The NASCAR on NBC analyst, who co-owns a team with Jeff Burton in NASCAR's top iRacing series, on what’s happening for iRacing and Burton Kligerman Esports in its second season (1:15); “the viewership has been insane” (3:00); why he wants to get away from the term “eSports (4:45); number origins (5:30); the pitch to Valvoline for sponsorship (6:30); the professionalism of eSports (8:30); Bringing in owners such as Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and William Byron (9:30); Venn diagram of real world and virtual team owners (10:30); the edge (or disadvantage) of bargaining against a team that has Michael Jordan (13:00); what the iRacing model and team sponsorship look like now (15:00); the massive jump in the iRacing purse (17:00); what the Valvoline sponsorship does for BurtonKligerman eSports (18:30); how the team handles promotion and social and media (20:30); the “controversy” over eSports drivers being treated like real-world drivers (22:00); the “adapt or die” philosophy to embracing eSports (24:30); how do real-world drivers coach virtual drivers? (26:30); relating to teenage gaming phenoms and their “impressive maturity level” (28:00); how much Parker works with Jeff Burton (29:00).

NASCAR on NBC podcast

Ep. 210: Parker Kligerman on Year 2 as a team owner in the eNASCAR iRacing Coca-Cola Series

The NASCAR on NBC analyst on why Joey Logano is the best restarter in NASCAR (1:00); how he did it unconventionally at Phoenix (2:00); lessons learned for November when the championship is on the line (3:00); where are the Toyotas, the surprise of Joe Gibbs Racing’s start and can the team improve for Atlanta? (4:30); how will teams decide on focusing on the 2021 changeover vs. the 2020 season? (6:30); can a team change something that’s good by overthinking it? (8:30); is Hendrick better because of the Camaro or the team? (10:30); the 2020 demeanor of Kyle Busch (12:00); “sometimes we forget that drivers can be just like the people listening to this podcast" (14:00); social media and external pressure on Cup drivers (15:30); Jeff says the driver social gatherings of the motorhome lot are a misconception (17:30); short track and 1.5-mile racing trending upward, so should NASCAR change superspeedways? (19:00); on Harrison Burton’s big win and the importance of being patient with talent (21:30).

Ep. 209: Jeff Burton on what NASCAR learned during the West Coast Swing

NASCAR on NBC analyst Kyle Petty on the visceral emotions and dark personal memories that came from watching the response to Ryan Newman’s terrifying crash (1:00); how drivers move past those incidents (2:00); is there a necessary selective memory that needs to be embraced (4:00); the disconnect between today’s younger drivers and death at the track (5:30); “the sport is never going to be foolproof safe” (7:00); how the attitudes of younger drivers might be different in the iRacing age (8:30); should the practice of “slam drafting” be addressed and by whom (10:00); on Corey LaJoie’s comfort with the current superspeedway package (13:00); what’s next for Ryan Newman (16:00); did Newman’s outspokenness help save him? (18:30); the worst possible outcome always lurking (20:45); will NASCAR change rules for Talladega and will drivers race differently there? (22:00); on Denny Hamlin’s sublime third Daytona 500 victory (25:00).

Ep. 208: Kyle Petty on Ryan Newman's crash and state of NASCAR safety post-Daytona 500

Denny Hamlin, the defending Daytona 500 winner and driver of the No. 11 FedEx Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, on the pro-am golf tournament he just played that tested his surgically repaired shoulder (1:00) and put him up against some famous competition (2:00); recalling the end of his victory in last year’s Daytona 500 (3:30); the quasi-deal he had with teammate Kyle Busch for restarts in the final 10 laps (5:30); outrunning Busch for much of the 2019 season (6:30); reflecting on how the championship got away at Homestead-Miami Speedway (7:30); why Denny had “a little bit left” before the fateful decision to put tape on the grille (8:30); and why he already got past second-guessing the decision (9:30); his faith in crew chief Chris Gabehart and maturation as a driver (10:30); becoming an iRacing team owner (11:30); co-owner Michael Jordan’s involvement in the iRacing Jumpman paint scheme (12:30); the blowback to iRacing not being deserving of the attention (13:30); his reaction to the death of Kobe Bryant (15:30); what it means to be a #GirlDad (17:30); “Taylor TV” and Denny’s oldest daughter (18:30); being known as one of NASCAR’s best interviews (20:30); the input of drivers in creating the new short-track package for 2020 (22:15); addressing issues with Goodyear in a “Come to Jesus” meeting (23:30); how close Cup drivers came to unionizing five years ago (25:30); whether he laments that forming a union would help stabilize driver salaries in such a pivotal season for free agency (27:30); what Denny expects from some motivated drivers (29:15); Brad Keselowski’s recent comments about how veterans were affected by the low-horsepower, high-downforce package last year (30:30); his memories of Late Model crew chief Rodney Estes, who recently died (31:45) and getting closure before he was gone (33:15) and their incredible run in 2002-03 (34:15); everything seeming to be lining up for Denny in the 2020 Cup season (36:00)

Ep. 207: Denny Hamlin, defending Daytona 500 winner

In a preview of the 2020 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, Team Penske's Dane Cameron on how it feels to roll into Daytona as defending series champion (1:00); recapping the disappointments of the 2019 Rolex (2:00); trying a 12th time to win an iconic event that is so difficult to conquer (3:00); “it’s like running qualifying laps for 24 hours” (4:30); how talent and technology have increased the competition level (5:45); on how the Rolex 24 is unique on the schedule (7:00); another way to look at the degree of difficulty: Getting nine straight sprint races perfect (8:30); why DPI is essentially “an Indy car with fenders” (9:45); how much contact the DPI cars can make (11:00); how Dane went from living near a track known for its NASCAR (Sonoma) and wound up in sports cars (12:00); “All I really want to do was earn a living driving a race car. I wasn’t too fussy.” (14:00); any aspirations of following Jeff Gordon’s footsteps? (15:00); what’s it like sharing a car with another driver? (17:00); and why it works so well with Juan Pablo Montoya (19:00); why JPM’s brutal honesty works well for Dane (22:00); his best JPM stories (23:30); and first reaction to learning they’d be paired (25:30); on whether he feels overshadowed by his team’s Indianapolis 500 winners (27:00); whether he interacts with the NASCAR and IndyCar teams at the shop as a resident of North Carolina (29:00); would he like to moonlight in another series? (31:30); Dane’s family connections in the IMSA paddock (32:30); how that’s changed dinner conversations with his father working for a rival team (34:00).

Ep. 206: IMSA champion Dane Cameron on the Rolex 24, being teammates with Juan Pablo Montoya and his route to Team Penske

The former longtime NASCAR race director on the projects he is working on now consulting with series on helping reshape rulebooks (2:00); where racing series sometimes get in trouble with rulebook language (4:00); his expertise in race procedures and studying how the NASCAR rulebook evolved over the decades (6:00); how it can help teams and competitors in many ways to have a better grasp of the rules (8:00); the difference of officiating a race from other professional sports (10:00); what does he think about whether racing series have too many rules in the major leagues because the teams are too good? (12:00); some history lessons on the genesis of rules in the Cup Series (14:00); the trickiness of issuing penalties consistently (16:00); helping teams navigate the potential fluidity of the rulebook and why it’s advantageous (18:00); how extra knowledge can help even with “unavoidable penalties” (20:00); real-world examples of how knowing in-race rules can benefit driver and crew chief (22:00); which teams and series where David has been consulting (26:00); is there anything that major-league series do to streamline their rulebooks? (28:00); how often David looks at rulebooks from past decades to see how things progressed (30:00); the importance of tribal knowledge in the era of Computer Animated Drawings and engineering (32:30); keeping innovation as a series moves into a spec car era (35:00); how involved David was in writing rules side as a race director (38:00); NASCAR’s move to eliminate racing back to the caution and how it was implemented in 2003 (41:00); the sea change of double-file restarts being instituted in 2009 and how that impacted calling races (43:30); what it was like changing race procedures that had five or six decades of history in NASCAR (46:00); adding electronic monitoring of pit speeds (49:00); what the 2019 season was like for David watching races from outside the tower for the first time since 1988 (50:00)

Ep. 205: David Hoots

In our final 2019 Cup playoffs edition of the podcast, the NASCAR on NBC analysts discuss the greatness of Kyle Busch and how he overcame his dislike of this season's rules package (1:00); did being a self-proclaimed “underdog” help, or was it all just part of drivers downplaying the pressure? (4:00); is making the championship round now the same as winning a championship? (6:15); why Kyle Busch seemed subdued in celebration (8:30); his sensitivity to pondering being a multi-time champion and winning a “legitimate” title (10:30); does Kyle feel “behind” on winning championships? (13:00); the Denny Hamlin saga and storyline (15:30); how Martin Truex Jr.’s team made a colossal error (18:00); living with the pain and memory of such a mistake (20:00); the calculated mistake by Denny Hamlin’s team (23:00); differing opinions from Burton and Letarte on whether the gamble was well assessed by Chris Gabehart (25:00); how much second guessing will there be for the No. 11 on if Hamlin could have won? (27:30); the end of Homestead-Miami Speedway’s championship hosting run and what’s next for Phoenix (30:00).

Ep. 204: Post-Homestead with Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte on Kyle Busch's greatness; a subdued celebration; being "behind" on championships; the mistake by Martin Truex Jr.'s team and living with it; debating the calculated error by Denny Hamlin's crew chief; the end of Homestead's run and what's next for Phoenix and short tracks

In our weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Steve Letarte discusses the Chris Gabehart-Denny Hamlin dynamic (1:00); reinstilling Denny Hamlin’s confidence (2:00); installing structure but letting Denny be himself (4:25); on that Mark Martin comparison (6:15); quantifying what the Phoenix win meant to Hamlin’s reputation (8:00); analyzing the controversial call for two tires (10:00); what happened to Joe Logano’s team? (12:00); a lauded performance by the playoff contenders (13:45); how does Logano’s mistake happen? (15:00); the wide-open championship field (16:00); how it’ll work for JGR with three teams in the championship round (17:00); the big secret among JGR crew chiefs (18:30); thoughts on rotating the championship in the future (19:30); and how to enhance passing at short tracks next season (21:00); on the plus side for Phoenix at the new title destination (23:00).

Ep. 203: Cup Playoffs, Post-Phoenix with Steve Letarte on the new dynamic duo of Denny Hamlin and Chris Gabehart; what the victory means to Hamlin's reputation; a controversial pit call; what happened to Joey Logano?; the wide-open Miami field; how Joe Gibbs Racing will work together; what can be done to enhance racing at short tracks next season

In our weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Kyle Petty discusses the surprising gambit by Kevin Harvick and the No. 4 team (1:00); did he rope a dope the JGR cars? (2:30); why so many drivers struggled with traction compound in the first half at Texas (4:00); Denny’s mistake and what it says about his championship makeup (6:00); why Phoenix offers so many layers of redemption for Hamlin (8:30); why Denny needs to be Michael Jordan in Phoenix (10:00); KP’s theory on other drivers “messing” with Hamlin (11:30); fun anecdotes about Kyle Petty the teenager learning some lessons about the toughest guys in NASCAR history (13:15); who was tougher, David Pearson or Cale Yarobrough (15:15); Joey Logano’s championship mettle (16:30); the essence of title-caliber teams (19:00); the agony of Denny’s championship quest (21:00); Kyle Busch’s relief after Texas (22:30); why KP believes the 200-win mark detracts from something greater for No. 18 (23:30); Let’s talk intentional cautions! Here are Kyle Larson's thoughts (26:00); And the role that Kyle believes NASCAR has played in the trend (28:30); “there’s no doubt in my mind Bubba spun that car to get a caution, and I do not fault him at all” (30:00); Tony Stewart’s thoughts (33:00); and why some intentional cautions are worse than others (35:00)

Ep. 202: Cup Playoffs, Post-Texas with Kyle Petty on Kevin Harvick's gambit to win and the rope-a-dope on Joe Gibbs Racing; Denny Hamlin's mistake and what it says about championship makeup; KP on why veterans mess with Denny; NASCAR's best tough guys; Joey Logano's title grit; Kyle Busch's relief; KP with the last word on intentional cautions and why NASCAR is a factor

In our weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Dale Jarrett discusses how does Martin Truex Jr. handle the next two races? (2:00); did the No. 19’s playoff surge catch us off guard (4:30); why Truex already is DJ’s championship favorite regardless of the next two races (6:00); on how teams find another level in the final 10 races (7:15); behold the greatness of Lord Byron (8:45); what’s up with Kyle Busch’s slump (11:00); getting No. 18 back on track (14:30); should teams get involved in driver disagreements (16:30); should NASCAR follow the lead of other professional sports on disciplining agitators (19:30); thoughts on the Hamlin-Logano rivalry (22:00); did Joey Logano intentionally spin to get a caution? (24:00); another impressive gritty performance for Logano (26:30); What can be done to ensure there are more than three lead changes in each of the Martinsville races next year? DJ says look at the tires (27:30).

Ep. 201: Cup Playoffs, Post-Martinsville with Dale Jarrett on Kyle Busch's slump; the Hamlin-Logano feud; fighting team members; Joey's (maybe) intentional spin; MTJ's excellence; Lord Byron's emergence and how to improve the action at Martinsville next season

In our weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Steve Letarte discusses did Brad Keselowski make the right moves on the last restart (1:00); was it the biggest collapse yet for a playoff driver in a cutoff race (2:30); why the recent carelessness for Team Penske and how a loose wheel happens to start a race (4:00); who gets held accountable for the mistakes (5:30) are Keselowski and Paul Wolfe still right for each other? (7:30); Chase Elliott’s performance and why he pushed Joey Logano at the end of Stage 1 (10:00); Denny Hamlin’s turnaround from a year ago (11:30); Hamlin’s important ties to FedEx leadership (13:30); geling with new crew chief Chris Gabehart (15:45); is the memory of Martinsville 2017 still fresh for Hamlin (17:00); Kyle Larson driving with injured ribs (18:15) and why the team shouldn’t have been involved in his decision (19:30); Larson’s disappointing day at Kansas (20:30); Kyle Busch’s third-place comeback (22:45); Martinsville predictions (24:30) 

Ep. 200: Cup Playoffs, post-Kansas with Steve Letarte on Brad Keselowski's collapse and what's next for Team Penske; Denny Hamlin's emergence as championship favorite; Kyle Larson's injured ribs; what's next at Martinsville

In our weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Dale Jarrett discusses Kyle Larson’s development into being a winning driver Sunday at Dover and what DJ saw change for the No. 42 in the regular season (1:00); did Larson finally arrived at some realizations on how to race because the time simply arrived, or were there discussions within Chip Ganassi Racing? (4:00); the weight of expectations for Larson in his sixth season (6:00); can Larson reach the championship round and if so, is he a favorite? (8:00); why getting through on points is so difficult (9:30); did Martin Truex Jr. have the best car at Dover? (10:30); how Truex got past the pit crew miscue so quickly (12:30); on Joey Logano racing hard while being more than 20 laps down (15:00); the human element that reared its ugly head at Dover (17:30); Joey Logano’s ruthlessness on track (19:00); on the racing at Dover and some driver complaints (21:30); would more horsepower help? (23:45); handicapping the contenders for Talladega (25:00); how manufacturer alliances might be different this weekend (27:00).

Ep. 199: Cup Playoffs, post-Dover with Dale Jarrett on Kyle Larson's growth as a driver; Joey Logano angering other drivers; the racing at Dover; what's next at Talladega

In our new weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Jeff Burton discusses the difficulty of Turn 1 on restarts at Charlotte Motor Speedway's Roval and how it led to Chase Elliott stuffing it in the barrier before coming back to win (1:00); measuring does Elliott's incredible comeback against the amazing rally by his father, Bill, from two laps down at Talladega Superspeedway (2:30); Chase Elliott's emergence as one of the best road course racers in NASCAR (4:00); what makes the Roval one of the toughest tracks in NASCAR and its origins (5:00); the Alex Bowman comeback on “a day it felt like the moment was too big for him” (7:00); Bowman's feud with Bubba (10:30); “Bubba’s got to grow up a little bit.” (12:00); does Bowman deserve criticism for intentionally wrecking Wallace? (13:30); a flare-up between Ryan Newman and Daniel Suarez (14:30); what happened to Ryan Newman at the Roval? (15:00); Ryan Blaney's impressive rebound from damage (16:30); analyzing Aric Almirola’s faulty strategy (17:30); Clint Bowyer and William Byron have perfectly quiet days (18:30); a new mistake-free beginning for Bowyer? (19:30); can any of these guys advance to the third round? (20:45); why Jeff believes Kyle Busch will be back with a venegance at Dover? (21:45); how Jeff feels about a driver parking early with a broken sway bar (23:45); does NASCAR need another Roval? (25:00)

Ep. 198: Cup Playoffs, Post-Roval with Jeff Burton on amazing comebacks by winner Chase Elliott and Alex Bowman; Bowman vs. Bubba; Kyle Busch's exit; disappointments for Newman and Almirola and more

In our new weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Steve Letarte discusses the middle race of Round 1 at Richmond Raceway, including why Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn have been so good together this season (1:00); how Kyle Busch is handling being outrun by a Joe Gibbs Racing teammate and what was telling in his postrace interview (2:00); does Busch resepct Truex's ability more as a driver than before when he wasn't as sure of what he was doing to his cars? (4:00); and if Busch has been humbled, does that make him more dangerous the rest of the playoffs? (6:00); whether crew chief Adam Stevens talked to Kyle Busch about his Las Vegas outburst (8:00); does Martin Truex Jr. get enough credit for his greantess and what a second championship might do for those Hall of Fame credentials (10:00); is Truex still improving as a driver? (12:00); Sherry Pollex's upcoming appearance on Stevie’s podcast (13:00); Erik Jones’ postrace inspection setback (15:00) and why that could be fraught for the No. 20 team after consecutive team errors put Jones on the brink of playoff elimination (17:00); why Steve didn’t like the No. 3 team telling Austin Dillon to wreck Alex Bowman (19:00); Jimmie Johnson’s vow to give it back to playoff drivers trying to “use him up” (21:00); top things to watch in Year 2 at The Roval (23:30).

Ep. 197: Cup Playoffs, Week 3, with Steve Letarte on Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Austin Dillon and more from Richmond

In our new weekly NASCAR on NBC Podcast feature during the 2019 Cup playoffs, Steve Letarte discusses the eventful Round 1 opener at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, including whether Kyle Busch had a point about backmarkers and their worthiness (1:00); why Kyle Busch is making mistakes lately and is he lacking focus? (3:00); what the Las Vegas victory says about the championship worthiness of Martin Truex Jr. and crew chief Cole Pearn (5:30): why Truex's success might irritate Busch (8:00); the significance of winning the opener (10:00); what happened when Chase Elliott slowed to help William Byron stay on the lead lap and was it legal? (12:00); what happened at the end of Stage 2 with Truex, Joey Logano and Matt DiBenedetto (15:00); Logano's up and down day and did the defending series champion make some moves he would like back (17:00); the concepts of insane restarts and why drivers are sometimes wrong about it being 'impossible' to pass (19:00); why doesn't the racing on restarts translate to the rest of the race ... and would we really want it to do anyway (22:00).

Ep. 196: Cup Playoffs, Week 2, with Steve Letarte on Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and more in the Las Vegas opener

Discussing the latest NASCAR news, including a weekly recap of races, events and a look ahead to what's next in the sport. Guests include NBC Sports talent such as Jeff Burton, Steve Letarte and Kyle Petty.

hubhopper

NASCAR on NBC podcast

hubhopper