Shows
It's Not the CarTwo Drunk Guys Win Le Mans — (Jaguar Works Team, 1953)And that’s the end of Season Two! INTC will return on February 3rd, 2026, to kick off the show's third season.We're gonna close out 2025 with one of the greatest stories in racing: The time two British legends went on all-night drinking bender, then jumped directly into a 150-mph Jaguar and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.The summer of 1953. A night of brandy, cognac, pink gins. When Tony Rolt started the race, his co-driver, Duncan Hamilton, was on the pit wall nursing a brandy.Before that point, their lives had be...
2025-12-241h 26It's Not the CarGet a Job as a Race Engineer! — w/ Charlie PingYou asked for it! This is the first episode of a new series where we unpack just what it takes to get a job in pro racing.Charlie Ping is a pro engineer. Over the last 20 years, his career has spanned IndyCar, sports cars, and the Australian Supercars Championship. He helped develop Acura's LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes, and he developed and led the manufacturer track-testing program for Chevrolet's IndyCar aero kits.These days, Charlie works alongside INTC co-host Jeff Braun at Toronto’s 13 Motorsports, where he helps run a Corvette Z06 GT3.R in IMSA’s GT...
2025-12-091h 03It's Not the CarThe One Where Ross Doesn't Get Hit by LightningOff-topic show! Back by popular demand. No intro or announcements on this one—we dive straight in.***TOPICS:What Ross found when he tore down the engine from his Lotus Elan — Jeff's tale of French sports-car drivers meeting North Carolina NASCAR spotters — The summer coaching adventures of Ross and Sam — How the phrase “hot foam around your butt” relates to Jeff’s IMSA-champion son Colin — Ross going thunderstorm rogue at Sebring — and more!***PLUS: Spotter theory, race-strategy nuance, and how the art of getting faster has changed in the last 30 years!...
2025-12-0243 minIt's Not the CarImpossible Gear, Impossible Finish — (Schumacher 1994 Spanish GP)Thirty years ago, one of the world's greatest drivers was forced to run most of an F1 race with only fifth gear.Somehow, he finished second.The 1994 Spanish Grand Prix is widely thought of as Michael Schumacher’s greatest race. His gearbox was stuck in fifth. His team assumed his engine was minutes from blowing. And yet, because he was Michael Schumacher—one of the most successful and complex individuals to ever take a flag—he never stopped trying to make something from nothing.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode...
2025-11-251h 20It's Not the CarDid Patrick Dempsey Imagine His Way to Being Faster?**Want more listener Q&As like this? Patreon members get bonus episodes! Link below!**It’s another “No Dumb Questions!” You email to ask, we sit down to answer. There are no dumb questions in racing … but there might be some dumb answers!Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Ask about racing, performance driving, engineering, car setup, or anything else: INTCPod@gmail.com**ANSWERED THIS WEEK: How pro drivers get up to speed so quickly — What Ross learned from coaching Patrick Demps...
2025-11-1849 minIt's Not the CarShelby Cobras, Kimi Räikkönen, and Suspension Cork-SniffingHow did Ross and a young Kimi Räikkönen end up sharing a fancy London apartment? After 20 years of testing fast cars for a living, which one still makes Sam misty? What really went wrong with Ross’s IndyCar career?Answers to these questions—and more!—in this episode. Probably! Yes!Every so often, INTC does a listener Q+A show. We call that format “NO DUMB QUESTIONS.” This isn’t that. This is Ross and Sam running a weird almost-gameshow and answering uncomfy questions from each other under pressure. ***IN THIS EP: Ro...
2025-11-0457 minIt's Not the CarCrashing Four Times at Your First Indy 500 — w/ Jimmy KiteJimmy Kite crashed four times—four!—trying to qualify for the 1998 Indy 500. The story of how he finally made the show holds bad luck and trashed cars but also a hidden concussion, a giant fireball, an airborne gearbox, and a fat dose of can-do spirit. Plus: INTC co-host Jeff Braun! Jeff was Kite’s chief engineer that year. So we brought Jimmy onto the show and asked him and Jeff to tell the whole tale.Kite was a 22-year-old sprint-car kid from Missouri who came up on dirt and had just been crowned 1997 USAC Silver Crown R...
2025-10-2856 minIt's Not the CarLearning to Love (Hate?) the Porsche 911We’ve driven nearly all of ’em. Nearly every road model, plus some great race cars and extended family—a 934 and 935, a Daytona-winning Sixties 2.0-liter, a Rothmans 962, some 959s and RSRs, even Jerry Seinfeld’s 1964 “Butzi” shorty.Why do people love (and hate) the Porsche 911? Are the good ones worth the money? Can a reasonable person grow to love a great 911 if they don't like the things to begin with?Cliché questions. We hit them, then go deeper: What do you learn strapping into all that unobtainium?Ross and Sam have some rare wheel hours w...
2025-10-221h 04It's Not the CarRECAP: 2025 IndyCar Season — w/ Marshall PruettIndyCar is a gnarly old series, and 2025 was one of the sport’s gnarliest seasons. So we asked the one and only Marshall Pruett to break it all down—own the mic, spit Palou truth, don’t hold back.(That’s Pruett's secret—he never holds back.)Select Pruett bona fides: decades of paddock reporting for RACER, ESPN, and Road & Track. Hosts the Marshall Pruett Podcast, which you should totally check out. Also, he’s on a first-name basis with Chip Ganassi’s lawyer.Select IndyCar gnar, 2025: Scandals! Lawsuits! Chevrolet and Penske face-plants! Plus a mild-ma...
2025-10-141h 03It's Not the CarWhat the 2025 IMSA Season Taught Our Pro EngineerPicture it: Your scrappy little pro race team has a rough 2024. The next year, out of nowhere, you win Daytona. Then the whole gang takes its first trip to Le Mans and lands a killer finish.The rest of Jeff Braun's 2025 IMSA season was, to quote Jeff, “not that.”This one’s a doozy: First, we’ve got INTC co-host Jeff sharing what he learned in IMSA this year. (Jeff helps run a Corvette in the GTD class, remember.) Second, we’ve got Sam, who made way too much coffee on tape day. He's a little rap...
2025-10-0750 minIt's Not the CarThe One Where Ross Explains the NürburgringMore than 150 corners. Twelve point nine miles. History out the wazoo, big fun, big challenge to drive quickly. The Nürburgring Nordschleife is basically the world’s greatest race track.Wanna go? Of course you do! How convenient—Ross just got back from there! In this episode, he and Sam discuss that trip, why Ross takes a small group of clients and friends to the Ring every year, and why Sam has had many opportunities to visit the place for work and kept saying no.(Hint: It may be because Sam is a romantic doofus.)...
2025-09-3052 minIt's Not the CarThe Bloody Madness of the First Indy 500 — (1911)Little ditty... 'bout a race and a Speedway! Two Indy names, growin’ up in the heartland. Race gonna make the front page of the Indy Star? Speedway gonna something something… uh... museum... race... car!Yeah, sure, that makes sense! Don't tell me if it doesn't?The story of the first Indy 500 holds a lot of things—death, sand, smoke, around a million blown tires—but it does not hold John Mellencamp lyrics. Still, I hear Mellencamp in my head every time I meet Indiana, so that’s what I'm puttin' here.(If you squint, th...
2025-09-241h 02It's Not the CarSo . . . What is Handling, Actually?Remember the time you almost died because your hotted-up old Camarobird got all loose and stabby up at Dead Man’s Cul de Sac? Or maybe it was Turn 45 at Laguna Merrica. Either way, there you were, boppin’ along like a lap-wreckered Versteppy, when you nearly bought the farm.“She handled like trash that day,” you told the cops/the race steward/that fry cook at Burger Queen. “No idea why.” And the gathered crowd sighed—who hasn’t been there?Few automotive terms are as misunderstood as “handling.” What does it mean? Can “good” or “bad” handling be mea...
2025-09-1653 minIt's Not the Car[BEST OF] – The One Where a Cobra Eats Europe — 8/13/24INTC is on a short break, so we're dishing up an encore presentation of some of our favorite stories! This episode originally aired August 13, 2024. Guts, hot-rodders, and the legendary Carroll Shelby—it's a good one!***In the summer of 1965, a V-8-powered love song from California dethroned Ferrari, shut up the haters, and won America its first FIA manufacturer’s road-racing championship. Naturally, almost no one here noticed.The Californian car was a gutsy experiment from a 28-year-old ex-GM designer named Pete Brock. Their story holds bootstraps, napkin math, and one badas...
2025-08-261h 55It's Not the CarWhat the Perfect Driver KnowsThe perfect race driver doesn't exist. But great drivers *try* to be perfect. How? We'll tell you! In the form of a spicy excerpt from “Ultimate Speed Secrets," the best-selling performance book by INTC co-host Ross Bentley!(Bonus: Saucy stories from Ross's coaching past!)(Disclaimer: Said excerpt and stories may be neither spicy nor saucy!)This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “INTC BOOK CLUB.” Think of it as a strange but unexpectedly entertaining audiobook that you bought by accident at a random truck stop long before po...
2025-08-1930 minIt's Not the CarHow NASCAR Cheats – Part 2! — w/ Chris AndrewsWhen Chris Andrews was a NASCAR Cup Series engineer, he worked hand-in-hand with drivers like Robby Gordon and Carl Edwards. In his current job, Andrews is lead engineer for Vasser Sullivan’s championship-winning IMSA Lexus team.And man, does Chris have *stories*.Chris first hit the show last fall, when he shared killer tales of illegal race-car foolery. (INTC #46, “How NASCAR Cheats.") And now he’s back for another round of NASCAR cheats!This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Guest Teaches Everybody.” This episode was produced by...
2025-08-1254 min
Discourse LabSam Nahins (Loves Ukraine, Hates ISIS)If you want to support Ukraine please donate to Ukrainian Relief Fund. In this episode the boys are joined by Sam Nahins. Sam is a writer and former Air Force drone operator. He is currently pursuing an MFA at Columbia University. Sam has been featured on Fox News, Newsmax, French 24, and other programs, where he has been outspoken about his views on Israel, Ukraine, and campus protests. In the Summer of 2025 he spent a month traveling around Ukraine to get a better sense of what life is like for soldiers and civilians alike.Listen to...
2025-08-111h 27It's Not the CarINTC Movie Club – “Days of Thunder” (1990)It’s “Top Gun” on wheels, almost beat for beat. It’s awful. It’s great. And it’s a racing flick, so this ep must be…The return of the INTC Movie Club!SPECIAL GUEST CO-HOST: Kyle Kinard, formerly of Road & Track magazine. (Kyle’s last time here was INTC Ep. 26, “When Sam Drove Alonso’s F1 Car.”)IN THIS EPISODE: The story of Tom's Cruise’s 1990 cinematic assterpiece “Days of Thunder” — complete with joyous plot dissections and behind-the-scenes trivia! Why? Because Cruise sawing at the wheel in Rick Hendrick sheetmetal, that’s why! Because Ro...
2025-08-051h 27It's Not the CarHow to Get a Racing Sponsor“Why did I rob banks? Because I enjoyed it. I loved it. I was more alive when I was inside a bank, robbing it, than at any other time in my life.”That’s Willie Sutton, the famous 1930s bank robber. Over a 40-year career in the field of unlawful arts, he personally stole a fortune, at gunpoint, from dozens of financial institutions. He never killed anyone, and he spent more than half his life in prison.Why share these facts on an episode about how to get your first racing sponsor? No reason! This show w...
2025-07-2246 minIt's Not the CarRippin' Pikes Peak in a NASCAR Sled — w/JR HildebrandColorado, 2025: An IndyCar veteran enters a stanky old stock car in the world’s most famous hillclimb. On his own dime, with his dad as crew. Because he wanted make a point.Also: Because fun.800 horses! An ex-Kyle Petty 1990s Winston Cup car! And JR Hildebrand, your 2011 Indy 500 rookie of the year. He finished fourth in class in Colorado, 16th overall. Later, Kurt Busch and Kyle Petty rang his phone. (Did Hildebrand know those legends? Nah. They just thought dude was cool.)Some folks think cars like that don't belong on the...
2025-07-151h 11It's Not the CarThe Drama of Your First Le Mans — w/ Baptiste VialaDebrief alert! INTC co-host Jeff Braun helped run a GT3 Corvette at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year. To a top-ten finish!In his day job, Jeff is comp director for an IMSA team. Baptiste Viala is a 25-year-old engineer who works with him. June marked Jeff's sixth time running a car at Le Mans and Baptiste's first.Two cool cats. And they have surprisingly different angles on the same trip to France.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “The Rookie and the Vet.”(For the...
2025-07-081h 16
Thrive With Sam BryantAll the Updates-- Wedding, Moving & What's Next for Sam Smith CoachingSURPRISE!!!!! A Episode dropping on a Tuesday!?! What!?! I figure it was time to give a lil update on what has been going on behind the scenes of Sam Smith Coaching. How the wedding went and all about my move the Chandler, AZ. I am excited to tell you all about today! And don't worry an all new episode will still drop THIS Friday! Thanks for listening! Show Notes: Favorite Artists as of Late: Rachel Platten: https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-am-rachel-platten/1753129944 Ben Rector: https://music.apple.com/us/album/t...
2025-06-2445 minIt's Not the CarWhen Miatas Ate Sam’s BrainLaguna Seca. Nineteen privately owned Mazdas. And one man, lapping all those cars for Road & Track, quietly losing his mind.Car magazines: It’s a weird gig.In this episode, Sam relives one of the more unhinged story pitches of his career: A nonstop weekend wrangling 19 wildly different Miatas. Modded and stock. V-8 swaps and K-swaps. Turbo four-cylinders that made everything from hamster power to some 360 hp at the wheels. Plus one car that looked suspiciously like an Ariel Atom... but wasn’t.What you get here: another story from Sam’s unlikely life in...
2025-06-241h 13It's Not the CarThe Hidden Rhythm of Road AmericaCorner by corner, inch by inch, with one of the greatest tracks in the world. Do Ross and Sam use this episode to dissect their love for the pavement of Road America? Does a Wisconsin bear pope eat beer cheese in the Kettle Moraine woods?(The answer is yes, for the record. Yes to both.)Welcome to the Upper Midwest, cats and kittens. You will learn where the apexes are, if you don’t already know. But that’s the least interesting part.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We cal...
2025-06-171h 37It's Not the CarLe Mans Race Prep 101“They were all standing in front of our big Kenworth, the truck, this monster big American machine. They could have cared less about the Ferrari. They were like… the *truck* is awesome.”That right there is an actual quote from this episode, about actual French people meeting an actual Kenworth tractor-trailer.(Sacré bleu, good buddy!)This episode was supposed to be on another topic and led by Sam. Then Sam got sick and lost his voice (again), so Ross and Jeff kicked out the improv jams—stories from their past, from preparing for the 24 Ho...
2025-06-101h 07It's Not the CarThe Secret Life of an IMSA TeamJust what happens behind the scenes at a big-league pro sports-car race?Answer: Everything! And in this extra-special, audiobook-style INTC, you get… a whole lot of it!Jeff Braun and Sam Smith are two of this show's three hosts. Jeff is also competition director for the IMSA GTD Corvettes of AWA Racing. Last summer, Sam and Jeff met up for the IMSA race at Virginia International Raceway. Jeff and AWA were running a car—and Sam was building a show around all of it.Warning: This ep’s so big, we broke it into c...
2025-06-042h 07
MinistryWatch PodcastEp. 471: S.D. (Sam) Smith on Rabbits With Swords And Staying Put in West VirginiaI was recently trying to remember the first time I met S.D. (Sam) Smith, the creator of the wildly popular Green Ember books. I think it was at a homeschool conference a decade ago, back when I was working at The Colson Center. I noticed that one of the booths in the exhibit hall was crowded with kids and their parents. It was Sam’s booth, and the kids were going just crazy in their enthusiasm for Sam’s “rabbits with swords,” the heroic and delightful characters who are the stars of the Green Ember books.
Since th...
2025-05-2834 minIt's Not the CarWhy is Racing So Boring on TV?Not always. But often. It’s one of the many mysteries of motorsport. Here now, a dive into some of those mysteries! Starring a champion race engineer—Jeff!—and a recovering motorsport journalist—Sam!Some racing mysteries are fun. Some are frustrating. Regardless, if they’re in this episode, we don’t have answers for them, and we probably never will.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “IT’S NOT THE UNSOLVED MYSTERIES.” RELATED TRIVIA: Sam wrote these words late one Monday night while deep in the fog of A Real Gn...
2025-05-201h 02It's Not the CarThe One Where Hitler Loses — (German GP, 1935)This episode holds... Death! Glory! Men in great hats! But also Enzo Ferrari, Ferdinand Porsche, 160-mph race cars, and an entire regiment of the Nazi army. Oh, and: One of history's greatest drivers eats a ham.Oh, and: Hitler.Hold onto your butts, y’all—this one’s a doozy.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our semi-regular deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, that means Tazio Nuvolari’s against-all-odds win at the 1935 German Grand Prix.RELATED TRIVIA: Once, for hi...
2025-05-132h 07It's Not the CarThe Strange World of the Amateur “Pro” DriverLanding a job as a pro race driver takes talent, hard work, and a truckload of money.Or sometimes just money. And some people do it for giggles, as a hobby. (You know, like knitting! Just with more Senna inspo quotes.)This show changes formats weekly, because squirrel. We call this ep's format “MY LIFE WITH.” It’s where an INTC host tells the story of how they came to understand a complex racing topic over their working life. In this case, that means Jeff, his career as a champion race engineer, and the uniqu...
2025-05-061h 10It's Not the CarHow Would You Fix IndyCar?It’s another “No Dumb Questions!” You email to ask, we sit down to answer. There are no dumb questions in racing … but there might be some dumb answers.In this episode, we take questions from only one listener.Spoiler: That listener is Sam!This was supposed to be a fun little exercise where Sam asked Ross and Jeff random racing questions. Then Sam got a “rager” (his word) case of Covid and was barely able to talk. So he asked Ross and Jeff to read his questions aloud and spent most of the ep quiet...
2025-04-291h 00It's Not the CarWhen It All Goes WrongDo you remember your worst day in racing?Of course you do. How could you forget?Jeff, Sam, and Ross: three hosts, three hugely different people, three lifetimes in and around motorsport. And in this episode, the stories of three very different bad days at the track—in parenting (Jeff), in desperation (Sam), and in the realization that a dream is gone and not coming back (Ross).Racing is like any other part of life: It’s not about what happens when things go right. It’s about who you are when things go wro...
2025-04-221h 19It's Not the CarInstant Expert: Getting Used to a New CarRace tracks. The road. Fast cars. Slow ones. What do they have in common? Simple: If you're willing to use your noggin-brain, you can figure them out. Maybe.How do you get used to a new car at speed? What does it want, what does it need? What do *you* need? Can you turn the whole process into a repeatable, trustworthy routine? Of course you can! The question is… how?This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “INSTANT EXPERT.” RELATED TRIVIA: Jeff , Ross, and Sam were...
2025-04-151h 08It's Not the CarHow Do You Know You’re Good Enough?Why do we push ourselves? What makes you put yourself out there and try?Why is that trying so easy for some and so hard for others?How much does belief matter with all this? How much is it relevant to driving around in circles, or human performance, or doing the best you can with anything, especially given the limited resources each of us has on tap, as a person? Why do those resources rarely feel like enough—even when they so clearly are?This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. We...
2025-04-081h 13It's Not the CarJeff and Ross Didn’t Win Sebring!They had a shot at winning, you know? You always have a shot! Even though sometimes you don’t. This is what happens when… well, when you try very hard and it doesn’t happen.Jeff was on the wall with Toronto’s AWA Racing, helping that spunky little team’s Corvettes go faster. (Fresh off their Daytona win!) Ross was focused on LMP2 and his driver there and coaching his heart out. Everybody had heart on the table. And then…Well, you’ll have to listen! This show changes format weekly, because...
2025-03-251h 03It's Not the CarHow Do You Become a Pro Driver?The first answer? Money, of course. The second answer? Also money.The third answer, in case you’re wondering: also also money! But we don’t care about those answers! We care about how, if you work hard and maybe get lucky… you might not *need* the money. (Much.)Ross is a former IndyCar ’shoe and a pro driver coach who has trained thousands of racers. Jeff is a pro engineer who’s helped countless teams chase wins, and he raised an IMSA-champion son, Colin Braun. Ross and Jeff know things. They share things!This sho...
2025-03-181h 08It's Not the CarMythbusting: The Brakes Just Failed!“A mythbusting episode,” Ross suggested. “Great idea!” Sam and Jeff said.Then we blinked, and we had gone off-topic again, taped an entire show about 19th-century American cultural hegemony. What a corker! More specifically, we had taped a show about the life and times of a long-dead American statesman who also happened to be a strong supporter of the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, a.k.a. Prohibition.Naw—that’s an exaggeration. We wouldn’t do that to you. This episode is about *20th-century* political hegemony. (Everything els...
2025-03-111h 08It's Not the CarOff-Topic Show — You Asked For It!You guys have emailed to ask what we talk about off-air: "Have you ever considered an off-topic show?"Hey, why not?Sam cracked a beer on an empty stomach. Jeff poured a large coffee. Ross continued his streak of amusingly clean and healthy living. With no plan, we ended up yapping on—among other things—racing, Lotuses, how Sam’s grandpa got out of mowing the lawn forever, and that time Jeff’s son Colin whacked straight into a flying bat while lapping a kart in their yard in the middle of the night.This f...
2025-03-041h 03It's Not the CarJeff Just Won Daytona!We’re back! And one of our hosts just won the 2025 24 Hours of Daytona!His name is Jeff Braun, he’s the competition director for the IMSA Corvettes of Toronto’s AWA Racing, and he’s won Daytona twice before. We’re dang proud of him. We asked him to break down this year's win—moment by moment, all the ups and all the downs.AWA’s win at Daytona this year marks the first 24-hour win anywhere for the Corvette GT3 car. It’s also the first time in decades that a privateer Corvette has won the race...
2025-02-251h 39It's Not the CarTwo-Wheel Science 101 — w/Nick IenatschHow is speed on a bike different from speed in a car? Is chasing the limit different if you’re more likely to get hurt? And just why did your crazy old Uncle Eddie yardsale that ratty Ducati across a field, anyway?
Complex questions. Except Uncle Eddie. Dude owns a Chevelle and loves Foreigner a little too much, you know? Probably got hot blooded one night, wanted to know what love is. Maybe it felt like the first time? Tires were cold as ice, though, too many head games! But I digress.
Nick Ienatsch is th...
2024-12-241h 27It's Not the CarFlowing Into the Zone — w/Dr. Sue JacksonHave you ever been in the zone, or in flow, behind the wheel? Want to get back there again and again?
This podcast is all about what’s driving the car, and in this episode, we dig deep into the minds of high-performing drivers. We talk with Dr. Sue Jackson, a psychologist who has specialized in sport and exercise psychology. She co-wrote the book "Flow in Sports" with the “father" of flow research, Mihaly "Mike" Csikszentmihalyi.
In her latest book, "Experiencing Flow," Sue looks into how we can all spend more time experiencing peak performance, whet...
2024-12-101h 10It's Not the CarWhen NASCAR Broke America — (1979 Daytona 500 Fistfight)This episode has everything: Punches. Pepsi. Snow! Plus, a guy named Cale crashes a 190-mph race car in sneakers and kicks somebody on national TV.
Naturally, save the snow, this all happens in Florida.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, that means the 1979 Daytona 500 and the childish, joyous three-driver fistfight that changed NASCAR forever.
RELATED TRIVIA: To hell with trivia this week—we’re just gonna use this space to rattle off every badass old NAS...
2024-12-031h 13It's Not the CarJeff Tells a Story: Meeting 1967 Formula 1Strap in, kids—it’s time for another story from Jeff’s past, and this one’s a doozy.In 1967, future pro racer and INTC host Jeff Braun won a contest to visit the United States F1 Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. Jeff was nine years old. The trip blew his mind.Guaranteed in this ep: Our very own J.B. as a wee man! Quality hangs with Dan Gurney and Jack Brabham! Sam explaining why Sixties F1 was bonkers-deadly but great! Jeff swimming at the Glen Motor Inn with Gurney and Jim Clark and G...
2024-11-261h 03It's Not the CarInside Car and Driver's "Lightning Lap" — w/Tony QuirogaTony Quiroga is the editor-in-chief of Car and Driver. For the last 18 years, his magazine has rented Virginia International Raceway once a year. And each time, they’ve spent three days—normal people, not pro drivers—flogging the best new fast cars, lapping nonstop and chasing time.
Sound like a dream day? A pile of stress? Tony is an old friend of INTC, and he says C/D’s annual “Lightning Lap” test is… both!
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. Are we doing a run of guest episodes this fall because it sounded like fun? We a...
2024-11-191h 08It's Not the CarThe One Where Jeff Explains Race StrategyOnce, humans set foot on the moon. Some steely eyed engineer types did some math and took some gambles, and then some steely eyed pilot types sat on a big firework and flew off.
Huge achievement, neat space candle. And that plan—the *strategy*—made it possible.
Related: A host of this show is a pro race engineer. Jeff Braun has won the 12 Hours of Sebring eight times and the 24 Hours of Daytona twice. His résumé includes a whopping ten IMSA / Grand-Am championships.
Race strategy makes Jeff’s job go ’round. So we had him...
2024-11-121h 06It's Not the CarWhoop, There It Is — (Mazda Le Mans Win, 1991)In this episo… ah, screw it. Cut to the chase: Do you know what a Mazda R26B rotary sounds like?
Four rotors of fury! The littlest beer keg that could! The 700-horse shrieker from the first Japanese car to win Le Mans!
BEEOWHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP!
Except… louder. Nastier. You hear that noise even once, it makes a bee-line for the whoopy-monkey core of the human brain and lives there forever.
So we got ourselves here yep a story about that.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our...
2024-11-051h 28It's Not the CarWhy We Love Laguna SecaCorner by corner, inch by inch, one of the greatest tracks in the world. We’ve got thousands of laps there. Walk the track with us!
What makes Laguna Seca so great? Is the answer . . . California? The mountains? Memories of Mario, getting loose in Turn 9, that cotton-candy morning fog, or how the rear axle just snap-crackle-pops into the Corkscrew on trailed brake?
Yes! And so much else, right?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this ep's format “Walking the Track.” In this installment, Sam and Ross destitch their love for a dee...
2024-10-291h 23It's Not the CarYou Can Be Fast in Anything — w/Colin BraunJeff and Ross co-host this show. Jeff is a race engineer. Ross is a performance coach who’s worked with thousands of drivers—Indy winners, Le Mans winners, even the late Ken Block.
Thirty years ago, one kid stood out from the rest; he would become one of the most decorated drivers in American history. Oddly enough, that kid was Jeff's son.
Colin Braun is now 36. His resume holds three IMSA championships, four Daytona 24 wins, a Le Mans win, and a NASCAR rookie-of-the-year title. He’s raced in IndyCar, World Challenge, and Global Rallycross; he’s driven L...
2024-10-221h 15It's Not the CarHow NASCAR Teams Cheat — w/Chris AndrewsChris Andrews was once a NASCAR Cup Series engineer and crew chief. He’s worked hand-in-hand with drivers like Robby Gordon, Bill Elliott, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne. His resume holds names like Roush Fenway, Evernham Motorsports, and Richard Childress Racing.
What you have probably guessed already: Chris has some *excellent* stories.
Is this another of our “How the Pros Cheat” shows? You bet! And now with guest!
Related Trivia: After more than a decade at the top of NASCAR, Andrews switched to sports cars—he’s currently lead engineer for Vasser Sulli...
2024-10-151h 10It's Not the CarAll Hail Dan and Uncle Bobby — (Gurney Flap, 1971)“You jerk,” they’ll shout, “that show title isn’t relatable! Only the die-hards will understand! For pete’s sake, man, think of the traffic analytics!”
Who cares? I am Sam and I write these ep descriptions, and that title makes me happy. If you don’t like it, hey, you probably aren’t the kind of person to listen to a show about a “flap,” anyway.
And: This is a show about a flap! It’s also about two of the greatest American racers to have ever lived. The moment where two men of experience and wisdom gr...
2024-10-081h 07It's Not the CarThe Why of a Racing CoachHow do you know when to let go of something you love? What if you know it’s time but still think about that something every minute of every day?
If you’re INTC co-host Ross Bentley, you back up but you don’t give up—and you lean into what you’re good at.
Ross was once a pro driver in IndyCar and IMSA. He is now a pro driver *coach*. And while he’s too modest to admit it, he’s one of the best in the world at what he does. He has coached Indy...
2024-10-011h 07It's Not the CarHow to Drive It: Porsche 911OUR NEW WEBSITE IS WORSE THAN YOU HOPED: www.itsnotthecar.com/
Once, long ago, a German engineer looked at a VW Beetle and thought, “Ahh, my little streitzel, we should tango with the hot-rod physics of love!”
The Porsche 911 is divisive. People love ’em. People hate ’em. People fire ’em backward into ditches and Armco and spit excuses for how it wasn’t their fault—widowmaker car, Wreck-cellence Was Expected, blah blah blah. (“Too much understeer! Too much oversteer! Chappell Roan! ANYTHING BUT ME!”)
Is it the [fault of the] car? It is not!
This show’s format r...
2024-09-241h 19It's Not the CarSex, Shocks, and Rock ’n’ RollAVERT YOUR EYES FROM OUR NEW MERCH STORE: www.itsnotthecar.com/
***Don’t ever go there! It will rot your brain! (These annoying store mentions will stop soon, we promise.)***
Once, in college, Sam studied under a dignified old journalism professor.
“The thing about putting the word ‘sex’ in a headline,” this prof said, “is that it’s the easy way out. Like an exclamation point or a question mark—those are language cheats, to avoid thinking of something smarter. You can always do better.”
But enough of that! What did that prof know, anyway? Sam...
2024-09-171h 06It's Not the CarTo Pilot a Mercedes — (Le Mans CLR Crashes, 1999)WE HAVE A MERCH STORE NOW: https://www.itsnotthecar.com/
You asked, we delivered! . . . is exactly what we will tell the authorities.
*** 10% OFF ALL ORDERS FOR THE FIRST WEEK ***
BRIEF SALES PITCH: Sam built a website. That site holds both useful info about INTC and driving-adjacent merchandise. Sam wrote every word there and designed all of our merch.
Is he a seasoned design professional, you ask? No.
Our advice: Visit ItsNotTheCar.com not to support this podshow or engage in the unparalleled joy of commerce, but to marvel at the garage...
2024-09-102h 05It's Not the CarHow to Watch F1 . . . and Learn Its SecretsFormula 1 can be so boring. The King Mother-Humper of dull TV, with so much unknown: Why is Danny Ric slow now? Are those cars battling, or does it just look that way? How many different hairstyles can Lando Norris possibly have, and why does every single one make him look like a dapper little cutie patootie?
Here’s the catch: Every broadcast holds answers. And when you know how to find them, F1 gets *way* better.
INTC co-host Ross Bentley is a professional driver coach. He gets paid to watch racing, and he sees things in...
2024-09-031h 10It's Not the CarPaul Newman in a Race CarWhat happens when famous actors go fast? Not just Cool Hand Luke. Also Tom Cruise, Patrick Dempsey, and many others, including that guy I can’t remember from that one show. (You know—that dude with the hair and the face?)
Spoiler: There is crashing! But that’s not the point.
Ross has coached Hollywood celebrities. Jeff once worked with Paul Newman himself. Plus, we dip into the weird and wonderful story of the 1977–2016 Long Beach Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Which was basically Formula 1, except the part of Max Verstappen was played by Carlton from “The Fresh...
2024-08-271h 05It's Not the CarHow Pro Racers Cheat – Part Two!Cheats II: Electric Boogaloo! Back by popular demand, like before but more! Firsthand accounts from an INTC host who works in the paddock!
Our first installment of “How Pro Racers Cheat” was back in May. We didn’t intend for this to become a series, but you loved it and asked for more. We could have said no, but that would be lame, and then we wouldn’t get to hear Jeff Braun talk about race cars with mercury pumps. (Yes.)
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Jeff Shares a Secret.”
2024-08-2059 minIt's Not the CarThe One Where a Cobra Eats Europe — (Daytona Coupe, 1965)In the summer of 1965, a V-8-powered love song from California dethroned Ferrari, shut up the haters, and won America its first FIA manufacturer’s road-racing championship.
Naturally, almost no one here noticed.
The Californian car was a gutsy experiment from a 28-year-old ex-GM designer named Pete Brock. Their story holds bootstraps, napkin math, and one badass stab at 180-mph immortality.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, the short, brilliant comp life of the 1964–1965 Shelby...
2024-08-131h 54It's Not the CarWhat Does a Race Engineer Do, Really?When INTC’s tape day rolled around, Sam was sick. He landed a nasty bout of food poisoning and went wreck-it ralphing. So we postponed our planned show, and then Ross and Jeff hit the mic to improvise.
Their topic? The driver-engineer relationship!
Questions answered in this ep: Why do you need an engineer, anyway? What makes that relationship crucial in pro racing? Should you be embarrassed if you can’t feel a change someone made on your car? What should you do if you’re the only person on your team—both driver *and* engineer...
2024-07-301h 05It's Not the CarThe Worst Race Car I’ve Ever MetOnce, Jeff and Robby Unser tried to qualify a car for the Indianapolis 500. Jeff was the engineer. Unser was the driver.
The car stunk to high heaven.
Unser was scared.
This is that story.
Here now, one man’s experience with the epically uncompetitive Riley & Scott Mk. VII Indy Racing League Indy car. Has Jeff Braun—esteemed INTC host, legendary bus driver, and championship-winning race engineer—met a worse race car? He says no.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Jeff Tells a Story.”
2024-07-231h 00It's Not the CarTo Be Dumb in RacingGossip time! Why did Ross steal that Ferrari from Chip Ganassi? Just who dropped that tire on Jeff's toe at Daytona and became his sworn enemy for life? Which aging F1 driver did Sam give a wedgie to in the pits at Lime Rock? Listen and find out!
(Warning: This episode may not actually contain the above information.)
This episode's working title was "The Dumbest Things We've Seen in Racing." When we sat down at the mic, it got way more interesting—a discussion about high-pressure environments, room for error, and how "dumb" doesn't always me...
2024-07-161h 05It's Not the CarInstant Expert: How Do Tires Work?Well, Timmy, when a rubber molecule and a piece of earth love each other very much, they do a special hug, see, and . . . uh . . . hysteresis . . . wait, no, it’s heat cycles . . . er . . . glass point?
Short answer: Magic! Tires are magic!
Warning: We get lightly tech-nerdy here.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This format is called “Instant Expert.” Know squat about the topic? Pull up a chair, we’ll get you up to speed. Expert already? Grab a chair anyway, it’s chill, we got stories.
Related Trivia: We taped this a...
2024-07-091h 17It's Not the CarThe Last Great F1 Fairy Tale — (Brawn GP, 2009)Once, an English retiree made Ferrari and Red Bull mad. He looked like an accountant and wore dad sweaters. The team he ran was a down-on-its-luck collection of castoffs and pirates; in their very first season, they risked everything and landed the impossible.
Sound like a sports movie? Conveniently, the whole thing was basically a cross between “Major League,” the Paul Newman hockey classic “Slap Shot,” and that scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where all the faces melt.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic mo...
2024-07-031h 27It's Not the CarWhen Sam Drove Alonso’s F1 CarIf someone offered you a chance to drive one of the fastest race cars on earth, would you do it?
The catch: If you screw up, your boss will shut down your office and fire you and everyone you work with.
Also, you have the entire Indianapolis Motor Speedway to yourself and McLaren-Mercedes people are watching and judging and SERIOUSLY JUST RELAX ALREADY.
Once, Sam belted into a 2007 McLaren MP4-22 Formula 1 car. With the tiny deafening V-8 and the anti-stall and the goofy hand clutch. The car blew his mind, but quietly. H...
2024-06-251h 22It's Not the CarListener Q&A: Does Driving Style Matter in F1?It’s another “No Dumb Questions!” You email us to ask, we sit down to answer. There are no dumb questions, but there might be some dumb answers.
Today’s focus is . . . Formula 1 drivers! What makes one better than another?
Mistakes, for one thing. No room for error in the big leagues. Unless you’re Lance Stroll, in which case, well . . . his pops owns the team, so . . .
UGH, DAD, I TOLD YOU, I CLEANED MY ROOM ALREADY BUT THEN DANNY RIC CAME IN AND MESSED IT UP IT’S ALL HIS FAULT.
This show’...
2024-06-1853 min
The Cringe is RealAlone Australia - Season 2 (w/ Hunter Smith)We have a STONKER off season episode for you today. Hilarious TV producer Hunter Smith joins Sam to talk through the traumatically beautiful Alone Australia Season 2. Alone Australia is the SBS produced aussie spin-off of the US original series. Our version’s first season saw 10 survivalists rough it alone in lutruwita/Tasmania and this year we are off to Aotearoa/New Zealand. You can watch both seasons of Alone Australia now on SBS On Demand.Follow The Cringe is Real on Instagram, TikTok & Bluesky. Support the show
2024-06-131h 14It's Not the CarInstant Expert: What is Oversteer?Everything you always wanted to know about a sliding car but were too cool / afraid / busy paying for a chunk of Armco to ask.
Okay, maybe not *everything*.
Popular questions not addressed herein: Why is a slide? Who I win track day? Is them car better have more dinner-roll stiffness?
Have you ever really *looked* at your hands?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode’s format is called “Instant Expert.” Know squat about the topic? Pull up a chair, we’ll bring you up to speed. Expert already? P...
2024-06-111h 11It's Not the CarBelief, Death, and the Fastest Man Alive — (Parry-Thomas & Babs, 1927)Once, a long time ago, a brave man went to a beach and tried to drive faster than anyone ever had. He did not survive.
This is his story.
Perhaps you saw the date in this episode’s title and thought, “The 1920s? Prehistoric! Swipe left, bruh, yuck!” Which is definitely a take.
Some people think the past is a dull place. Nothing to do with who we are or where we’re going.
Those people are—if you’ll pardon my French—stupid.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because...
2024-06-041h 07It's Not the CarBONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Indoor Storage”Free bonus episode! To celebrate the release of Sam’s new book, “Smithology,” we’ve released one audio excerpt, read by him, every Monday for a month. This is the fourth and final installment.
The book’s full title is “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of Sam’s writing for car magazines over the last 20 years.
Today’s story originally ran as a column in Road & Track magazine in 2016. It’s called “Indoor Storage.”
“Smithology” is available on Amazon in print and as a Kindle e-book. (There’s a link further down in this epis...
2024-06-0307 minIt's Not the CarRACE RECAP: Monaco G.P. + Indy 500Is this a free bonus episode where Ross and Jeff break down and analyze the 2024 Indy 500 and 2024 Monaco Grand Prix? Indeed!
Sam is on this episode, but he mostly just listens, because he didn't watch either race this year. Boo hiss, that guy, what a chump, right?
Wait, doesn’t Sam write these episode descriptions?
Isn’t he just talking to himself right now?
Also: Why are there so many free bonus episodes lately?
Also also: Is this the closest INTC has ever come to resembling a traditional friends-yap-without-direction podc...
2024-05-3050 minIt's Not the CarHow Pro Racers CheatSecrets dished! Stories told! Firsthand accounts from an INTC host who works in the paddock! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll ponder the nature of human morality!
This episode’s title implies a question. For the long answer, press play. The short answer is, “very effectively.”
Sometimes.
Mostly.
(Insert push-to-Penske IndyCar joke here.)
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Jeff Shares a Secret.”
This episode is just Jeff and Sam. Ross couldn’t make it—he was busy [redacted] a [redacted] while [re...
2024-05-281h 05It's Not the CarBONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — "Dajiban!"Free bonus episode! To celebrate the release of Sam’s new book, “Smithology,” we’re releasing one audio excerpt from it, read by him, every Monday for a month. This is the third installment.
The book’s full title is “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of Sam’s writing for car magazines over the last 20 years.
Today’s story originally ran in Road & Track magazine in 2018. It’s called, “Dajiban!”
There is a race track in Japan. A vehicle goes two-wheels-up over a curb. Taylor Swift makes an appearance. The rest...
2024-05-2722 minIt's Not the CarBONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Mears and My Feet”Another free bonus episode! Why? Sam has a new book out! To celebrate, we’re releasing four excerpts, each read aloud by him, every Monday for a month. This is the second installment.
Sam’s book is called, “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of his writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Like the man himself, it’s thoughtful, funny, and deeply human.
Today’s story originally ran as a column at Hagerty, the classic-car insurance and media company, in 2021. It’s called “Mears and My Feet.” It’s about racing, pain, an...
2024-05-2011 minIt's Not the CarThe Awful Joy of Bad Racing Movies — (Driven, 2001)“Driving a race car,” Sylvester Stallone once said, “is terrifying.”
Aw, Sly, buddy—that just makes me sad, you know? A big ol’ dollop of Guy Fieri bummer sauce. You’re missing out! It’s only terrifying if you’re doing it wrong!
Speaking of: What if you made a horrendously expensive movie about IndyCar while knowing almost nothing about the sport? What if, a quarter-century later, that film was widely held up as one of the worst in history?
Here now, the story of Stallone’s 2001 cinematic assterpiece, “Driven.” Little-known trivia! Joyous dissections of inaccurac...
2024-05-1459 minIt's Not the CarBONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Wall Drug”Free bonus episode! Why? Sam has a new book out! To celebrate, we’re releasing four excerpts read aloud by him—one each Monday for the next four weeks.
Sam’s book is called “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of his writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Like the man himself, it's thoughtful, funny, and deeply human.
Today’s story first ran as a column in Road & Track magazine in 2015. It’s called “Wall Drug”—it’s about visiting Indianapolis during qualifying for the Indy 500.
“Smithology” is...
2024-05-1308 minIt's Not the CarHow Roger and Mario Broke the Indy 500 — (Penske “Beast” V-8, 1994)To borrow a line from this episode, “this is a great story because it’s got Paul Tracy melting his feet off and a bunch of stuff blowing up and Mario Andretti sits on his porch giving the stink eye at one point.”
(The Mario in the headline is a different Mario. Headline Mario was Swiss.)
(Digression: Headline Mario sounds like the *worst* Nintendo game. “Hey, Timmy! Come by my house after school! We can play Headline Mario and eat Cheez-Its!”)
(Timmy: “Uh . . . I have to . . . wash my hair?”)
(What would that game even...
2024-05-0759 minIt's Not the CarDo Car Magazines Have Secrets?They do! But first: SAM HAS A NEW BOOK OUT. It’s called “Smithology”—available now on Amazon in print and as a Kindle e-book. Check it out, if you have a sec?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Sam Tells a Story.” And in this case, that story is another dive into all the stuff you wanted to know about car magazines but never had a chance to ask.
Jeff and Ross have questions on the topic. Sam hates talking about himself and is convinced that these questions are simply dat...
2024-04-301h 10It's Not the CarThe Dan Gurney Fan-Service EpisodeThe catch: We’re the fans. (Bet you didn’t see that coming.)
“If you have the chance to make something beautiful,” Dan Gurney once said, “and you don’t, well, what does that say about you?”
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode’s format is called "How I Got Here." It’s a free-form dive into the people, places, moments, and machines that made us care about racing when we were young.
In this case, that means the one and only Daniel Sexton Gurney—the legendary American driver and team owner who cha...
2024-04-231h 02It's Not the CarThe Ferrari Story You Didn’t Know You NeededOnce, in the 1990s, a fancy Italian carmaker hadn’t gone sports-car racing in 20 years. Maybe they were too busy figuring out new ways to make a 348 catch fire or something. Then some influential folks made a few particularly expressive hand gestures and the Italians agreed to do it—but just this once, and then you gotta vaffanculo, alright? The shrieking red funkbullet that resulted won much and made a noise to eat your brain.
Hold onto your butts: Today, we tell the story of the Ferrari 333 SP, the last purpose-built racing Ferrari before the Le Mans Hype...
2024-04-161h 15It's Not the CarHow to Be a Rookie at the Indy 500Step one: Know you might die trying.
In 1993, at the tender age of 36, a host of this show tried to qualify for one of the greatest races on earth. He didn’t make it in, but he did lap a 900-hp car at more than 220 mph, suffer third-degree burns on his face, and meet a hospital.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was your month of May?
(No, really: That’s what we asked Ross to talk about—the Indy 500 rookie experience. The flames that nearly killed him were just part of the story...
2024-04-091h 17It's Not the CarFor Love of the Game — (Villeneuve 1979 US GP Wet Quali)“He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1.” —Niki Lauda
Gilles Villeneuve got his start racing snowmobiles, crashing on sheet ice at 100 mph. Enzo Ferrari loved him; Ronnie Peterson said he was a menace. And in upstate New York in the fall of 1979, in blinding rain, an entire F1 paddock stopped what it was doing to watch him do what no one else could.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history—in this case, Villeneuve’s absolutely epic qualify...
2024-04-021h 11It's Not the CarThe World’s Most Charming Race TrackWhat makes a special place special? Wonderful people? Beautiful scenery? How you keep going back for more in the face of terrible odds? Some tracks are more than just tracks, and Wisconsin's Elkhart Lake—Road America—is far more than meets the eye.
This show’s format rotates every episode, because squirrel. We call this format "Sam Rambles About a Thing."
Related Trivia: Ross has opinions about track limits. You might get to hear them, you might not. Jeff recalls a time when his uncle Boom Boom was in a police chase. Sam, despite terrible weathe...
2024-03-261h 16It's Not the CarHow Do Wind Tunnels Work?Answer: The blowy thing goes WHOOSH and the invisible gas that keeps us all alive goes WHEEE and the racey thing stays put. And later, if you have done the math right, you maybe drive around in circles better than everyone!
Alternate, more grown-up answer: physics and stuff.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This week's approach is called “Jeff Teaches Sam a Thing.” Jeff knows a lot about a subject—in this case, how race teams use indoor wind to develop aerodynamic downforce—and Sam asks questions.
Warning: We get lightly te...
2024-03-191h 10It's Not the CarListener Q&A: Can the Data Lie?It’s another “No Dumb Questions!” You email us to ask, we sit down to answer. There are no dumb questions, but there might be some dumb answers.
Today’s focus is . . . going faster with data and friends!
Many race teams use data feeds to help their drivers improve. (Examples: brake pressure; speed over time; the four-dimensional thermocouple plot that lets Toto Wolff know just how far down to unbutton his shirt.) Can those data systems lie? Can friends at the track help you get faster? And what does any of this have to do with Sam...
2024-03-1256 minIt's Not the CarCan You Have Too Much Power? — (Donohue 1970s Porsche Can-Am)“It will never have enough . . . until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear.”
A man named Mark said that. Mark engineered and drove race cars. In the early 1970s, he was handed a barely drivable, 700-hp Porsche. Because Mark had a brain the size of a planet, he made the car a blisteringly fast, 1500-horse dollbaby. It was so good, in fact, that it killed a prestigious international racing series deader than hell. What happened in between is utterly bonkers.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This e...
2024-03-051h 15It's Not the CarWhat You and Max Verstappen Have in CommonThere are so many answers to this: A favorite color. Human legs. An enjoyment of oxygen. But chiefly—this is the fun part—you can coach yourself to be better.
Great, you say: How?
We’re glad you asked! Ross is a professional performance coach—he helps race drivers get faster. And many of them, pro and amateur alike, have asked how they can improve when he’s not around. So we give you a primer!
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Ross Teaches Sam a Thing.”
Warning: T...
2024-02-271h 03It's Not the CarWhen Car Magazines Test Race CarsAnd other things! Step right up to hear about work life at one of the world’s strangest day jobs!
Do we share secrets on this episode? Do some of them involve Sam giggling at the wheel of a NASCAR Cup car at Road America, or Ross curb-jumping minivans at Thunderhill with Black Sabbath blasting from the speakers? Will this episode’s description be all questions, or will it actually have something to say?
I don’t know—what do you think?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this ep’s frame...
2024-02-201h 31It's Not the CarListener Q&A: Rain Driving and YouIt’s the return of “No Dumb Questions!” You email us to ask, we sit down to answer. There are no dumb questions, but there might be some dumb answers.
Today’s focus is . . . rain driving!
How do you adjust your mindset to be quick in the wet? What does Jeff do in the rain that many race engineers don’t? What does any of this have to do with the time Sam rode down a rally stage at speed with Ken Block?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. For this episode, we’r...
2024-02-131h 04It's Not the CarTen Hours, 1000 Miles, and 170 MPH — (Moss 1955 Mille Win)Sixty-nine years ago, two Englishmen entered an open-road race known for killing people. Ten hours later, they had seen nearly 1000 miles of Italy, left fourth-gear jumps four wheels up, and spent heaps of time at 170 mph. All in a car with no safety belts, no roof, and an engine borrowed from Formula 1.
And they won.
What does that look like through a modern lens besides . . . absolutely bonkers?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing’s past—in this case, the 19...
2024-02-061h 01It's Not the CarWhen is a Driving Sim Worth Millions?What do Formula 1, NASCAR, IMSA, and countless moms of teenagers have in common? Answer: They all know *exactly* what’s going on in that dark room but have decided to stay out of it.
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This week's approach is called “Jeff Teaches Sam a Thing.” Jeff knows a lot about a subject—in this case, the insanely expensive “driver in the loop” racing simulators used by pro teams—and Sam asks questions.
Warning: We get lightly tech-nerdy here.
Related Trivia: As an engineer, Jeff has won two Daytona 24s...
2024-01-301h 00It's Not the CarAt the Wheel in a McLaren F1 GTRIn the early 1990s, McLaren built the last great analog supercar. It wasn't supposed to be a race car, but they took it to Le Mans and won anyway. Why do we care?
Sam and Ross have each driven a McLaren F1 on track. The same one, in fact—a factory-backed GTR that finished eighth at Le Mans in 1996. They loved it, but who wouldn't? Why does a machine like that make such a dent on people?
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this week's approach "It *is* the Car." Which is t...
2024-01-231h 05It's Not the CarUnpacking the 24 Hours of Le MansLike Lionel Richie, the French do it all night long—on public roads, at more than 200 mph, every June.
Why is the 24 Hours of Le Mans one of the greatest things on earth? The reasons are endless. And we’ve raced in it! (Well, Ross and Jeff have.)
This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. Last week was our monthly centerpiece, where we dive into an epic moment from racing's past. This episode's format is called "Sam Rambles About a Thing." (Caveat: That he loves.)
Jeff is busy getting a pair of GT3 Co...
2024-01-161h 02
It's Not the CarThe Indy 500 is Harder Than You Think — (Rossi 2016 Win)Drama, science, and 200-mph dogfights: The world’s most famous race is so much more than three hours of left turns.
Sam, Ross, and Jeff use the story of Alexander Rossi’s landmark 2016 Indy 500 win—he coasted over the line with an empty tank—to highlight everything that makes the 500 great.
Related Trivia: Jeff has engineered cars at Indy. Ross nearly died there in 1993. Sam once stood inches from Turn 1 in qualifying and drank a Coke while losing his mind.
This episode of It's Not the Car is our once-a-month deep dive into an epic...
2024-01-101h 19
Style TherapyThe School of Healing with Dominiece Clifton"Our trauma shows up in everything we do, from the way that we love to the way that we parent if we have children. And, of course, it shows up in our business as entrepreneurs."
Each new experience is a chance to learn more about ourselves and the world around us. And that is why it's essential to live a life by our own rules and definition of success.
Exceptional Highlights:
• If we're not honest with ourselves, we are on autopilot. We will be in general spaces, not in our si...
2023-12-031h 00
The Failed Podcast41. T&T-TFP CO-lab🎙/The balloon🎈/The Grammies🏆/The Super Bowl🏈/Being the goa🐐t/Sam Smith/and Giants among us...41. T&T-TFP CO-lab🎙/The balloon🎈/The Grammies🏆/The Super Bowl🏈/Being the goa🐐t/Sam Smith/and Giants among us...
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41. t&t-TFP CO-lab/The balloon/The Grammies/The Super Bowl/Being the goat/Sam Smith/and giants among us…
Thank you for watch the POD, we have fun on this episode…we talk about many things…laugh with us learn with us…and give a subscription and let us know what’s on your mind…
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T&T, A Podcast by Timothy & Taylorean
The Official T&T podcast hosted by your brothers @ti...
2023-03-121h 38
Fail Forward with Adnan & DanEP31 - A Career Ending Injury with Sam SmithIn this episode of the podcast, we sit down with former rugby player, Sam Smith. At the young age of 26, Sam had to retire from the sport due to a quad injury. The next two years were a downward spiral as he struggled to come to terms with the end of his career and find a new sense of purpose. He tried to distract himself by starting a coffee shop, but it wasn't until he met a life coach that he began the process of healing and finding a new identity. Now, Sam runs a life coaching business that...
2023-01-1443 min
Mel's MusicMountains (Parody of Diamonds by Sam Smith)Mountains (Parody of Diamonds by Sam Smith)Original written by: Oscar Görres, Sam Smith, & ShellbackLyrics:Mountains, mountains, mountains, mountainsMountains, mountains, mountains, mountainsMountains, mountains, mountains, mountains Mountains, mountains, mountains, mountains He’s my God:The creator of it allEvery crucial piece of artEvery blade of grass and grain of sandMade through HimTo the universe, He gave birthEvery disease, He miraculously curesHe came from above, to earth, to die for usHmm...
2021-01-2303 min
In the grooveANGIE SMITHHave you ever thought about going 200 mile per hour on a motorcycle???? Angie Smith just punched her ticket as one of the few NHRA Pro stock motorcycle riders to go the distance. With all of the craziness in 2020 the Smith racing team got it done. Matt (Angie's husband) got the first camping world Rostock bike title and Angie wraps it up with a win in Vegas. Angie sheds light on what its like being a women in our sports and gives a message to all the young ladies to keep pushing forward
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2020-11-1954 min
Talking BurritosVideo Games and ViolenceIn here we talk about video games and violence... if you couldn't tell from the name.
What are people even suppose to even say on these... ... ... oh yeah give us 5 stars and tell us how much you love me Sam Smith, not Johnathan Smith as the better host. Then go shove this in your friends face and let them know this podcast is the greatest podcast in the history of the world... ... ... Wait!!! before you do that just tell them is pretty good so there expectations aren't too high.
If you have fan mail, Questions, He...
2019-08-1540 min
WikiJabberSam Smith
Sam Smith
Sam Smith. Self-portrait. License: Public Domain
Sam Smith (User:SammyWiki) and Sebastian Wallroth are talking at WikiConference North America 2018 in Columbus, Ohio about Big Data and the Semantic Web, and structured information about historical data.
2018-10-2229 min