In our Multiclass Racing discussion, we hinted that there are some wild and utterly wacky one-off or unique races around the world -- some of which are also multiclass! So now it's time to survey the landscape of odd, interesting, weird, and downright bizarre forms of road racing. Todd and Sylas share their favorite Wacky Races, learning from each other about this unusal corner of motorsports; and then, they speculate on what kind of one-off, specialty races they would like to see. How wacky can it get? Pretty wacky.

Cold Start Hint: Featuring Professor Pat Pending and his Convert-a-Car 

Answer to Episode 70 Cold Start: Oreca 07 LMP2, Ligier JS P3 LMP3, Porsche 911 GT3R.

What's better than one race happening on track? Well, two, or maybe three, or even four! This is the main appeal of Multiclass Racing, having multiple races happening simultaneously on track. This not only increases the entertainment level for the fans as they are able to watch more battles but it also increases the complexity for drivers as they need to manage their own race, while managing the out-of-class traffic around them. Todd and Sylas share some personal experiences of multiclass racing and why they enjoy the format so much. They also look at the world of motorsports and if other sanctioning bodies adopted multiclass racing. 

Cold Start Hint: Can you guess all three classes represented?

Answer to Episode 70 Cold Start: BMW G80 M3

What started out as an internet meme quickly turned into a sought after, must-have option to be able to properly flex your new BMW M3 to all your haters. "Tartufo Buckets" may not mean anything to the average person but to the BMW fan boys, it's the holy grail interior spec that once was thought to be impossible. The guys dive into the story of Tartufo Buckets and how rare and sought after options for BMW M3s have changed through the years. It's pretty funny how certain options can drastically change the resale value of enthusiast cars! Listen to find out the Do's and Do Not Do's in spec-ing out an enthusiast collectible car. 

Cold Start Hint: Can you tell it as Tartufo Buckets?

Answer to Episode 69 Cold Start: Dallara DW12 IndyCar

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