NASCAR on NBC podcast

In a narrative edition of the NASCAR on NBC Podcast, we recall when Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. teamed to race the No. 3 Corvette in the 2001 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.--Dale Earnhardt climbs into the car for the first time in the rain ...which turned out to be perfect conditions (3:30);--How Earnhardt begged to stay in the car beyond his scheduled time (4:30);--What impressed Earnhardt Jr. about how his father ran the race (5:45);--The impressive run turned in by Dale Jr. despite a few mistakes under immense self-induced pressure (7:00);--Dale Jr.'s first shunt (9:00), his second (10:00) and evaluations of his performance (13:00);--What the fan reception was like and why it moved Earnhardt (15:45);--The aftermath of the Rolex 24 and what would have been next for Earnhardt (18:00)--The plan to put Dale Earnhardt in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, perhaps as early as 2002 (20:00);--A touching tribute from Teresa Earnhardt to Corvette Racing (22:00);--In his own words, Dale Earnhardt talks about his love of the Corvette (22:45);--How Dale Jr. has honored his father and the Corvette legacy (23:45);--The special replica of the No. 3 Corvette that Dale Jr. has that means more to him now than ever (24:45);--The friendships that have lingered from the Rolex 24 for Dale Jr. and the promises he kept to them for his father (27:00);--Would Dale Jr. ever run the Rolex 24 again? The appeal of friendship and sports car racing (28:30);--Final thoughts on the legacy Earnhardt left with Corvette Racing fans (30:45);--Dale Earnhardt summarizes his 2001 Rolex 24 (31:30). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

In a narrative edition of the NASCAR on NBC Podcast, we recall when Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. teamed to race the No. 3 Corvette in the 2001 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona.--The origins of how it happened (2:30);--How well the Earnhardts knew IMSA and sports cars (5:00);--How The Intimidator wanted to be treated like anyone else on the team (7:30);--The Rolex 24 business opportunities and big picture viewpoints for Dale Earnhardt (10:30);--How Earnhardt, who was confident of driving four hours at a time from his NASCAR career, came around to handing off the car on a more frequent basis (13:00);--Getting the Earnhardts up to speed in a memorably impactful test at Sebring International Raceway that prompted some father-son rivalry (17:00);--How the Earnhardts bonded with each other and the Corvette Racing crew in the experience (24:00);--The sports car communicty embraces Earnhardt while NASCAR expresses some unease with the seven-time champion running the Rolex 24 (28:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

The Team Penske driver on why he's thritlled the offseason is over (1:00); how his first Rolex 24 went (2:00); being paired with Alexander Rossi this year (3:45); what it's like working with an IndyCar rival and why there is no awkwardness with an Penske-Andretti pairing (5:00); the joy of racing against Alex Zanardi again (8:30); his memories of the dark race weekend and vicious wreck that took Zanardi's legs (10:00); his rejuvenation in joining sports cars full time last year (12:30); how much he misses IndyCar (14:30); how he sees the IndyCar renaissance (16:00); on having another shot at the 2019 Indianapolis 500 (18:00); the evolution of safety and the difference of hitting concrete walls vs. SAFER barriers (19:00); his Dancing With The Stars memories and if he still keeps up with friends from those days (21:15); why his acting career hasn't taken off (22:30); still getting recognized in public (23:30); how much longer he wants to race and an important conversation with Rick Mears (25:00); how much longer he can drive in IMSA (27:30) Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

The Xfinity Series winner on racing in and seeing New Zealand over the holiday break with his fiancée and family (1:00); why dirt racing seems to be so popular in New Zealand (3:30); on an impressive win at Western Springs Speedway (5:30); how race calls can be officiated very differently in New Zealand (7:00); where Bell’s inspiration for a winning move was derived (8:30); why he is better in longer Midget races and the positive influence of running NASCAR (9:30); “To be the best race car driver, you have to be able to do it all”; how versatility is a great teacher (10:45); what his first trip to the Chili Bowl was like in 2011 (12:15); how he’s seen the Chili Bowl change over 20 years with NASCAR involvement (14:00); if he gets nervous about being on the big stage in such a competitive environment (15:30); is the Chili Bowl the toughest race of the year for Bell, and does it get easier after winning? (16:30); why does the race have so many repeat winners (17:00); the appeal of an open rulebook and the tricks that some teams are trying (18:00); Bell's dream A Main (20:00); his unique quasi-rivalry with Kyle Larson and how they drive each other (21:15); the friendship and support he gets from Larson and where it started seven years ago (23:15); Toyota driver development program (25:00); Bell's dirt racing plans for 2019 (26:45); “The cardboard (winner’s checks), that’s my jam right there”: Bell explains why this "trophy" is his favorite (27:30); the future of dirt racing for NASCAR (29:00); his Xfinity outlook for 2019 and why he was pleased to keep crew chief Jason Ratcliff (30:00) how you can race against Christopher Bell online (32:15); details for this week's Chili Bowl (33:15). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

The outspoken veteran star of NASCAR, IndyCar, sports cars and off-road trucks on what makes the Dakar Rally special (1:00); the UTV car he is bringing to the Rally (2:30); how the dunes of Peru will create a new challenge (4:00); his car’s advantage on the dunes (5:00); how his venture is similar to an old-school Indianapolis 500 venture (6:00); his days with the Hummer program and its high-tech innovation (6:30); a review of his last three vehicles at Dakar (7:00); why the competition is extremely stiff (8:00); but why he believes he still can win the overall title (8:45); if he excels, he expects rules changes (9:30); how Robby Gordon Motorsports makes up for having a fractional budget of its rivals (10:30); why his experience level and varied background benefits his chances (11:30); the appeal of building his own car and being a manufacturer in the desert racing industry (13:00); why he believes UTV is the future of motorsports and how his Stadium Super Trucks (SST) series fits into that (14:00); his vision for motorsports and how Stadium Super Trucks fits into it (16:00); why Stadium Super Trucks made sense in appealing to fans (17:15); SST's social media video viewing success (18:30); how he thinks shorter packaging is way to reach a younger audience (19:30); on becoming the owner of a series (21:30); turning 50 years old and returning to run Dakar three days later (22:30); staying alive -- one of the key parts of the Dakar Rally (23:00); the importance of balancing the logistics of owning a team with driving for it (25:00); a clever way of looking at the Dakar Rally through the lens of a NASCAR season (26:15); the many reasons Dakar is so unpredictable (27:15); the dynamics of running the event entirely in Peru for the first time and how teams are running blind daily through the event (29:00); the importance of having a good navigator (30:15); does it help his smaller team that no one can test? (31:30); another fun NASCAR analogy -- this time, the Daytona 500 (32:00); what Dakar has been like since moving from Africa to South America and its fervent fan following (33:00); what a Dakar win would mean to his legacy (35:00); does he look back with any regrets on NASCAR or IndyCar? (36:00); his chances of running the Indianapolis 500 again? (37:00); could he run NASCAR again? (38:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

The NASCAR on NBC analyst on why he believes this group of contenders is the best title field yet (1:00), how it illustrates the addition of playoff and stage points were the correct moves (3:00), his suggestions for possibly downsizing the field (4:30), appreciating the efforts of the eliminated drivers at Phoenix (6:30), why Miami should be a heavyweight fight (7:30), how other drivers will race the Championship 4 at Miami (and possibly with "mittens on" (9:00), whether Joey Logano's team has an advantage with two weeks to prepare (11:00), why it might make sense to rotate the championship track (13:30), if Kevin Harvick will play mind games this weekend (15:30), what Rodney Childers' plan is for Miami (16:30), why it might be an advantage for Martin Truex Jr. to enter the last race of Furniture Row racing's existence (18:00), the unshakable nature of Kyle Busch and his team (19:30). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

In a "This Is Your Life"-style conversation, the soon-to-be-retired Xfinity Series championship contender reflects on his NASCAR career and what it was like being an up and coming driver 20 years ago (1:00); that “when I came along, I was the only young guy!” (2:30); a memorable anecdote from his first season with Wood Brothers Racing and what it taught him about responsibility as a 23-year-old (3:30); why he believes today’s generation of youth lacks the same big-picture perspective (5:30); how Sadler developed the confidence to become a “sponsor’s dream” and NASCAR ambassador (7:00); a restrospective of his Robert Yates Racing years and flirting with becoming a title contender (9:00); what eventually led to him leaving Yates and why it was so difficult (10:30); some tough seasons of driving for George Gillett (12:30); the rebirth of his career in the Xfinity Series by choosing KHI over a backmarker team in Cup (14:00); on being remembered more as an Xfinity driver (15:30); the last chance he had at going back to Cup (16:30); why he hasn’t missed the premier series since landing at JR Motorsports (18:00); his decision to make a clean break from being regular at the track with no ambitions to do media after driving (19:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

The Danish driver in his second season with F1’s U.S.-based team (and owned by Gene Haas) on watching his father win a class championship at the IMSA finale and his hopes to race against him (1:00); hanging out with Clint Bowyer at Circuit of the Americas in Austin (2:30); the differences between driving F1 and NASCAR and Kevin’s aspirations to drive one (3:30); how much he and his team are watching Stewart-Haas Racing’s playoff run (5:00); the improvements at Haas F1 through its third season (6:00); how Kevin compares Haas’ operating parameters and success with other teams (7:30); are the teams’ goals to finish fourth every week? (9:00); how Kevin had to learn to adapt after finishing third in his F1 debut … and then rarely come close to matching it since (10:30); being a better driver with worse results (13:00); the security of already being signed for next year and how Gene Haas manages to keep politics out of his team (15:00); how Haas can take the next step and the discussions of a possible spending cap in 2021 for F1 (17:30); Kevin’s residency in Dubai and return to London (20:00); a fun anecdote about the career he might have pursued if racing hadn’t worked out. Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

Midway through his third week of overseeing day to day operations at NASCAR, Phelps joined to discuss how he benefited by entering his new job with 14 years of experience (1:30); holding his first “town hall” with NASCAR employees (3:00); the measuring sticks for NASCAR on fan satisfaction (4:30); his background before NASCAR (7:00); why he fell into the business and branding of sports (8:00); the most important difference between working at NASCAR and the NFL (9:30); what he feels his best accomplishments have been at NASCAR (10:30); his roots as a childhood race fan in Vermont (13:00); a fun anecdote about his childhood racing hero and Bill France Jr.’s awareness of him (14:30); the scouting report on NASCAR that he once compiled for the NFL (16:00); a memorable story about Richard Childress (17:00); how radically different could the 2020 schedule look? (19:00); the groundswell of support for short tracks and road course (21:00); what the 5-year sanction agreements would mean for schedule changes (22:30); steps being taken by NASCAR toward enhancing race promotion to help attendance and ratings (24:00); encouraging Cup drivers to race other series while extending an olive branch to short tracks (27:00); on if he is talking to other series yet about more cooperation (28:00); the likelihood of IndyCar doubleheaders (29:00); how “geotargeting” fans works with increasing ticket sales (30:15); the one-stop shopping approach to selling sponsorship in the future (32:00); what the logistics of that would be for teams (34:00); NASCAR’s efforts to help sponsor involvement at the track and with team investment (35:30); why he thinks a full-season sponsor could return for teams (in a limited way) (37:30); the case for NASCAR sponsorship (38:30); his approach to Twitter and how active he plans to be in his role (40:30); do tracks need to do more to supply wifi and cellular access for social media (42:30); the likelihood of a new manufacturer in NASCAR by 2021 (44:00); why Steve’s personal family experiences are a big reason that NASCAR appeals to him (45:30). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.

The president of Tuckahoe Strategies and former managing director of communications for NASCAR (from 2004-11) on how his background in politics and living around the country informed his views and communicating with people (1:30); the crossover between politics and sports (3:30); his history in politics (5:00); how the death of an icon brought him into the NASCAR world (7:00); a tense meeting with NASCAR (10:30) ... with an important laugh (12:45); a shift in how NASCAR approached the media (16:00); on making amends with some TV sports networks (18:00); the limitations of a storyline on safety (21:30); how things were virtually the same managing NASCAR's PR during its mid-2000s boom (26:00); what working among the Daytona brain trust was like and learning the history (28:00); being active in the site location and selection process for the NASCAR Hall of Fame (30:30); a 2001 on-track memory that encapsulated the yin and yang of NASCAR (31:30); the PR failure that was the Car of Tomorrow and the role that drivers played in it (33:30); how the dynamics of team, driver and manufacturer councils have had an impact (35:30); striking a balance between legislating driver behavior and staying true to the roots (37:30); a fine that Ramsey wishes never had been issued (38:30); the course correction of “Boys, Have At It” (42:00); two lessons learned about the plight of working with underdog teams (43:45); thoughts on interim NASCAR CEO Jim France (46:00). Visit www.nbcsports.com/nascar and www.nbcsports.com/motors for more NASCAR and motorsports coverage from NBC Sports.