Just A Fan's View of Nascar Racing

About Just A Fan's View of Nascar Racing

A former hometown Stock Car driver and car owner, Rusty Norman brings a real racer’s perspective to every NASCAR Cup Series weekend. Each week throughout the season — from Daytona in February to the Championship at Phoenix in November — Rusty shares his honest opinions on the drivers, the racing, and the storylines fans actually care about. It’s NASCAR, from someone who’s actually been behind the wheel. NASCAR Fans View is an independent, unofficial fan podcast and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASCAR LLC.

Publisher

Rusty Norman

Category

news · sports

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Jul 2024

Latest episode

18 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

87 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   18 Oct 2026

   episode 2636-It’s Chase Race Seven At Phoenix

   From a NASCAR Fan’s View (https://www.nascarfansview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_0131.jpg) Yeah, the title says it all about this race day. It is Chase Race 7, and it is another day of unknowns when it comes to how the standings will look when it is over. Many thought Kyle Larson would be falling from the points lead last weekend as we all watched him fade from running up front to almost falling out of the top ten at the finish of the race at Charlotte. Instead, when the day was done, he had increased his points lead. Okay, it wasn’t by much, but it was still an unexpected gain. Today’s race could spell trouble for the current points leader, Larson. He starts twenty-second, well behind those in hot pursuit of him and the points lead. There are two ways to look at the points situation as the Chase is winding down to its final four races. One is that Kyle Larson cannot afford to have a bad day at the races. If he has a bad day, his position in the points could change drastically since the points situation is beginning to really tighten up, especially in the top five or six spots. Larson and sixth place are separated by only ninety-two points. He is only 49 points ahead of second-place Denny Hamlin. Sixth-place Logano is a hefty 92 points back, but with four races left in the Chase, that isn’t an insurmountable task. And remember, Joey starts on the front row today. Like I just said, a really bad day for Larson could shake things up dramatically. Ryan Blaney won the pole, so he and his teammate Logano will lead the field to green. Blaney sits fifth in the points, 85 points behind Larson. That may seem like a lot to make up, but if things go down the tubes for Larson and Blaney wins, well… you know what that could mean. As this fan looks at the starting lineup, five of the strongest Toyotas are starting third through seventh. Two of those five have a lot of points to make up, but once again I have to mention that bad-day-for-Larson thing. I keep bringing up the bad-day thing because it is the one big reason the points race could take a big shift. If all the top competitors have strong finishes and Larson has that really bad one, it’s hard to say what could happen in the remaining races. The other thing about those five Toyotas is they are all related. Four of them are the entire JGR garage, and the fifth is Tyler Reddick of 23XI, also associated with JGR. The only one of those that is pretty much out of the Chase is Ty Gibbs, but he has been running well enough to win. He could be today’s dark horse, and depending on how the rest of those five finish, along with those two Fords on the front row, well, that could spell the beginning of the demise of Larson and him going from the leader to an also-ran for the Championship. From this fan’s view, the biggest problem Larson has in retaining the lead in the points is where he is starting from. Starting way back in the pack at twenty-second could hold several reasons why he could have that “bad day.” As a NASCAR fan, I can’t help but wonder if Chase Briscoe might continue his run of wins and make it three in a row today at Phoenix. There is no doubt he has been running very strong, and the last three races have shown him finishing second once and first twice. He has made a big turn in his season, and today’s race, along with the next three, could spell trouble for the rest. Let’s see. I’ve already mentioned Ty Gibbs and Chase Briscoe, and even a little about Denny Hamlin. Hamlin is definitely part of the ongoing story of The Chase, but there is another that has been struggling and just hasn’t made it back to taking a win since Darlington. Of course, you know I’m talking about Christopher Bell. He hasn’t been running all that bad, he just hasn’t finished first at taking the checkered flag. It seems there is always something that comes up and prevents him from taking the win. I don’t know, perhaps this could be his day? Well, perhaps it could. I’ve spent a lot of time talking about the possibilities of the few, but there are 37 cars and drivers running this race. Ryan Blaney starting on the pole. Joey Logano next to him on that front row. Those five Toyotas right behind them and a whole host of others that want to take the win at Phoenix. There are a lot of possibilities for this one. Some are stronger possibilities than others, but depending on how things go for the top drivers in the points, someone is going to come away in better shape than they are going in. Which of them it will be won’t be known until it’s over. So, what do you think? Is the points race going to be shaken up, possibly in a major way, or stay pretty much the same? Yeah, I believe that, too… Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See you next time… All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer © October 17, 2026 – all rights reserved Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com, and PodCastNorm Dot Com All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated NASCARFansView.com is an independent, unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASCAR LLC.

2. 

   11 Oct 2026

   episode 2635-Chase Race Six At Charlotte Motor Speedway

   From a NASCAR Fan’s View (https://www.nascarfansview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/140702_RustyPix_100x133-e1407596752544.jpg) Once again, the Cup teams will line up to start the Bank of America 400 according to the metric because practice and qualifying were canceled due to the weather. That means another race with the teams starting the race with only their notes from the previous run at the track. That could be a good thing, or maybe a bad thing for the way they will line up according to the metric, which puts Kyle Larson on the pole and Chase Briscoe next to him on the front row. There are reasons this fan thinks starting by the metric is both good and bad for those at the top of the points. If we take a quick look back to the last Cup race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, two of the top four starters this afternoon drove to second and third place finishes. Daniel Suarez took the win for the Coca-Cola 600, with Denny Hamlin third and Tyler Reddick fourth. Today, Suarez starts fifteenth, Hamlin starts twelfth, and Reddick starts third. Christopher Bell, who hasn’t had much luck in the Chase since taking the win in the first Chase race five races ago, finished second in the 600. Today, he starts seventeenth. I don’t know if that means much for this race, but with how things have been going for him lately and what he needs today, this fan definitely thinks he needs a win, or at the very least, he needs a really good points day. Ryan Blaney starts fourth in today’s race. In the 600, he finished seventh. In the Chase so far, he has basically had good finishes and bad finishes. Austin Cindric starts fifth today. Checking on his finish at the 600 shows he had a tough day. He finished thirty-eighth. William Byron starts sixth in today’s race. At the 600, he finished ninth. Joey Logano starts seventh today; in the 600, he finished eighth. Bubba Wallace starts eighth today; in the 600 he finished twenty-second. Chase Elliott finished thirty-seventh in the 600; Today he starts ninth. I could go on with this trip down memory lane back to the Coca-Cola 600, but I think I’ve said enough. The reason is what I said earlier about the Cup teams starting today’s race without practice or qualifying, using only their notes from their previous experience at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, and their best guess for how they want the setup to be off the truck. Any adjustments that might have been made in practice and qualifying will now be made during the race. In this fan’s opinion, I am sure they are hoping they were close off the trucks, because what they start with they will be stuck with until they can make adjustments on the normal pit stop or by taking one out of sequence to make those adjustments. Another reason I bring all this up is that it was a time when the Chevys and Fords were still playing catch-up to the Toyotas. Well, at least the JGR Toyotas. Since then, the Chevys have been constantly working to improve, and they have. I know Daniel Suarez won the 600 in a Chevy. I won’t say that was a fluke, but in a way it was. I don’t know that anyone expected Suarez to win it, but he did. And he won it in a Chevy ahead of three JGR Toyotas. Those Toyotas were Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick. On that day, Kyle Larson started eighteenth and finished fifth; Chase Briscoe finished thirty-fourth that same day. Today, Larson and Briscoe start on the front row mostly because of the way they’ve finished last week and the week before. I guess I should include that because of the NASCAR rule book and the metric used when qualifying is not able to be used. We all have watched as Kyle Larson has taken over the points lead with his not unexpected vast improvement in finishes. Kyle had been showing improvement for the Hendrick Chevys, but was having trouble finishing races where it seemed he should. Chase had been struggling in several ways until a couple of races ago, and now he has finished in the top two in the last two Cup races. To me, that shows a vast improvement by Briscoe. He has always been in the mix, even if it was only in Chase conversations, and many wondered when he might turn things around. It appears he has, and even though he still needs to make up a lot of points, he has to be considered to be a contender now. Especially with him continuing to run up front as he has recently. So… my question for today’s race isn’t particularly difficult, but it is important. In fact, I think I have more than one question. First, will Kyle Larson continue with his outstanding performance and increase his lead in the points standings? Is Kyle Larson due for an off week? Will the two, Briscoe and Larson, continue running up front as they have the last two weeks, or will another Chase contender take the win and close the gap on Larson and others? As I said, these aren’t difficult questions, but they do beg an answer. One thing I do know. We will know a whole lot more about all of these questions when this race is in the books… Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See you next time… All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer © October 11, 2026 – all rights reserved Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com, and PodCastNorm Dot Com All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated NASCARFansView.com is an independent, unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASCAR LLC.

3. 

   4 Oct 2026

   episode 2634-Chase Race Five At Las Vegas

   From a NASCAR Fan’s View It’s Chase Race Five at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and things are heating up at the top of the standings. I don’t know about you, but this fan can’t believe we’re already at the midpoint of The Chase, and the intensity hasn’t let up for one minute yet. (https://www.nascarfansview.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/IMG_0131.jpg) I will say this. It’s been an interesting start to the 2026 Chase, and this fifth race will likely be just a continuation of the unexpected. After all, I don’t know many fans who thought Kyle Larson would have the results in the first four races that he did, but he did, and he has been on a good run so far. We all watched him dominate last weekend at Kansas and walk away with a 26-point lead over Denny Hamlin after taking a maximum-points day of 76. But this is Vegas. The Toyotas took the top five qualifying spots to start the race, and Denny Hamlin took the pole. He was followed by his three JGR teammates, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, and Chase Briscoe. Tyler Reddick, who has been struggling for a while now, showed up with speed this weekend and qualified fifth. I’m not sure how you feel about their show of speed during qualifying, but to this fan, it looks pretty ominous. The top fourteen qualifiers are all Chasers. The other two Chasers, Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano, qualified twentieth and twenty-third. The two of them sit fourth and fifth in the points. That may not seem too bad, but I would say they both have their work cut out for themselves if they want to maintain their places or advance further up in the standings. From this fan’s view, they both need really good points days, and Blaney needs them worse. He is ninety-one points behind Larson going into today’s race and can’t afford another bad day at the races. I’m thinking he wants a win in the worst way. I do find it interesting that the four JGR Toyotas are starting in the top four starting spots. After the way the last two weeks have gone, I guess it should be expected. After all, Denny Hamlin has won the last two races at Vegas, and with his pole starting position, he just might make it three in a row. His teammate, Ty Gibbs, also seems pretty confident about taking the win today and has spoken very positively of his chances of pulling it off. He starts second, next to Hamlin on the front row. Even though Christopher Bell took the win at the first Chase race at Darlington, he hasn’t been able to make a big impact at follow-ups since. He hasn’t been running all that bad, but he hasn’t been running all that good either. At least, not good enough to take another victory. He runs well on the intermediate tracks, but is still looking for his first victory at Vegas. Chase Briscoe has definitely had a rough start in the Chase, but he and his team look to have found something, with recent performances, especially last weekend, until he hit the wall several times trying to beat Larson. He finished fourth but still was showing found speed and I wonder if it will carry over to this weekend. All four of the Hendrick Chevys are starting in the top fifteen. Of them, Kyle Larson starts sixth, and William Byron starts eighth. We all know how Kyle has been running. It just remains to be seen whether or not he continues running as strong as he has started the Chase. He runs well at Vegas, and his chances are as good as any I mentioned so far to have a great points day or take another win. I’m anxious to see how his day goes. William has been struggling a lot in recent times, but much like the rest of his Hendrick teammates, he has been showing a lot of improvement, and this fan can’t help but wonder if today might be his day to get his first win in 2026. Not saying he will, but he was the fastest in practice yesterday. There are a couple of things to watch out for in today’s race. The biggest may be tire problems. Several drivers did experience tire problems in yesterday’s practice. Now, I’m not saying tires will play a big part in the race. In fact, they may not play a part at all, but since there were problems in practice, everyone will be a little on edge for the possibility. It is going to be hot and slick, and from my view, it will be important to have good long-run speed to be successful and to run at or near the front at the end of the stages and the end of the race. Although there are several who are very good at managing their tires and fuel, it will be important in this one. Two of the best at it at Vegas are the top two in the points race, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson. Will it make a difference in today’s race, and will these be the two battling it out in the final laps? Yeah, that is a definite possibility, but not the only possibility. With most of the Chase competitors starting in the top fifteen, just about anything is possible. That’s not to mention the fact that someone other than one of the Chasers could win. What will that mean for the points? I don’t know, but I can guarantee it could make things even more interesting… Hey, this is Russ and that’s my view… See ya next time… All views expressed are strictly the opinion of the writer © October 04, 2026 – all rights reserved Rusty Norman, Nascarfansview.com, and PodCastNorm Dot Com All audio productions by www.podcastnorm.com and Pod Cast Norm Productions All music TwoBuckThemes from Mike Stewart unless otherwise stated NASCARFansView.com is an independent, unofficial fan site and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NASCAR LLC.

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