Category: News

Ross Chastain has enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, but the driver of the No. 1 car for TrackHouse Racing wasn’t likely someone casual sports fans who don’t watch NASCAR week-to-week knew much of.

That was until Sunday when Chastain’s last lap pass, flooring it in the final turn and riding the wall to move from 10th to 5th and passing Denny Hamlin in the process to get into the Championship 4, went viral after he brought video game racing to real life. It was a surreal moment to witness, but Chastain isn’t so sure he deserves too much credit for brilliance in taking his NASCAR 2005 skills to the real track, as he’s quick to point out that he expected to end up wrecked moreso than punching his ticket to the final race still part of the NASCAR Playoffs.

Even as he’s deflected a bit, it’s been a move that captivated the sport and sports fans well beyond NASCAR diehards. On Wednesday, we got a chance to talk with Chastain about the move, going viral, his breakout season, and why the new car has created opportunity for smaller teams as he got ready to fly out to Phoenix for the final race of the season with the Cup Series Championship on the line (Sunday, 3:00 p.m. ET on NBC).

How’s the last week been for you? Because it has to have been pretty crazy since Sunday.

Yeah, man it is. It’s been it’s been good obviously, right? A lot of good. A lot of people reachin’ out, so there was a little bit of time of reflection on it, but then it’s been full speed ahead on Phoenix.

We’ve all seen the videos, the in car, everything, but as you’re going through that and when you get told you’ve got to get two spots, as it just this is the only possible shot? Like what are the things that go through your mind as you’re trying to process how do I get to Phoenix in the Championship 4?

Yeah, I mean, it was the thought came to my head when we took the white flag and, and really had no thoughts about it before that and just thought that was my only way to try, and I wanted and had to try something and I was willing to do whatever it took and for some reason it worked.

Have you been surprised at all by the by the reaction to it and how it became this, this theme that so many people have latched on to and it’s kind of gone beyond just NASCAR fans and it’s become such a big thing for for sports fans in general?

I was just more surprised that it worked in the first place. I mean, I just fully when I committed to turn three up on the wall I just I had no idea what was gonna happen. If I was gonna just come to a stop, crash, wreck, something, you know, but the risk of it was worth the potential reward of transferring and so that’s my surprise. The rest of it, that’s what’s so great about social media. Stuff can get from Martinsville, Virginia across the world in an instant and we did that with the NASCAR race.

As you mentioned you shift your attention now to Phoenix. That’s a track where you finish second earlier this year, so you’ve got some good vibes there. Is it nice going to that track knowing like you’ve performed well there and you theoretically have an idea for setup and how to handle it?

Yeah, look, I feel a lot better that we finished second and not 22nd in the spring. So that’s not to say that we’re going to get to finish second again or anything. This car has been the greatest reset the sport has ever seen and for the duration of this year from the preseason testing to the March Phoenix race to this November race, the car is evolving at a rate that’s just unprecedented. It’s handling different, it’s driving different, it looks different on the setups, and nothing will be the same as what we had in the spring. So no guarantees but it does feel good just as a competitor and just the racer in me that we had a good run, but I’ve been around long enough though it doesn’t really mean much.

Well, even factoring in the changes, recently you’ve been having plenty success with with four top fives, and what do you feel has kind of come around for this team and has made you guys so consistently good to be able to bring a good car to the track and have a good strategy to get you guys up near the front pretty consistently during the playoffs?

It’s just a continuation of our preparation. I mean the races are — the speed is found at the race shop. And then executing it, throughout the summer I didn’t do a great job but earlier in the year and late this year we’ve done a really good job of just finishing where we belong, and then the times like Martinsville outkicking our coverage a bit. So just learning the cup series. It’s hard. These are the best drivers in the world and we’re going up against them.

What has this been like for you in the playoffs? With the week to week stress and handling that and what has the learning experience been for you as a driver in your first championship chase?

It’s been learning, a lot of learning. Look, from myself to my crew chief, spotter, we’ve never won races in our current roles in the Cup series. We’ve never been in the playoffs. So we as TrackHouse are learning all this as we go and I wouldn’t want to be doing this with anybody else. And the fact that we’re building this together, the way we are is just absolutely incredible. It’s just not supposed to happen this way. And I’m thankful it is.

Yeah. We’re so used to seeing the big teams, seeing the Hendricks and the Gibbs and the established teams that we’ve known for years. What does it feel like when you’re building something and just kind of bringing something fresh to the sport, having a team that we aren’t necessarily accustomed to seeing in the Championship 4?

It’s our arrival. So it’s kind of hard to give an unbiased opinion, because I’m on the inside looking out, right? But I think you’re gonna you’re gonna see this man. This sport is changing and evolving and your legacy teams are going to continue, but with this new car, there’s more opportunity than ever for a team to come in and compete. So, I’m glad to be in the sport at this time and in the potential that this car affords all of us, it’s just unmeasurable right now and it’ll be years maybe even decades down the road before we truly, I think understand what this car has done for the sport.

Is there is there anything specific that you can speak to as to why that is, you know, for somebody who doesn’t necessarily know the ins and outs of the car and what has changed so dramatically?

They’re truly the same. Never before in the history of our sport has this been the case. So in the past, from the very first NASCAR race to Phoenix in 2021, each team was a manufacturing facility. We manufactured race cars and then we raced them. Now we buy race cars and we assemble them so I truly have the same chassis that another competitor has on another manufacturer team. I have the same control arms. I have everything the same — now we can assemble them different, we can bolt them together at different angles and use different parts, but we all have the same parts book to order out of and that’s just never been the case in the sport.

Megan Thee Stallion fans aren’t the only ones upset about a possible mention on Drake and 21 Savage’s new album Her Loss. Virginia crooner DRAM “woke up to some f*ck sh*t” and felt the need to vent on Twitter, as well. Apparently, he’s miffed about lyrics from the song “BackOutsideBoyz,” which he believes name check and taunt him over an old dustup between the two.

In the song, Drake rhymes, “Tried to bring the drama to me, he ain’t know how we cha-cha slide.” DRAM, who once accused Drake of copying his breakout hit “Cha Cha” on the 2016 megasmash “Hotline Bling,” obviously feels that this constitutes a shot across his bow, which he addressed in a video posted on Twitter earlier this morning.

“Ay, somebody tell Drake to shut the f*ck up about that sh*t, man,” he says in the clip. “[It was] f*ckin’ five years ago. This n**** never even f*ckin’ touched me. I pressed his ass. His bodyguards went to town on the kid. He ain’t touch me, he’s a b*tch. What’s good with the one-on-one though?”

Meanwhile, fans think another Drake line refers to Megan Thee Stallion. On “Circo Loco,” he raps, “This bitch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion,” which some fans have interpreted as a reference to Megan Thee Stallion’s accusation that Tory Lanez shot her in the foot. Contextually, it seems to be about a different kind of shots — i.e. fat injections to the posterior or the infamous “Brazilian butt lift” — while “stallion” is a longstanding slang term for a woman with large hips, thighs, and rump, but that hasn’t stopped those fans from grilling the Canadian star over it, even with his history of beef with Tory Lanez.

You can check out the seeming DRAM reference below.

Paramore returned this year with the announcement of their long-awaited sixth studio album This Is Why. Their live performances at festivals and on late-night television have been nothing but spectacular. After announcing some shows this year, they’re back today with the announcement of a full-on 2023 North American tour.

It’ll kick off in Charlotte, NC in May and end in St. Paul, MN in August. Accompanying them on the road will be Bloc Party, Foals, The Linda Lindas, and Genesis Owusu. In July, Hayley Williams said that Bloc Party was “the number one reference” when it came to making the new album.

Check out the tour dates below.

05/23 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center *^
05/25 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena *^
05/27 — Atlantic City, NJ @ Adjacent Festival
05/30 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden *^
06/02 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena *^
06/04 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse *^
06/05 — Indianapolis, IN @ Gainbridge Fieldhouse *^
06/07 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena *^
06/08 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena *^
06/10 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center *^
06/11 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paint Arena *^
06/13 — Orlando, FL @ Amway Center *^
06/14 — Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live *^
07/06 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center +%
07/08 — Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena +%
07/09 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center +%
07/11 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center +%
07/13 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena +%
07/16 — San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena +
07/19 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum +
07/22 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center +
07/24 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena +%
07/25 — Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum +%
07/27 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Vivint Arena +%
07/29 — Tulsa, OK @ BOK Center +%
07/30 — St Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center +%
08/02 — St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center +%

* with Bloc Party
+ with Foals
% with The Linda Lindas
^ with Genesis Owusu

Tickets go on sale Friday, November 11 at 10 a.m. local time here.

This Is Why arrives 2/10 via Atlantic Records.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake and 21 Savage’s new album, Her Loss, continues to cause a stir online. As fans dig through each track’s lyrics and other production credit, many have begun to ask will Megan Thee Stallion receive writing credit? The simple answer — yes.

To be clear, Meg didn’t write on the album. However, 21 Savage did use an interpolation of her flow on song, “Rich Flex,” where he raps, “I’m a savage / smack her booty in Magic / I’ll slap a p*ssy n**** with a ratchet.”

The H-town hottie won’t be the only people unwittingly added to the credits, “Savage” co-writers J. White Did It and Bobby Sessions will also receive acknowledgment. This is not the first time an interpolation has been heatedly discussed online. Earlier this summer, Beyoncé’s usage of the 2003 song “Milkshake” on her album, Renaissance, sparked several debates on Twitter. Afterward, the interpolation was removed following Kelis’ expressed displeasure in not being asked beforehand.

On hearing lyrics from the song “Circo Loco,” some fans believe that Drake seemingly defends his fellow Toronto native Tory Lanez’s claims that he did not shoot Meg. After hearing the line, “this b*tch lie ’bout getting shots, but she still a stallion / She don’t even get the joke, but she still smiling,” Meg immediately shared her disgust on Twitter.

Receiving writing credits on an album where you are possibly being dissed — now, that’s savage!

U2 singer Bono recently released his first book, a memoir called Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. He popped up on The Late Show yesterday to promote it through a chat with Stephen Colbert. During the conversation, the Beatles documentary Get Back came up and Bono came up with a funny comparison.

Colbert asked Bono about Get Back, specifically about if Bono noticed any parallels between the creative process of The Beatles and that of U2. Bono exalted the film, saying:

“I was riveted. I mean, first of all: who knew that The Beatles had created reality TV? I was like, ‘Wow!’ They had microphones in the flower pots and… and then, I also felt so privileged because it was like being there when Jesus wrote, you know, the Sermon On The Mount. You know, if Jesus had a roadie be like, ‘Blessed are thee… blessed are the… geek! No, meek! Meek!’ I mean, you’re hearing them write these songs and they’re going, ‘What is it,’ you know? ‘Hey George’… no, ‘Jude.’”

He then went on to more directly answer Colbert’s question, saying that improvisation is a big part of U2’s songwriting process. He noted that while he and The Edge do most of the “formal” songwriting for the band, most of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.’s creative input comes through improvising.

Check out the interview above and below. Bono also performed a modified solo rendition of U2’s “With Or Without You,” so find that below as well.

With only a few days left until the midterm elections, Oprah Winfrey offered her full endorsement to Pennsylvania Lt. Gov John Fetterman as he fights for a Senate seat against Winfrey’s former daytime TV rival Dr. Oz. While Fetterman has maintained a lead in the polls thanks to his relentless pummeling of Oz’s residency status (and the whole crudités thing), that gap has closed in recent weeks. Fetterman is also recovering from a stroke, which affected his sole debate performance against Oz. Republicans have capitalized on Fetterman’s oratory stumbles, but Oprah isn’t having it.

While hosting “A Virtual Voting Conversation” on Thursday, Winfrey threw her support behind Fetterman and outlined the direct threat posed Republicans picking up wins in the House and Senate. Via TODAY:

“If we do not show up to vote, if we do not get fired up in this moment, the people who will be in power will begin making decisions for us,” she said. “Decisions about how we care for our bodies, how we care for our kids, what books your children can read, who gets protected by the police and who gets targeted.”

Winfrey also threw her support behind Democratic candidates Val Demings in Florida, Beto O’Rourke in Texas, and both Raphael Warnock and Stacey Abrams in Georgia for representing “the values that we hold dear, the values of inclusion, the values of compassion and community that so many of us share.”

“So use your discernment, which seems to be missing in a lot of our, our our country today,” Winfrey concluded. “Use your discernment and choose wisely for the democracy of our country.”

(Via TODAY)

John Wick fans are eager for a fourth movie in the franchise, but 2023 will also see the Wickiverse expand to streaming platforms as well. The Continental, a Wick-related spinoff prequel about the assassin hotel featured extensively in the later films, will arrive next year on streaming services.

As Deadline reported on Friday, things have shuffled from the original plan to debut the series on Starz. The show will now air on Peacock when it debuts in 2023, while Amazon Prime will have its rights internationally. As the outlet reports, Peacock will also have the rights to the first three John Wick movies as well, so all your Wick is now in one place.

The Continental serves as an origin story of sorts for both The Continental and its staff, with new actors playing existing characters as they flesh out the logic of an assassin-only hotel secretly taking up prime real estate in New York City. From the Deadline description, it sounds like The Continental will have a bit of The Deuce in it. Oh, and Mel Gibson is there, too:

The Continental explores the origin story and inner workings of the exclusive Continental Hotel, a centerpiece of the John Wick Universe which serves as a refuge for assassins. It told from the perspective of the hotel manager, portrayed by Ian McShane in the film franchise – a young Winston Scott, played by Colin Woodell. Throughout the series, viewers will follow Winston through the underworld of ‘70’s New York, where he will battle demons from his past as he attempts to seize control of the iconic hotel – a hotel that serves as a meeting point for the world’s most dangerous criminals.

Woodell stars alongside Ayomide Adegun, who will portray a young Charon, Peter Greene, who plays Uncle Charlie, Mel Gibson as Cormac, Ben Robson as Frankie, Hubert Point-Du Jour as Miles, Jessica Allain as Lou, Mishel Prada as KD and Nhung Kate as Yen.

That makes 2023 a big year for Wick, with John Wick 4 also slated for a release next year. It’s been a long wait for fans of the series due to the pandemic, so it’s about time everyone gets what they want here. And now we know where to find it all.

(Via Deadline)

Paramore’s long-awaited return has been one of the most exciting parts of 2022. First there was the release of “This Is Why,” alongside the announcement of their forthcoming album of the same title, and then there was the resurrection of their hit “Misery Business,” which they played live for the first time since 2018 last month.

Last night, the band brought “This Is Why” to life in a vivacious performance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Bandleader Hayley Williams’ stage presence is as energetic and exuberant as ever, imbuing the song with a special flair.

Upon the track’s release, Williams shared a statement: “’This Is Why’ was the very last song we wrote for the album,” she wrote. “To be honest, I was so tired of writing lyrics but Taylor [York] convinced Zac [Farro] and I both that we should work on this last idea. What came out of it was the title track for the whole album. It summarizes the plethora of ridiculous emotions, the rollercoaster of being alive in 2022, having survived even just the last 3 or 4 years. You’d think after a global pandemic of f*cking biblical proportions and the impending doom of a dying planet, that humans would have found it deep within themselves to be kinder or more empathetic or something.”

Watch Paramore’s performance above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Drake and 21 Savage shared Her Loss at midnight, but before that, Drake hosted an episode of his SiriusXM show Table For One to count down to the release. During the program, he took a moment to speak about the recent death of former collaborator and Migos member Takeoff.

Drake said:

“Before I get into the pleasantries, I’d just like to send our deepest condolences from the family to the entire QC, to our brother Quavo, to our brother Offset, to the friends and loved ones of the legendary, unprecedented Takeoff, a guy that I knew for a long, long time. I’m sure people know how we started, of course, with ‘Versace,’ and from there, you know, we formed a brotherhood. I always talk about the fact that this was one family. My friends in the music industry are not friends, they’re family. So, our deepest condolences. Tragic loss for all of us and… you know, a dark cloud over this business that we love so much. I just encourage everybody to lock into that mindset, no matter where you are, you know? It’s just really… you know, it’s a life that’s worth living, and everybody deserves that chance, so it’s unfortunate that one of our dear, dear brothers had to leave us this week.”

Listen to Drake talk about Takeoff below.

Coraline director Henry Selick is now the helmer of Netflix’s Wendell and Wild and co-wrote alongside Jordan Peele. That intentional team effect stands in sharp contrast to what happened with The Nightmare Before Christmas. As Selick recently revealed to AV Club, he’s still a little bit sore over directing that 1993 movie and watching the movie be rebranded as Tim Burton’s Nightmare Before Christmas mere weeks before its release.

To be clear, Selick pulled the Jack Skellington-focused movie together as director after Burton crafted the story that screenwriter Caroline Thompson fleshed out. Burton’s aesthetic obviously permeates the film, but Selick has pointed out that although Burton’s story was “perfect,” the truth was that “it was really me and my team of people who brought that to life.” So, why did Burton’s name end up all over the film at the last hour?

The answer’s actually (and sadly) a simple one. At the time, Burton was riding high on Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and putting Michael Keaton in a Batsuit. His name on the marquee likely pulled a ton of butts into seats, which was the goal of Disney/Touchstone pictures, who (as odd as it sounds) may have been a little nervous about selling Selick’s revolutionary brand of stop-motion animation to an audience. The movie eventually spoke for itself, but yup, Burton’s name in the title was totally a name-recognition thing. Nowadays, Selick and Burton are both doing just fine with their new projects (Selick’s Wendell and Wild and Burton’s Wednesday) on Netflix.

(Via the AV Club)