Past Gas

Talladega was a prime testing facility because it was the fastest circle track on the planet, and Chrysler was there to set a record. The day was overcast and cool as NASCAR legend Buddy Baker shifted into gear and pulled onto the track. It didn’t take long for the driver to smash the 200 mph record. What was this top secret car that Chrysler hired NASCAR royalty to test? How did they shatter open...

Dan Wheldon was a talented and charming driver who left an indelible mark on the world of motorsport. But how did this unflappable Englishman break through to IndyCar stardom? Why did he turn down the offer to race in Formula One? And how did his tragic death shape the future of IndyCar? Today on Past Gas, we explore the legacy of IndyCar champion, Dan Wheldon.  Thanks to our sponsors: Go to https...

RWB is legendary to car enthusiasts world-wise. But how did a drift kid from Japan redefine the Porsche? How did some carbon fiber fenders take over the desires of gamers drooling over air-cooled 911s? How can a leather arm chair, a carton of smokes, and some Mexican Cokes get you one step closer to owning your own outlaw Porsche? Today on Past Gas, we dive into the origins of the most controversi...

June 11, 1994. It’s the opening night of The Petersen Automotive Museum, and Hollywood is out in full force. But it’s not the celebrities we usually think of - it’s the cars they drive. None of this would have been possible without the charity and automotive passion of the museum’s namesake: Robert E. Petersen. How did he turn his passion for hot rodding into the modern car show? How did he, witho...

Chevrolet isn’t just a company, it’s an American institution. Today on Past Gas, the story of a world-conquering company that almost wasn’t. How did the men who made Chevy lose it so quickly? How did the company nearly get shut down by its own board, then come back to overtake Ford in sales only 7 years later? How did an up-and-coming lawyer flip Chevy’s attitude about safety even quicker than a C...

After the end of WWII, the world was eager to get back to work, and more specifically, back to makin’ cars. Japan was particularly ready to rebuild their economy, but were missing some crucial materials: steel, gasoline, and money. And as it turns out, the lack of those resources crafted the perfect storm for the creation of the Kei car. Often misunderstood, underappreciated, and forgotten, these...

Anyone who’s ever been to Speed Week at Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah knows the incomparable feeling of standing on this hallowed ground. Some dream, work, scrimp, and save their entire lives to get a chance to make a pass at breaking a land speed record here. The story is as old as time, but perhaps none have embodied it better than Kiwi motorcycle legend Burt Munro and his 1920 Indian Scout. But...

Colin Chapman’s Formula 1 trophy case is an impressive one, with seven Constructors’ Championships and six Drivers’ Championships since 1963. Beyond his championship seasons, Chapman’s imprint on the sport is hard to comprehend – some suggest that Chapman might have more to do with the basic design of today’s mid-engine, open-wheeled racing cars than any other single builder. Would Formula 1 be re...

In the world of engine tuning, two names (strange as they may be) are often at the top of the list. These companies upended the racing world with their attention to detail and refusal to accept anything but the best in terms of power, precision, and yes, speed. Today on Past Gas, we take a look at Spoon and Mugen. How did these companies start? How have they evolved over the years to stay on top?...

IT’S THE 200TH EPISODE OF PAST GAS!! To celebrate, Nolan, Joe, and James learn a little bit about three different listener-submitted suggestions, then look at (and judge) pictures of your 20 pound dogs. Y’all have a lot of 20 pound dogs, btw. Then the gang brings Donut host Jeremiah on for a very special reading. Thank you SO MUCH for listening to the pod - we could have never made it to 200 witho...

It’s the 2006 X Games in Los Angeles, California. The Staples Center is abuzz, ready to watch competitors face off in a festival favorite event: the Moto X Best Trick. X-Games favorite 23 year-old Travis Pastrana gets himself ready to run his first trick… the “superflip” – a backflip with a Superman (for good measure). How did Travis Pastrana become the modern day Evel Knievel? What did he do to r...

In 1969, Argentina was a different place than it is today. Only three years after a violent military coup, it was a time of deep political unrest. And yet, amidst widespread protests and government crackdowns, the attention of the nation was stolen by an unlikely event at the Nürburgring. For three straight days, radios across the country buzzed with live coverage of a scrappy team of racers as th...

By the time he had reached the starting line at the inaugural Belgian Grand Prix in 1925, Antonio Ascari was a living legend. He was to “slow down” by race officials at Monza, and even won the first Belgium Grand Prix by a whopping 22 minutes. But how did Antonio Ascari come to be one of the most respected drivers of his era? How did his son Alberto not only live up to his father’s legacy, but bec...

After rally racer Thierry Sabine got stuck in the Sahara Desert for three days, his rescue team airlifted out a changed man. On Thierry’s return trip to France, an idea began to crystalize in his mind: one rally to rule them all. How did Thierry Sabine’s near-death experience lead to the most infamous off-road race in the world? What about the endurance rally’s extreme risk attracted drivers, adve...

August 2nd, 1970, Hockenheim, Germany. 28-year-old Jochen Rindt stands atop the winner’s podium, holding the German Grand Prix championship trophy. His wife and young daughter stand proudly at his side. He looks across the crowd of cheering Germans and thinks back to the 1961 German Grand Prix - when he was one of them. A schoolboy watching his first ever F1 race, realizing for the first time that...

In December of 2001, Aussies across the continent were hit with earth shattering news – Holden Racing Team’s golden boy, Craig Lowndes, was joining Ford’s Blue Oval. Shockwaves rippled through the legions of loyal V8 Supercar racing fans – it was known that you were either team Holden or team Ford, and there was no switching sides. A rivalry deeper than the Hatfield and McCoys, and more bitter tha...

We spend a lot of time talking about the most famous heroes in auto racing: names like Enzo Ferrari, Michael Schumacher, or Lightning McQueen. But today on Past Gas, we’re skipping past the Greatest Hits album and getting into the DEEP CUTS. Who was the first person responsible for timekeeping Formula One races? How did Sabine Schmitz become queen of the Nurburgring? And who was the first female d...

Rat Fink was artist Ed “Big Daddy” Roth’s biggest envelope-pushing creation that drove teenagers to car shows and parents up the wall. But how did a young man with no automotive engineer training, who almost flunked out of high school, make such an impact on American car design? How did he stand out in Southern California during the height of kustom kar madness? And what type of legacy can a few c...

Catch our episode on Duncan Hamilton yet again, on this exclusive episode revisit! Today we’re looking into the bonkers life of Duncan Hamilton, the only man to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans drunk behind the wheel. This guy might have the nuttiest story so far on this podcast: from building his own car as a teenager, too surviving back to back sinking ships in World War Two, and surviving multiple c...

A dreary rain set in over the Fuji Speedway during the 1998 All-Japan Grand Touring Championship. A thick wall of fog and relentless, heavy rain blanketed the racetrack in almost unmanageable conditions. Then, an accident between a Porsche and Ferrari changed the course of Japanese racing forever. How did racing in Japan go from boring to world-wide phenomenon? How did punishing drivers that won l...

By the last race in the 1985 Indy Car Series, the drivers’ championship had come down to a single point – between Al Unser and his son, Al Unser Jr. Al Unser Sr was already an accomplished racer, with 3 Indy 500’s and two National Championship wins under his belt, whereas his son’s career was just beginning, and a championship win would cement his place in the world of IndyCar racing. Al was faced...

The story of the Shelby Daytona Coupe is well-told, and filmed, but the part played by its designer, Peter Brock, has been long overshadowed. Who was the designer of Shelby’s iconoclastic Daytona Coupe? How did he get such an important assignment at 27 years old? What did he do after the historic events that followed? All that and more, on Past Gas, about the Other Peter Brock and the Shelby Dayto...

After blowing three engines, Willy T Ribbs was about to give up on his dream of running in the Indy 500. With only hours left to get into the race, his team disassembled the engine, assessed the situation, and tried for a fourth time. They succeeded. That was the day Willy became a part of racing - and more importantly - American history. But why did it take so long for Willy to get the start he d...

This is the second part of our two-parter on Phil Hill and the 1961 Formula One season, where the guys (and guest host Elizabeth Blackstock) ask – why was it a death sentence to drive for Ferrari? Aside from Phil Hill, who were some of these tragic figures? And why didn’t Enzo Ferrari go to the funerals of his drivers? Today on Past Gas, the story of how the Ferrari Curse was broken by an American...

This is Part 1 of our 2-part series on Phil Hill! Phil Hill spent his youth dreaming of driving foreign cars. He would read British race publications front to back. He grew to idolize the racers like Juan Manuel Fangio and Alberto Ascari and cars like Maseratis, Ferraris, and Triumphs. But for much of his life, it was just a dream. So how did the nervous son of a Postmaster and hymn composer becom...