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It's Not the Car: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Sam Smith, Ross Bentley, Jeff Braun
It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer with time in NASCAR and IMSA. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist, a club racer, and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. We don’t love motorsport for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.
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- 1 weeks ago55 min
How to Get a Job in Racing — Ashley Baily, IMSA Tire Specialist
Once, Ashley Baily was a pastry chef. Now she’s the 26-year-old, Daytona-winning tire chief for an IMSA Corvette team. Landing that leap took guts, passion, and five years of working two demanding jobs at once.(Plus cake. There was a silly amount of cake.)Want a job in pro racing? If you're ready to knuckle down and work like hell, it’s closer than you think. This episode is the latest installment in our HOW I GOT HERE series—a dive into just what it takes to land a career in professional motorsport. We asked Ashley for her story. (We also asked about cake. Because cake.)Fun fact: INTC co-host Jeff Braun is the competition director for Ashley’s IMSA team, 13 Autosport. After more than 40 years in pro racing, from Le Mans to stock cars and beyond, Jeff says Ashley is the best tire specialist he’s ever worked with.This episode was produced by Sam Smith. Thanks, as always, to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!***FREE 115-page BFGoodrich High-Performance Driving Guide written by Ross Bentley:https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/learn/performance-driving-guideWho We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
- 3 weeks ago46 min
What it Feels Like to Quit Le Mans
INTC’s Jeff Braun had to do it. Just a few weeks ago, only a few hours into that epic race, with a car still fast and healthy.The 24 Hours of Le Mans. A GT3 Corvette. Months of fighting just to make the grid. Maybe you’d make the same decision—pull into the garage, start packing for home. Maybe you’d double down, scarf a bucket of croissants, have the guys strap in and send it. We’re all different.INTC co-host Jeff Braun has spent decades in pro road racing. He’s won Daytona, Sebring, and championships. He came back from this year’s Le Mans looking forward, as he always does. So we talked about that, and about what happened in France. And how you learn to keep your head up when all your plans go up in smoke.This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith. Thanks, as always, to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!***FREE 115-page BFGoodrich High-Performance Driving Guide written by Ross Bentley:https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/learn/performance-driving-guide***Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
- Jun 23, 20261h 1m
LIVE SHOW — Sliding Hoopties with Bill Elliott and Mario – (Grattan, MI - 6/13/26)
LIVE from a Porsche Club of America weekend at Grattan Raceway on June 13, 2026! *Want the INTC gang to come to *your* event and tape a show? Drop a line – INTCPod@gmail.com !*Two weeks ago, Ross and Sam went to a PCA track weekend to coach, tell stories on a podcast, and hang out. This is the stories bit — Saturday night, live from the paddock, a series of definitely plausible tales from our hosts' long careers in motorsport and car journalism. PLUS: Audience questions, tangents, and Sam has candy (for some reason)!*Questions Answered in This Episode: How did Ross—one of the world’s top performance coaches and a sports-car champion, learn to drive and coach? — Which car did Sam get into as a journalist where he thought, “This is gonna kill me”? — Why were Ross and NASCAR legend Bill Elliott in the same car at the same time, sideways and backward, collapsing in laughter? — And more! *This show changes format every episode, because squirrel. This format is a new one—we call it “LIVE FROM THE WESTERN-MICHIGAN BUDOKAN."This episode was produced by Sam Smith. ***Special thanks to the PCA's Rally Sport Chapter for the invite and the hospitality, and for eating all those Haribo bags we left behind.As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show! **Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
- Jun 10, 20261h 4m
The 10 Greatest Myths in Racing
It’s another mythbusting episode! Ten classic racing myths, ten rapid-fire shoot-downs, no prisoners whatsoever.Your answers, as always, come from INTC’s resident paddock veterans: Jeff Braun is a champion IMSA engineer with time in IndyCar and NASCAR. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and sports-car champion turned world-renowned performance coach and author. This show changes format every episode, because squirrel. This format is a new one—we call it “THE FASTEST LISTICLE IN SPORTS.”***FREE 115-page BFGoodrich High-Performance Driving Guide written by Ross Bentley:https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/auto/learn/performance-driving-guide***This episode was produced by Sam Smith. As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
- May 27, 202645 min
Getting Used to Big Power
Why are some drivers fast in everything? What makes a person quick in Miatas but not Mustangs—or vice versa? How do the pros wrap their heads around big jumps in speed, power, and risk?This is show about many things. Precision. Restraint. A Corvette Z06 walloping into the climbing esses at VIR. That feeling you get when everything is right and nothing is wrong, at least not anything important, and you are up on the tire and the sky is awash in blue.“Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube.”This show changes format every episode, because squirrel. This format is a new one—we call it ROSS AND SAM DISSECT THE OBVIOUS.***This episode was produced by Sam Smith. As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes biweekly on Tuesdays.
- May 12, 202659 min
"Do Not Drive It, You're Going to Die"
Our favorite race cars—the ones that stick out, from all the stuff we’ve driven.This is an episode about many things. Love. Hate. Jeff’s mouse-filled Triumph Spitfire. The 1970s BMW IMSA factory team car that Sam rode all lock-stop-drift-slappy down the Corkscrew at Laguna Seca.It is also an episode about the time they told Ross he was going to die, sideways, on the banking at Daytona. (Spoiler alert: He didn’t.)(Spoiler alert part II: His hands were shaking and the car was terrifying, but he went and hung the thing on the pole. Later, he won the race. Which was 24 hours long.)(Spoiler alert: He liked the car. Sort of!)***This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. This format is a new one—we call it “RACE CARS I HAVE LOVED.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith. As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
- Apr 28, 202650 min
What the Hell is Going on With Formula 1?
This is what: Three races into 2026, the FIA is trying to fix what it broke. Because everyone hates it.(Ross goes on a rant in this one! Ross *never* goes on rants!)Here’s a joke: A former IndyCar driver and a former Road & Track editor walk into a bar. When they walk out, they never want to hear the words “megajoule” or “superclipping” again.(Okay, it’s not a joke. Gag me with a kilowatt spoon.)F1 changed much for 2026: new car dimensions and weights; new powerplant configurations; updated aero; narrower tires; some team shake-ups and arrivals. And the racing became obnoxious.Over the last three races, that last bit has been all anyone can talk about. Drivers and teams hate the new order as much as anyone. With that in mind, the FIA executed a rare midseason rule revamp—rule updates effective from this weekend’s Miami Grand Prix.These updates won’t fix the series; too much is baked into how the cars have been designed and engineered. But at this point, we’ll take it. ***This episode was produced by Sam Smith. As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
- Apr 16, 202653 min
Saying No to a $20 Million Porsche
We call this "Take Your Podshow to Work Day." Three stories of weird days on the racing job—one from each of our hosts.Once, Sam had the chance to drive a 230-mph Le Mans prototype—a factory-owned Porsche 917K!—and he said no. Why? It’s complicated!Once, Jeff won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 28 hours. The whole thing was such a big deal that Mario Andretti got kinda feathered up and tweeted out an opinion about it. Why? Also complicated!And! Last but not least, we have Ross, the former IndyCar and sports-car pro driver, and the story of the time he went to Florida to live out a personal, glorious, and happily uncomplicated dream.***IN THIS EP: An air-cooled flat-twelve blows up — A journalist (not Sam) gets sued — Someone’s mom saves a race team’s day by pulling $1000 from her bra at Daytona — Ross gets all hot and bothered over a shock-dyno graph — and more!***This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. The official name of this format is “MY WEIRD DAY AT WORK.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith. As always, thanks to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show!**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**Support It’s Not the Car:Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!INTCPod@gmail.com**Check out Sam's book!Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023**Where to find us:https://www.instagram.com/intcpodhttps://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/https://rossbentley.substack.com/https://speedsecrets.com/**ABOUT THE SHOW:It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every other Tuesday.
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About It's Not the Car
It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer with time in NASCAR and IMSA. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist, a club racer, and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. We don’t love motorsport for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.
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