The Racing Writer's Podcast

By now you know there is so much that goes into building a race car and not just for the race teams, which makes Tommy Joseph a great guest. As an aerodynamics supervisor for Ford Performance, he’s taking us inside what that means and everything going on at the Ford Tech Center; scale model testing; the limit of wind tunnel testing; what Ford has been able to work on during the parts freeze; the t...

Chris Miko is one of the hauler drivers at Joe Gibbs Racing, and it’s his job to make sure that Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Toyota makes it to the racetrack. But that’s not all Miko does. This week, Miko takes us for a ride through his 21 years in the sport; being a show car driver; finding a love of NASCAR at a young age and getting his foot in the door professionally; additional responsibilities for the...

Kip Childress is back! There is so much more to cover about being the Cup Series pace car driver, but before we get into that, he's going to share a job he has covering sports away from the racetrack. After a nice discussion on high school sports, we dig into the importance of knowing the NASCAR rule book from inside the pace car and being aware of your surroundings; New Hampshire rain and Kyle Bu...

Brian Wilson and Harrison Burton are paired together at Wood Brothers Racing and they stop by the podcast to talk about it. Wilson describes getting his shot as a Cup Series crew chief; being familiar with the series; what he’ll expect from Burton; working with another young driver; making a name for himself in the Xfinity Series; the open notebook between Wood Brothers and Penske; working on Next...

Bob Tasca III lives a fascinating life as an NHRA Funny Car driver on the weekend but the vice president of Tasca Automotive Group during the week. In our conversation we dig into a busy portion of the NHRA schedule; the great Funny Car points battle; the mental battle of Sunday eliminations and not getting another run; what it was like when NHRA went to a playoff format; what Tasca is processing...

Before Todd Gordon walks out the door at Team Penske for the last time, he joins us to do some reflecting. Gordon starts by sharing if it’s sinking in that he’s done and what Sunday at Phoenix Raceway was like leading into the race; if Gordon plans to do any reflecting on the accomplishments he didn’t focus on while they were happening; the significant race wins along the way; the change he saw in...

Josh Williams is an Xfinity Series driver and now he’s getting back to his roots by offering development opportunities for those who need some assistance. We start our conversation talking about his driver development program and his approach to such a program; Williams also explains how many different hats he wears during a week; getting started with a go-kart at two years old; what Williams reme...

Ryan Vargas works his tail off for seat time and to be recognized in NASCAR and it’s paid off in some big ways over the last year. Vargas joins the show to discuss the growing amount of seat time he’s had this year and what it means to have a driver’s notebook; racing with emotion; insight into the home office and his daily task to get in a car; the business of cold calls; if Vargas has any formal...

Max Papis is a busy man. Papis is an IndyCar race steward, performance advisor, and businessman, just to name a few things, and somehow, he found time to join the show to share how it’s all been going. What does it mean to be a race steward? What drew Papis to taking the job years ago? He also explains his role with William Byron and why he doesn’t like the term coach; finding satisfaction in seei...

Sam Hunt Racing has gone from a very small K&N operation to competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and what a journey it’s been. Hunt shares his first conversation with Toyota and earning their support; his connection to the late J.D. Gibbs and how influential their meeting was in more ways than one; how surreal it’s been for the team to come so far in a short amount of time; time spent in the Net...

Tony Stewart is taking his team ownership to the NHRA beginning in 2022 and he made time to talk about it on the podcast. Stewart discusses the challenges he expects entering drag racing; experiencing drag racing up close and personal; how Stewart’s view of things changed the more time spent on the starting line; what the conversation is like between two racers in a relationship (Stewart and fianc...

Blake Harris is the car chief for Martin Truex Jr. at Joe Gibbs Racing, and if you want to know what that entails, he’s here to explain. Harris breaks down his role; how he got into NASCAR and the journey to Furniture Row (before JGR); being a former driver himself but also enjoying working on cars as well; being a brief test driver for Furniture Row; choosing racing over music; what it’s like goi...

Steve Lauletta has been there from the beginning but he’s now officially team president of 23XI Racing as the interim title was erased. Lauletta joins the podcast this week to discuss his role and the main things the organization has going on both on and off the racetrack. From explaining how he never wanted to work for another race team after leaving the sport for a few years but being drawn to 2...

Chris Gayle didn’t expect to be an Xfinity Series crew chief this year for Joe Gibbs Racing, but once the decision was made, Gayle decided he was going to show it was a mistake. Gayle admits there is ego involved going from the Cup Series to Xfinity Series; the thought of going for an owner’s championship versus a driver’s championship; getting his racing start in Arkansas; transferring to UNC Cha...

From feeling like the world was crashing down on Jordan Anderson Racing in February to making some noise in the Xfinity Series, it’s been quite a year for the team. Jordan Anderson is going to try and explain it all and sum it up for us this week. Anderson digs into how long it took to decide to shift his plans for the season; how he drew in big-name Cup drivers for the Xfinity car; the feeling wh...

You’ve probably heard Doug Rice’s voice calling a NASCAR race for Performance Racing Network (PRN), but if you don’t know much about him, you will after this episode. Rice explains how long he’s been with the company and his role as president of PRN and the responsibilities; first hearing about NASCAR; memories from broadcasting in college and working at the campus radio station; the impact of par...

Corey LaJoie knows his flowing hair is starting to become noticeable and there is a reason behind that. LaJoie kicks off our conversation today explaining the look he’s going for before we jump into how the season has gone for Spire Motorsports; what goes into learning a new car/manufacturer; what LaJoie gets out of doing his own podcast and SiriusXM work; what he’s learning about the NASCAR unive...

Josh Sims has covered NASCAR and other local sports for Fox46 in Charlotte for the past few years, but now he’s entered the stock car world full-time. Sims is already in deep with projects, and this weekend at Darlington, he takes another step with his first pit reporting gig, which we discuss first. Then we go into how different it’ll be to only have to cover NASCAR outside of the Charlotte arena...

Things are going well and life is good for Kyle Petty and the projects he’s working on, which he’s here to talk all about. Petty explains how COVID-19 changed his job and way of doing things; what it means to now be back in the garage area; the approach to ‘Coffee with Kyle’ conversations; learning the concept of shutting up and listening; how ‘Coffee with Kyle’ came to be; how much makes the fini...

The last time we spoke to Anthony Alfredo he was grasping the fact that he had a ride with Richard Childress Racing, so we’re checking back in with him to see what it’s like to be a Cup Series rookie at Front Row Motorsports. And it’s a challenging time to be a rookie, too. Alfredo explains why; if there have been any seconds thoughts or frustrations; how big the Olympic break was for his team; ad...

Alan Reinhart is the voice you hear when it comes to the NHRA, either over the PA system at the racetrack or if you’ve watched NHRA.TV. Reinhart takes us through the journey of being in the right place at the right time to start announcing; the knowledge and one-liners he brings to the job; views from the booth, material, and knowing when information is relevant; Shirley Muldowney stopping by the...

Michael Waltrip has seemingly done it all – racer, team owner, television, author, and now beer. We start our conversation by talking about what led him to start a brewing company; then we move into his experience running with SRX this summer; the opportunity to race against some motorsports greats; if SRX scratched any itch of getting into a race car; how it feels to be in his 25th year of broadc...

Mike Dillon has had many different roles over the years in racing, but today he is the senior vice president of business operations at Richard Childress Racing. Dillon explains his responsibilities and how there is much more taking place on the RCR campus than building race cars; how the company is already looking to shift resources to other jobs when Next Gen comes around; if RCR might have an ad...

Krista Baldwin is a businesswoman, team owner, and Top Fuel driver following in the footsteps of her grandfather Chris 'The Greek' Karamesines and late father Bobby Baldwin. She breaks down the many hats that she wears and balancing it all; the family tree of race car drivers; reliving and sharing the details of her big run at zMAX Dragway; what it’s like for Baldwin's mom to watch her daughter ra...

Erik Jones is enjoying his first season with Richard Petty Motorsports and grades himself on the job he’s done as the driver. Jones joins the show this week to also discuss getting used to being a one-car team; simulator time and how that’s changed for him from the past; having a more personal relationship with the Petty team; working with a new manufacturer; the normalcy of not having practice an...