by Patrick Zier | Oct 16, 2025 |
It was hours before he would win the 60th race of his career, tying him for 10th all time with Kevin Harvick, and Denny Hamlin was in the drivers meeting for Sunday’s South Point 400 at Las Vegas.
A win here would guarantee him a spot in NASCAR’s championship race, give him another chance to fill in the one blank page on his resume; despite all he has accomplished in the sport Hamlin has never won a championship, and he was going over everything he needed to do to make sure he was ready.
“I have a mental checklist that I go through before I leave the bus for the drivers meeting,” Hamlin said according to the NASCAR.com website. “I check all the things I think are going to be important today (Sunday).
“One small thing just kind of slipped through the cracks. Maybe I was distracted, I don’t know,” Hamlin continued. “I was so antsy during the drivers meeting thinking ‘I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to get out of here because I’ve got to get back to the bus and look at something.'”
Hamlin paused. “I don’t know,” he said. “It would have just…I don’t think I could have…It would have mentally bothered me the entire race had I not gone back and looked.
“Then I would have said, ‘How did you let that slip? How were you not prepared for this? Had you known this, you would have been in a better position to win.’ It’s just the way my brain works,” Hamlin explained.
There are many reasons why, hands down, Hamlin is the best driver in the sport despite the fact he will turn 45 in November, shortly after the NASCAR Cup championship is determined at Phoenix.
But his biggest edge is preparation and execution. Nobody prepares for a race more meticulously then Hamlin, who, among other things, spends countless hours on the simulator each week. And that gives him the ability to adjust and execute on the track better than anybody else.
Which is why, at a time when a lot of drivers have hung up their helmets or are just riding around because they are no longer competitive, Hamlin is still charging to the front, still winning races – six, in fact, more than anyone in Cup this year.
But for all of that, the blank page is still there, the championship that has eluded him. And it has seemed farther away then ever since the advent of the Next Gen car in 2022, with Hamlin being eliminated after the round of eight each of the last three years.
So this will be his first shot at the title in quite a while. And while he shows no signs of slowing down, Hamlin knows he only has a limited number of opportunities left to fill in that blank page. And he doesn’t want to waste this one.
“I don’t get nervous anymore (about winning the championship)” Hamlin said. “But at some point, I will think about it. Is this my last chance to do it? Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.
“I just know I’m going to do the work and hope it works out,” he continued. “If it doesn’t, I’m going to be OK with it. I’ve had a season that far exceeded what I thought it would,” he added.
“I don’t think I’ve been in the championship four in the Next Gen era (he hasn’t, as has already been pointed out). I can’t sit here and make false promises and things like that. I don’t have the answer (as to whether he can win or not),” Hamlin said.
“I’m going to try as hard as I can. Maybe I’ll get lucky,” he concluded. Or maybe he won’t have to be lucky. Maybe being the best driver in the sport will be good enough, and this time, he’ll finally get his chance to hoist the trophy. Because trophy or not, everybody in NASCAR knows who the champion is.
NASCAR NOTES
No race this week. The Cup cars are at Talledega, a super speedway, and Old Guy Sport does not count super speedway races in its standings because who runs well and who wins is purely determined by luck, not skill. You have to avoid the “big wreck” and be in the right lane at the right time on the last lap and the drivers and teams have virtually no control over any of that.
Last week’s OGS Las Vegas picks: 1-Denny Hamlin, 2-Chase Briscoe, 3-Kyle Larson. Last week’s Las Vegas winner: Hamlin. OGS season record after 28 races, 13-14 (no Pocono pick), .481.
OGS competition index top 10 after 28 races: 1-Hamlin 652, 2-Briscoe 507, 3-Larson 490, 4-Christopher Bell 473, 5-Ryan Blaney 409, 6-Shane van Gisbergen 368, 7-William Byron 364, 8-Chase Elliott 244, 9-Bubba Wallace 186, 10-Joey Logano 185.
by Patrick Zier | Oct 15, 2025 |
So, how good is Florida State? Well, we know they’re good enough to beat Alabama, which is pretty good. And we know they weren’t good enough to beat Pitt, which is not so good.
And whatever wave they were riding after beating ‘Bama, which was followed by the slaughtering of two lesser foes and had the ‘Noles soaring up the national rankings, is gone now.
In fact, with three losses in a row to Virginia, Miami and Pitt, there are those who are ready to pull the chair out from under Mike Norvell – again.
Norvell and his counterpart at Florida, Billy Napier, have been on pretty much the same trajectory ever since they took over at the state’s two spotlight schools, although Norvell has been on the roller coaster longer.
He looked to have made a place for himself in 2023, when he went 13-0 and won the ACC championship during the regular season. But then, despite being unbeaten, the ‘Noles weren’t picked for the playoffs, lost in the Orange Bowl to Georgia and their momentum stalled.
The end of 2023 carried over to 2024 and the ‘Noles crashed and burned in a big, big way. From 13-1 to 2-10.
So maybe, going into this season, the expectations were too high. FSU had lost most of the 13-1 team but that didn’t matter, people said. They had also lost quarterback Jordan Travis, who threw 20 touchdowns against just two picks, but that didn’t matter either, people said. Turns out it did.
And it left everyone uncertain of what was ahead. Who were these guys? Could Norvell coach ’em up or not? Was he the right guy for the job? All the old questions were back.
Then the Seminoles signed quarterback Tommy Castellanos out of the transfer portal. Brash and outspoken, Castellanos confidently predicted FSU was ready to make its mark again and created instant buzz in Tallahassee. Alabama? They don’t have Nick Saban to save them anymore, Castellanos declared.
Turns out he was right. FSU won, and went from nowhere to No.8 in the AP poll after it’s 3-0 start. Then came Virginia, a 46-38 double overtime loss, and the ‘Noles were 3-1.
And then came mighty Miami, a 28-22 loss after a furious rally which saw FSU score 19 points in the fourth quarter. Now they were 3-2. And then came Pit, and surely, this was where the ‘Noles would get back on track, turn things around. Nope. Final, Pit 34, FSU 31, and now the ‘Noles were 3-3, figured as fakes with hapless Stanford next up Saturday.
“At the end of the day we have three straight weeks finishing with a one possession loss,” Norvell commented according to FSU’s football website. “Ultimately if all falls on my shoulders that we’re not getting it done. We’ve got to see application and execution from all of us, every one of us, of what we want to look like, what we want to be and find a way to get the job done,” Norvell declared.
While many seem to see this three-game losing streak as a disaster, in reality, it is not. This is not Penn State losing to hapless UCLA and struggling Northwestern.
This is a team still trying to find itself after the bitter 2024 season. This is a team which, if it plays to its potential, could still win as many as 10 games.
It has two toughies left in Clemson and Florida, both on the road, and the Gators in particular could be problematic because both Norvell and Napier – if he is still the Florida coach at that point – could need a win to save their jobs.
But FSU, with better execution, might be 6-0 right now instead of 3-3. As Norvell pointed out, change just one possession and you change the outcome.
FSU lost to Virginia 46-38 in double overtime, but if the ‘Noles hadn’t fumbled at their own 38, setting up Virginia’s first touchdown, there might never have been overtime.
FSU lost to Miami, 28-22, but if Castellanos hadn’t been intercepted at the ‘Noles 44, setting up the ‘Canes second touchdown, the outcome might have been very different and the ‘Noles might be ranked in the nation’s top five instead of Miami.
And if FSU hadn’t fumbled at its own 49 in the fourth quarter, setting up Pitt’s tying touchdown in the Panthers’ 34-31 win, Pitt might not have gotten a 34-31 win.
“I believe this team will continue to fight,” Norvell said after the Pitt loss. “I believe you’ll get everything they have and we will get it right.”
And if they do get it right, this could still be a good year for the ‘Noles. And an even better one for Norvell.
PAT’S PICKS
FSU over Stanford: ‘Noles start the long road back.
Florida over Miss State: The Bulldogs’ bubble has burst, and there’s still a lot of fight in Florida.
Miami over Louisville: Can anybody beat Miami? Not Louisville.
USF over FAU: Until somebody proves otherwise (Memphis maybe?) the Bulls are still the best Group of Five team in the country.
UCF over West Virginia: West Virginia isn’t very good, although it somehow beat Pitt. But this is in Orlando and that should give the Knights an edge.
Last week, 3-1. For the season, 22-7, .760.
by Patrick Zier | Oct 10, 2025 |
They are jacked up in Denton, TX. Really stoked. The president of North Texas cancelled afternoon classes Friday so people could take part in the festivities leading up to the game.
This is big for the Mean Green, maybe the biggest thing to ever happen to its football program, because USF is coming to town. Yeah, you got that right. USF, as in the University of South Florida.
USF, which three years ago was an American Conference door mat, has now reached a point under Alex Golesh where teams like North Texas, which admittedly has had very limited success over the years, now regard a chance to play the Bulls as a chance to make a statement.
In Denton, with North Texas at 5-0 and dreaming of – dare we say it – a shot at the College Football Playoffs, this is critical. This is a chance, as they see it, to define their season, define their program, to prove that they belong. There’s never been anything like this around here.
“Our guys have earned the right to play in a big, meaningful game and now we’ve just got to capture the moment,” North Texas Coach Eric Morris said this week according to the North Texas football website.
“This is a really good football team that’s coming to our place on a Friday night to play in a national TV game,” Morris continued. “I think that strikes a lot of buzz for everybody around the nation.”
Well, let’s not over do it. It’ll draw eyeballs because there’s not much else to watch, although the baseball playoffs are going on. But it says something about these two programs, and particularly South Florida, about how difficult it is for any Group of Five team to climb the college football mountain.
Despite that fact that it beat perennial Group of Five power Boise State, despite the fact that it beat a solid Florida team in Gainesville, something Texas, which was supposed to be the best team in the SEC, couldn’t do; despite the fact it went toe-to-toe with Miami for a half, and Miami might be the best team in the country; and despite the fact the Bulls are ranked 24th in the nation by the AP, they really get little respect outside of Denton, TX, and a few places like that.
Sure, they’ve probably gotten more national attention than any USF team in history, and that includes the 2007 Bulls which were, at one time, ranked No. 2 in the nation, and sure, Golesh and stud quarterback Byrum Brown have been interviewed on national TV, but attention doesn’t necessarily translate into respect. Want proof? The Bulls are underdogs going into Friday’s game.
Golesh, though, has more important things to worry about as he prepares the Bulls for North Texas. For one thing, he wasn’t happy about last week’s win over Charlotte, although it appeared dominating on the scoreboard. And, he says, his players were frustrated as well.
“I walked in the locker room and it was a sight of disappointment, a sight of let-down and, I thought, for us a pivotal moment in our program where you win by four touchdowns, do some phenomenal things, and, as a group, they knew we didn’t play to our potential for four quarters,” Golesh said according to USF’s football website.
“We’ve had moments throughout the season where we’ve done that and that (the Charlotte game) was not one of them,” Golesh declared. “Consistency is what we’re looking for, and I think these guys understand where we are,” he continued.
“They understand what it’s going to take and flipped the page and went right to work on North Texas. So a lot to coach off of both in execution, the mental toughness it takes to go finish an opponent earlier in the game,” Golesh remarked.
Golesh has talked all year about how this is now a player driven team, that the leadership is coming from within and not from the coaches. And that’s a good sign.
And when you pick up what looks to be a dominating win and are disappointed in it, as a player, that demonstrates the kind of mentality you need to move up and compete with elite teams. Even if it isn’t recognized nationally. Yet.
PAT’S PICKS,
USF over North Texas: Eric Morris has the Mean Green “humming,” as USF’s Alex Golesh said, but the Bulls have played and beaten better competition, and won’t be fazed by a rowdy North Texas atmosphere.
Texas A&M over Florida: If the Gators can pull this off after beating Texas, it will be a huge achievement and a big boost to their confidence. But the schedule is still like committing football suicide.
FSU over Pitt: Pittsburgh is not Miami.
Cincinnati over UCF: UCF might surprise if this were a home game, but it is not a home game.
Last week, 4-0, for the season 19-6, .760.
