NASCAR on NBC podcast

KP’s general takeaways from Las Vegas and why it’s the “first” race of the 2023 season (1:30); KP’s trip to Bike Week! (3:30); why didn’t more cars stay out with Martin Truex Jr. on the final restart? (5:30); particularly those in the last half of the lead lap (7:30); William “Lord” Byron reigns again, but he’s been here before, too (9:30); initial reactions to Chase Elliott being sidelined with a broken left leg from a snowboarding accident (11:30); the reaction of NASCAR fans (13:30); the case for giving Elliott a medical waiver for the playoffs (14:45); why being injured might not be as large of a negative in the simulator era (16:15); does Kyle Busch’s championship comeback in 2015 from a broken leg bode well for Elliott (18:30); the optics of Elliott getting hurt the day before practicing and qualifying a Cup car at Las Vegas (20:00); the other layers of Hendrick drivers running dirt cars and what Rick Hendrick’s reaction to the Elliott accident might be (23:00); when The King broke his thumb before the Daytona 500 (25:00); why this controversy wouldn’t happen with other drivers (27:30); assessing where Cup teams rank through three races (29:00); in praise of Corey LaJoie (31:30); is it time for Stewart-Haas Racing to hit the panic button? (34:00); “Kevin Harvick can’t run the ball on every play; none of those other drivers help Kevin Harvick move the team forward” (36:00); a dissection of the driver dynamics on multicar teams (37:30).

Is Kyle Busch’s first win coming so early a surprise? (2:30); how does a driver avoid getting down on himself but still manage to rebound (5:00); why this win is important for Richard Childress Racing but Joe Gibbs Racing, too (7:15); what the win means for RCR’s legacy and future (9:15); and for Richard Childress (10:15); how Kyle Busch thrives off racing with a chip on his shoulder (11:50); but why Burton thinks this isn’t about Kyle Busch playing me against the world (13:15); the massive postrace cheers for “Rowdy Busch” (15:30) and the reasons why – and why Kyle the Antagonist is still good (16:30) why the win could be a “double shot” of confidence (18:30); Trackhouse Racing’s hot start (20:00); the impact of no practice and why Burton thinks there needs to be more (22:30); team takeaways from Fontana (25:00); the impact of a longer restart zone (27:30); why racing today is all about “trying to mess the other guy up” (29:30); contemplating the history and future of California/Auto Club Speedway (30:30); how a paradigm shift with racetracks is occurring in NASCAR (32:00); should NASCAR have a Cup points race in Southern California next year? (34:30); what about a Rockingham return? (36:30); Las Vegas Motor Speedway preview and who needs to be good (38:00).

The Daytona 500 is back, but more practice needs to be, too (1:30); Steve’s plan for getting more Daytona 500 entries (3:30); and for improving Duels action (5:30); turning points in the Daytona 500 (7:30); the importance of pit cycles and caution flags (9:30); impact of the choose rule being used at Daytona (11:00); dissecting the winning move by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (12:30); determining the race winner on a last-lap caution (14:00); Kyle Larson’s lament on the last-lap decision (16:30); analyzing what might or might not have happened if Larson had a redo (19:00); how Stenhouse’s best superspeedway mistakes likely helped him become a first-time Daytona 500 winner (22:30); the message that crew chief Mike Kelley sent to Stenhouse (26:00); and some history their longtime relationship (28:00); why that crew chief-driver rapport can mean so much through the faith instilled (30:00); “Ricky Stenhouse Jr. knew whatever happened in that race, he was going back to a group that supported him” (32:00); a little more on Stenhouse the person (34:00); a funny Stenhouse anecdote from the links (36:00); why does it seem as if more unexpected winners are happening in the Daytona 500? (38:00); can it be reconciled with being the season’s biggest race? (40:30); Fontana lookahead (43:00).

The confidence of crew chief Paul Wolfe heading into Joey Logano’s championship performance (1:00); Logano’s belief and how he might have leveraged it at Phoenix (3:45); the importance of wining at Las Vegas and other factors (6:00); the critical pit crew change for the No. 22 (7:45); why having a head start on Phoenix still is an advantage with the Next Gen car (9:00); what Parker noticed from the other championship contenders (11:30); what happened between Chase Elliott and Ross Chastain (13:30); the perspectives of each driver (16:00); what’s the future hold for Joey Logano (18:00); the importance of Phoenix and Paul Wolfe (21:00); what Parker sees for the Next Gen competitive balance in 2023 (23:30); why the sustainability of finding an edge is limited (26:00); does NASCAR need more cars on track in the real (instead of virtual) world (28:00); Parker’s wild idea for NASCAR Midweek Thunder (31:30); the case for keeping race cars “cartoonish” (33:30); Parker’s 2023 Xfinity Series plans (35:00); what has changed for Parker in this second chance, 10 years after his last stint as a full-time NASSCAR driver (38:30); how personal growth has and will shape his career (41:00); what he sees in the development of Noah Gragson and other young drivers (45:00); 

How and why Ross Chastain’s wild ride worked at Martinsville (1:00); previous attempts with similar maneuvers and the impact of the new car (3:00); what the move shows about Chastain’s evolution as a race car driver this season (5:00); why hasn’t this been tried before at Martinsville? (7:00); where does NASCAR go from here with the Phoenix championship weekend ahead (9:30); the danger of letting the move go unpoliced in the future (12:00); addressing the situation before Phoenix (14:00); are the optics “embarrassing” despite the exposure? (16:00); what about in the context of the safety-conscious 2022? (18:00); Christopher Bell’s dream season (20:00); what makes the No. 20 team so clutch (22:00); empathy for Denny Hamlin and another missed season at a championship (24:00); Xfinity Championship 4 preview and if repercussions await Ty Gibbs (26:30); is Ty Gibbs ready to be promoted into the Cup Series (28:30); why Burton had a bigger problem than the aftermath of Ty Gibbs’ win than the way he did it (30:30); how racing on Sundays could be having an impact on his Saturday races (33:30); Cup Championship 4 preview (35:00).

How mentally draining was it for Kyle Larson to run the wall for three hours, and what it says about him, his career and the 2022 season (1:30); one of the best races of Larson’s career? (4:00); why running the wall at Homestead is different than Darlington (6:00); the positive impact of the Next Gen on Homestead racing (8:00); KP’s relationship with Ross Chastain (10:00); the craftiness of Trackhouse (12:00); is Chastain racing differently deeper into the playoffs? (15:00); what happened on the Larson-Martin Truex Jr. pit collision (17:00); how Truex sort of caught a break (19:30); the historical significance of a possible split owner-driver championship in Cup (22:00); an F1-inspired team championship idea from KP (24:30); the weight on Martin Truex Jr. (26:30); Ryan Blaney’s Martinsville outlook after two blunders (30:00); why qualifying at Martinsville will be so critical (34:00).

A return to playoff normalcy (1:30); how Joey Logano put himself in position to win (3:00); the battle fort he lead with Ross Chastain (5:00); the strength of Chastain’s No. 1 pit crew (6:30); on the improvement of 1.5-mile tracks this season (8:30); Trackhouse Racing’s continued breakthrough (10:00); Ryan Blaney’s sudden ending to a solid day (11:30); how the cars are speaking to the drivers differently about where the limit is with the Next Gen (14:00); how that might have helped some drivers (17:00); and how it might have hurt others -- and their teams in particular (18:30); Christopher Bell’s Round of 8 outlook after a tough break (20:00); Burton’s take on Bubba Wallace’s contact with Kyle Larson (22:30); how should NASCAR address Bubba Wallace’s actions? (24:00); a case for restructuring how NASCAR issues driver and team penalties (26:30); the balance of holding a driver responsible but also allowing leeway for heat of the moment (28:00); the plight of Chase Elliott heading into Homestead (30:30); Denny Hamlin’s quietly solid Vegas (32:30); a Kurt Busch sendoff (34:30).

Christopher Bell and Adam Stevens seize the moment (2:00); Kyle Larson’s huge disappointment (4:30); did he shoulder too much of the blame? (6:30); or just having an off year for an all-world driver? (8:30); the upside of Larson taking it so hard (11:00); the tribulations of Daniel Suarez (12:30); what it felt like to drive without power steering (14:00); what’s next for Next Gen steering? (16:00); Parker’s idea of a slush fund for Next Gen R&D (18:00); Chase Briscoe’s mad dash (20:00); a detailed breakdown of the move through the chicane (22:00); the playoff emergence of the No. 14 team (24:30); NASCAR’s investigation of Cole Custer (27:00); how this is completely different from Richmond 2013 regardless (29:00); the Next Gen’s conundrum of road course race-ability (30:30); what’s confusing about the challenge (32:00); why tire wear doesn’t necessarily seem a key the way it would be at speedways (34:30); a Formula One story that has caught the eye of Parker -- and others (37:00); why there could be repercussions for NASCAR and other series (39:30); Round of 8 preview and predictions (42:00).

Ryan Blaney vs. Chase Elliott (1:00); the usual cast of superspeedway characters (3:00); with new players Erik Jones and Michael McDowell (5:00); exploring the phenomenon of the end of stages becoming mini-race finishes (7:30); what to make of a relatively tame Talladega race – was it safety related? (9:45); dissecting Denny Hamlin’s choice on the final restart (11:30); yet the racing was still frenzied (13:30); on the decision by Joey Logano to hang back on the final restart (15:30); what’s the outlook and timeline for improving the rear-end clips on the Next Gen? (18:00); how at least one perception needs changing on the car (20:00); settling on what an acceptable design cycle timeframe should be (22:00); the importance of remaining vigilant about constant improvements to the car (24:00); will William Byron get some of his points back on appeal? (27:00); handicapping the Roval cutoff race (30:00).

Why KP thinks NASCAR should have called the race after Kevin Harvick’s wreck (1:00); “I’m not good with popping a tire every 35 laps. I’m not good with this car going into the wall” (3:15); who was to blame for the tire problems at Texas? (5:30); would shortening a 500-mile playoff race for safety reasons compromise its integrity in any meaningful way? (7:30); how the current state of the Next Gen factors into KP’s thinking (10:00); why Texas was reminiscent of the ugly tire war era of the 1990s (12:00); why tire competition is a bad idea (14:30); the concept of tire management and what should be expected at an elite level of racing (16:30); and how the concept of tire management has evolved (19:30); trying to find the happy medium of the tire that falls off instead of popping (21:30); William Byron vs. Denny Hamlin (25:00); how should NASCAR have handled penalties (27:30); why KP believes a postrace punishment isn’t warranted for Byron (30:00); how did NASCAR miss the initial call? (32:00); on Byron’s reaction in the incident (33:30); a MotorMouths of the Race quote from Tyler Reddick on his No. 8 team (36:00); why Reddick and the team keep succeeding despite the awkward circumstances (38:30); Talladega – the original wild card! -- amid a sea of mediocrity (41:00).