Racers Unchained with Paul Tracy

NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney joins Paul Tracy on Racers Unchained for a candid conversation about his career, life at Team Penske, and what it takes to compete at the highest level of stock car racing. Ryan looks back on joining Penske at just 19 years old, the people who helped shape his career, and how the team has evolved under Roger Penske. He also talks about growing up in a legendary racing family, his father's influence, and why his path to NASCAR was very different from the dirt racing background many people might expect.

Paul and Ryan get into some of NASCAR's hottest topics, including on-track retaliation, brake-checking incidents, driver rivalries, and the changes to the championship playoff format. Ryan shares his perspective on what makes a championship season, the importance of consistency, and the satisfaction of winning a title alongside the team that helped make it happen. He also discusses his approach to simulator training, his relationship with crew chief Jonathan Hassler, and why he still has plenty of racing years ahead of him.

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Austin Prock has been around racing his entire life. A fourth-generation racer, Prock started competing in quarter midgets at just 10 years old before working his way through Legends Cars, midgets and sprint cars. Along the way, he spent time at Tony Stewart Racing, where he absorbed as much as he could from some of the best people in the business. That hands-on experience eventually helped him make the unlikely transition from circle track racing to NHRA drag racing.

On this episode of Racers Unchained, Prock talks with Paul Tracy about his unusual path to the top levels of drag racing, working for John Force, getting his first opportunity to drive a Nitro Funny Car and the frantic start to his Top Fuel career. He explains what it's like to drive a Funny Car at more than 340 mph, how he and his crew can turn around a race car in roughly 30 minutes, and why he still gets involved in everything from servicing the supercharger to mixing fuel and packing parachutes. He also discusses racing alongside his father and brother, the decision to leave John Force Racing after back-to-back championships, and the challenge of building a new championship-level operation with Tasca Racing and Ford.

#AustinProck #PaulTracy #NHRA #FordRacing #DragRacing #FunnyCar #TascaRacing ##JohnForceRacing #RacersUnchained #NitroFunnyCar #Motorsports

Kyle Petty joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up in the Petty family, working in the race shop, and chasing his dream of becoming a race car driver. Kyle shares the unbelievable story of his first experience behind the wheel of a race car — going to Daytona at 18 years old despite having never driven a race car or even a go-kart. His first laps around Daytona came with his dad Richard Petty behind the wheel, Kyle sitting on the floor of the car and hanging onto the roll bars as they reached nearly 200 mph.

Kyle also talks to Paul Tracy about the years he spent learning every part of the race car, from welding and fabrication to engines and bodywork, and why that hands-on experience shaped his approach to racing. He reflects on winning at Daytona, his eight NASCAR Cup Series victories, the differences between the drivers of his generation and today's young racers, and why he believes respect, patience and race craft have changed over the years.

The conversation covers NASCAR safety and the evolution of the HANS device, SAFER barriers and cockpit design, including Kyle's perspective following the loss of his son Adam Petty. Kyle discusses how NASCAR became much more proactive about safety, his longtime motorcycle charity ride, the incredible work of Victory Junction, and raising millions of dollars to give children life-changing camp experiences. He opens up about his family, raising his young sons, motorcycles, and why he's reached a point in life where he's comfortable saying no and simply enjoying the things that matter most.

#KylePetty #PaulTracy #RacersUnchained #NASCAR #RichardPetty #PettyFamily #Daytona #NASCARHistory #VictoryJunction #Motorsports #Racing

Ron Fellows joins Racers Unchained host Paul Tracy for a wide-ranging conversation about an incredible racing career that took him from struggling to make a living in open-wheel racing to becoming a three-time IMSA champion, two-time 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Daytona 24 winner, 12 Hours of Sebring winner and one of the most successful road-course racers in NASCAR. Fellows looks back at his early days in Canada, working construction while paying down racing debt, racing in the Players GM series and eventually getting his opportunity with Jack Roush in Trans Am. He also tells the story of the Belle Isle victory that put him on Chevrolet’s radar and ultimately changed the direction of his career.

Fellows talks about the golden era of Trans Am, his transition from Ford to Chevrolet, the development of the Corvette C5-R program, and what made those early Corvette race cars so special. He shares stories from racing NASCAR road courses with some of the sport’s biggest names, including Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr., and explains why oval racing was such a different challenge for a road racer. The conversation also covers the origins and growth of the Corvette High Performance Driving School at Spring Mountain, his involvement in karting, and the next generation of Fellows racers. It’s a candid look at the career, relationships and opportunities that shaped one of North America’s most accomplished road racers.

#RonFellows #Paul Tracy #RacersUnchained #CorvetteRacing #TransAm #LeMans #NASCAR #IMSA #RacingHistory #Motorsports #Chevrolet

Townsend Bell joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about a racing career that took an unconventional path. Bell didn't climb into a race car until he was 21, but once he discovered racing at Laguna Seca, he committed completely. He talks about hustling his way through Skip Barber, finding sponsorship at trade shows, winning the Indy Lights championship and making the jump into CART with very little experience compared with the drivers around him.

Bell also opens up about the realities of his IndyCar rookie season, including the mistakes, crashes and lessons that came from trying to prove himself too quickly. He explains why he ultimately chose Europe over another IndyCar opportunity, his F3000 experience, F1 testing opportunities and the BAR test-driver deal that fell apart just before he moved to Europe.

The conversation also covers the business side of racing and how Bell learned to build sponsorships around real business relationships rather than simply selling space on a race car. He shares his approach to networking, the importance of recognizing where money is moving in the business world and why young drivers need an almost obsessive level of desire to make it to the top.

Bell and Paul Tracy also look back at their years working together on television, talk about Bell's transition into broadcasting, his son Jackson's racing career and the evolution of IndyCar. They discuss the new IndyCar, the old 900-horsepower machines, the challenges of racing in a different era and what they expect from the sport's future.

It's a candid conversation with one of racing's most interesting career paths, told by a driver who had to create opportunities instead of waiting for them to appear.

#TownsendBell #RacersUnchained #IndyCar #CART #IndyLights #LeMans #IMSA #Motorsports #Racing #PaulTracy

Three-time NHRA Funny Car champion Ron Capps joins Racers Unchained for a wide-ranging conversation about his remarkable racing career, from growing up around drag racing on California’s Central Coast to getting his big break with legendary driver Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. Capps shares the story of how he went from working as a crew member and racing wherever he could to suddenly getting the call from Prudhomme that changed his career. He also talks about his love for racing everything from Funny Cars and Top Fuelers to midgets, sprint cars and go-karts, and why driving different types of race cars has made him a better drag racer.

Andy Lally has built one of the most diverse careers in American motorsports. A three-time IMSA champion and five-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Lally has raced everything from prototypes and Porsches to NASCAR stock cars. In this episode of Racers Unchained, he sits down to talk about the path that took him from go-karts on Long Island to the top levels of sports car racing, and why simply being fast was never enough.

Lally talks about the mentors who taught him to hustle, knock on doors and create his own opportunities rather than waiting for the phone to ring. He explains how he made the jump from open-wheel racing into prototypes, built his reputation in Porsche machinery and eventually made his way into NASCAR. He also breaks down what makes NASCAR so difficult for drivers coming from IndyCar and sports cars, including the massive difference in tire behavior and how much patience it takes to feel a stock car at the limit.

The conversation also dives into Lally's role with Trans Am and why TA2 has become an important part of the development path for young stock car drivers. He explains what makes the nearly 900-horsepower TA cars so wild to drive, why the series is attracting young talent, and how its relatively accessible costs compare with modern GT3 racing.

And then there's street luge. A lifelong skateboarder, Lally discovered competitive street luge around the turn of the century and eventually became a three-time world champion. Now retired from full-time car racing, he's chasing another World Cup title on four wheels and no engine. Lally explains the technology, setup, aerodynamics and race craft involved in going flat-out downhill on a board — and why so much of what he learned behind the wheel still applies to the hill.

This is Andy Lally in his own words: racing, opportunity, NASCAR, Trans Am, street luge and the relentless hustle that kept his career moving forward.

#AndyLally #RacersUnchained #Racing #IMSA #Rolex24 #Daytona24 #TransAm #TA2 #NASCAR #StreetLuge

Katherine Legge has raced just about everything — Champ Cars, IndyCars, prototypes, sports cars, Formula E, NASCAR, and even a Formula 1 car. On this episode of Racers Unchained, she sits down with Paul Tracy for a wide-ranging conversation about the highs, lows and hard lessons from a career that has taken her all over the world.

Legge opens up about coming through karting and Formula Ford without the financial backing many young drivers had, her experiences racing alongside the likes of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, and why the old Lola Champ Car remains her favorite race car. She also talks candidly about the very different challenges she faced entering NASCAR, including the intense criticism and backlash that followed her into the series. Legge explains how her perspective on being a woman in racing has evolved, why she eventually embraced sponsors like Elf and the opportunity to inspire young female racers, and what it was like becoming the first woman to attempt the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 Double.

She also takes viewers behind the scenes of that grueling day, from the early morning at Indianapolis to the flight to Charlotte, the heat and physical demands of the NASCAR race, and the challenges of surviving 600 miles in a car that was fighting her all night. Plus, Legge talks about her future, the Daytona 500, Le Mans, Bathurst, her NASCAR ambitions, the strange and unforgettable DeltaWing, her biggest crashes, working without a traditional management team, and the bucket-list races she still wants to tackle.

#KatherineLegge #RacersUnchained #NASCAR #IndyCar #Indy500 #CocaCola600 #Motorsports #WomenInMotorsports #Racing

Ryan Hunter-Reay joins Paul Tracy for an honest conversation about one of the most accomplished careers in modern IndyCar racing. The 2012 IndyCar champion and 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner looks back at his rise through karting, his championship season, the unforgettable final laps of the Indy 500, and why instinct—not planning—led to one of the boldest passes in Indianapolis history.

Hunter-Reay also opens up about life with Arrow McLaren, why he no longer wants a full-time ride, balancing racing with family, mentoring the next generation, and the surprising story behind turning down Team Penske after winning the championship. Along the way, he shares behind-the-scenes memories from Andretti, Rahal Letterman, Champ Car, IMSA, and his near-miss at the 2024 Indianapolis 500, giving fans an inside look at the decisions and moments that shaped his career.

#RacersUnchained #RyanHunterReay #Indy500 #IndyCar #ArrowMcLaren #PaulTracy #TeamPenske #AndrettiAutosport #Motorsports #RacingPodcast

Graham Rahal joins Paul Tracy for a candid conversation about where IndyCar stands today, what it will take to grow the series, and why he believes the next generation of race cars needs to be lighter, faster and more demanding to drive. Rahal shares his thoughts on the future of the championship, the impact of simulators, the push for new events like Arlington, and why bringing back multiple chassis manufacturers could reignite fan interest.

The conversation also dives into Rahal's own career, from making the leap into IndyCar to winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona, racing in one of the deepest fields the series has ever seen, and handling the expectations that come with carrying one of the sport's most recognizable names. Paul and Graham compare today's drivers with previous generations, discuss the evolution of engineering and simulation, and swap stories from life in the paddock in an episode packed with honest opinions and behind-the-scenes insight.

#RacersUnchained #PaulTracy #GrahamRahal #IndyCar #RahalLettermanLanigan #Motorsports #Indy500 #RacingPodcast #racing #motorsports