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.

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 Larson’s game (31:30); the resurgence of Welcome, N.C.’s racing hub (34:00); COTA preview! (36:30); an inaugural event veteran explains what it’s like going to the first race at a track (39:30). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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 more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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 motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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 next for Harrison Burton (34:30); a quick Kansas preview of what it means for Stewart-Haas Racing and Kevin Harvick (37:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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 Park (25:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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.

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 how the 2019 finish shaped McDowell’s 2021 victory (25:00); the seven-figure difference of making the playoffs (27:00); a windfall of millions through 2023 (29:00); why Front Row is as competitive as it’s ever been in part because of some the parts freeze by NASCAR (31:30); some real-world examples of how things changed in 2021 (33:00); and how it still caught Freeze a little off guard with the opportunity (35:30); whether NextGen could continue these trends (38:00); will the team benefit from other teams looking ahead to 2022 (40:30); what it’ll cost to switch over to the NextGen car (42:30); outlook for the rest of the season (44:00); a plug for rookie Anthony Alfredo (45:00); on a new driver lineup dynamic for the team (47:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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 and why Logano seems better at it than any of his peers (23:00); where things stand on the Bristol bump and run (26:30); PARKER KLIGERMAN JOINS and talks about his eighth place in the trucks at Bristol (30:00); on how track conditions radically affected his performance (32:00); why the dirt guys didn’t run as well (34:30); Parker’s wishlist for improvements (36:30); trying different types of dirt (38:30); what’s left for Parker in the 2021 trucks season (40:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

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); a Bristol dirt preview (29:30). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.