Saturday’s race at Daytona was an exciting conclusion to a season where we’ve seen everything under the sun, as we finished our second regular season with the Next Gen car.

The three-wide racing for much of the night was downright thrilling and the best of what plate racing has to offer. On the flip side, no pun intended, Ryan Preece went on a terrifying ride when he barrel rolled at least a dozen times before finally landing right-side up. Thankfully he did not sustain any serious injuries, nor did any of the drivers involved in a “big one” at the end of the second stage.

While the extreme tumbling is cause for investigation by NASCAR (and they are examining the Preece car for data on why that happened), the fact that Preece could walk away shows that the Next Gen car has the goods to keep drivers safe even in extreme wreck situations like the one Preece experienced on Saturday.

The big news, of course was Bubba Wallace’s strong run that locked him into the final playoffs spot. Making the playoffs is a big burden off Bubba’s shoulders. And now he just has to perform and try to get as far along in the playoffs as possible. This will be a tough task to execute, with so many strong drivers ahead of him. But if he makes it to at least the round of 12, I would consider that a successful year and a launch pad for further playoff marches in the future.

Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman both missed the playoffs, and it’s been a rough year for Hendrick, which has only 2 cars in the playoffs. William Byron and Kyle Larson qualified and should both be contenders. But to put that in perspective, the Hendrick team only qualified as many cars as RFK Racing and 23XI racing, and one less than Joe Gibbs Racing.

It’s hard to choose a favorite moment from the two decades-plus that I’ve watched Kurt Busch compete on the racetrack in NASCAR’s top levels.

Perhaps it's the famous battle to the checkered flag at Darlington vs. Ricky Craven.
Or Kurt being given the bird by Dale Earnhardt Sr. during the 2001 Daytona 500.
Or his running the NASCAR/Indy double and finishing 6th in the Indy 500.
Or his leadership at so many teams, from Roush and Penske to Phoenix Racing to Furniture Row to Stewart-Haas to Ganassi and finally 23XI
Or his winning the 2004 Cup series title in dramatic fashion after a close call, losing a tire as he was entering pit road during the race

I could go on, but you get the drift. The man did just about everything you could in this sport since entering the NASCAR ranks as a very young man in the late 1990s.

I say all this because we heard an emotional farewell this weekend from Kurt Busch at Daytona. He said he’s officially done with Cup racing as he continues to focus on his health after a qualifying crash at Pocono in 2022.

BROOKLYN, Mich. — It’s hard to imagine for fans who are new to the sport in recent years, but the team formerly known as Roush Racing (and later Roush Fenway Racing) was once among the most dominant teams in the sport.

Started by Jack Roush in the late 1980s, it rose to power with Mark Martin as its lead driver, then a stable of strong teammates were added that made it an annual championship contender — including Carl Edwards, Kurt Busch (2004 Champion), Matt Kenseth (2003 Champion), and Greg Biffle.

Michigan Speedway was unofficially known as the House of Roush, with the team almost always guaranteed to have the horsepower and driving talent to compete for the race win in Brooklyn. Heading into this weekend, they had a total of 13 wins at the two-mile oval.

And after watching Chris Buescher — driver of the No. 17 car for the newly renamed RFK Racing — win a thrilling battle against Martin Truex. Jr. Monday to claim his second straight Cup series victory (and the RFK camp’s 14^th win at the track), it’s safe to say the team has definitely got its groove back and is reinvigorated by the arrival of Rochester Hills, Michigan, native Brad Keselowski as a co-owner last year.