NASCAR's most hated driver attacked again, attacker's wife gives the double-bird & why did the sport die?

Monday Morning Pit-Stop is a weekly NASCAR column that runs on OutKick.com and Fox News Digital. If you're looking for a normal NASCAR recap, go check out insufferable ESPN ... assuming they still know NASCAR exists.

And then, there were three.

That's right. Three races left in this 2026 NASCAR season. I'd give you the usual, "Doesn't it feel like we were just at the Daytona 500?" line, but ... it doesn't.

This is the longest season in all of sports. It's a grind. Name another sport that starts its season in February, and ends it after Halloween. You can't. It doesn't exist.

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So yes, it's a grind. These guys are GRINDING right now. They have been for eight months now, and we only have three races left to crown a champion.

After Phoenix, I'd say five guys have a legit shot at a title: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Chase Briscoe, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney. None of those guys won yesterday, by the way.

Nope. Tyler Reddick won yesterday at Phoenix for the first time since Kansas ... back in APRIL. As I was saying (see, there's a point to all of it!), the NASCAR Cup Series season is the longest in all of sports. I bet you forgot Tyler Reddick started the season with three straight wins, didn't you?

Sunday's return to Victory Lane was probably too little, too late in terms of a title, but it does give him a puncher's chance. We'll see.

Speaking of punching ... wait till you see what Zane Smith did to Carson Hocevar after the race. Do these two HATE each other, or what?

Also, I've seen a lot of folks comparing modern day college football to peak NASCAR in terms of recent decision-making about playoff expansion. Some people believe college football is following the same ill-fated path NASCAR took way back in the day.

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Honestly, it's not the worst comparison I've seen. We'll dive in here in a bit.

Four tires, enough fuel to get us through three more races, and maybe a neck brace for Carson Hocevar ... Monday Morning Pit-Stop — the 'Wreckers After Checkers' edition — is LIVE!

Let's spin the wheel and get this class started with ... BEEF! We love beef around here. It's what keeps me in a job, and what keeps this column an award-winner (allegedly).

All the beef this season has revolved around Carson Hocevar. Pretty much all of it. If there's been an issue, Carson's somehow been involved.

ROSS CHASTAIN CALLS RYAN BLANEY'S FIGHT WITH CARSON HOCEVAR AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY 'NASCAR 101'

Whether it was Ryan Blaney attacking him last month at Bristol, or Brad Keselowski vowing to wreck him after Darlington