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On the show
From 14 epsHosts
Recent guests
Recent episodes
Sliding Hoopties with Bill Elliott and Mario – (Live in Grattan, MI - 6/13/26)
Jun 23, 2026
Unknown duration
The 10 Greatest Myths in Racing
Jun 10, 2026
1h 04m 23s
Getting Used to Big Power
May 27, 2026
45m 47s
"Don't Drive It, You're Going to Die"
May 12, 2026
59m 44s
What the Hell is Going on With Formula 1?
Apr 28, 2026
50m 35s
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/23/26 | ![]() Sliding Hoopties with Bill Elliott and Mario – (Live in 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. | — | ||||||
| 6/10/26 | ![]() The 10 Greatest Myths in Racing✨ | mythbustingracing myths+5 | Ross BentleyJeff Braun | Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023 | — | racing mythsmythbusting+5 | BFGoodrich | 1h 04m 23s | |
| 5/27/26 | ![]() Getting Used to Big Power✨ | driving speedperformance cars+3 | — | Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023 | — | drivingperformance+5 | BFGoodrich | 45m 47s | |
| 5/12/26 | ![]() "Don't Drive It, You're Going to Die"✨ | race carspersonal stories+4 | — | Triumph Spitfire1970s BMW IMSA factory team car | Laguna SecaDaytona | race carsmotorsport+5 | BFGoodrich | 59m 44s | |
| 4/28/26 | ![]() What the Hell is Going on With Formula 1?✨ | Formula 1FIA regulations+4 | — | FIASmithology: Thoughts | — | Formula 1FIA+7 | BFGoodrich | 50m 35s | |
| 4/16/26 | ![]() Saying No to a $20 Million Porsche✨ | racing storiespersonal experiences+4 | — | Porsche 917K | — | Porscheracing+5 | BFGoodrich | 53m 54s | |
| 3/31/26 | ![]() Jeff and the Glorious Mazda Fail-Diesels✨ | IMSA racingdiesel prototypes+4 | Jeff Braun | diesel prototypeMazda+1 | Daytona | Mazdadiesel+5 | BFGoodrich | 47m 40s | |
| 3/17/26 | ![]() How Pro Race Cars Blow Up!✨ | race carscar failures+3 | — | — | — | race carscar breakdown+3 | BFGoodrich | 57m 18s | |
| 3/3/26 | ![]() The Thrill of Victory, the Agony of Jeff’s Car on Fire✨ | racingDaytona+3 | Jeff BraunAndrew Wojteczko | AWA RacingIMSA Corvette team 13 Autosport | — | Daytonaracing+3 | BFGoodrich | 48m 33s | |
| 2/17/26 | ![]() Postwar Madness on Public Roads — (1948 Watkins Glen GP)✨ | American racing historypostwar road racing+3 | — | — | KentuckyWatkins Glen | Watkins Glen1948 Grand Prix+3 | BFGoodrich | 1h 33m 49s | |
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| 2/3/26 | ![]() Racing Stories That Change Your Life✨ | racing bookslife-changing stories+3 | — | By Brooks Too Broad For LeapingJim Clark at the Wheel+2 | — | racingbooks+4 | — | 49m 53s | |
| 12/24/25 | ![]() Two Drunk Guys Win Le Mans — (Jaguar Works Team, 1953)✨ | racing historyLe Mans+5 | Kyle Kinard | Jaguar | — | Le MansJaguar+8 | — | 1h 26m 18s | |
| 12/9/25 | ![]() Get a Job as a Race Engineer! — w/ Charlie Ping✨ | race engineeringprofessional motorsport+4 | Charlie Ping | AcuraChevrolet+3 | Toronto | race engineermotorsport career+5 | — | 1h 03m 27s | |
| 12/5/25 | ![]() BONUS Episode PREVIEW – Listener Q&A – 11/25✨ | listener Q&Aperformance driving+4 | — | PatreonSmithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023 | — | listener Q&Aperformance driving+4 | — | 11m 47s | |
| 12/2/25 | ![]() The One Where Ross Doesn't Get Hit by Lightning✨ | engine teardownsports car drivers+4 | — | IMSA | North CarolinaSebring+1 | Lotus ElanIMSA+5 | — | 43m 40s | |
| 11/25/25 | ![]() Impossible Gear, Impossible Finish — (Schumacher 1994 Spanish GP) | Thirty years ago, one of the world's greatest drivers was forced to run most of an F1 race with only fifth gear.Somehow, he finished second.The 1994 Spanish Grand Prix is widely thought of as Michael Schumacher’s greatest race. His gearbox was stuck in fifth. His team assumed his engine was minutes from blowing. And yet, because he was Michael Schumacher—one of the most successful and complex individuals to ever take a flag—he never stopped trying to make something from nothing.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, that means the story of Schumi, Spain, and the day one man began to cement a legend.This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 11/18/25 | ![]() Did Patrick Dempsey Imagine His Way to Being Faster? | **Want more listener Q&As like this? Patreon members get bonus episodes! Link below!**It’s another “No Dumb Questions!” You email to ask, we sit down to answer. There are no dumb questions in racing … but there might be some dumb answers!Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Ask about racing, performance driving, engineering, car setup, or anything else: INTCPod@gmail.com**ANSWERED THIS WEEK: How pro drivers get up to speed so quickly — What Ross learned from coaching Patrick Dempsey — Paddock espionage from journeyman pros — The power of mental imagery when you need to stink less at the wheel — What Colin Braun did over dinner at Elkhart Lake one year — What the hell is a spring rubber?This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. For this episode, we’re borrowing the No Dumb Questions framework from Ross’s old “Speed Secrets” podcast.This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 10/22/25 | ![]() Learning to Love (Hate?) the Porsche 911 | We’ve driven nearly all of ’em. Nearly every road model, plus some great race cars and extended family—a 934 and 935, a Daytona-winning Sixties 2.0-liter, a Rothmans 962, some 959s and RSRs, even Jerry Seinfeld’s 1964 “Butzi” shorty.Why do people love (and hate) the Porsche 911? Are the good ones worth the money? Can a reasonable person grow to love a great 911 if they don't like the things to begin with?Cliché questions. We hit them, then go deeper: What do you learn strapping into all that unobtainium?Ross and Sam have some rare wheel hours with Porsche's finest. And they might have some answers.***SPECIAL GUEST: This episode marks the return of the legendary Kyle Kinard, formerly of Road & Track!***IN THIS EP: Ross battling 911s as a BMW factory driver — Alois Ruf tossing Sam the keys to the “Yellow Bird” CTR prototype and telling him to rip around Germany for an afternoon — Sam lapping a Le Mans-winning 934 and a Fabcar 935 on the same day for R&T — Ross racing an RSR at Daytona with a bunch of babies — Sam writing the world’s first track test of a Singer-restored 911 — and more!(Warning: There's also big Porsche-nerd-speak.)This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “MY LIFE WITH.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 10/14/25 | ![]() RECAP: 2025 IndyCar Season — w/ Marshall Pruett | IndyCar is a gnarly old series, and 2025 was one of the sport’s gnarliest seasons. So we asked the one and only Marshall Pruett to break it all down—own the mic, spit Palou truth, don’t hold back.(That’s Pruett's secret—he never holds back.)Select Pruett bona fides: decades of paddock reporting for RACER, ESPN, and Road & Track. Hosts the Marshall Pruett Podcast, which you should totally check out. Also, he’s on a first-name basis with Chip Ganassi’s lawyer.Select IndyCar gnar, 2025: Scandals! Lawsuits! Chevrolet and Penske face-plants! Plus a mild-mannered Spaniard somehow nuking the entire field from orbit to land his fourth consecutive title in a way no one thought possible.Plus, Pruett calls Sam names and orders Jeff a sandwich in this one. What’s not to love?This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Guest Teaches Everybody.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith. **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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 10/7/25 | ![]() What the 2025 IMSA Season Taught Our Pro Engineer | Picture it: Your scrappy little pro race team has a rough 2024. The next year, out of nowhere, you win Daytona. Then the whole gang takes its first trip to Le Mans and lands a killer finish.The rest of Jeff Braun's 2025 IMSA season was, to quote Jeff, “not that.”This one’s a doozy: First, we’ve got INTC co-host Jeff sharing what he learned in IMSA this year. (Jeff helps run a Corvette in the GTD class, remember.) Second, we’ve got Sam, who made way too much coffee on tape day. He's a little rapid-fire yappy here, but hey, we’re all captives to fate, fly on free bird, fútbol/racing podshow is life, right?Trophies rarely teach you something. But a long, tough season in pro racing just might.This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format "What I've Learned."This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**SUPPORT INTC: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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 9/30/25 | ![]() The One Where Ross Explains the Nürburgring | More than 150 corners. Twelve point nine miles. History out the wazoo, big fun, big challenge to drive quickly. The Nürburgring Nordschleife is basically the world’s greatest race track.Wanna go? Of course you do! How convenient—Ross just got back from there! In this episode, he and Sam discuss that trip, why Ross takes a small group of clients and friends to the Ring every year, and why Sam has had many opportunities to visit the place for work and kept saying no.(Hint: It may be because Sam is a romantic doofus.)Fun fact: This episode was originally going to be about another topic entirely. Then Ross was like, “Oh man, I drove an Aston Martin DB6 in the Moselle Valley,” and Sam was like, “Flugplates Breidscheid Fridge?” And that sounded like more fun, so we called an audible and made a pivot.This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. This week’s format is an experiment—we call it “INTC TANGENT HOUR.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 9/24/25 | ![]() The Bloody Madness of the First Indy 500 — (1911) | Little ditty... 'bout a race and a Speedway! Two Indy names, growin’ up in the heartland. Race gonna make the front page of the Indy Star? Speedway gonna something something… uh... museum... race... car!Yeah, sure, that makes sense! Don't tell me if it doesn't?The story of the first Indy 500 holds a lot of things—death, sand, smoke, around a million blown tires—but it does not hold John Mellencamp lyrics. Still, I hear Mellencamp in my head every time I meet Indiana, so that’s what I'm puttin' here.(If you squint, that first paragraph almost fits the rhythm of "Jack and Diane." With apologies to the ol' Cougar himself.)This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, that means the time a quiet little American city kicked off one of the world's greatest speed traditions. Risk, blood, guts, bricks… and the first year was flat-out bonkers.This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
| 9/16/25 | ![]() So . . . What is Handling, Actually? | Remember the time you almost died because your hotted-up old Camarobird got all loose and stabby up at Dead Man’s Cul de Sac? Or maybe it was Turn 45 at Laguna Merrica. Either way, there you were, boppin’ along like a lap-wreckered Versteppy, when you nearly bought the farm.“She handled like trash that day,” you told the cops/the race steward/that fry cook at Burger Queen. “No idea why.” And the gathered crowd sighed—who hasn’t been there?Few automotive terms are as misunderstood as “handling.” What does it mean? Can “good” or “bad” handling be measured, or show up in data? How do non-engineery types talk about this stuff at places like the Indy 500 or Le Mans? Jeff and Sam have answers. And INTC changes episode formats weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Racer 101.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**Support the show — get bonus episodes and more!Contribute on Patreon www.patreon.com/notthecar**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:www.ItsNotTheCar.com**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 Tuesday. | — | ||||||
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