NASCAR Cup Series: Thanksgiving-themed playoff awards
By Dustin Smith
Thanksgiving Award #3 – Apple and Pumpkin Pie Awards
Depending on your personality, nothing caps off a great Thanksgiving meal like Apple or Pumpkin pie — or both, who am I kidding? A Thanksgiving feast is not complete without these dessert items. This year’s winners of the “Apple and Pumpkin Pie” are Matt Kenseth and Danica Patrick.
Just like apple pie, Matt Kenseth is a key piece in NASCAR and it is hard to think about him not being around next year. Think about your dinner table without the apple pie. Why isn’t the apple pie here? Hopefully teams wise up and offer him a contract to drive full-time in 2018, but early signs show that this isn’t going to happen.
The same can be said about Danica Patrick. I recently posted an article about how crucial it is for her to stay in the sport, and last week she announced her retirement following next year’s Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500. With the youthful movement in NASCAR, now is the prime time for Danica to let the kids do the learning and her to win at least one of her final two races.
Just like it would be a heinous act to not have pumpkin and apple pie at Thanksgiving, losing Kenseth and Patrick seems unheard of. Both are iconic drivers who any team would be lucky to have. Who knows, maybe one or both get an attractive offer and race full-time in 2018. In the meantime, they both will be key pieces missing in the 2018 NASCAR Thanksgiving dinner table.