This week on Podracing, Neil and Tyler talk about NASCAR's much-anticipated return to The Chase system for determining its championship. We break down the new rules -- which we find are actually much simpler to explain than the old ones -- and get into how past seasons' results might have changed with the current format in place. (Sorry, Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney -- and congrats, William Byron!) Finally, we also try to game out scenarios that might stress-test this new system, and how we will inevitably react when those happen, along with some Neil research on how often the final race of the season will feature a super-close points battle.

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The boys are back on track for the last Podracing of the 2025 season! In this week's show, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta recapped their favorite moments of 2025, including Mexico City weekend, SVG's streak, Larson's peak, Zilisch's arrival, barriers broken by Bubba Wallace and Katherine Legge, and more. Then we pivot to our own "red-carpet" award show with Neil unpacking his NASCAR.com column of 11 under-the-radar honors from the year, from qualifying aces to short-track standouts and even an award renaming. Finally, like true Sports Sickos, we looked ahead at the odds for the 2026 Daytona 500 -- because it's never to early to bet on racing.

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This week on Podracing, Neil and Tyler unpack an unforgettable — and emotionally complicated — Championship Weekend at Phoenix. Corey Heim capped a historic Trucks season with a validating win, while our guy Connor Zilisch saw his all-time Xfinity campaign fall short late. But the Cup race was the real heartbreaker: After 20 years of near-misses, Denny Hamlin did everything right… until a freak late caution (thanks to a William Byron tire failure) flipped the script and let Kyle Larson steal the title on an overtime restart. We break down how it all happened — and how it felt — from the driving decisions to the pit calls to the way the format itself enabled one of the most gutting defeats in sports history. Then Neil explains how Denny’s heartbreak stacks up against the worst losses ever using a new “Levels of Losing” framework, and we debate how we would fix the NASCAR playoff system once and for all, including Neil's appeal for perhaps a more golf-like approach to viewing the concept of a "champion" each year.

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In this week’s Podracing, Tyler Lauletta and Neil Paine break down William Byron’s masterclass at Martinsville, where he put together one of the clutchest performances in playoff history to seal a Championship 4 spot — and send Ryan Blaney packing in the process. We also recap Christopher Bell’s quiet elimination, thanks in large part to Kyle Larson’s efficient drive into the final round. Then we preview the 2025 season finale at Phoenix, with case-for/case-against breakdowns on all four title contenders — Denny Hamlin, Chase Briscoe, Larson and Byron — and what makes each storyline compelling (or tragic) depending on what happens Sunday. Finally, we make our last betting and one-and-done picks of the year, with the championship on the line both for the drivers… and for us.

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In this week’s Podracing, Tyler Lauletta and I break down Chase Briscoe’s thrilling Talladega win to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 — and what it means for the “Briscoe Truthers” (aka us) who’ve been shouting his name for months. We marvel at a surprisingly clean superspeedway finish, shout out some model-backed longshots who delivered big (Todd Gilliland! Cole Custer! Zane Smith!), and dissect Kyle Larson’s surprising out-of-gas moment at the end. Then we preview the playoff picture heading into Martinsville — where Christopher Bell and Larson are safe, but only if no one below the cutline wins — and why the final Round of 8 spot might hinge on stage points, tiebreakers and the most literal (Christopher) Bell Curve of all. Finally, we make our betting and one-and-done picks for the Paperclip, where our “save the stars” strategy has left us with too many options and not enough races left to use them in.

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This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Denny Hamlin’s return to the Championship 4 after a clutch Vegas win, while Chase Briscoe came this close to stealing it before getting passed late on worn tires. We dissect Byron’s wreck, Blaney’s rock-bottom run, and why playoff drivers dominating the Top 10 isn’t a coincidence anymore — especially with Logano warning that “there’s no one left to steal points from”. Then it’s time to zoom out to Neil’s latest playoff odds model update: Briscoe has a Playoff Mulligan left, Byron probably doesn’t, and Blaney is now in must-win territory at Talladega. Finally: Who’s got the edge on superspeedways? Who's the best value bet? And will Tyler build on his contest lead in a Penske-only round of one-and-done picks?

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This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta recap an all-time Roval finish, where Ross Chastain tried to video-game his way into advancing (again) — and ended up crossing the line in reverse as Joey Logano slipped through the chaos. We break down Paul Wolfe’s pit-call of the year, Denny Hamlin’s galaxy-brain playoff calculus (or lack thereof), and why the field may live to regret letting Joey's title hopes live. Then it’s time to update the playoff odds and power-rank who's due for a good weekend at Las Vegas as the Round of 8 begins. Plus: We make our betting picks, and both podcasters continue their seesaw chase for the one-and-done contest lead.

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This week on Podracing, Neil and Tyler break down the chaos at Kansas — including Denny Hamlin’s mind-melting decision to run his own 23XI driver, Bubba Wallace, into the wall… and hand the win to Chase Elliott. We try to figure out what exactly Denny was thinking, wonder if NASCAR needs some version of F1-style team orders, and give Elliott credit for capitalizing when it mattered most. We also discuss Zane Smith’s terrifying wall-slide, before updating the playoff odds and power-ranking which drivers MUST win this week at the Roval — an unfortunate group that includes Bubba, Reddick, Cindric and maybe even Chastain. Only problem? They’ll have to go through Shane van Gisbergen, the road-course king and massive betting favorite. We wrap by making our Roval picks in the one-and-done contest, where Neil has retaken the lead… but will Tyler throw caution to the wind and take SVG despite the lack of playoff bonus?

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This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down Ryan Blaney’s Round of 12 win at Loudon — the first real Ford/Penske statement of the playoffs — and a redemption drive (if a bit too late) from Josh Berry. We also dissect the sudden collapse of Toyota’s playoff momentum, including infighting at JGR and disastrous days for 23XI’s Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace, who took the biggest hits in Neil’s forecast model. Speaking of the model, the new title favorite is now Blaney, but we also dive into Neil’s story on how Kyle Larson might be waking up at the perfect time — and how Kansas could see him reset the entire playoff picture. Finally, we preview this week’s race at one of Larson’s best tracks, where he’s the runaway favorite, and make our one-and-done picks as Tyler regains the lead — but Neil might be ready to deploy his Larson emergency plan.

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This week on Podracing, Neil Paine and Tyler Lauletta break down the absolute tire-shredding chaos of the Bristol night race, where Christopher Bell survived fire, attrition and a late restart to semi-vulture the win — while Chase Elliott and Austin Cindric barely escaped elimination. We then pivot to Neil’s NASCAR.com piece on the playoff Round of 12, spotlighting the razor-thin margins between Bubba Wallace, Elliott, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano — a quartet of contenders who could just as easily crash the Round of 8 party or be left watching from home. With the model showing how form and track fit are pulling drivers in opposite directions, we preview the next pressure point at New Hampshire, a Phoenix-like flat track where Toyota (and Bell) have shined. Finally, we make our betting and one-and-done picks, as Neil retakes the lead — for now — and Tyler fires back with a Larson-sized counterpunch.-

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