Disheartened Fans Insinuate ‘Announcers Jinx’ as Cup Series Underdog Wiped Out From the Lead at Talladega

BJ McLeod’s dream run at Talladega in his black Chevy faced troubles on Lap 40 after a push out of Turn 1 saw the part-time owner-driver spin out of contention for a stage 1 victory at the GEICO 500. Ironically, all of this happened while McLeod was leading his most laps ever at a Cup Series race.

Fans blame FOX broadcast crew for jinxing BJ Mcleod in Stage 1

Bob Pockrass of FOX updated the BJ McLeod fandom in a separate update on Twitter which read, “McLeod scrubbed the wall and reports no fuel pressure. He pits.” Understandably many spectators were disappointed after the unsponsored, non-chartered #78 ‘underdog’ circumstantially fell out, after strong showings in Stage 1. However, the grandstands took it a step further, hailing “the announcer jinx” referencing the broadcast team’s prior shoutout to McLeod’s efforts with around 20 laps to go. 

One fan explained the collective sentiment perfectly, writing, “Sucks. He got so much TV time with nothing on the car, unfortunately.” But another made a very straightforward assessment, “Fuel gauge is on the dash BJ.”

Regardless, the discussions over the #78 radio will provide a closer look into BJ’s high-speed point of view at the 2.66-mile track where anything can happen. Kelly Crandall of RACER magazine posted the enlightening updates from BJ Mcleod himself, “Obviously we can’t go as long as everyone else on fuel… Just so you know, I put it in the fence to keep from wrecking everyone.”

But with McLeod finishing Stage 1 at least two laps down, journalist Jonathan Fjeld posted another update that read, “BJ McLeod had another fuel pressure issue under the Stage 1 caution. He’ll top off before Stage 2 and will hang in the back.

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As the 2024 GEICO 500 rolled on, BJ McLeod led five laps and moved five places up from his starting spot to end as the third-last car running, albeit a lap down in P32. Other non-chartered entries such as Cody Ware of Rick Ware Racing played the fuel-management game, a little better and finished the race in P24.

However, the outlier for the part-time underdogs ended up being ‘Dega’s double aspirant Anthony Alfredo, and his #62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports. After picking up a P3 podium finish at the Ag-Pro 300, Our Motorsports’ full-time #4 driver, switched seats and turned up with a stellar P6 outing at the Talladega Cup race.

Nevertheless, Tyler Reddick picked up his first victory for 23XI Racing, as well as Toyota’s fourth race win, at the end of the 188-lap spectacle. The Big One culprit on the final lap, Michael McDowell finished second, while Stewart-Haas Racing’s Noah Gragson rounded off the podium with his best-ever finish at Talladega. The NASCAR season moves next to Delaware the next weekend.