We are closing in on the final handful of weeks of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, the stock car series’ 75th anniversary campaign. To celebrate, each week through the end of the season, Ryan McGee is presenting his favorite top-five things about the sport.
The five best-looking cars? Check. The five toughest drivers? We’ve got it. Top five mustaches? There can be only one, so maybe not.
Without further ado, our 75 favorite things about NASCAR, celebrating 75 years of stock car racing.
As NASCAR’s 75th season winds down to its final three races, we have also entered the most intense stage of our NASCAR 75th anniversary celebration, the green/white/checkers of our top-five countdowns. So, no more of the cutesy stuff. It is time to stand on the loud pedal and let the rough side drag. We just hope someone worthy of the challenge will run door-to-door with us until we get there. In other words, we need a rival. Heck, we all need a rival, but especially racers. They live for them.
As Jean Girard reminded Ricky Bobby: “God needs the Devil. The Beatles needed The Rolling Stones. Even Diane Sawyer needed Katie Couric. Will you be my Katie Couric?”
So, grab a can of Perrier, a loaf of Wonder Bread and keep an eye on that pain in the butt who refuses to stop filling your rearview mirror, as we reveal our top five all-time NASCAR rivalries.
Honorable Mention: Bruton Smith vs. NASCAR
As we have stated so many times during these countdowns, it is impossible to imagine NASCAR becoming what it is without the guiding hands of the France family, from Big Bill to Bill Junior to now, with Jim France, Lesa France Kennedy and Ben Kennedy. But it is equally difficult to make any sort of guess at where the France family’s pet project might be had they not been pushed at every turn by their colleague/arch-nemesis Bruton Smith.
Back in the day, Smith attempted to form a league to rival NASCAR during its formative years and went on to not-so-secretly back other similar efforts over the decades that followed. He brought in Jimmy Hoffa’s Teamsters to fund the construction of Charlotte Motor Speedway, who in turn went to court vs. the France family trying to form a drivers’ union. During NASCAR’s Modern Era, it was Smith’s Speedway Motorsports Inc. that bought and built racetracks around the nation in an arms race versus the France family’s International Speedway Corporation.
For a half-century, the France clan and Smith fought, sued and pointed fingers. By the end, they also grew stock car racing into a billion-dollar business.
5. Tony Stewart vs. (insert name here)
When I started writing this entry, it was going to be about Tony Stewart and his feud with fellow sprint car sprint car graduate Jeff Gordon in the early-2000s, a clash of championship titans that raged on for five years and resulted in at least three major crashes. But then I remembered Smoke’s ongoing dustup with Matt Kenseth a decade later, the one that resulted in him hurling his helmet at Kenseth’s car at Bristol. Then I remembered his “little rich kid” rift with Joey Logano. Then I remembered his televised fight with Robby Gordon at Daytona. Then I remembered him going after the entire media center, including me.
An hour after I started writing this entry, I was still coming up with people that Stewart battled with on the track and in the garage. So, yeah, “insert name here.”
4. Darrell Waltrip vs. The Establishment
Before there was Smoke and even prior to a young, reckless Dale Earnhardt being nicknamed Ironhead by the veteran superstars he kept wrecking, there was Jaws. When Darrell Waltrip arrived in the Cup garage of the 1970s, he did so with a silver tongue, introducing the NASCAR world to the art of talking trash.
He angered Richard Petty by declaring The King’s reign was over, ticked off Bobby Allison by calling him a cheater and pissed off Cale Yarborough by questioning the legendary tough guy’s intelligence. It was a frustrated Yarborough who labeled him Jaws, explaining “he’s like that shark in the movies who won’t stop flapping his gums.”
Waltrip made them all even more livid when he proceeded to start beating them on Sunday afternoons. He wound up winning three championships and a perfect sum of 84 races, which tied him with Allison for what was then-third on the all-time wins list and, even better, gave him one more career victory than Yarborough.
3. Jeff Gordon vs. Dale Earnhardt
Like Stewart, there were so many options here because so many viewed Earnhardt as their biggest rival. All those legendary Cole Trickle vs. Rowdy Burns scenes in “Days of Thunder,” from the door-banging rental car race to the “Japanese inspection” meeting with NASCAR brass, are true stories taken from Earnhardt’s ongoing mid-1980s spat with Geoff Bodine. And I once witnessed two lawyers on a corporate team-building retreat get into a roll-on-the-floor fistfight over an Earnhardt vs. Rusty Wallace debate at the height of their ’90s No. 2 car vs. No. 3 car tension.
But Gordon vs. Earnhardt became bigger than all of those because it was a rivalry of cultures. Earnhardt, aka The Man in Black, was the dominant force in the sport when Gordon arrived in 1992. He was a middle-aged North Carolinian, all belt buckles, blue jeans and beer. In contrast, Gordon was a 20-something Californian with blow-dried hair who dated models and drove a rainbow-colored car.
The reality is that we never got to see them both consistently at the top of their game on the racetrack at the same time, although there were definitely moments (see: the 1997 Daytona 500). After Earnhardt’s resurgent 2000 season, an ’01 showdown felt inevitable, but Earnhardt’s death denied us that dream.
2. David Pearson vs. Richard Petty
The battles between the Silver Fox and The King were so transcendent they become NASCAR’s version of the Steelers and Cowboys or the Dodgers and Yankees, names and battles that were known not merely among auto racing or sports fans, but among every single American, especially during the 1970s. It was smooth vs. rough around the edges, North Carolina vs. South Carolina, Dodge vs. Mercury, Wood Brothers vs. Petty Enterprises.
They rank 1-2 in wins (Petty’s 200 to Pearson’s 105), poles (Petty 123, Pearson 113) and even second-place finishes (Petty 157, Pearson 89). They ran 551 races together, Petty winning head-to-head 290 to 261, but of those 551 races they combined to win 205 of them, both finished in the top five more than half the time and in the top 10 more than 60% of the time. Both. Holy cow. They finished 1-2 a whopping 63 times, Pearson winning 33 to Petty’s 30.
I am working on my next #NASCAR75 Top 5 rankings. It’s going to be rivalries. So, yeah, I’ve just watched the end of the 1976 Daytona 500 six straight times…and the 1974 Firecracker 400 at least that many. pic.twitter.com/rbLC3Lsr6J
If all they had done was pull off the 1976 Daytona 500 wreck-and-roll finish, that would have been enough to make them legends, but that might not have even been their best race finish at that track (see: Pearson’s fake engine trouble and slingshot victory in the 1974 Firecracker 400). Pearson fans still say that if he’d chosen to complete in more full seasons, he would have won seven championships like Petty. Petty fans still say that’s sour grapes. Even now, decades after Pearson or Petty made their final Cup starts, their rivalry lives on, as I documented in this story from the 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
1. Ford vs. Chevy
With all due respect to Toyota, Pontiac, Plymouth, even Studebaker, take your pick, when it comes to auto manufacturers, the Blue Oval and the Bow Tie have been the driving force of both victory and animosity since stock car racing began so many decades ago. They rank 1-2 in all-time Cup wins, with Chevy’s 850 and Ford’s 727. The next closest is Dodge way back at 217. Every single driver in the NASCAR Hall of Fame drove for at least one of them, and most steered both.
Whenever one has achieved an edge on the racetrack, the other has immediately cried foul and their millions of fans and American highway loyalists have hollered along with them. It is Coke vs. Pepsi, Apple vs. Microsoft, and Mastercard vs. Visa only if they were all played out not in corporate boardrooms but on superspeedways covered in steel and traveling 200 mph.
Hey, when’s the last time you saw a sticker in the back window of a pickup truck that showed the kid from Calvin and Hobbes with a Ford logo on his shirt urinating on a Chevy logo or vice-versa? Hell, I saw that on two different vehicles just today.
A civil lawsuit accusing BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff of rape has been dismissed, according to court records.
The parties jointly agreed to dismiss with prejudice, ending the case which was filed last month. None of the parties was immediately available for comment.
Retzlaff now plans to transfer from BYU as he faces a possible seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code by admitting to premarital sex during the legal proceedings, sources told ESPN. He has begun informing staff and teammates of his intention to leave, sources said.
Retzlaff had been working out with the squad and participating in summer workouts and practices. The team is on break until July 7.
The BYU staff has been ramping up the preparation of the three backup quarterbacks — McCae Hillstead, Treyson Bourguet and Bear Bachmeier — in anticipation that Retzlaff might not be available.
The woman alleged Retzlaff raped, strangled and bit her in November 2023. In a response to that lawsuit filed Friday, a lawyer representing Retzlaff denied those allegations but said Retzlaff had consensual sex with the woman.
The response indicated Retzlaff and the woman traded lighthearted text messages for months after the encounter and characterized the lawsuit as an extortion attempt based on the idea that Retzlaff developed into an NFL prospect roughly a year later.
The lawsuit described the encounter much differently.
Both the complaint and the response agree that Retzlaff and the woman connected through social media, which led to her visiting Retzlaff’s apartment to play video games on or around Nov. 22, 2023. The woman arrived with a friend, and friends and teammates of Retzlaff also were present.
Later that evening, the woman’s friend left, after which Retzlaff and the woman started watching a movie and began to kiss, the lawsuit states. While “Retzlaff began escalating the situation,” the suit says, “Jane Doe A.G. tried to de-escalate the situation and attempted to slow things down, trying to pull away, and saying ‘wait.’ She did not want to do anything sexual with him.”
The lawsuit says the woman told Retzlaff “no” and “wait, stop,” but he continued to force himself on her. After she tried to get up out of the bed, the lawsuit alleges, in graphic detail, that Retzlaff put his hands around her neck and proceeded to rape her.
A few days later, the woman visited a hospital, where a rape kit was performed and pictures of her injuries were taken. The lawsuit says she was connected with Provo, Utah, police but did not initially share Retzlaff’s name.
No criminal charges have been filed against Retzlaff.
After the lawsuit was filed, BYU issued a statement, saying: “The university takes any allegation very seriously, following all processes and guidelines mandated by Title IX. Due to federal and university privacy laws and practices for students, the university will not be able to provide additional comment.”
Retzlaff is not the first high-profile BYU athlete who faced a lengthy suspension for an honor code violation related to premarital sex. In 2011, basketball player Brandon Davies was dismissed from the team — which at the time was 27-2 and ranked No. 3 in the country — and suspended from school. He was reinstated that fall. In 1999, running back Reno Mahe was suspended from school and forced to leave the football team. He transferred to a junior college and later reenrolled at BYU.
Retzlaff, who has graduated from BYU, is expected to enter his name in the transfer portal in the coming days. He started 13 games for the Cougars in 2024, his first year as the starter, leading the team to an 11-2 record. He passed for 2,947 yards and 20 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.
Texas State has officially joined the Pac-12, the conference announced Monday, becoming the league’s ninth member ahead of its relaunch in 2026.
“We are extremely excited to welcome Texas State as a foundational member of the new Pac-12,” commissioner Teresa Gould said in a statement. “It is a new day in college sports and the most opportune time to launch a new league that is positioned to succeed in today’s landscape with student-athletes in mind.”
Texas State’s board of regents voted to authorize a $5 million buyout to the Sun Belt Conference early Monday. The Bobcats will remain in the Sun Belt through the 2025-26 season before joining the Pac-12 in all sports for the 2026-27 school year.
The Pac-12 needed to reach eight football-playing schools to meet the NCAA minimum for an FBS conference prior to the 2026 season.
Texas State president Kelly Damphousse called the move “a historic moment” for the university.
“Joining the Pac-12 is more than an athletic move — it is a declaration of our rising national profile, our commitment to excellence, and our readiness to compete and collaborate with some of the most respected institutions in the country,” Damphousse said.
Athletic director Don Coryell echoed that sentiment, calling the opportunity “a new era” for Texas State, which has been in the Sun Belt since 2013 after making its FBS debut with one season in the WAC in 2012.
“This historic moment belongs to our coaches, staff, student-athletes, fans, alumni and students,” Coryell said. “As the Pac-12’s flagship school in Texas, we proudly embrace the opportunity and responsibility that comes with it.”
The long-awaited announcement comes on the heels of the Pac-12’s announcement last week that it had finalized a five-year agreement with CBS for a portion of the conference’s football and men’s basketball media rights, including both sports’ championship game. Additional media partners are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Texas State is located in San Marcos, which is only about 35 miles south of the University of Texas in Austin. Texas State has more than 40,000 students, with one of the 25 largest undergraduate enrollments among public universities in the U.S.
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.
Alabama’s 2026 recruiting class landed another significant late-June recruiting boost Saturday when four-star defender Xavier Griffin, ESPN’s No. 3 outside linebacker, announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide over Florida State, Ohio State and Texas.
Griffin, a versatile, 6-foot-4, 205-pound prospect from Gainesville, Georgia, is the No. 30 overall recruit in the 2026 ESPN 300. A former longtime USC commit, Griffin took official visits with each of his finalists in June. He now stands as the top-ranked prospect among 14 commits in Alabama’s incoming class, joining days after the program secured top 300 pledges from running back Ezavier Crowell (No. 31 overall) and tight end Mack Sutter (No. 138) on Thursday night.
Griffin told ESPN that the Crimson Tide’s pedigree and vision laid out by Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer and outside linebackers coach Christian Robinson were driving factors in his decision.
“Growing up, just seeing them, all the draft picks and stuff that they’ve had — all the guys they’ve put in the league — it speaks for itself,” Griffin said. “They have history and they’re really clear about what they’re trying to build with this new staff.”
A physical defender capable of dropping into coverage, Griffin has cemented his status as one the nation’s top linebackers at Gainesville (Georgia) High School, where he’s recorded 97 total tackles and 21 sacks across his sophomore and junior seasons.
He initially committed to USC last July and remained one of the Trojans’ top prospects over next 10 months before Griffin pulled his pledge from the program on May 14. Sources told ESPN at the time that Griffin’s decommitment stemmed from his intention to schedule official visits with programs this spring, bucking against USC’s policy against committed players taking official trips to other campuses.
Upon reopening his recruitment, Griffin locked in official visits with Alabama, Florida State, Ohio State and Texas for this month, closing with a trip to the Crimson Tide from June 20-22. Despite his lengthy USC pledge, Griffin told ESPN that no program recruited him more actively than Alabama across the past two years, led by Robinson, the program’s second-year assistant.
“He’s been one of the most consistent with me throughout my whole process,” Griffin said. “He’s just a really, really good guy.”
The highest-ranked of seven ESPN 300 pledges bound for Alabama in 2026, Griffin now leads an increasingly talented Crimson Tide defensive class forming in the current cycle.
Alongside Griffin, Alabama holds commitments from top-10 cornerbacks Jorden Edmonds (No. 38 overall) and Zyan Gibson (No. 65) in 2026. Defensive end Jamarion Matthews, Griffin’s teammate at Gainesville High School and ESPN’s No. 92 overall recruit, has been pledged to the Crimson Tide since February, and Alabama’s latest defensive class could get even deeper over the next month as priority targets including top-60 prospects Jireh Edwards, Anthony Jones and Nolan Wilson approach the final stages of their recruiting processes.