AFP Podcasts

Harrison Burton upends the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race

This Harrison Burton story involving a final-lap lead change that vaulted him from nowhere to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs is a lot better than the one that had been dominating the headlines.

Burton, who had lost his ride with Wood Brothers Racing for 2025, didn’t need to wreck anybody to get the win in Daytona on Saturday night.

It was just good, clean racing that got Burton, the son of retired NASCAR veteran Jeff Burton, who was on the call for NBC’s coverage of the race, into the winner’s circle, and into the 2024 playoffs.

UVA Football: Is Tony Elliott on the hot seat? And more 'Hoos news

I think it’s fair to speculate how the big season that a lot of folks seem to think is in store for Virginia Tech might factor into the thinking around Tony Elliott and Virginia.

There’s buzz about Tech being a sleeper pick to contend in the ACC this year, and that translates to expectations about, what, nine wins, maybe 10 wins?

If Brent Pry, in his Year 3, has Tech on the doorstep of an ACC title game, it’s not hard to imagine the people who pay the bills at UVA saying, hey, wait a minute, our guy is in his Year 3, what are we getting out of him?

Four spots still open in 2024 NASCAR Playoffs

Tyler Reddick took the checkered flag in Michigan on Monday, and since Reddick was already a 2024 winner, we still have four spots open in the 2024 NASCAR Playoff race.

That’s in part because of NASCAR’s surprise move last week to hit Austin Dillon, the winner at Richmond back on Aug. 11, with an unprecedented penalty – taking his guaranteed playoff spot away as the penalty for intentionally wrecking race leaders Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin on the final lap.

#TeamAFP’s Chris Graham and Rod Mullins break it all down for us this week on the podcast.

NASCAR isn’t going to do anything to Austin Dillon

Austin Dillon drove through leaders Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin to take the checkered flag in Richmond on Sunday night, igniting a controversy that has NASCAR saying it will review his driving, and maybe even take the win away.

That’s not going to happen, of course.

#TeamAFP NASCAR writer Rod Mullins joins us to break down the end of an otherwise dull race, and also report from Bristol Motor Speedway, which announced last week that it will be hosting an MLB game in 2025.

NASCAR returns from Olympic break

NASCAR has taken the past couple of weeks off to accommodate TV rights holder NBC’s interest in broadcasting the 2024 Paris Olympics, but the Cup Series is set to return this weekend at Richmond International Raceway.

AFP’s NASCAR guy, Rod Mullins, joins Chris Graham on the podcast today to get us up to speed on what has been going on in NASCAR with the drivers and teams getting the rare mid-season break.

Kyle Larson finally wins at Indianapolis

The talk of the spring in NASCAR was Kyle Larson trying to do the double – racing in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca-Cola 600 on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

The weather didn’t hold up to allow Larson to race in both, but Larson made up for that failed day with his win on Sunday at the Brickyard 400.

Rod Mullins joins the podcast to break down the win, and we talk off-the-track news with Cole Custer and Hailie Deegan.

Ryan Blaney, not at all running on fumes, wins at Pocono

It will be a while before Ryan Blaney has a lead on the final lap and doesn’t worry about whether he has enough gas to get across the finish line.

He did on Sunday, taking the checkered flag ahead of Denny Hamlin.

Rod Mullins joins the podcast to recap the NASCAR Cup Series weekend.

We also talk about the struggles for Cup Series stars Kyle Busch and Bubba Wallace.

AEW welcomes back MJF, Adam Page, to begin ‘All In’ season

Former AEW world champs Maxwell Jacob Friedman and “Hangman” Adam Page are back, and they’re on clear paths to big matches at the “All In” pay-per-view in London next month.

AFP wrestling columnist Ray Petree updates us on the latest goings-on in AEW, and previews this week’s “Dynamite,” before this week’s podcast turns into an impromptu Eddie Kingston lovefest, after a discussion of the latest news involving Kingston and his gruesome in-ring leg injury.

Alex Bowman wins in the rain, Hailie Deegan, John Force updates

Chicago, for the second straight year, had its NASCAR street race, a neat idea, if there ever was one, dampened by rain.

Alex Bowman made it memorable, breaking his 80-race NASCAR Cup Series winless streak in a timed finish – an idea that NASCAR might want to try again, incidentally.

Rod Mullins joins the podcast to break down the weekend on the mean streets of Chicago.

The show also goes in depth on Hailie Deegan’s bad breakup with her Xfinity Series team, and the latest on NHRA legend John Force.

Digging into the Tony Bennett UVA contract extension

Podcast: Digging into the details of the Tony Bennett UVA contract extension

We’ve known since June 13 that Tony Bennett signed a contract extension that will, in essence, tether him to UVA Basketball through the end of the 2030-2031 season.

What we didn’t know: the details.

Chris Graham examines the salary, bonus and buyout portions of the deal in this podcast.

Stories referenced in the podcast

• What you need to know: Breaking down the Tony Bennett UVA contract extension
• Offer sheet from UVA Athletics to Tony Bennett sheds light on when extension was offered