Nascar On Nbc Podcast

The NASCAR on NBC Podcast examines the CART-IRL Split and the 1996 Indy 500/U.S. 500 in a 25-year retrospective that examines one of the most momentous events in IndyCar history. This narrative episode includes several interviews, including former IndyCar team owner John Menard, 1996 Indy 500 winner Buddy Lazier, former CART champion Jimmy Vasser, former CART winner Adrian Fernandez, CART CEO Andrew Craig and seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton on Hendrick Motorsports’ historic day (1:00); what made the performance even more impressive (3:00); Hendrick on the cusp of even more history (4:00); the validation of Rick Hendrick’s business practices and focus on people (6:00); how it feels now inside the walls of Hendrick (8:30); is Rick Hendrick the best in NASCAR history? (10:00); Hendrick’s long-term driver lineup seems very secure (11:30); the tough decisions that team owners have to be make balancing age vs. performance (14:00); the conversation that Alex Bowman and Greg Ives had about leadership after Darlington (16:30); the divides within a race team organization (19:00); whether Burton ever had those conversations with his crew chief (21:00); the scrutiny that drivers face because of the mountains of SMT data (23:30); what Burton likes about all that advice from engineers and teams … and one thing he doesn’t (25:30); what to take from Kyle Larson’s 25th second-place finish (29:00); Burton’s only knock on Kyle Lar

NASCAR on NBC analyst Kyle Petty on why Martin Truex Jr. is the championship favorite (1:00); why is he so dominant so often in his victories? (3:00); breaking down the Martin Truex Jr. driving toolbox and moral code (5:00); what the dominance says about his communication skills (7:00); has Truex been undersold as a driver in the past because of the attention focused on his crew chief (9:30); Kyle Larson’s shot at a winning pass (12:00); and how the sprint car mentality sometimes might cause him to overthink it (15:00); Kyle Larson’s case for being a top three team (17:00); the magnificence of Lord William Byron (19:30); does Hendrick need an Alpha driver (21:30); KP’s theory on why there weren’t more spins despite the cars being harder to drive (23:00); whether Darlington made a permanent case for low downforce (26:30); “I can’t run qualifying laps for 400 laps and race” (29:00); a peek forward on a tough stretch in the 2021 schedule (31:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for mo

NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Jarrett on the importance of extending the Cup winning streak (1:00); has DJ seen any other star driver as motivated by records as Kyle Busch? (3:00); No pressure: Just 10 wins this year and five annually from here (5:00); has Kyle Busch learned to compartmentalize the personal from the professional better in 2021 (7:30); a general acceptance of the 2021 rules package by Busch and others (10:00); Kyle Larson really kicking himself as another win escapes his grasp (12:30); and maybe a bigger picture reason (14:30); the curiously timed caution flag from NASCAR (16:30); the case for holding the yellow flag (18:45); are Kansas restarts becoming a bigger crapshoot than Talladega (20:00); DJ does wonder how he might have done with this form of racing (22:30); will there be more than 16 regular-season winners? (24:00); what to expect from Darlington (26:00); a 2021 Cup playoffs opener preview (28:30). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorspor

NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton on sid Brad Keselowski win again because the rules changed or is he overthinking it? (1:00); did Talladega change that much in Burton’s era? (4:00); what makes the good superspeedway drivers great (6:00); how prerace mindset can make such a huge difference (8:00); analyzing the Matt DiBenedetto move on the final lap (10:00); it takes a village to win a superspeedway race (12:00); the pressure facing Matt DiBenedetto (13:30); the pressure of a driver’s faith in the spotter (15:00); Joey Logano’s anger at being upside down and what NASCAR can do (17:30); what Burton believes is the only solution (19:00); why do drivers keep wrecking at the end of superspeedway stages? (21:00); the most important parts of the analysis: figuring out how the car got airborne and how much they can reinforce the roll cage (24:00); big weekend for the Burton family (28:30); on the advice Jeff gave his nephew Jeb (30:00); the lessons and success of Harrison Burton’s Cup debut (31:30); what might be ne

NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte on why this wasn’t a stolen win! How Alex Bowman and crew chief Greg Ives seized the moment with a surprise strategy move (1:00); Steve’s “secret” to short track tire pressures late in the race (3:30); how Ives got a preview that the adjustment might work (5:30); an important victory for Hendrick Motorsports (7:30); on Alex Bowman becoming an underrated regular winner (8:30); Hendrick Motorsports sitting pretty with Chad Knaus at the helm (10:00); how the leadership dynamic at the team might be changing (12:15); another missed victory for Denny Hamlin and how the No. 11 team reacts (14:30); the “danger zone” of a second place being frustrating (15:30); appreciating an 11.9-second pit stop under pressure with five guys (17:30); and why it might have made the second place even worst for Hamlin (19:00); what was Brad Keselowski’s team thinking in Stage 2? (21:00); was the extra set of tires worth the gamble maybe? (23:00); Jimmie Johnson’s IndyCar debut at Barber Motorsports P

Michelle Martinelli of For The Win! and USA Today Sports joins to talk about the third (NASCAR-themed) season of The Sneak (1:00); the backstory of the mysterious Mario Rossi (3:00); the lack of general NASCAR awareness about the Rossi story (5:30); the story of “Black Thursday” (7:30); were some of these events covered up by the NASCAR industry at the time? (10:00); NASCAR’s stance on the Rossi history (12:30); where the idea for the podcast originated (14:30); the wide variety of characters in a true crime genre podcast and what it’s like reporting it (17:00); what the early reaction has been from the NASCAR community (19:00) Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jerry Freeze, general manager of Front Row Motorsports, on life at the Daytona 500 champion's headquarters, even if the signage doesn’t reflect its greatest triumph yet (1:00); describing the command center at Front Row Motorsports and its role in warding off geese (3:00); what being general manager entails (4:00); comparing the Daytona 500 victory to Front Row’s other wins (6:00); the morale boost of winning the Daytona 500 (7:30); a goal of advancing through the first round of the 2021 playoffs (9:00); what sponsors have been added since Daytona (10:00); “we’re in a better position than we’ve ever been revenue-wise but also are spending more to go race” (12:30); improvement of the Roush Fenway and engine alliances (14:00); becoming a de-factor four-car team with Roush (16:00); support from Ford post-Daytona (18:00); how the Daytona 500 win impacts Love’s, which previously was interested mostly in business-to-business from its McDowell sponsorship (20:30); a funny anecdote about the Love’s family (23:00); on

NASCAR on NBC analyst Kyle Petty on why The King and other old-timers were leery about Bristol Dirt (1:00); how racing on dirt in 2021 compared to 50 years ago (3:00); does NASCAR need a dirt race to showcase driver talent? (5:30); “it’s all about the fans,” and they told KP that they loved it (6:30); improvements to consider for 2022, starting with the potentially unfixable dust (8:30); tire wear is OK! (9:30); KP TANGENT (into the free pass rule) (10:00); “rules should never be changed in the middle of a sporting event.” (11:30); several tweaks (windshields, etc.) that KP believes should be considered (13:00); strong dirt performances by some unexpected drivers (14:00); how Daniel Suarez and others made it work on “a driver’s day” (15:30); what to make of 18-1 long shot Joey Logano winning the race (18:00); And big races for Truex, Suarez and Stenhouse (19:00); what happened on the final restart with Logano and Denny Hamlin (21:00); some dimestore driver pyscho-analysis of being ruthless in the Cup Series a

NASCAR on NBC analyst Dale Jarrett on how did Kyle Larson lose this race? (1:00); did Joey Logano really affect the outcome much? (3:30); how did Ryan Blaney conserve his tires so well on a track that gobbles them? DJ offers the Hall of Fame driver perspective (5:30); what this victory says about the emergence of Ryan Blaney as a championship contender (7:00); did Kyle Larson need more information on how he was getting beat by Blaney? (9:00); might Larson’s dirt background have been a disadvantage to Blaney when it comes to tire conservation? (11:00); focusing on the lessons of the loss for Larson (13:00); and how he rebounds from the Atlanta disappointment (15:00); lessons for the No. 5 team as well (17:00); on Blaney opening as 15-1 shot to win Atlanta and why the victory was a little unexpected (18:30); the continuing struggles of Kevin Harvick (20:30); what DJ says are major concerns for Stewart-Haas Racing (23:00); how many winners will there be in the 2021 regular season? (25:30); DJ’s prediction (27:30

NASCAR on NBC analyst Jeff Burton returns to the NASCAR on NBC Podcast for his first appearance in a year and five days to break down the NASCAR Cup race at Phoenix Raceway, including recalling the last time we did this pre-pandemic (1:00); what stood out about Martin Truex Jr.’s victory, aside from being so good after scrubbing the wall (2:00); was this a bit of a breakthrough victory for the No. 19 team? (4:00); a deeper look at crew chief James Small (6:00); if the nature of the surprising turnaround in the race is a trust and confidence-builder (8:00); why Jeff likes monitoring the radios of drivers who are struggling (9:30); stage racing as illuminated through fantasy racing (10:30); as he’s been saying for the better part of five years on this podcast, Burton clearly explains once again why points … still … matter (13:00); breaking down the final restart in which Truex beat Logano (15:00); why Phoenix restarts are unlike any other since the reconfiguration (18:00); did Joe Gibbs Racing addresses its Pho

NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte breaks down the NASCAR Cup race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including Kyle Larson breaking the “underdog” streak (1:00); how it felt to see a crowd (though limited) at Las Vegas this time (2:00); is Larson getting up to speed so quickly a surprise? (4:00); sizing up the surge by Hendrick Motorsports (6:30); why Rick Hendrick would say this might be the most chemistry is team ever has enjoyed (8:00); wondering what Hendrick driver debriefs are like these days (10:30); how it might have evolved from the Jeff Gordon/Jimmie Johnson era (12:00); why now might have been the perfect time for Chad Knaus to be put in charge of Hendrick’s competition overall (14:00); do the Hendrick drivers’ styles mesh because they’re of the same age? (16:00); and how they might fit together just as well in office cubicles (18:00); the 1-2-3 countdown of the best teams in Cup (19:15); Kyle Busch and a simulation to real world discrepancy (21:00); on the beauty of Kyle Busch hating a third-place fin

NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte breaks down the NASCAR Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where he returned as a de-facto crew chief for the first time in several years and explained how race day felt (1:00); what surprised him the most about what the NASCAR garage looks like now vs. 2014 (2:30); how the race unfolded (5:00); why Corey LaJoie seemed less worried about everything than Steve (6:30); how Steve still found his happy place despite his car being out for the last 100 laps (8:30); how Sunday compared to his first race as a crew chief nearly 15 years ago (10:30); how crew limitations could impact the crew chief transitions for engineers (12:30); the extra duties that come with being on a pandemic-era pit crew (15:30); Steve’s insight and experience with Rudy Fugle winning his third race as a Cup crew chief (18:00); good signs for Hendrick Motorsports (20:00); who is Rudy Fugle (21:30); explaining how the “parts freeze” is affecting the Cup Series (23:30); why it’s helping the smaller teams (27:

NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte breaks down the NASCAR weekend at the Daytona Road Course, analyzing how Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs are making the future seem bright at Joe Gibbs Racing (1:00); why are so many inexperienced drivers getting their first NASCAR national series victories at road courses? (3:00); some insight on what Letarte knows about Bell and Gibbs before their breakthroughs (5:30); appreciating the rarity of consecutive first-time winners (7:30); the turning point of the race, starting with NASCAR’s officiating decisions (10:30); appreciating the tire wire and strategy from having options (13:00); the discussions NASCAR needs to have on officiating road courses (15:00); looking at local yellows and talking to the drivers before COTA (17:00); some other considerations before making policy changes (19:00); what the CBell victory meant for his crew chief after Adam Stevens had a bit of a contentious split with Kyle Busch (21:30); making the case for the “team of rivals” approach (24:00); t

NASCAR on NBC analyst Steve Letarte breaks down the Daytona 500, analyzing the breathtaking final lap and what he saw between Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano (1:00); Are we learning you shouldn’t block while leading on the last lap of the Daytona 500? (3:30); How does Roger Penske handle the aftermath? (4:30); on Michael McDowell’s underdog story (7:00); how the race's turning point was all about pit strategy (11:00); why Daytona turned out to be a numbers game that Toyota and Denny Hamlin couldn’t win (13:00); was Hamlin right to be confused why the Chevrolets waited until the last lap to make a move? (14:15); the missed opportunity of breaking manufacturer ranks (16:00); why the Toyotas still shouldn’t kick themselves too much (18:00); on whether the six-hour rain delay (and big crash before the red flag) impacted the rhythm and flow of the race (20:00); the ability to control a race like Dale Jr. and Denny Hamlin can (22:00); Stevie’s Speedweek in Daytona and how it felt weird (23:30); how does McDowell’s

The newly named Chevrolet sports car program manager who oversees Corvette Racing and also has managed the Cadillac program that has four consecutive overall victories in the Rolex 24 at Daytona on her new expanded role as a major manufacturer executive in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Series (1:00); how many people she oversees (3:00), the great start to the Rolex 24 that GM Racing enjoyed on the first weekend in Daytona (5:00); what it’s been like dealing with the attention on Chase Elliott and Jimmie Johnson (7:00); how the program and teams integrate the superstar drop-ins (9:00); the excitement of vying for a fourth consecutive Rolex 24 victory with Cadillac (11:00); how Laura got into racing while growing up in Baltimore (13:00); the first race car project she worked on in college (15:00) how she became a car person (17:15); on making the shift from the production to the racing side of General Motors (18:45); adding the oversight of the Corvette Racing to her managing the Cadillac program

Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt Jr. share everything they love about Bristol Motor Speedway ... their first impressions on rolling into NASCAR's "Last Great Colosseum," the secrets to some of their success, why they tell every fan it's the first NASCAR racetrack where they should attend a race, the toll it takes on drivers and the special atmosphere and allure it holds. Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The brain trust of Toyota Racing Development's vaunted TD2 driver development pipeline on some of Toyota’s up and comers such as Chandler Smith (1:00); “you have to remember they’re still just kids” (2:30); more of the name in and out of the program (4:00); the importance of USAC dirt racing (5:30); how Toyota Racing Development deals with having teams provide the slots for its drivers (7:30); thinking about the “greater good” for auto racing (9:30); dealing with the luck, good and bad, of keeping drivers or having them get away (11:00); the NextGen timeline with driver development (12:30); exploring William Byron in depth (13:30); what it’s like dealing with “NASCAR dads and moms” (15:00); “Parents have seen their kids run perfect races, and they expect that every time.” (17:00); why drivers whose parents “let go” tend to have more success (19:00); holding younger drivers accountable for their actions (20:00); teaching the real-world consequences for off-track behavior (21:30); the rage-quitting incident and

The brain trust of Toyota Racing Development's vaunted driver development pipeline on their backgrounds with TRD (3:00); being based in California but being “comfortable” with that and the travel it demands (5:00); the origins of the driver development program (7:00); which includes physical training, social media and health and nutrition advice (9:00); figuring out to pay for the program and rising star Christopher Bell (10:30); “if we need tried to go back and do this 100 times, it probably doesn’t work” (11:30); the importance of being hands on, understanding every prospect won’t stay and getting the byproduct of teams working together more often (13:30); kicking off the program with a home run in Christopher Bell (15:00); reflecting on Erik Jones and Bubba Wallace being in the program before it was fully formed (16:00); William Byron’s time with TRD (17:00); the “family selection” process (18:00); how Toyota attaches sponsors to drivers the way teams would (19:30); how dealing with the sponsorship as a ma

The two-time Daytona 500-winning crew chief for the No. 11 Toyota of Denny Hamlin on how he finds benefit in iRacing by running practices races with Hamlin, and learning to improve communication (3:00); his passion for iRacing and how long he’s been involved (4:30); his racing background in Super Late Models (6:00); how many wins in real life vs. iRacing and his history with owning a simulator (8:30); how iRacing can help build the Gabehart-Hamlin relationship, particularly in a world without practice (10:00); the difference between how IndyCar and NASCAR are approaching iRacing (12:30); what he’s learned from watching Hamlin on Twitch (14:00); getting a rare window into a driver’s mindset with the helmet off (15:00); what makes Hamlin so good at iRacing (17:30); how iRacing is a level beyond IROC (19:30); what the absence of fear – and the pressure of big-time sponsorship -- mean (20:30); is he glad 7-year-old Taylor Hamlin won’t be ending a No. 11 race on a real track anytime soon? (22:00); what the prepara