Who do you love? Who do you really despise? Who are our heroes and villains in motorsports -- and why? Is it completely irrational and arbitrary, or are these opinions rooted in something more substantial and fact-based? What happens when lots of fans start having similar opinions about a driver or team -- and then the prevailing sentiment becomes something else to root for, or against. Sylas and Todd talk about some of their favorite drivers, but mostly their least favorite and much disliked drivers from NASCAR and Indycar Formula Car racing, each explaining their well-reasoned rationale for why they feel the way they feel. And for some reason, Martinsville Speedway keeps coming up, across several unrelated stories. Yay, boo, or hiss, it's time to stand up for our opinions, and to argue why we think what we think! 

Cold Start Hint: Controversial hybrid system

Answer to Episode 68 Cold Start: "This is Cold Start" in Mandarin (according to Google, anyway)

They're coming, there are more of them than you thought, and they might surprise you with what they can already do: Chinese cars. And they're not just EVs, despite what it seems on first impression. There are serious performance-oriented hypercars coming from China, breaking records at the Nurburgring -- perhaps even coming soon to a motorsports series near you. The rest of the world (outside the US) has been beginning to see the influx of Chinese-manufactured cars on their roads, in a big way; and we are way behind in learning about their presence and impact on the automotive market overall. Todd and Sylas survey the landscape and make their forecasts for how the future of Chinese cars in racing might unfold with companies named BYD, Exeed, Yangwang, GWM, NIO, and more.

Cold Start Hint: It's a familiar phrase!

Answer to Episode 66 Cold Start: Porsche 914

With what seems like everyone having a new Porsche GT3RS at your local Cars & Coffee, and influencers over your Instagram feed, its hard to believe that Porsche as a company is in a terrible financial situation at the moment. The first sign was them cutting their motorsport program this season in WEC, the World Endurance Championship racing series -- and then, not participating at the GTP category level in the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans. Further digging reveals that net profits were down over 90% from 2024 to 2025. Todd and Sylas dive into why Porsche finds themselves in this current situation, and look back through history to see if this isn't perhaps the first time Porsche has made some bad decisions.

Cold Start Hint: Not Porsche's best work

Answer to Episode 66 Cold Start: Nissan R34 GTR

The age old question of whether the better enthusiast engine is boosted or naturally aspirated may be coming to an end, as the NA engine is being phased out of sports cars and normal commuters. In an age of advanced engine technologies and endless pursuit for fuel efficiency, it's easy to see why big naturally aspirated engines are no longer the choice of manufacturers in creating their new cars. Is this something we should be up in arms about, or is it another hopeless battle like trying to save the manuals? Todd and Sylas dive into this topic to understand why the shift is occurring, and if we should be concerned as enthusiasts.

Cold Start Hint: Boost Loading...

Answer to Episode 65 Cold Start: Corvette C8R GT3

For modern endurance race fans, Balance of Performance (BoP) is a common topic of discussion -- usually how it's annoying, and ruining motorsports. But what really is BoP? and can it actually be attributed to the growing success of current endurance racing? With growing field numbers and entertaining battles this season in IMSA and WEC, the guys talk about how BoP may be a necessary evil in modern motorsport. But they also can't help to get annoyed by the over politicized nature of the format. Learn more about what stricter rules does to a racing series, and how trying too hard to be perfectly fair can ruin an already pretty good thing.

Cold Start Hint:  It's a GT3 car

Answer to Episode 64 Cold Start: Mercedes-Benz SLR 300

Mercedes-Benz is no stranger to motorsports with their renowned success in DTM and Formula 1, creating some of the most iconic and dominant race cars of the modern era. However, there is one form of motorsport that the manufacturer seems to be cursed at: endurance racing – specifically the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The largest endurance race in the world has proven to be a place that the Silver Arrows of Mercedes only bring chaos. In their third participation of the race at the Circuit de la Sarthe, in 1955, a tragedy occurred that was so horrific, a country outright banned motor racing, and Mercedes didn't come back to the biggest stage of racing for over four decades. It didn't go much better from there when they returned either. Come with us back in time, and learn more about the dark curse of Mercedes-Benz at Le Mans in today's episode. ☠️㉦☠️

Cold Start Hint:  The 722 car in all its glory.

Answer to Episode 63 Cold Start: McLaren M8F 8.4L V8 Can-Am

The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or more commonly known as Can-Am, is a racing series that has firmly placed itself in the history books, being an era known for no rules – and cars faster than Formula 1 at the time. What's not to love about unlimited innovation and high horsepower/ light weight racecars? Todd and Sylas dive into the Can-Am era, breaking down the crazy cars, great racing, and ultimate demise of the series. As it always seems with motorsports, the greater the series, the shorter its flight path. 

Cold Start Hint: 1971 Championship winning car

Answer to Episode 62 Cold Start: R53 Mini Cooper S

Diving into the passion of your average car enthusiast, the guys invited Chucho Shoots onto the show to share his journey of becoming a car enthusiast, an automotive photographer, and to defend his love for Mini Coopers. From building his following by shooting photos of some of the premier cars and collections in the Bay Area to cultivating a community around a forgotten enthusiast car, Chucho has established himself as a hub within the community, looking to connect with others and experience cars to their fullest. His energy is infectious; just ask to check out his Mini!

Cold Start Hint: Super charged but half the expected cylinders

Answer to Episode 61 Cold Start: 2009 Ford GT1

Could you imagine if the most expensive, exclusive, powerful, and raw hypercars in the world raced together in a single series? Back in the 1990s, this happened -- one of the golden ages of sports car racing: GT1 Class Racing. The GT1 class was diverse, well-funded, and birthed "homologation special" cars -- racecars effectively disguised as production street vehicles. Sylas and Todd review all time greats like the Porsche GT1, McLaren F1 GTR and LM variants, and the infamous Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR and CLR. And more than one of these cars went for an unexpected flight, thanks to the aerodynamics and manufacturer budget war which pushed automotive development to its limit -- and beyond.

Cold Start Hint:  You can almost hear the blue oval.

Answer to Episode 60 Cold Start:  Roborace Robocar launch

Racing has always been the proving ground to help develop new technologies in the automotive industry – like tires, fuel, and hybrid engines. So it would make sense for manufacturers put their autonomous vehicles to the ultimate test at the limit... on the racetrack. Could motorsports be a feasible testing ground for autonomous technology, and would people actually care to watch it? Todd and Sylas look into the world of autonomous racecars, the series that are already making it a reality, and where the "sport" could go in the future. Now's the time to be scared that the robots are taking over. 

Cold Start Hint:  Prepared for its inaugural "Session Alpha".

Answer to Episode 59 Cold Start: Waymo Jaguar I-Pace boarding sound