The often imitated, never duplicated and distinguished motorsports journalist Jeff Gluck is the highly awaited guest for landmark Episode 100 of the podcast. Davey Segal chats with one of his biggest mentors and names in NASCAR about his illustrious career spanning multiple decades.
Growing up out West, Gluck details his upbringing (including being classmates with team owner Justin Marks) and how coming East to study journalism at Delaware kicked the next chapter of his life into high gear. After attending his first NASCAR race at Rockingham Speedway, he was hooked. From that point forward, he began covering the sport “on the side” any way he could while a high school preps reporter, which led to his upward trajectory.
Gluck recalls the hilarious way he got introduced to “NASCAR Scene,” which became his employer for some of the best years of his life. The glitz, glamor and glory of the sport in its heyday was stuff of legend, and Gluck shares some stories about NASCAR at its peak in the mid/late 2000s...before it all came crashing down and he was jobless.
From SB Nation, to USA Today, to starting his own website and everything in between, Gluck dives into each stop of his professional career along the way and what came along with them, including a time when Brian France and countless drivers were rather displeased with one of his articles and made sure to let him know.
Moving back out West to start a family could have come at the expense of his career, but it didn’t, much in part thanks to his patrons. Gluck gets real about how they literally changed his life, and why it made leaving for The Athletic such a tough decision. But he’s loving it, and tells Davey why this is the last job he’ll take in motorsports journalism. The two share laughs, stories and some heartfelt messages in what truly is an extravaganza of a 100th episode.
And as always, Papa Segal gives an ode to a lesser-known driver of the No. 0, and Davey reflects on reaching the 100th episode of the podcast.
