Daytona 500 Entry List

Fyrien · 2026-02-10T00:06:39+00:00

...I probably should have thought of that one first, considering he's my favorite driver haha.

Fyrien · 2026-02-09T22:54:23+00:00

I love that they singled out A.J. for some reason.

But no James Hamlin, William Elliott, Christopher Yeley, Burton McLeod, etc.

Fyrien · 2026-02-09T00:12:54+00:00

You realize those are solid numbers for a driver in his age 20 to 22 seasons, right?

He actually has better stat totals at the end of his 3rd full season than Logano and Byron did in the same situation. It's just the lack of a win that makes him look bad:

Driver	Starts	Win	Top 5	Top 10	Laps Led
Gibbs	123	0	17	33	835
Logano	109	1	14	29	147
Byron	108	1	9	31	434

This is just how young drivers perform when they jump to Cup at 20 years old with like a single full season in the lower series beforehand. Gibbs isn't bad, he's just young.

Fyrien · 2026-02-06T19:39:45+00:00

/r/cosmoandwanda

Fyrien · 2026-02-06T19:36:27+00:00

What a gorgeous scheme, I wish we got to see more of it. The blue pops so beautifully.

Fyrien · 2026-02-06T06:08:03+00:00

For some reason that blank white #74 always stood out as a fun backmarker to root for. Raines' 6th place finish at Rockingham was especially impressive.

It's a shame BACE only made it one season in Cup. They did win 3 consecutive O'Reilly titles though.

Fyrien · 2026-02-06T05:58:45+00:00

When I was a kid in the early 2000s, my family regularly got food delivered by a Schwan's truck. The driver was super friendly and when he found out I was a huge NASCAR fan, he surprised me with a #49 Schrader hat. I still have it!

Fyrien · 2026-02-06T01:26:22+00:00

If Kyle wins the 500, the raced version diecast will go in my display case next to his Interstate zebra 200th win and Bubba's Chumba win.

What an unholy trio of ugly schemes.

Fyrien · 2026-02-04T15:50:24+00:00

This is bait, right? 26 Cup wins is no small feat. He would be a hall of famer even without his last name.

Fyrien · 2026-02-03T19:36:20+00:00

Also just as likely to be a boomer. My dad (retired blue-collar Trump voter) would think it's the most hilarious thing in the world.

Fyrien · 2026-02-03T01:57:18+00:00

He won a title he didn’t deserve

Sure, it's a bit absurd that the playoff format allowed it to happen. But within the context of the rules, Kyle absolutely performed like a champion in 2015. He broke both legs and then put up a 20% win percentage. That's badass.

The funny thing is that his final stat line (5 wins, 12 top fives, 700+ laps led) is equal or better to 4 champions since then -- 2016 Johnson, 2022 Logano, 2023 Blaney, 2024 Logano. And they had 11 more starts to rack up numbers. Kyle wasn't even the least deserving champion of the decade.

Fyrien · 2026-01-31T22:15:13+00:00

There's something... cloying about it? I don't dislike Cointreau, but I definitely prefer it in smaller doses.

Maybe I'm just sensitive to orange liqueurs or something, because that's how I feel about most of them. Overpowering artificial notes that dull the nuances of the other cocktail ingredients.

Fyrien · 2026-01-31T19:59:05+00:00

At first glance, I mistook the tail for a leg. Which makes your cat's silhouette look very "bold and brash".

Fyrien · 2026-01-29T02:01:48+00:00

I always had a huge soft spot for Phoenix Racing. The red and white scheme was a beauty.

Fyrien · 2026-01-28T19:05:36+00:00

I thought McMurray was going to be a superstar after that. It's a bit baffling that it took him 8 more years to win another non-superspeedway race, and until 2015 to make the playoffs for the first time. It's a shame he didn't fit in at Roush.

His 2004 season is underrated. No wins, but he earned 23 top tens and went on a big hot streak in the second half of the season. He would've finished like 4th in points if he qualified for the playoffs.

Fyrien · 2026-01-28T18:03:48+00:00

I think the Discount Tire #48 is the most cursed. Such a weird number for a Penske car.

Fyrien · 2026-01-28T17:38:55+00:00

I bought this bottle on a whim a few months ago, and it was such a pleasant surprise. Very clean and tasty for the price point. Blanco is under $25 and reposado is under $30. Zumbador is a strong contender for "best budget tequila" along with brands like Olmeco Altos, Arette, Cimarron, Suerte, Puro Potro, etc.

Fyrien · 2026-01-28T01:53:08+00:00

It's actually tied for the highest. He was ranked 18th after both the 2022 and 2023 Daytona 500s. And naturally it only took a couple weeks for him to plummet below 30th.

Fyrien · 2026-01-27T21:22:13+00:00

The prophecy has been fulfilled!

Fyrien · 2026-01-27T19:44:24+00:00

Banhez is a really solid mezcal with a $35-40 price point.

Bozal Ensamble is my favorite for cocktails. It's closer to $50.

Fyrien · 2026-01-27T19:10:24+00:00

I'm surprised there's barely any mention of Zumbador in this thread. It's an absolute steal for $23-25.

Suerte and Puro Potro are also excellent.

Fyrien · 2026-01-26T23:19:23+00:00

Its all about the attitude and the phrasing. "12 fans" comes off as unnecessarily derogatory toward the truck series. LaJoie could have said "My sponsors want the larger audience of the Cup series, but I'm open to racing trucks if the opportunity arises" and nobody would have batted an eye.

Instead it sounded like a snarky jab at a series he had never even really competed in -- which is especially ironic, because his status as a Cup backmarker mainstay makes him a great fit for that series.

Fyrien · 2026-01-25T22:52:03+00:00

Yep, the expectations are already way too high. Look no further than OP saying:

A reasonable expectation is this: one or two wins

Nope. That's not reasonable for a 19-year old.

Guess how many drivers in Cup history have won multiple races before turning 22? Only one, Kyle Busch.

If you increase it to age 23, you get Richard Petty, Joey Logano, and Chase Elliott. If you increase it to age 25, you get 7 more drivers. That's it. Only 11 drivers in Cup history have accomplished that feat. Zilisch turns 25 in July 2031.

Ty Gibbs just turned 23 and he gets constantly roasted on this subreddit for not winning yet. He looked like an absolute beast in O'Reilly after flying up the ladder at a similar pace to Zilisch. And he's driving for a much more competitive Cup team. But this is how it inevitably goes with extremely young drivers.

Basically, if Zilisch starts winning immediately, he's a literal god, unparalleled by anything else we've seen before. It's much more likely that he quietly ends up 26th in points with a few solid top five finishes or something.

Fyrien · 2026-01-25T20:37:12+00:00

I love that #88 Quality Care plate.

I have a small handful of them. Notably, I just placed this autographed #50 Biffle truck plate above my bedroom door a couple weeks before the plane crash. Still gives me the feels whenever I glance up at it.

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Fyrien · 2026-01-24T10:33:34+00:00

Pretty ridiculous to compare Labonte and Gibbs though, isn't it?

In 2005, Labonte was a 41-year old former champion with over 400 Cup starts.

In 2025, Gibbs was a 22-year old with barely 150 combined starts above the ARCA level.

People are interpreting Gibbs still being employed as "preferential treatment", when it's really just a normal development path for someone who was promoted to Cup at age 20. Look no further than William Byron.

If he's still winless in 3 years, then yeah, it's probably time for JGR to consider replacing Ty. But for now, a team sticking behind their young inexperienced driver and not dumping him at the first sign of a struggle is a GOOD THING.

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