NASCAR's Mike Forde & Amanda Ellis alongside NASCAR.com's Nate Ryan discuss the 2025 regular season finale at Daytona and look ahead to Sunday's playoff opener at Darlington.

• (2:30) The 24 car fails inspection at Daytona. Crew Chief Rudy Fugle was ejected and the William Byron started at the back of the field. We go inside the inspection process.
• (17:30) Should NASCAR give relief drivers official wins? Connor Zilisch and Parker Kligerman win at Daytona in the Xfinity series.
• (26:30) Connor Zilisch has formally been announced as Trackhouse's replacement for the outgoing Daniel Suarez. Go inside the car number selection process.
• (36:50) The A-Post flaps made their debut at Daytona and no cars went airborne despite "The Big One" in stage 1. Did you notice the bright colors under the A-post flaps when they enaged? We explain.
• (42:40) The 2025 NASCAR Playoffs kickoff Sunday night at Darlington in the Southern 500. The Craftsman Truck Series has a unique Saturday afternoon time slot at Darlington. Why the change?

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NASCAR EVP, Chief Venue & Racing Innovation Officer Ben Kennedy & Managing Director of Competition Operations Jusan Hamilton joins Mike Forde, Amanda Ellis & Nate Ryan to peel back the curtain on NASCAR's 2026 schedule release.

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This week Mike, Nate, and Amanda discuss what would've happened if the 19 team put one of their tires on the 23 car, Chase Elliott's pit road penalty, and Connor Zilisch's options for potentially returning at Daytona. Additionally, Dr. Eric Jacuzzi, Vice President of Vehicle Performance, joins the show to discuss the new A-post flap being introduced this weekend in Daytona and the process of creating that part.

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Mike, Amanda and Nate discuss an eventful weekend at the Glen. They discuss victory lane procedures after Connor Zilisch's fall on Saturday, waiver scenarios for Zilisch and an update on Stewart Friesen's waiver situation that should be finalized by Richmond. The group broke down what happened with the big accidents on Saturday, if Austin Hill and Zilisch were going to get penalized, and what that means for the future of track limits at Watkins Glen. Finally, Mike and Nate discussed what happens when a car withdraws from the race, and if another car would be added if one were available.

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Mike, Amanda, and Nate recap the action at Iowa, discussing the oil at the end of the Xfinity race, speeding penalties during the Cup race, and the possibility of more horsepower for short tracks in 2026. Mike and Amanda also sit down with Steve Swift, the Senior Vice President of Operations for Speedway Motorsports. They discussed the process of installing and tearing down a baseball field inside Bristol Motor Speedway and what can be learned from hosting the MLB.

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Hot off the press is the news that Austin Hill will serve a one-race suspension for the upcoming race in Iowa. Mike and Amanda explain how the decision was made to give out the suspension, and how the control tower determined to park Hill for five laps during the race. Nate asks Mike to explain how the random selection works for inspection each week, along with any changes surrounding the current playoff format heading into the 2026 season.

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Amanda sits down with San Diego track president Amy Lupo to discuss NASCAR's return to southern California. All three NASCAR national series will race in San Diego at Naval Base Coronado at the end of June.

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Mike, Amanda, and Nate sit down to talk about a mostly clean race in Sonoma. They discuss how NASCAR viewed the situation between the pit crews of Brad Keselowski and Ty Gibbs during green flag stops, the Ty Dillon and Alex Bowman contact on the final lap, and why the race wasn't red flagged to fix the tire pack after the 47 contact.

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Mike and Nate are back from vacation, joining Amanda to talk about the Chicago cautions. We saw big hits by #51 Cody Ware and #21 Josh Berry, and there was a caution due to a spectator emergency. Plus the end of the original Chicago contract is up so what does that mean for the future of the Cup series? Mike, Nate, and Amanda break it all down in this week's episode of Hauler Talk!

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This week on Hauler Talk, Amanda holds down the fort while Mike and Nate are on vacation and invites Kim Coon to cohost the show. The two speak with Director of Track Services Chase Brasears and Director of Technical Inspection Brian Goble, who walk them through their responsibilities when cars are wrecked. Amanda and Kim also discuss what happens behind the scenes as a pit road reporter.

Markers:

In-season Challenge reactions: 1:17.648

How are positions determined after a wreck: 4:59.986

Covering lightning delays: 8:28.621

Switching coverage styles: 13:50.880

Chase Brashears intro: 16:08.268

Reaction to the magnitude of the "Big One": 16:52.021

New DVP with 20+ wrecked cars: 17:40.402

What determines the order of clearing cars: 19:47.585

How do you know how much equipment is needed per track: 22:23.059

Cars with the lift system: 23:13.334

Predicting when incidental red flags are lifted: 25:23.386

What causes the biggest headache: 28:03.676

Cleaning the track post race: 30:36.560

Brian Gobble intro: 32:41.474

In the garage before the wreck: 33:12.890

New repair space in the garage: 35:44.783

What parts are repairable?: 38:55.743

Placing cars in the DVP area: 42:50.918

How many officials per damaged cars are available: 46:41.335

Learning for the playoffs: 51:21.085

Behind the scenes of broadcasting: 57:58.726

Becoming comfortable with interviews: 1:08:52.467

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