It's Not the Car

There 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: This one has some deep thoughts in it. And at least one Vampire Weekend lyric. Jeff is off this week because he is a grandparent and was needed for rad grandparent things. Related Trivia: Jeff’s grandson Roczen is adorable. Ross has no grandchildren but does have an old Lotus, which is kind of the same thing. Sam has two small kids and he got in a war with them at bedtime last night where everyone threw stuffies at each other and then Sam lost and was dead on the floor no regrets the end. This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. **  Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar/⁠⁠ ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! INTCPod@gmail.com ** Where to find us: ⁠⁠instagram.com/j.v.braun⁠/⁠ instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠ instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠ instagram.com/intcpod/⁠⁠ facebook.com/INTCPod⁠/⁠ ⁠rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠ speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠ facebook.com/Drivercoach/⁠⁠ ** ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday. 

And 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 framework “Sam Tells a Story.” Or in this case, multiple stories, mostly from his eight years on staff at Road & Track magazine. Related Trivia: Sam writes these episode descriptions. Ross and Jeff have not asked him to stop. Yet. This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. **  Support It’s Not the Car:  Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar/⁠⁠  **  Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!  INTCPod@gmail.com **  Where to find us:  ⁠⁠instagram.com/j.v.braun⁠/⁠ ⁠⁠ instagram.com/rossbentley⁠/⁠ ⁠⁠ instagram.com/thatsamsmith⁠/⁠ ⁠⁠ instagram.com/intcpod/⁠⁠ ⁠ facebook.com/INTCPod⁠⁠ ⁠  ⁠rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ facebook.com/Drivercoach/⁠⁠  **  ABOUT THE SHOW:  It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday. 

It’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’re borrowing the NDQ framework from Ross’s old “Speed Secrets” podcast, from a popular Q&A show he and Jeff ran there for several years. Related Trivia: Jeff lives in Texas, in a place of little rain. Ross lives in Seattle, where it rains often. Sam used to live in Seattle but is now in East Tennessee, where he once asked a restaurant waiter to “make it rain fried green tomatoes,” and from that point on the evening was extremely delicious. This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. **  Support It’s Not the Car:  Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar/⁠⁠  **  Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! INTCPod@gmail.com **  Where to find us: ⁠⁠instagram.com/j.v.braun⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ instagram.com/rossbentley⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ instagram.com/thatsamsmith⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ instagram.com/intcpod/⁠⁠ ⁠ facebook.com/INTCPod⁠⁠ ⁠ ⁠rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ facebook.com/Drivercoach/⁠⁠  **  ABOUT THE SHOW:  It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday. 

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 1955 Mille Miglia and Stirling Moss’s legendary, record-breaking win for Mercedes-Benz. Related (Italian) Trivia: Ross drove Ferrari prototypes in IMSA in the 1990s. Jeff engineered those cars in the same era. Sam once got lost in Maranello while looking for a store that sold Haribo, but then he downed three espressos and everything turned out okay. This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. ** Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar/⁠ ** Where to find us: ⁠instagram.com/j.v.braun⁠ ⁠instagram.com/rossbentley⁠ ⁠instagram.com/thatsamsmith⁠ ⁠instagram.com/intcpod/⁠ facebook.com/INTCPod⁠ ⁠rossbentley.substack.com/⁠ ⁠speedsecrets.com/⁠ ⁠facebook.com/Drivercoach/⁠ ** ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday. ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! ⁠INTCPod@gmail.com

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 and eight Sebring 12-hours. Sam has also won those things on iRacing and he never crashes there and certainly not multiple laps in a row FOR PETE’S SAKE WHO WOULD DO THAT. (Do not fact-check that last sentence.) Ross is off this week because he’s busy coaching someone. Who? It’s a secret! (Confession: He doesn’t tell us, either.) This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. ** Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon ⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar/⁠ ** ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday. ** Where to find us: ⁠instagram.com/j.v.braun⁠ ⁠instagram.com/rossbentley⁠ ⁠instagram.com/thatsamsmith⁠ ⁠instagram.com/intcpod/⁠ ⁠facebook.com/INTCPod⁠ ⁠rossbentley.substack.com/⁠ ⁠speedsecrets.com/⁠ ⁠facebook.com/Drivercoach/⁠ ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! ⁠INTCPod@gmail.com

In 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 totally the opposite of what our logo says, but hey, surprises are fun. Related Trivia: Ross got into that GTR because he was once a BMW factory driver. (The McLaren was powered by a BMW V-12.) Sam had the car melt his face off during a Road & Track test. The engine sound you hear—and the helmet cam in the YouTube version of this episode—is him at the wheel. Jeff is still buried in Daytona prep and had to sit this one out. We miss his dulcet tones! APOLOGIES: Tech gremlins had Sam's mic popping a little for the first 12 minutes. The problem is fixed and won't happen again. This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. ** Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar/ ** ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday. ** Where to find us: instagram.com/j.v.braun instagram.com/rossbentley instagram.com/thatsamsmith instagram.com/intcpod/ facebook.com/INTCPod/ rossbentley.substack.com/ speedsecrets.com/ facebook.com/Drivercoach/ ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! INTCPod@gmail.com

In this podcast, the hosts discuss their experiences at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including the atmosphere, unique access to drivers and cars, and the spectacle of the event. They also reflect on the impact of the pandemic on the race, emphasizing the importance of collective participation. The episode provides an entertaining and insightful glimpse into the enchanting and unpredictable nature of Le Mans.

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 racing moment from the past. It was produced by Mike Perlman. ** About the show: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people, motorsport, choices, and how we all work under pressure. In other words, we tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. The show's format rotates, because squirrel. One show each month is a deep dive into an epic moment from racing's past—anywhere from a hundred years ago to last week. Sometimes we have guests! New episodes every Tuesday. ** Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/notthecar/ Where to find us: instagram.com/j.v.braun instagram.com/rossbentley instagram.com/thatsamsmith https://www.facebook.com/INTCPod https://rossbentley.substack.com/ https://speedsecrets.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach/ We want to know what you think! INTCPod@gmail.com