Jeff and Ross co-host this show. Jeff is a race engineer. Ross is a performance coach who’s worked with thousands of drivers—Indy winners, Le Mans winners, even the late Ken Block. Thirty years ago, one kid stood out from the rest; he would become one of the most decorated drivers in American history. Oddly enough, that kid was Jeff's son. Colin Braun is now 36. His resume holds three IMSA championships, four Daytona 24 wins, a Le Mans win, and a NASCAR rookie-of-the-year title. He’s raced in In...
Oct 22, 2024•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 42
Chris Andrews was once a NASCAR Cup Series engineer and crew chief. He’s worked hand-in-hand with drivers like Robby Gordon, Bill Elliott, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne. His resume holds names like Roush Fenway, Evernham Motorsports, and Richard Childress Racing. What you have probably guessed already: Chris has some *excellent* stories. Is this another of our “How the Pros Cheat” shows? You bet! And now with guest! Related Trivia: After more than a decade at the top of NASCAR, And...
Oct 15, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 41
“You jerk,” they’ll shout, “that show title isn’t relatable! Only the die-hards will understand! For pete’s sake, man, think of the traffic analytics!” Who cares? I am Sam and I write these ep descriptions, and that title makes me happy. If you don’t like it, hey, you probably aren’t the kind of person to listen to a show about a “flap,” anyway. And: This is a show about a flap! It’s also about two of the greatest American racers to have ever lived. The moment where two men of experience and wis...
Oct 08, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 40
How do you know when to let go of something you love? What if you know it’s time but still think about that something every minute of every day? If you’re INTC co-host Ross Bentley, you back up but you don’t give up—and you lean into what you’re good at. Ross was once a pro driver in IndyCar and IMSA. He is now a pro driver *coach*. And while he’s too modest to admit it, he’s one of the best in the world at what he does. He has coached Indy winners, Le Mans winners, even Ken Block, and he has ma...
Oct 01, 2024•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 39
OUR NEW WEBSITE IS WORSE THAN YOU HOPED: www.itsnotthecar.com/ Once, long ago, a German engineer looked at a VW Beetle and thought, “Ahh, my little streitzel, we should tango with the hot-rod physics of love!” The Porsche 911 is divisive. People love ’em. People hate ’em. People fire ’em backward into ditches and Armco and spit excuses for how it wasn’t their fault—widowmaker car, Wreck-cellence Was Expected, blah blah blah. (“Too much understeer! Too much oversteer! Chappell Roan! ANYTHI...
Sep 24, 2024•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 38
AVERT YOUR EYES FROM OUR NEW MERCH STORE: www.itsnotthecar.com/ ***Don’t ever go there! It will rot your brain! (These annoying store mentions will stop soon, we promise.)*** Once, in college, Sam studied under a dignified old journalism professor. “The thing about putting the word ‘sex’ in a headline,” this prof said, “is that it’s the easy way out. Like an exclamation point or a question mark—those are language cheats, to avoid thinking of something smarter. You can always do better.” But...
Sep 17, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 37
WE HAVE A MERCH STORE NOW: https://www.itsnotthecar.com/ You asked, we delivered! . . . is exactly what we will tell the authorities. *** 10% OFF ALL ORDERS FOR THE FIRST WEEK *** BRIEF SALES PITCH: Sam built a website. That site holds both useful info about INTC and driving-adjacent merchandise. Sam wrote every word there and designed all of our merch. Is he a seasoned design professional, you ask? No. Our advice: Visit ItsNotTheCar.com not to support this podshow or engage in the unparalle...
Sep 10, 2024•2 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 36
Formula 1 can be so boring. The King Mother-Humper of dull TV, with so much unknown: Why is Danny Ric slow now? Are those cars battling, or does it just look that way? How many different hairstyles can Lando Norris possibly have, and why does every single one make him look like a dapper little cutie patootie? Here’s the catch: Every broadcast holds answers. And when you know how to find them, F1 gets *way* better. INTC co-host Ross Bentley is a professional driver coach. He gets paid to watch ra...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 35
What happens when famous actors go fast? Not just Cool Hand Luke. Also Tom Cruise, Patrick Dempsey, and many others, including that guy I can’t remember from that one show. (You know—that dude with the hair and the face?) Spoiler: There is crashing! But that’s not the point. Ross has coached Hollywood celebrities. Jeff once worked with Paul Newman himself. Plus, we dip into the weird and wonderful story of the 1977–2016 Long Beach Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Which was basically Formula 1, except ...
Aug 27, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 34
Cheats II: Electric Boogaloo! Back by popular demand, like before but more! Firsthand accounts from an INTC host who works in the paddock! Our first installment of “How Pro Racers Cheat” was back in May. We didn’t intend for this to become a series, but you loved it and asked for more. We could have said no, but that would be lame, and then we wouldn’t get to hear Jeff Braun talk about race cars with mercury pumps. (Yes.) This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “...
Aug 20, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 33
In the summer of 1965, a V-8-powered love song from California dethroned Ferrari, shut up the haters, and won America its first FIA manufacturer’s road-racing championship. Naturally, almost no one here noticed. The Californian car was a gutsy experiment from a 28-year-old ex-GM designer named Pete Brock. Their story holds bootstraps, napkin math, and one badass stab at 180-mph immortality. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic mo...
Aug 13, 2024•1 hr 54 min•Season 1Ep. 32
When INTC’s tape day rolled around, Sam was sick. He landed a nasty bout of food poisoning and went wreck-it ralphing. So we postponed our planned show, and then Ross and Jeff hit the mic to improvise. Their topic? The driver-engineer relationship! Questions answered in this ep: Why do you need an engineer, anyway? What makes that relationship crucial in pro racing? Should you be embarrassed if you can’t feel a change someone made on your car? What should you do if you’re the only person on your...
Jul 30, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 31
Once, Jeff and Robby Unser tried to qualify a car for the Indianapolis 500. Jeff was the engineer. Unser was the driver. The car stunk to high heaven. Unser was scared. This is that story. Here now, one man’s experience with the epically uncompetitive Riley & Scott Mk. VII Indy Racing League Indy car. Has Jeff Braun—esteemed INTC host, legendary bus driver, and championship-winning race engineer—met a worse race car? He says no. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call th...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr•Season 1Ep. 30
Gossip time! Why did Ross steal that Ferrari from Chip Ganassi? Just who dropped that tire on Jeff's toe at Daytona and became his sworn enemy for life? Which aging F1 driver did Sam give a wedgie to in the pits at Lime Rock? Listen and find out! (Warning: This episode may not actually contain the above information.) This episode's working title was "The Dumbest Things We've Seen in Racing." When we sat down at the mic, it got way more interesting—a discussion about high-pressure environments, r...
Jul 16, 2024•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Well, Timmy, when a rubber molecule and a piece of earth love each other very much, they do a special hug, see, and . . . uh . . . hysteresis . . . wait, no, it’s heat cycles . . . er . . . glass point? Short answer: Magic! Tires are magic! Warning: We get lightly tech-nerdy here. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This format is called “Instant Expert.” Know squat about the topic? Pull up a chair, we’ll get you up to speed. Expert already? Grab a chair anyway, it’s chill, we g...
Jul 09, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Once, an English retiree made Ferrari and Red Bull mad. He looked like an accountant and wore dad sweaters. The team he ran was a down-on-its-luck collection of castoffs and pirates; in their very first season, they risked everything and landed the impossible. Sound like a sports movie? Conveniently, the whole thing was basically a cross between “Major League,” the Paul Newman hockey classic “Slap Shot,” and that scene in “Raiders of the Lost Ark” where all the faces melt. This show’s format rot...
Jul 03, 2024•1 hr 28 min•Season 1Ep. 27
If someone offered you a chance to drive one of the fastest race cars on earth, would you do it? The catch: If you screw up, your boss will shut down your office and fire you and everyone you work with. Also, you have the entire Indianapolis Motor Speedway to yourself and McLaren-Mercedes people are watching and judging and SERIOUSLY JUST RELAX ALREADY. Once, Sam belted into a 2007 McLaren MP4-22 Formula 1 car. With the tiny deafening V-8 and the anti-stall and the goofy hand clutch. The car ble...
Jun 25, 2024•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 26
It’s another “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 . . . Formula 1 drivers! What makes one better than another? Mistakes, for one thing. No room for error in the big leagues. Unless you’re Lance Stroll, in which case, well . . . his pops owns the team, so . . . UGH, DAD, I TOLD YOU, I CLEANED MY ROOM ALREADY BUT THEN DANNY RIC CAME IN AND MESSED IT UP IT’S ALL HIS FAULT. This show’s for...
Jun 18, 2024•53 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Everything you always wanted to know about a sliding car but were too cool / afraid / busy paying for a chunk of Armco to ask. Okay, maybe not *everything*. Popular questions not addressed herein: Why is a slide? Who I win track day? Is them car better have more dinner-roll stiffness? Have you ever really *looked* at your hands? This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode’s format is called “Instant Expert.” Know squat about the topic? Pull up a chair, we’ll bring you up to...
Jun 11, 2024•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Once, a long time ago, a brave man went to a beach and tried to drive faster than anyone ever had. He did not survive. This is his story. Perhaps you saw the date in this episode’s title and thought, “The 1920s? Prehistoric! Swipe left, bruh, yuck!” Which is definitely a take. Some people think the past is a dull place. Nothing to do with who we are or where we’re going. Those people are—if you’ll pardon my French—stupid. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our m...
Jun 04, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Free bonus episode! To celebrate the release of Sam’s new book, “Smithology,” we’ve released one audio excerpt, read by him, every Monday for a month. This is the fourth and final installment. The book’s full title is “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of Sam’s writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Today’s story originally ran as a column in Road & Track magazine in 2016. It’s called “Indoor Storage.” “Smithology” is ava...
Jun 03, 2024•8 min
Is this a free bonus episode where Ross and Jeff break down and analyze the 2024 Indy 500 and 2024 Monaco Grand Prix? Indeed! Sam is on this episode, but he mostly just listens, because he didn't watch either race this year. Boo hiss, that guy, what a chump, right? Wait, doesn’t Sam write these episode descriptions? Isn’t he just talking to himself right now? Also: Why are there so many free bonus episodes lately? Also also: Is this the closest INTC has ever come to resembling a traditional frie...
May 30, 2024•50 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Secrets dished! Stories told! Firsthand accounts from an INTC host who works in the paddock! You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll ponder the nature of human morality! This episode’s title implies a question. For the long answer, press play. The short answer is, “very effectively.” Sometimes. Mostly. (Insert push-to-Penske IndyCar joke here.) This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Jeff Shares a Secret.” This episode is just Jeff and Sam. Ross couldn’t make it—he was...
May 28, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Free bonus episode! To celebrate the release of Sam’s new book, “Smithology,” we’re releasing one audio excerpt from it, read by him, every Monday for a month. This is the third installment. The book’s full title is “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of Sam’s writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Today’s story originally ran in Road & Track magazine in 2018. It’s called, “Dajiban!” There is a race track in Japan. A vehic...
May 27, 2024•22 min
“You’re gonna get fired anyway, so you might as well start racing!" Clay Millican was a forklift operator. He quit that job to chase a dream in drag racing, and now he's an NHRA Top Fuel legend. He's also our very first guest on It’s Not the Car! This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Guest Teaches Us a Thing"—in this case, what it feels like to have 11,000 hp under your right foot. If you like it, don’t worry—there are plenty more to come whether you like it o...
May 21, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Another free bonus episode! Why? Sam has a new book out! To celebrate, we’re releasing four excerpts, each read aloud by him, every Monday for a month. This is the second installment. Sam’s book is called, “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of his writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Like the man himself, it’s thoughtful, funny, and deeply human. Today’s story originally ran as a column at Hagerty, the classic-car insurance...
May 20, 2024•12 min
“Driving a race car,” Sylvester Stallone once said, “is terrifying.” Aw, Sly, buddy—that just makes me sad, you know? A big ol’ dollop of Guy Fieri bummer sauce. You’re missing out! It’s only terrifying if you’re doing it wrong! Speaking of: What if you made a horrendously expensive movie about IndyCar while knowing almost nothing about the sport? What if, a quarter-century later, that film was widely held up as one of the worst in history? Here now, the story of Stallone’s 2001 cinematic asster...
May 14, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Free bonus episode! Why? Sam has a new book out! To celebrate, we’re releasing four excerpts read aloud by him—one each Monday for the next four weeks. Sam’s book is called “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of his writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Like the man himself, it's thoughtful, funny, and deeply human. Today’s story first ran as a column in Road & Track magazine in 2015. It’s called “Wall Drug”—it’s about vi...
May 13, 2024•8 min
To borrow a line from this episode, “this is a great story because it’s got Paul Tracy melting his feet off and a bunch of stuff blowing up and Mario Andretti sits on his porch giving the stink eye at one point.” (The Mario in the headline is a different Mario. Headline Mario was Swiss.) (Digression: Headline Mario sounds like the *worst* Nintendo game. “Hey, Timmy! Come by my house after school! We can play Headline Mario and eat Cheez-Its!”) (Timmy: “Uh . . . I have to . . . wash my hair?”) (W...
May 07, 2024•59 min•Season 1Ep. 18
They do! But first: SAM HAS A NEW BOOK OUT. It’s called “Smithology”—available now on Amazon in print and as a Kindle e-book. Check it out, if you have a sec? This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Sam Tells a Story.” And in this case, that story is another dive into all the stuff you wanted to know about car magazines but never had a chance to ask. Jeff and Ross have questions on the topic. Sam hates talking about himself and is convinced that these questions ...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Season 1Ep. 17
