Podracing

This week on Podracing, Neil and Tyler unpack an unforgettable — and emotionally complicated — Championship Weekend at Phoenix. Corey Heim capped a historic Trucks season with a validating win, while our guy Connor Zilisch saw his all-time Xfinity campaign fall short late. But the Cup race was the real heartbreaker: After 20 years of near-misses, Denny Hamlin did everything right… until a freak la...

In this week’s Podracing, Tyler Lauletta and Neil Paine break down William Byron’s masterclass at Martinsville, where he put together one of the clutchest performances in playoff history to seal a Championship 4 spot — and send Ryan Blaney packing in the process. We also recap Christopher Bell’s quiet elimination, thanks in large part to Kyle Larson’s efficient drive into the final round. Then we...

In this week’s Podracing, Tyler Lauletta and I break down Chase Briscoe’s thrilling Talladega win to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 — and what it means for the “Briscoe Truthers” (aka  us ) who’ve been shouting his name for months. We marvel at a surprisingly clean superspeedway finish, shout out some model-backed longshots who delivered big (Todd Gilliland! Cole Custer! Zane Smith!), an...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Denny Hamlin’s return to the Championship 4 after a clutch Vegas win, while Chase Briscoe came this close to stealing it before getting passed late on worn tires. We dissect Byron’s wreck, Blaney’s rock-bottom run, and why playoff drivers dominating the Top 10 isn’t a coincidence anymore — especially with Logano warning that “there’s...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta recap an all-time Roval finish, where Ross Chastain tried to video-game his way into advancing (again) — and ended up crossing the line in reverse as Joey Logano slipped through the chaos. We break down Paul Wolfe’s pit-call of the year, Denny Hamlin’s galaxy-brain playoff calculus (or lack thereof), and why the field may live to regret letting...

This week on Podracing, Neil and Tyler break down the chaos at Kansas — including Denny Hamlin’s mind-melting decision to run his own 23XI driver, Bubba Wallace, into the wall… and hand the win to Chase Elliott. We try to figure out what exactly Denny was thinking, wonder if NASCAR needs some version of F1-style team orders, and give Elliott credit for capitalizing when it mattered most. We also d...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Ryan Blaney’s Round of 12 win at Loudon — the first real Ford/Penske statement of the playoffs — and a redemption drive (if a bit too late) from Josh Berry. We also dissect the sudden collapse of Toyota’s playoff momentum, including infighting at JGR and disastrous days for 23XI’s Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, who took the biggest...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down the absolute tire-shredding chaos of the Bristol night race, where Christopher Bell survived fire, attrition and a late restart to semi-vulture the win — while Chase Elliott and Austin Cindric barely escaped elimination. We then pivot to Neil’s NASCAR.com piece on the playoff Round of 12, spotlighting the razor-thin margins between B...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Denny Hamlin’s dominant victory in St. Louis — err, Illinois (which we enjoyed) — where his 142.2 driver rating secured a stress-free Round of 12 berth and kept Toyota’s perfect playoff run intact. Along those lines, we also dive into Neil’s latest NASCAR.com story on where this Toyota hot streak ranks historically, plus ru...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta unpack all the playoff fallout from a wild opener at Darlington — including Chase Briscoe’s perfect 150 Driver Rating victory, holding off Tyler Reddick and Erik Jones in the dirty air to secure entry to the Round of 12. We update the evolving championship odds after tough days for Josh Berry and the usually dominant Hendrick camp (especially A...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta deliver the Podracing Playoff Preview you’ve been waiting for, recapping the dramatic Daytona cutoff race where Ryan Blaney didn’t need a win but got one anyway — denying a playoff berth to Daniel Suarez, Justin Haley, Cole Custer and Erik Jones, and saving Alex Bowman in the process. We also unpack the bizarre Zilisch/Kligerman Xfinity win (a real W for Parker, but n...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Austin Dillon’s actual, legitimate playoff-clinching win at Richmond — ya gotta give the guy his flowers. Then we dig into the newly released 2026 Cup Series schedule, including big upgrades to the In-Season Challenge track lineup next year. Plus, with Daytona looming as a win-or-go-home elimination race, we talk about who the real superspeedway specia...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down a chaotic weekend at Watkins Glen, where Connor Zilisch wrecked Shane van Gisbergen to win in Xfinity — then wrecked himself in Victory Lane during the celebration. That meant no Zilisch vs. SVG rematch in the Cup race… and SVG cruised to his fourth straight road-course win. Is he too dominant? We look to Formula 1 for clues on how dynasties eventually end....

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down William Byron’s daring fuel-mileage win at Iowa — where he led the most laps, running the last 64 of them under green, and still somehow had just enough gas to finish the job. Then we dig into Neil’s piece on the “must-win” drivers below the cutline and who still has a shot at crashing the playoff field with a late victory. And finally, it’s road-course tim...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Bubba Wallace’s clutch win at the Brickyard — holding off Kyle Larson in double OT to end his losing streak and solidify his playoff standing as the bubble pressure was rising. Then we dive into the continued rise of Connor Zilisch, who keeps winning (on every track type) and might just be HIM. Plus: Honest takeaways from the first-ever In-Season Chall...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Denny Hamlin’s rain-delayed overtime win at Dover — his fourth of the season — and dig into Neil’s story on why this might be the 44-year-old’s best (and maybe last?) shot at his long-awaited first Cup Series title. Then we turn our attention to the all-Ty finale of the In-Season Challenge, where Ty Gibbs and Ty Dillon made sure some...

Shane van Gisbergen kept his road-course reign alive with another win at Sonoma — and Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down how he did it (again). We also took a little Xfinity Series detour to ask whether Connor Zilisch might be the chosen one to stop the SVG dominance on twisty tracks. Then it’s back to ovals — hallelujah! — as we dig into Neil’s story on what makes Dover such a brutal a...

Can anyone stop the Patron Saint of Podracing?? Shane van Gisbergen swept the streets of Chicago — taking both the Xfinity and Cup wins — so Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta are here to break it down, including the late caution that helped SVG seal the deal. We then dive into Neil’s story, making the case for SVG (and a few others) as the greatest road-course racer in NASCAR history. Finally, we prev...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Chase Elliott’s win in Atlanta and celebrate the chaotic, bracket-busting finish of the first race of NASCAR’s in season tournament. Then, Neil goes through his list of drivers who can potentially keep up with SVG as we head to the streets of Chicago this weekend. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19...

This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Chase Briscoe’s brilliant fuel-saving victory at Pocono, and then we deep-dive on NASCAR’s first-ever In-Season Challenge, which kicks off this week in Atlanta. Based on the bracket matchups and Neil’s tournament odds model, who has a dream path, who drew the short straw, and which Cinderellas might crash the party? Finally, we make...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta kick off this week's Podracing with a breakdown of Shane Van Gisbergen’s road-course clinic in Mexico City — and why his playoff spot is legit, even if he's 30th in points. Then we go continent-hopping through Neil’s story on potential international NASCAR destinations, from Interlagos to Zandvoort to Kyalami. (There are no ice ovals in Antarctica... yet.) Plus: one-a...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta talk Denny Hamlin's fuel-saving masterclass at Michigan, and why we shouldn't take his impressive streak of 3-win seasons for granted. Then we pay tribute to the Patron Saint of Podracing, Shane Van Gisbergen, ahead of the Mexico City race -- the first in what could be a season-defining set of races for SVG. And finally, we make our weekly betting and one-and-done pic...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Ryan Blaney’s dominant win at Nashville and ask the eternal question: Why doesn’t he always do this? We also have good words for the new Amazon NASCAR broadcast, we unpack Neil’s deep dive into Michigan as the fastest track in the sport, and we make our weekly betting and one-and-done picks — where Tyler’s cold streak has Neil back in the lead. See Privacy...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down a wild Coca-Cola 600, where Kyle Larson’s Indy/Charlotte double came up short again, and William Byron and Denny Hamlin dominated… until Ross Chastain swooped in to "vulture the Vulture”. Then we dive into Neil's piece on how Chastain’s more measured driving style might be making him better than ever. Plus, we make our picks for this week’s betting sla...

Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta recap Christopher Bell’s All-Star W at North Wilkesboro, where Joey Logano led the most laps again but couldn’t win back-to-back All-Star Races. Then it’s on to Kyle Larson’s Indy 500/Coke 600 “Double Duty” bid, as we dig into Neil’s piece on the history of drivers trying to conquer both races in a single day, and what makes Larson’s attempt so compelling. Finally, we...