in years they still have their late summer fall date it's important to acknowledge the bigger picture Bowman Gray Rockingham North wilksboro etc etc fans in the Carolinas the virginas aren't being abandoned in fact NASCAR is probably paying closer attention to you now than they were 5 10 years ago I hope that adds some perspective I'm excited about Mexico City it will be a very interesting event if nothing else next June but now it's time to talk Power Rankings I'll give you guys my round by Power Rankings round playoff predictions later in the week I'm still working on them but for now here are the top 10 fastest overall drivers inam teams in the Nascar Cup Series according to me this list isn't strictly reserved for playoff drivers only at number 10 I have Bubba Wallace started on pole LED 37 laps at Darlington got caught up in a crash late also got caught up in a crash at Michigan had a top five car there take out those two finishes and Bubba Wallis has a 10th fifth fourth and sixth in recent races he's been really fast also Sumer the results just haven't always followed Bubba Wallace is out of the playoffs so I'm dropping him to number 10 not necessarily because I think this team is going to slow down but because other Playoff teams are going to step up but I still believe Bubba Wallace could grab a win later this season his two Cup Series wins have both come during the playoffs when Bubba Wallace himself was not a playoff driver so it's more than possible similarly at number nine he may have also missed the playoffs but Kyle Bush still has plenty to race for he's gotten at least one win every season of his full-time Cup Series career he's got 10 more weeks to keep the streak alive and that team has shown a ton of speed since the Olympic break even before the Olympic break he was running top five at Indianapolis late when he wrecked himself top five car at Indianapolis his teammate won Richmond then Bush finished fourth at Michigan Second at Daytona second at Darlington hey don't forget we're going to Atlanta Kyle bus was part of that photo finish here in February so anything is possible don't don't write Kyle bus off completely not just yet now let's focus on some playoff guys at number eight I've got Brad kezelowski He's LED laps in four of the last six races 14th Place finish at Darlington is okay but he had back-to-back top 10s in the races before that he enters this playoffs as the eight seed made the round of 12 last year it hurts that his teammate Chris busher is not in the playoffs bucher's been very consistent this year I think so has Brad I think Brad kazlowski is going to have a solid playoff run I've got him at number eight right now another decent run for Chase Elliott this week and who I have at number seven he was 11th at Darlington he's caught up in a crash at Daytona take that out Chase has finished 11th 15th ninth 10th ninth his past five races like that's decent that's pretty good but it's not great what happened to the top five speed we saw throughout much of the spring and early summer what happened to chase Elliot contending for wins we haven't seen that Chase Elliott in recent weeks I like how this first round shapes up for Elliott we've got Atlanta obviously this weekend then Watkins Glenn after that but for now I have Chase Elliot at number seven P6 William Byron ran top 10 all day at Darlington earned 10 stage points caught up in a crash late Byron has shown more speed in recent weeks I like Atlanta this weekend Byron has two wins already at the new Atlanta configuration watch out for that number 24 I have William Byron at six top five Denny Hamlin hasn't won a race since April can you believe that but they're still grinding out decent finishes Hammer has crashed out of two of the last six races but take those out his average finish in the other four races is Fifth and he's LED 197 laps during that span the 11 car has top five speed most weeks just got to get that mojo back ignore the points penalty ignore the lack of win recently focus on the positives despite the penalty you're still the six seed his driver Tyler reic just won the regular season Championship you focus on the positives The Vibes need to be uplifting heading into the playoffs if that's the case I think Danny Hammond will make a Deep Run for now I have Denny at fifth number four the finishes have been really ugly recently for Ryan blay but we know that team Pensky turns it on in the playoffs and it's unfair to criticize blay after Darlington he qualified well was fast in practice but got wrecked on lap two no fault of his own didn't even get a chance to to race blay is a top five seed entering these playoffs I'll keep him top five in my power rankings got to respect the defending Series champion top three Christopher Bell at number three third at Darlington third the week before at Daytona been pretty quiet I'll put him in a quiet third position on my power ranking showed a ton of speed over the summer made some mistakes some bad luck not always the best finishes but he is the two seed after all I expect C Bell to make another deep playoff run he spent a back-to-back Championship fours number two Kyle Larson made a statement Sunday night regular season Championship on the line Cliff Daniels gave him a fast race car the pit crew executed all night lson swept the stages LED over 260 laps that late restart where Ross Chastain stayed out and Brisco made that bold three- wide move you know dirty larsson's air dropped him back into traffic he finished fourth but we saw that raw speed much of the night Kyle Larson and the entire number five team just put the entire Cup series garage on notice but at number one I still have Tyler reck because Tyler reic made a statement of his own dude was literally sick in the car team was mixing up medical potions on Pit Road trying to pass it to him during pit stops dude is falling out of the seat watching his regular season Championship rival dominate the race at one point reic drops out of the top 10 he could have quit it would have been so easy to just throw in the towel but he didn't reck grinded it out finished inside the top 10 and held on to the regular season championship by one point gets to celebrate afterwards Michael Jordan is there with a smile on his face reck ends the regular season with more top fives and more top 10 than anyone else can they keep that consistent speed through the playoffs I certainly think so Tyler reic at one I just noticed my top six seven really didn't make any changes after last week hey what can I say I feel pretty confident in my rankings I'm excited to share with y'all my actual round by round playoff predictions later this week but for now what do you think of my top 10 my power rankings before we go I want to invite the guys from peanut patch onto the show if you're heading to Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend keep a lookout for their Booth they're doing Peanut Patch at Atlanta Motor Speedway some pretty exciting stuff let's bring them on I'm now joined by by Brent Underwood and boand Bart Latimore here to talk peanut patch you gentlemen will be at Atlanta Motor Speedway this weekend uh Brent I know I've seen you at the track in the past you guys love traveling around the country uh what makes NASCAR races so fun for you to uh to visit and to show off your stuff I'm just a fan of left turns Eric I don't know about the rest of the guys but I mean it it's it's it's exactly it's our it's our heritage it's it's what we grew up you know watching with Dave Allison nhart and you know Bart and I have talked about it and it really feels like racing is getting back to what it was back in that that attitude area not to or not to pull off from uh the wrestling terminology but it really does so I mean we're having such a great time and who knew giving away free bold peanuts would be such a hit in and ask CH absolutely and uh and Bart you've been to uh you raced before have you are you gonna be at Atlanta this weekend absolutely man I grew up going I'm from Charlotte so I grew up going to the 600 uh I think it's been long enough I can say this now we used to to sneak in the infield you know back in the day so uh we spent a lot of time with a lot of race fans and watching a lot of racing growing up and and like Brent was saying I kind we're kind of excited that you know it's kind of getting back to that you know that rubbing racing and people are pushing people around a little bit it makes it more exciting and what goes better with racing than boiled peanuts you know absolutely that yeah lot of aggression on the track getting into the playoffs over the next 10 weeks so every position every Point matters that much more it gets intense out there very very quickly Atlanta's going to be a lot of fun this weekend uh Bart you've got a new song out you're just telling me about Take Me Away uh what what do you love about making music and and how does that tie into everything you're working on well you know I I just I grew up in church singing and you know my mom and my dad they were they were a bit of hippies and you know they they so they put good music on me at a very young age um I was a carpenter for 15 years and um everything just seemed a Jael you know I thought cool I'm gonna I'm gonna sell a jingle and I went in to meet them and they were like hey we we love your Vibe we love your attitude and we love your love for B peanuts so they went ahead and made me the spokesperson and I have not swung a hammer in I think 18 months so I'm doing pretty good must be going pretty well that's awesome well uh gentlemen I really appreciate you being on this show so Brent can you tell us more about where peanut patch will be what you guys are going to be working on both at Atlanta and uh beyond the rest of this year oh yeah we've got a a stack couple months coming up uh we're going to be obviously like you said Atlanta we're gonna be at Bristol uh Bart and I will be playing Field and Stream with Eric Church it's gonna be great uh we're going to be at the greenw Country Music Festival we're probably gonna be down in Miami it's it's just it's just going crazy and crazy we're probably doing some cool stuff with uh Nitro Circus next year so we'll see f scoss on that thanks to one of our employees which used to be a forlift driver now he's kind of the guy that pulls our car around Andy and and Mary and one of the the owners uh we were we kind of brought David Reagan's 34 car back to life so David uh David's been real real nice with us but matter of fact David if you're watching this I found this under the seat so if these are yours I'll see you Sunday these will be yours buddy um but uh but yeah we David's brought the car into his shop they fixed it back up it's running tip toop I mean it it's it I think it did like 169 miles an hour in Darlington on just so it's it's still it still got some legs on it but uh but Sunday uh we're gonna be out there with David uh David's gonna be their signning autographs and Bart and I are gonna have h a bunch of copies of the pole position magazine which we're on the back of which you'll sign those too so come on out get some some free swag take a picture in the car and get some free boiled peanuts so promise you money back guarantee you're going to love it sounds great that's awesome well fans be sure to stop by peanut patch David Ray will be their Georgia driver Georgia race y'all are doing it right going to be a fun time out there appreciate you both being on the show we'll talk to you again soon thanks buddy appreciate it thank you all so much for watching this episode leave a like if you enjoyed subscribe for more NASCAR content every single day every single week all year long and a big thank you to my very generous patreon supporters plenty more to come later this week have a wonderful rest of your Tuesday folks I will talk to you again soon oh [Music]