Biscuit Friday: Raise hell and praise Dale, it's Daytona time
Plus: Fear the Olympic cheeseburger.
Programming note: I’m in Milan covering the Winter Olympics, so the next couple weeks will be a bit more sparse on the Flashlight side of things. Feel free to follow along with my work from over here in Milan! Now, to the good stuff …
The Daytona 500 comes wheeling out of Turn 4 this weekend, always one of the truly great sporting weekends of the year. I love everything about Daytona — the speed, the sun, the sand, the whole bit. There’s a reason they call the Super Bowl “the Daytona 500 of the NFL,” after all.
NASCAR is in the midst of a reinvention and, potentially, a rejuvenation. The sport took some serious popularity hits when its most popular drivers — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and more — retired over the last few years, and an ugly lawsuit against its current lead dog, Denny Hamlin, dented the sport’s rep even further.
So the Powers That Be at NASCAR have decided to go back to basics, trying to channel a more high-speed, fists-in-the-air, tailgate-party vibe with their latest ad campaign. They’ve done away with an overly complicated playoff system. They’re emphasizing race wins, season-long consistency and sheer badassery, and it all begins this weekend. Will it work? Hell, I don’t know, but I’m glad they’re shaking things up.
As a destination, the Daytona 500 ought to be on your bucket list. It’s so much more than just a race, it’s an event. It’s the sign that while winter might not be done, it’s on the way out. It’s a uniquely American combination of speed and power and beer and sweat. (Formula 1 could never manage anything as spectacular as the Daytona infield.)
Be aware, though, that there’s always the possibility that you’ll get rained out and miss the whole damn show, as happened to my pals Pat Whiting and Kevin Kaduk a few years back. (Subscribe to their free newsletters to make them feel better.)
For a look beyond the track, check out the short doc we made last year, “Home Turn”:
And as long as I’m in a self-promotional road: I wrote about Dale Earnhardt on the 25th anniversary of his passing. (Still available: EARNHARDT NATION, my biography of the whole damn family.)
Make a little time for the Daytona 500 this weekend. If you’re in a cold-weather climate, it’ll warm you right up, guaranteed.
Stunt food of the Week: The Olympic cheeseburger
OK. So. The Olympics are an exhibition of the world’s finest athletes, physical geniuses who excel at a level unreachable by 99.99 percent of us. However, the Olympics are most assuredly not an exhibition of the world’s finest chefs. The concession stand fare here ranges from “eh, I’d chow on it if I was drunk” to “better off eating the napkins.” This right here is the genuine American-style cheeseburger, which appears to resemble a cheeseburger without incorporating any, you know, flavor. Slather as much ketchup and maionese — that ain’t mustard there — on it as you possibly can. And focus on the brilliance on the ice, not in your hands.
So … you tell me:
Song of the week: Freight Train, Southall
You never know how much you’re going to miss the sound of trains until you don’t hear them anymore. A train ran at all hours of the day and night near my place in Memphis, and while there would be the occasional oh-God-I-gotta-beat-the-gate drama, mostly the train brought that kind of melancholy joy that every singer must tackle at some point in their career. The lads from Southall, sounding a bit like My Morning Jacket, do a fine job of it right here. Quality reminiscin’ music.
Listen to “Freight Train” and all the other songs I’ve recommended in this newsletter at the official Flashlight & A Biscuit Spotify playlist.
All’s good here in Milan; I’ve written on Mikaela Shiffrin, the Ukrainian athlete who was kicked from the Olympics for his helmet honoring war dead, a controversial skating finale, and a heartbreaking story of a skater and his parents lost on a catastrophic plane crash.
Follow me on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok, where I’m posting daily quick-hit updates on all the elements of the Games. Still to come: figure skating drama!
Arrivederci, y’all!
—Jay
Land Cat, Georgia
This is issue #181 of Flashlight & A Biscuit. Check out all the past issues right here. Feel free to email me with your thoughts, tips and advice. If you’re new around here, jump right to our most-read stories, or check out some of our recent hits:
Go watch Home Turn, our new show for NASCAR Studios
Hey, my new book is out!
Is “Georgia On My Mind” the greatest state song ever?
Shocker: Students are heading south for college
Our first documentary, on the famous Rama Jama’s diner in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
What does “Flashlight & A Biscuit” mean, anyway?
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