NASCAR Driver Chooses Whitey Morgan & The 78’s For Intro Song
Country radio may not play them, but Whitey Morgan and the 78’s are finding their way to the people nonetheless. It’s always fun to witness a cool convergence of sports and music, and to find out who is listening to what. The Turnpike Troubadours owe some of the popularity of their song “Long Hot Summer Day” to baseball player Matt Carpenter who took it all the way to the World Series, and it should be no surprise there’s a mess of NASCAR drivers that are into country music, from the Bro-Country crap to the real stuff. But crossing the finish line and coming in first for the coolest taste in music on the circuit has to be Kyle Larson.
NASCAR has many traditions, and one of them is the musical introductions at the popular Bristol Motor Speedway in Tennessee. According to the list of driver intro songs for Sunday’s (8-21) race in Bristol (postponed due to rain on Saturday night), Kyle Larson’s intro music is Whitey Morgan and the 78’s “Another Round.”
According to NASCAR, “A big part of every Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway is driver intros, where each driver gets to pick a song of his or her choice to walk out to. It gives drivers a chance to show off their musical tastes, flex their comedic muscle and, yes, sometimes even send a message.”
Kyle Larson’s message is loud and clear: the world needs more Whitey Morgan and the 78’s.
Even more interesting, this weekend’s race is the second of two annual NASCAR races at Bristol, and at the previous race on April 17th, Kyle Larson was introduced via Chris Stapleton’s “Outlaw State of Mind.” Good taste in music, indeed. And don’t diminish the importance the Bristol fans take in Shazaming and sleuthing out what song each driver is introduced to.
One interesting footnote though, whomever is putting together NASCAR’s official master list of driver introductions in Bristol may be having “Another Round” too many. Whitey Morgan and the 78’s are misspelled “Whitney Morgan and the 78’s.” But that’s not half as bad as Eric Church, who is misspelled as “Erica Church” on the same list along with some other humorous typos. Either way, hopefully it’s an opportunity for Whitey and the boys to be exposed to a few more folks.
READ: Marty Robbins Saves Life of NASCAR’s Richard Childress
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Footnote: To many, Bristol, Tennessee is considered the true birthplace of country music. Ralph Peer’s Bristol Sessions in 1927, recording The Carter Family and others resulted in the “big bang” for country music becoming a legitimate art form and a commercial enterprise.
August 21, 2016 @ 9:00 am
WTG
August 21, 2016 @ 9:53 am
As a NASCAR fan, I am happy you posted this article as when I saw it was I going to find a way to let you know. Kyle is one heck of a driver and really neat he picked that song!!
August 21, 2016 @ 3:54 pm
Funny story – I took my brother to see Whitey and crew in Atlanta a couple of years ago and he had never heard of them. He “googled” them ahead of time to get familiarized and ended up on Miss Whitney Morgan’s website, “Orlando’s premier fetish model”. Obviously he was a bit disappointed when he found out we were just going to see a country band (lol).
August 21, 2016 @ 4:28 pm
And for those who are looking at product positioning – “Outlaw State of Mind” closes the best movie I have seen so far this year, “Hell or High Water”.
1) It sounded tremendous on the theater sound system and 2) it fit absolutely perfectly with the scene/situation and 3) go see the d*&n movie!
I like this too. Been getting into Whitey and like most everything, especially the live album. Anyone know why his stuff isn’t available until 9/9 on Amazon?
August 21, 2016 @ 6:08 pm
Not sure what you mean. Whitey’s stuff is available on Amazon.
August 22, 2016 @ 3:02 am
“Pre-sale” – not shipping until 9/9.
August 22, 2016 @ 7:10 am
Yeah, but my problem was the Stapleton song was the weakest song in the film. The movie kicks off with Townes Van Zandt and includes Ray Wylie Hubbard, Waylon, and a score by Nick Cave. I thought ending the movie with an artist more along those lines would have been better, like a Guy Clark, a Joe Ely, or Terry Allen. Plus, the song used, “Outlaw State of Mind”, I feel is the worst song on Traveler. It’s the closest to Bro-Country and even approaches Brantley Gilbert territory. The only time Waylon sang about Outlaws was in a self-effacing way. Those guys didn’t need to brag or chest pound.
That brings me to Whitey. I think what he does is fine for what it is. But I feel what it is is more like a tribute to the Outlaw sound. Granted, he has impeccable taste, covering Waylon, Townes, even Frankie Miller on his latest album. But his originals need more work substance-wise. Until then, I’d rather hear the real thing.
Just my two cents.
August 22, 2016 @ 9:19 am
Been trying to run down an official soundtrack for this. Hope to have a story soon.
August 24, 2016 @ 7:54 am
Hey Trigger, I actually work with Larson and helped him pick out that song. He’s a fan of country music for sure, and really likes Sturgill and Stapleton, so I thought introducing him to Whitey Morgan and the 78’s was a logical step. Kyle will be running a car with some country ties at an upcoming and I’d love to share some pics with you for this site. Email me the best way to contact you and I’ll shoot some info your way.
August 21, 2016 @ 7:46 pm
I was there and I noticed the inclusion of a true country song by Kyle Larson.
I thought that it sounded like Whitey.
A singer named Ray Scott did a pre-race concert.
August 21, 2016 @ 9:31 pm
Really enjoyed Ray Scott. Too bad I drove eight hours for a rainout
August 22, 2016 @ 7:12 am
Ray Scott is from my neck of the woods and I’ve opened a show for him. He is an amazing songwriter that deserves much much more attention.
August 22, 2016 @ 11:57 am
Maybe some website dedicated to preserving authentic country music will feature him in an article.
August 22, 2016 @ 3:11 pm
I was thrilled the other night at the race when I heard whitey morgan during the introductions… too bad we only saw 38 laps before the sky opened up and it rained out.
Trigger, interestingly enough whitey morgan’s sonic ranch is also available to listen to for free on Delta Airline’s new in flight entertainment system. The overall musical selection is pretty narrow, probably only 30 albums across all genres, but I was seriously impressed with how well selected their choices were. Just a side note
August 25, 2016 @ 7:26 pm
Larson is also running a Marty Robbins tribute paint scheme in the Xfinity series race at Darlington on Labor Day weekend!