Episodes

Episode 169 is on the scene and we welcome Patrick Staropoli back to the podcast. The Retina Surgeon and Harvard Graduate will finally live his dream at the age of 36 by being a full time NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series driver in 2026. He discusses how he got the ride with Scott Borchetta and Big Machine Racing, the pressure he faces stepping into a car that made the playoffs and won a race last season, which tracks he feels will be his toughest and whether he will have to put his career as a ...

Episode 168 is on the scene and it is our 2026 Season Premiere! The boys review what they have been up for the holidays and why Jody is now the voice for the voiceless. Chris Hettinger has fielded teams in Late Model Stock Competition on the CARS Tour and in other big events. He has tried his hands in the ARCA Menards Series and the Craftsman Truck Series but this year, he takes on his biggest venture yet by becoming an owner in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts Series for the 2026 season. Chris is...

Episode 167 is on the scene and we welcome zMAX CARS Tour Star Brandon Pierce back to the show. Last week, Brandon announced his plans for the 2026 season and Brandon tells us how his new deal with Kevin Powell Speed Motorsports came together, when those discussions started, how difficult it was to leave Carroll Speedshop and his thoughts about him being on the cusp of becoming all time starts leader on the CARS Tour. The boys dive into the recent NASCAR Trial coming to an end and their thoughts...

Episode 166 is on the scene and Jody is joined by our good buddy Boo Carlisle who is filling in for Julian this week as co-host. Robert Pressley competed in the highest level of NASCAR for over two decades winning at Daytona, Darlington, Dover among other facilities in both the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Robert is taking on a new venture as Race Control for the IHRA Stock Car Series that is debuting in 2026 for an 8 race schedule. Robert joins us to tell us...

Episode 165 is on the scene and we review the Thanksgiving Classic from Southern National Motorsports Park where Doug Barnes Jr came from the rear and took home the trophy for arguably his biggest win of his career. We discuss the race itself, address the Lee Pulliam/Josh Berry drama and give our takes on the action from the tech shed. We also talk about who else took home a trophy from Southern National in addition to Newport, Wall Stadium and Freedom Factory! Blake McCandless started his broad...

Episode 164 is on the scene and we are joined by the 2025 NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Champion Austin Beers. Austin tells us about his historic season by becoming the youngest tour champion in the rich history of this tour and what it means to bring it home for the ownership group that ultimately took a chance on him several years ago. He dives into his history being a second generation racer, what Ryan Preece said to him after winning the championship and his aspirations for the future are. We ...

Episode 163 is on the scene and we welcome the winner of the $10,000 Stock 4 World Championship from Ararat BullRing Bentley Caudle. The 15 year old competitor talks to us the weekend, his racing background, what he's going to do with the 10 K and having his name etched into history. Joey Braun put a $12,000 bow on his first season in a tour type Modified driver Saturday night by winning the 9th annual Islip 300 at Riverhead Raceway. Braun joins the show to discuss the biggest win of his career...

Episode 162 is on the scene and we are joined this week by the 11 time winner of the North South Shootout at Caraway Speedway Matt Hirschman. We ask Hirschman about a number of topics including the format of the race, how a scoring error could have changed the outcome of the event, why he chose to run the full time NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour this season this season, his thoughts on Gary Putnam becoming the new director of the tour and thoughts of his father being inducted in the New England Rac...

Episode 161 is on the scene and we are trying to figure out why everyone is so angry and sad about the NASCAR playoffs. The mood coming out of Phoenix is supposed to be a celebration of the NASCAR National Touring Series Season but instead, there are more questions than answers. Kyle Larson joins a short list of multiple time Cup Series champions with his championship winning effort on Sunday but Denny Hamlin is the one who everyone is sad about. Connor Zilisch dominated the Xfinity Series Seaso...

Episode 160 is on the scene and we welcome the 2025 Carolina Crate Modified Champion Cody Norman to the show. Cody wrapped up his second career Carolina Crate Modified title on Saturday at Orange County Speedway and he discusses the weekend that saw the tour pay tribute to his friend Robbie Brewer. We discuss his season which saw him reel off 4 wins, 8 top 3s, 9 top 5s and one pole in 11 starts, being a third generation racer, preparing for the upcoming North South Shootout, aspirations to run ...

Episode 159 is on the scene with 2025 CARS Tour Late Model Champion Landen Lewis. Lewis takes us back to the turning point of his season, the pressures of racing for a title, having his mentor Ron Hornaday on site for his biggest day in racing, bringing a title back to Kevin Harvick Incorporated and being a big brother/mentor to Kevin's son Keelan. When there is a champion there is a runner up. Connor Hall concludes his stint with JR Motorsports with a top five finish in the finale at North Wilk...

Episode 158 is on the scene and we are feeling some championship fever this week. STAR Super Stock Tour Champion Cody DeMarmels is our guest fresh off winning four races at Hickory Motor Speedway this past weekend. He tells us the story behind each one and how many more Limited races he plans on doing as well as where his trophies go after he wins them. Dustin Rumley clinched his eighth Late Model Stock title at Ace Speedway in North Carolina this past weekend with a win in the season finale. He...

Episode 157 is on the scene and we welcome Landon Shane Huffman to the podcast. Landon Shane is the son of former Hooters Cup Champion Shane Huffman and is coming off his career best CARS Tour Finish of second on Saturday night at Tri County Speedway. We asked him about that, how he picked up his ride for the weekend, the struggles he has overcome with RPG to a lifetime in the sport and how he deals with folks who get him confused with the other Landon Huffman who is heavily involved in the spor...

Episode 156 is on the scene and we are joined by NASCAR Regional's Brandon White for the entire podcast this week. The 30th running of the Valley Star 300 from Martinsville Speedway is in the books and it had a little bit of everything for everybody. The event featured two rain delays, Trevor Ward being forced to serve a stop and go while leading the race with arguably the fastest car after jumping a start, a crash before the drivers crossed the line to start the race to set the tone for the ...

Episode 155 is on the scene and we welcome the President of Martinsville Speedway Clay Campbell to the show. We asked Campbell about some new things that are happening at Martinsville Speedway, the prestige of the Virginia Triple Crown, the upcoming NASCAR playoff weekend, what he thought of driving a Mazda MX5 Series machine, why the modifieds didn't run at Martinsville for a few years and more as we reflect on the 30th anniversary of the Valley Star 300. Speaking of which we give our picks for...

Episode 154 is on the scene with third generation racer Bryan Reedy. His grandfather, Orvil, raced in the Busch Series (Xfinity) & won many races while father, Tink, raced to championships at Franklin County and Motor Mile Speedway so you think he would have pressure to follow in their footsteps. Bryan discusses that legacy, why it's been nine years since he last tried running at Martinsville like he will attempt to do so at the end of the month, how long a team like his gets ready for such a ...

Episode 153 is on the scene and we review what turned into Championship Sunday at South Boston Speedway following the rain on Saturday. Peyton Sellers is now an eight time Sentara Late Model Champion and we discuss where this truly ranks him amongst the greats and it may surprise you. Hear from the champ this week as well as Trevor Ward who gave it all he could but came up two points short in the title fight. BJ Reaves clinched his second straight Southside Disposal Pure Stock championship by st...

Episode 152 is on the scene with our Labor Day Weekend Racing Recap! We discuss the Southern 500 from Darlington. It was a great night for Legacy Auto Club, Kaulig Racing and Chase Briscoe but it wasn't that great for Penske and Hendrick Motorsports. Many of the playoff drivers had trouble while 23X1 had great points days. Julian caught up with some of the top finishers during his Darlington trip while Jody and him play Gas It Up or Pump The Brakes on who's in trouble in the playoffs after th...

Episode 151 is on the scene and we welcome Eric Winslow to the show. Winslow who been frequent winner in the Budweiser Limited Sportsman Division at South Boston reflects on how his career in racing got started, competing at the same track he dreamed of running races as a kid and the current state of Limited Late Models/Sportsman in the region and what needs to be done to make it a premier division. We also discuss his savage crash at Ace Speedway from Friday night and whether or not he will be ...

Episode 150 is here and Jody Freeman is back on the scene following his trip to Bermuda. Jody gives his details about Bermuda while Julian made a trip to Richmond Raceway this weekend for the NASCAR Triple Header Weekend and reminds us to stay hydrated! Brandon Butler was a former ARCA Menards East (Then Busch North Series) Rookie of the year when the tour was nearly at its peak in popularity. He was hoping to make his mark in the Truck and Busch Series but only was able to make a handful of sta...

Episode 149 is on the scene. We start the show by paying tribute to Robbie Brewer who passed away on Saturday at Bowman Gray Stadium. JoJo isn't on the scene this week as he is on a cruise this week. Danny Willard of Ace Speedway, South Boston Speedway and the Race Director for the CARS Tour fills in for Jody this week as co-host! Danny and Julian discuss the recent Davenport Energy Race Night from South Boston. They discuss Eric Winslow and Johnny Layne's return to victory lane for the first ti...

Episode 148 is on the scene and we are joined by Brandon White of NASCAR Regional who helps us break down this year's Throwback Classic CARS Tour event from Hickory. Mini Tyrrell is now $50,000 richer and he explains to the guys how much this payday will help him run the remainder of the schedule and how his faith got him through some tough times as he reflects on a career season thus far. We discuss all the stories from the weekend. From the 25 hour rain delay, the controversial jumping of the ...

Episode 147 is on the scene and we welcome former Hickory Motor Speedway Late Model Champion and current points leader in the division Michael Bumgarner to the show. Bumgarner is coming off a feature win at the speedway on Saturday and he is preparing to make an attempt to win the Throwback Classic at Hickory this weekend on the zMAX CARS Tour. He looks back on his career thus far and shares what it will take to not only grab a win this weekend but how to attract more cars and teams to weekly co...

Episode 146 is on the scene as we review the Hampton Heat from Langley Speedway. We are joined by the winner of the event Matt Waltz. Waltz tells about what this means to his career and the amount of sleep he has received since Sunday morning. He also describes how this weekend was big for his team as he had a point to prove and if his reputation had taken a hit after South Boston. Waltz addresses the disqualification after the Thunder Road 200 and details the process that led to it and if Matt ...