NASCAR Veteran’s Hot Take on How ‘Legacy Fans’ Expect Too Much From the Sport

The NASCAR Cup Series returned to Bristol Motor Speedway for the second time this season but some fans weren’t happy with how things turned out. Apart from a few laps, Kyle Larson dominated proceedings as he led most of the race and took the checkered flag in P1.

Some believe that the event did not have enough excitement as there weren’t a lot of passes made for the lead. Former driver Kenny Wallace does not believe that was the case.

Wallace has always been vocal about his opinions and has never shied away from calling fans out. A race is not just about how many wrecks it has or how many passes are made for the lead, opined the former FOX Sports broadcaster.

Several different storylines were seen playing out throughout the event, like Martin Truex Jr.’s pit road speeding penalty that knocked him out of the playoffs. That’s exactly what Wallace explained as he called out fans who, in his opinion, want way too much out of the sport.

“I call you people out, you’re too much,” he said. “You want too much. You’re mad that NASCAR is doing good but yet you still watch…why do you watch? Cause you watch everything and then…it’s like Michael Waltrip said, ‘not every baseball game, not every football game is going to be 21-21.”

Wallace believes that the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Night Race put on a decent show. As a former driver himself, he understands the sport better than the casual fan, and many things impressed him.

Larson’s flawless run, the different types of strategies, and drivers keeping their cars straight at a track like Bristol at high speeds with steep banking are some of the aspects that impressed the 61-year-old. It just goes to show how multi-layered motor racing can be if you make an effort to dive into it.

Wallace draws support from fans

Not all fans thought the racing was boring. Some kept their eye out for everything else that was going on during the event. There was a point during the event when the cars ranging from P2 to P5 were all jockeying for position.

All of them were playoff drivers which made things pretty interesting. “From 2nd on back there was a lot of movement. Ill handling cars on the bubble, the speeding penalties changed the landscape, it was good, as for passing, Larson passed plenty, a few more than once,” one user commented on the same.

“There’s always going to be races that occasionally has one car dominating.  That’s the nature of the beast,” one fan wrote, commenting on Larson’s impressive run to the checkered flag. “We old diehard baby boomer fans went and saw so many hard-fought battles on the track (5 of us ). Loved every lap and Waffle House after. Probably not as good on TV. Get to a race America,” quipped another.

“Kenny as always with the perspective,” another user wrote, commending Wallace for always being true to himself no matter what. With the round of 16 out of the way, the veteran will be looking forward to the round of 12, just like any other fan.