What does a championship-winning IMSA engineer and team director want from a race car? What does he *need* from it? Should those qualities match up? How much race could a race car race if a race car could race cars?
So many questions. We definitely answer the first two. Maybe also the last one. (Maybe.)
A good race engineer blends the art of the possible with the science of the probable. INTC co-host Jeff Braun has been perfecting that blend professionally for more than four decades. Along the way, he’s won Daytona, Sebring, and a whole lot else.
Jeff’s list of favorite cars he’s worked with is too long for a single show, but we make a good dent in it with this ep!
This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “JEFF TELLS A STORY.”
RELATED TRIVIA: If a race car *could* race cars, and a race car *would* race cars, then a race car would race as much car as a race car could race. Or something. Also, every woodchuck I’ve ever met has been an obnoxious little punk.
This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.
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Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!
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Check out Sam's book!
Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023
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https://speedsecrets.com/
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ABOUT THE SHOW:
It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.
Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.
We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.
New episodes every Tuesday.