Over the course of one hour Thursday night, 15 of the 16 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers were on one stage for NASCAR’s “After the Lap” special in Las Vegas.
Denny Hamlin was absent due the recovery from knee surgery, but that didn’t keep the jokes from flying. It was helped by the drivers having consumed varying amounts of adult beverages.
Here’s a few of the best jokes and stories from the event.
- Kevin Harvick on him and teammate Tony Stewart drunk dialing Chip Ganassi at 4 a.m.: “We would prank Chip and he would answer the phone every time. It’s like, ‘I’m drunk, but you’re answering the phone every time, so who’s worse off in this situation? The guy answering the phone at 4 a.m. or the two guys really messing with you that know that you’re answering the phone and think it’s hilarious?’ ”
- At one point Joey Logano made a comment about being booed. He was met with responses from Harvick: “If you want cheers, wreck Kenseth,” and Sprint Cup champion Kyle Busch: “If you want to get your cheers back, just announce your retirement.” Busch wasn’t done, saying, “You can try the break your leg route. That’s harder.”
- Earlier in the day at the Myers Brothers luncheon, Matt Kenseth said that he was looking forward to going full-time in the No. 20 car in 2016. Kenseth referenced his two-race suspension again when asked how often he gets to see the Green Bay Packers play. “I haven’t yet. I had a little downtime so I was thinking about going to see them in Charlotte a few weeks ago. “
- At the end of the night, drivers were acknowledging their gratitude to the now retired Jeff Gordon when Kenseth spoke up again. “Jeff Gordon for President! I think you can beat (Donald) Trump!”