Best Sam Smith Ross Bentley Jeff Braun Podcasts (2024)

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Indoor Storage” 7:40

3h ago7:40

7:40

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 ov…

1
RACE RECAP: Monaco G.P. + Indy 500 50:23

1d ago50:23

50:23

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…

1
How Pro Racers Cheat 1:05:10

4h ago1:05:10

1:05:10

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’…

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — "Dajiban!" 22:11

2h ago22:11

22:11

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…

1
337 MPH in 3.7 Seconds is Really Hard Work — (GUEST: Clay Millican) 1:13:40

8d ago1:13:40

1:13:40

“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 …

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Mears and My Feet” 11:41

1h ago11:41

11:41

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…

1
The Awful Joy of Bad Racing Movies — (Driven, 2001) 59:27

8d ago59:27

59:27

“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? …

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Wall Drug” 8:02

5d ago8:02

8:02

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'…

1
How Roger and Mario Broke the Indy 500 — (Penske “Beast” V-8, 1994) 59:13

24d ago59:13

59:13

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 …

1
Do Car Magazines Have Secrets? 1:10:03

7d ago1:10:03

1:10:03

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 maga…

1
The Dan Gurney Fan-Service Episode 1:02:18

13d ago1:02:18

1:02:18

The catch: We’re the fans. (Bet you didn’t see that coming.) “If you have the chance to make something beautiful,” Dan Gurney once said, “and you don’t, well, what does that say about you?” This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode’s format is called "How I Got Here." It’s a free-form dive into the people, places, moments, a…

1
The Ferrari Story You Didn’t Know You Needed 1:15:27

1M ago1:15:27

1:15:27

Once, in the 1990s, a fancy Italian carmaker hadn’t gone sports-car racing in 20 years. Maybe they were too busy figuring out new ways to make a 348 catch fire or something. Then some influential folks made a few particularly expressive hand gestures and the Italians agreed to do it—but just this once, and then you gotta vaffanculo, alright? The sh…

1
How to Be a Rookie at the Indy 500 1:17:41

27d ago1:17:41

1:17:41

Step one: Know you might die trying. In 1993, at the tender age of 36, a host of this show tried to qualify for one of the greatest races on earth. He didn’t make it in, but he did lap a 900-hp car at more than 220 mph, suffer third-degree burns on his face, and meet a hospital. Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was your month of May? (No, really:…

1
For Love of the Game — (Villeneuve 1979 US GP Wet Quali) 1:11:34

1M ago1:11:34

1:11:34

“He was the craziest devil I ever came across in Formula 1.” —Niki Lauda Gilles Villeneuve got his start racing snowmobiles, crashing on sheet ice at 100 mph. Enzo Ferrari loved him; Ronnie Peterson said he was a menace. And in upstate New York in the fall of 1979, in blinding rain, an entire F1 paddock stopped what it was doing to watch him do wha…

1
The World’s Most Charming Race Track 1:16:41

2M ago1:16:41

1:16:41

What makes a special place special? Wonderful people? Beautiful scenery? How you keep going back for more in the face of terrible odds? Some tracks are more than just tracks, and Wisconsin's Elkhart Lake—Road America—is far more than meets the eye. This show’s format rotates every episode, because squirrel. We call this format "Sam Rambles About a …

1
How Do Wind Tunnels Work? 1:10:29

2M ago1:10:29

1:10:29

Answer: The blowy thing goes WHOOSH and the invisible gas that keeps us all alive goes WHEEE and the racey thing stays put. And later, if you have done the math right, you maybe drive around in circles better than everyone! Alternate, more grown-up answer: physics and stuff. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This week's approach …

1
Listener Q&A: Can the Data Lie? 56:55

2M ago56:55

56:55

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 . . . going faster with data and friends! Many race teams use data feeds to help their drivers improve. (Examples: brake pressure; speed over time; the four-dimensional thermocouple plot t…

1
Can You Have Too Much Power? — (Donohue 1970s Porsche Can-Am) 1:15:30

2M ago1:15:30

1:15:30

“It will never have enough . . . until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear.” A man named Mark said that. Mark engineered and drove race cars. In the early 1970s, he was handed a barely drivable, 700-hp Porsche. Because Mark had a brain the size of a planet, he made the car a blisteringly fast, 1500-horse dollbaby. It w…

1
What You and Max Verstappen Have in Common 1:03:22

2M ago1:03:22

1:03:22

There are so many answers to this: A favorite color. Human legs. An enjoyment of oxygen. But chiefly—this is the fun part—you can coach yourself to be better. Great, you say: How? We’re glad you asked! Ross is a professional performance coach—he helps race drivers get faster. And many of them, pro and amateur alike, have asked how they can improve …

1
When Car Magazines Test Race Cars 1:31:59

3M ago1:31:59

1:31:59

And other things! Step right up to hear about work life at one of the world’s strangest day jobs! Do we share secrets on this episode? Do some of them involve Sam giggling at the wheel of a NASCAR Cup car at Road America, or Ross curb-jumping minivans at Thunderhill with Black Sabbath blasting from the speakers? Will this episode’s description be a…

1
Listener Q&A: Rain Driving and You 1:04:06

3M ago1:04:06

1:04:06

It’s the return of “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 . . . rain driving! How do you adjust your mindset to be quick in the wet? What does Jeff do in the rain that many race engineers don’t? What does any of this have to do with the tim…

1
Ten Hours, 1000 Miles, and 170 MPH — (Moss 1955 Mille Win) 1:01:34

3M ago1:01:34

1:01:34

Sixty-nine years ago, two Englishmen entered an open-road race known for killing people. Ten hours later, they had seen nearly 1000 miles of Italy, left fourth-gear jumps four wheels up, and spent heaps of time at 170 mph. All in a car with no safety belts, no roof, and an engine borrowed from Formula 1. And they won. What does that look like throu…

1
When is a Driving Sim Worth Millions? 1:00:56

3M ago1:00:56

1:00:56

What do Formula 1, NASCAR, IMSA, and countless moms of teenagers have in common? Answer: They all know *exactly* what’s going on in that dark room but have decided to stay out of it. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This week's approach is called “Jeff Teaches Sam a Thing.” Jeff knows a lot about a subject—in this case, the insa…

1
At the Wheel in a McLaren F1 GTR 1:05:08

4M ago1:05:08

1:05:08

In the early 1990s, McLaren built the last great analog supercar. It wasn't supposed to be a race car, but they took it to Le Mans and won anyway. Why do we care? Sam and Ross have each driven a McLaren F1 on track. The same one, in fact—a factory-backed GTR that finished eighth at Le Mans in 1996. They loved it, but who wouldn't? Why does a machin…

1
Unpacking the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1:02:36

4M ago1:02:36

1:02:36

Like Lionel Richie, the French do it all night long—on public roads, at more than 200 mph, every June. Why is the 24 Hours of Le Mans one of the greatest things on earth? The reasons are endless. And we’ve raced in it! (Well, Ross and Jeff have.) This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. Last week was our monthly centerpiece, where we di…

1
The Indy 500 is Harder Than You Think — (Rossi 2016 Win) 1:19:06

4M ago1:19:06

1:19:06

Drama, science, and 200-mph dogfights: The world’s most famous race is so much more than three hours of left turns. Sam, Ross, and Jeff use the story of Alexander Rossi’s landmark 2016 Indy 500 win—he coasted over the line with an empty tank—to highlight everything that makes the 500 great. Related Trivia: Jeff has engineered cars at Indy. Ross nea…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Sam Smith Ross Bentley Jeff Braun Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
It's Not the Car

Sam Smith, Ross Bentley, Jeff Braun

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Indoor Storage” 7:40

1
RACE RECAP: Monaco G.P. + Indy 500 50:23

1
How Pro Racers Cheat 1:05:10

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — "Dajiban!" 22:11

1
337 MPH in 3.7 Seconds is Really Hard Work — (GUEST: Clay Millican) 1:13:40

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Mears and My Feet” 11:41

1
The Awful Joy of Bad Racing Movies — (Driven, 2001) 59:27

1
BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Wall Drug” 8:02

1
How Roger and Mario Broke the Indy 500 — (Penske “Beast” V-8, 1994) 59:13

1
Do Car Magazines Have Secrets? 1:10:03

1
The Dan Gurney Fan-Service Episode 1:02:18

1
The Ferrari Story You Didn’t Know You Needed 1:15:27

1
How to Be a Rookie at the Indy 500 1:17:41

1
For Love of the Game — (Villeneuve 1979 US GP Wet Quali) 1:11:34

1
The World’s Most Charming Race Track 1:16:41

1
How Do Wind Tunnels Work? 1:10:29

1
Listener Q&A: Can the Data Lie? 56:55

1
Can You Have Too Much Power? — (Donohue 1970s Porsche Can-Am) 1:15:30

1
What You and Max Verstappen Have in Common 1:03:22

1
When Car Magazines Test Race Cars 1:31:59

1
Listener Q&A: Rain Driving and You 1:04:06

1
Ten Hours, 1000 Miles, and 170 MPH — (Moss 1955 Mille Win) 1:01:34

1
When is a Driving Sim Worth Millions? 1:00:56

1
At the Wheel in a McLaren F1 GTR 1:05:08

1
Unpacking the 24 Hours of Le Mans 1:02:36

1
The Indy 500 is Harder Than You Think — (Rossi 2016 Win) 1:19:06

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