This is the Statt Mann Baby. Time to Scatt a little bit.

I’ve always liked Travis Pastrana. His commitment to his fan base is admirable. Especially the children who follow his adventures.

However, word this week that 23XI Racing will field a car for Travis in the Daytona 500 gives me mixed emotions.

First, good for him. He’s won championships and run in NASCAR before. A 2013 full-time Xfinity season saw him run ninth at Richmond, his best finish in the series.

But in the midst of all the whining about inflation and no money anywhere, someone’s found money to buy Travis a ride in exchange for some marketing muscle. And turning Travis into marketing muscle at Daytona shows you what racing has become: a brass ring for those with the longest fingers that can grab the hardest.

This also shows young drivers in the Truck and Xfinity garages they’d better build their social media followers. Track efforts are falling off NASCAR’s ladders.

It appears keyboard warriors carry more weight than on-track warriors. And that’s another sign of racing’s apocalypse.

Peace.