Oct 1, 2026 · 10 min · 6 segments
The **NERD OUT** rolls into **Stock Eliminator**, and this championship chase is getting crowded. Joe Santangelo has taken over the top spot, but with several contenders still holding valuable…
[upbeat music] What do you say we nerd out a little bit? You up for it? Today we're gonna dive into Stock Eliminator, where I, I, I started this series, I, I wrote a, a column for National Dragster that was published fairly recently but was written, like, three or four weeks ago, and obviously a lot has changed.
But in that column, which I established Michael Brand as the leader and, let's say, slight favorite, and then, like, you just go down through the top 10 and go, "Man, somebody's gonna make a run here," but nobody looks stronger on paper than anyone else.
Like, this is pretty wide open, right? In the time since, one of those contenders has definitely put a foot down, has, has put their best foot forward, and that's Joe Santangelo.
Obviously, if you're listening to this podcast, you are familiar with Joe Santangelo.
He's also, in addition to his, his world championship, it seems like Joe Santangelo has been down to the wire in championship contention, like, five or six times in the last decade.
And since that one championship years ago, like, I'd have to look up the year, um, but it's over a decade ago, since that time, he's come up short.
And if you know anything about Stock Eliminator and heads-up match-ups, you know that one of the last people you'd like to see in the other lane is anyone with the last name Line.
He then went to his last national event, which was just last weekend in Rockingham, and Double O Joe was putting on a show, right? He had both cars in in the semifinal round, where he, his, his points earning season in Stock Eliminator came to a heartbreaking end in the semis, where he's one thou red.
Now, that semifinal finish, combined with the runner-up at Earlville, vaults him to the lead.
It is not traditionally a championship score, specifically in Stock Eliminator, where that number tends to run up high.
Like, it might hold up, but I would say it's not likely to, and that's what's so heartbreaking about this one thou red in the semis.
If he wins that round, goes on to win the race, I think Joe Santangelo would tell you the exact same thing.
That's 32 points if he could win those two rounds, and I'm just telling you, the difference between 633, that I don't think will hold up, and what could've been 665, which I think is likely to have held up, is significant.
[upbeat music] What do you say we nerd out a little bit? You up for it? Today we're gonna dive into Stock Eliminator, where I, I, I started this series, I, I wrote a, a column for National Dragster that was published fairly recently but was written, like, three or four weeks ago, and obviously a lot has changed.
But in that column, which I established Michael Brand as the leader and, let's say, slight favorite, and then, like, you just go down through the top 10 and go, "Man, somebody's gonna make a run here," but nobody looks stronger on paper than anyone else.
Like, this is pretty wide open, right? In the time since, one of those contenders has definitely put a foot down, has, has put their best foot forward, and that's Joe Santangelo.
Obviously, if you're listening to this podcast, you are familiar with Joe Santangelo.
He's also, in addition to his, his world championship, it seems like Joe Santangelo has been down to the wire in championship contention, like, five or six times in the last decade.
And since that one championship years ago, like, I'd have to look up the year, um, but it's over a decade ago, since that time, he's come up short.
And if you know anything about Stock Eliminator and heads-up match-ups, you know that one of the last people you'd like to see in the other lane is anyone with the last name Line.
He then went to his last national event, which was just last weekend in Rockingham, and Double O Joe was putting on a show, right? He had both cars in in the semifinal round, where he, his, his points earning season in Stock Eliminator came to a heartbreaking end in the semis, where he's one thou red.
Now, that semifinal finish, combined with the runner-up at Earlville, vaults him to the lead.
It is not traditionally a championship score, specifically in Stock Eliminator, where that number tends to run up high.
Like, it might hold up, but I would say it's not likely to, and that's what's so heartbreaking about this one thou red in the semis.
If he wins that round, goes on to win the race, I think Joe Santangelo would tell you the exact same thing.
That's 32 points if he could win those two rounds, and I'm just telling you, the difference between 633, that I don't think will hold up, and what could've been 665, which I think is likely to have held up, is significant.
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