![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023-04-16T223736Z_1160843999_MT1USATODAY20479219_RTRMADP_3_NASCAR-NOCO-400.jpg?width=600)
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 16, 2023; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) celebrates winning the NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/2023-04-16T223736Z_1160843999_MT1USATODAY20479219_RTRMADP_3_NASCAR-NOCO-400.jpg?width=600)
USA Today via Reuters
Apr 16, 2023; Martinsville, Virginia, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Larson (5) celebrates winning the NOCO 400 at Martinsville Speedway. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
This past weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series visited the Martinsville Speedway. Let’s just say it was a packed one, with the IndyCar race sharing the same weekend. However, there were some in the community who felt that the two races should not have clashed.
This was because both races kicked off within half an hour of each other. In light 0f this, Door Bumper Clear hosts, Brett Griffin, TJ Majors and Freddie Kraft opened up about the matter.
Why Brett Griffin didn’t want the NASCAR and IndyCar races to collide?
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Griffin told the Door Bumper Clear podcast, “I don’t care, as a NASCAR fan. As an IndyCar fan, I’m spot off because, why would you take people who like racing, like myself, who would casually tune in?”
“I do casually tune in. Do I catch every IndyCar race? No. Did I watch the Indy 500? Yes. Do I know who the Kirkwood guy is? No. Maybe if we didn’t run the race right in the middle of the NASCAR race, yesterday, maybe I would have causally tuned in or followed on Twitter or something. You would have piqued my interest, but where were they even at?”
“For me, this is a miss for IndyCar and whoever their network partner is. You missed an opportunity to have our industry talking about your race, because our drivers do watch, They do engage social media as its going on.”
“There’s very few things that Roger Penske does wrong, so I don’t know how I can sit here and say he’s wrong.”
What happened during the IndyCar race, which ran alongside NASCAR?
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As it turned out, it was Kyle Kirkwood who snatched his first career win in the IndyCar Series. He was joined on the podium by F1 alumni, Romain Grosjean and Marcus Ericsson. The best part for Kirkwood was that he led an Andretti Autosport 1-2 ahead of Grosjean. The star all began to align when Kirkwood snatched pole position and went on to lead the most laps.
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/imago1028087190h.jpg?width=150&blur=15)
via Imago
April 16, 2023, Long Beach, California, USA: 27 Kyle Kirkwood of Andretti Autosport wins the 48th Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach held on Sunday April 16, 2023 in Long Beach, California. /PI Long Beach USA – ZUMAp124 20230416_zaa_p124_095 Copyright: xJOSExCASTANEDAx
Freddie Kraft agreed and said, “I was saving that for my What an Idiot. My notes were exactly the same as yours. First of all, I don’t care, that’s their problem. Why are they going against us? That would be like us expecting to go at one o’clock on a Sunday in the fall and beat the NFL. It’s just not going to happen.”
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Of course, fans would have been fairly split on what to watch between NASCAR and IndyCar. This is because watching one series would adversely affect the TV viewership of the other. This is probably why the annual Super Bowl is never on the same weekend as the Daytona 500.
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