The four drivers that make up the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 are undoubtedly the deserving four this season. They all excelled on the track and succeeded when it mattered most. They also happen to be the most respectful group in the entire garage.
During Thursday’s NASCAR Championship 4 media day, while all four drivers displayed a general sense of confidence, no trash talk or mental games were detected between them. It was, in a word, orderly.
Apparently gone are the days of Tony Stewart sparring with Carl Edwards before the season finale or Dale Earnhardt Sr. trying to bend his competitors’ minds into a pretzel leading into the final races of a championship race. At least for this year.
Among the trickier topics that were broached and turned into sound bytes on Thursday was what it was like for William Byron to take a commercial flight down the race track, and whether Erin Blaney will have a vested interest in who will win if it depends on her. brother Ryan Blaney and his boyfriend Byron.
Other than that, there were no other real cracks in the walls for the four stoic drivers who will battle it out for 312 laps around the 1-mile oval in Avondale, Ariz., on Sunday afternoon . To be honest, Media Day was pretty disappointing. However, it’s okay.
Everyone is focused. And part of the lack of trash talk might be because only one of the four drivers — Kyle Larson — has won a NASCAR Cup Series championship in the past. And even Larson admitted he didn’t think winning a championship in the past was a mental advantage over the competition.
“I don’t think it matters,” Larson said when asked how much his 2021 championship run brings to the table.
It’s also important to note that none of the four suitors have any lingering conflicts with each other.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I really don’t know. Yeah, I kind of think – I haven’t really had any run-ins with those guys,” Ryan Blaney said. “I mean, unfortunately for you guys, there’s no bad blood, bitter rivalry in this Championship 4. I was thinking about that earlier this week. I’m like, Damn, it’s true, no rivalry. No one is mad. against each other in this one.
“But I don’t think it’s going to make the show any less good. We all race really hard with each other on the track. Me, William, Kyle and Chris have raced against each other before, but “
