Three of NASCAR’s four crown jewel events are in the books for 2025, with only the Southern 500 remaining. But, it’s still not time to shut the book on the Brickyard 400. So, who were the biggest losers from NASCAR’s weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway?
For the record, we are not starting the week off by going after Sam Mayer. In fact, it’s the opposite. Mayer, who is just 22 years old, is having a career season with a new team. With 12 races left this season, he is four top fives and seven top tens away from matching career best stats. The problem here comes from the fact that Mayer did not win this past weekend and has yet to win this season.
Saturday, he led 32 laps, the most he’s led in a single race this season, but could not seal the deal. While he had a great point day, Mayer remains winless in the 2025 season. In the past, fans were more likely to recognize greatness in consistency, but in the playoff era, Mayer’s great efforts this season remain overlooked without a trip to Victory Lane.
We have officially had years in a row of a Richard Childress Racing driver named Austin wrecking a Joe Gibbs Racing driver. This time, Austin Hill had nothing to show for his wrecking of Aric Almirola at Indianapolis, aside from a FIVE LAP PENALTY. Furthermore, unlike Austin Dillon’s incident with Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano last season, there is no need for investigation from fans, no onboard cameras, no radio calls, just the sight of his white gloves headed for the rear of the No. 19.
Hill, at 31, is still a full-time Xfinity Series driver. Despite his 13 career wins and a shot at three straight seasons with four wins, he does not look destined for a long Cup Series career. While this is likely due to some outside factors, his on-track actions throughout his time with RCR probably aren’t helping him make friends with any interested teams. This is not the first time Hill is in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, and, by all means, it might not be the last. If NASCAR acts on his actions, it probably won’t happen next weekend.
Much like last season, while one of his drivers made a controversial move on track, Richard Childress stood by his team. Not only did he do this in his usual ‘old-school’ mentality, RC went ahead and dropped the “blue collar” line and insinuated that NASCAR was going to “give them trouble.”
This is a tough look for a team that has continued to fall out of the good graces of NASCAR fans throughout the past decade. This disappointment started as on-track frustration and grew again when Tyler Reddick left. It has grown exponentially these past two seasons, with Hill and Dillon’s run-ins. The fact of the matter is that while fans constantly point out that RCR needs help in the garage, they need to help themselves on track first.
Fan support is still there, but something has to change within the culture of the team first.
It has been one day since Bubba Wallace last won a NASCAR Cup Series race.
For those unfamiliar with this joke, no doubt posted on social media hundreds of times yesterday, it is a reference to a group of individuals online who would respond to almost any NASCAR post with “It has been __ days since Bubba Wallace last won a NASCAR Cup Series race.” Even then, if one were to point out other drivers’ losing streaks, such as Chase Elliott or Kyle Busch, the goalpost would be moved, with them citing his rain-shortened win at Talladega, or his win in another car at Kansas in 2022.
But here we stand, Bubba Wallace, despite the efforts of Kyle Larson, and the weather, is once again a NASCAR Cup Series winner, cut and dry, no asterisks, no outside factors, just clean as can be. Though most cite many reasons for their dislike of Bubba, it’s hard to hate the guy. He has come so far from the driver who lost his ride 12 races into the 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series season, and found a cold streak throughout the middle portion of this season. This win could be just the beginning for a driver who is, mind you, 31 years old.
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