Stagger

Well, the boys have a lot to discuss this week. Derrick Smith is an avid Bubba Wallace fan, going back to his days racing in the K&N series, so it's only fitting that he and J.D. spent a good amount of time talking about Bubba joining forces with Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin to form a new NASCAR team. What will this mean for the sport? How competitive can we expect this new team to be? Will we all be able to buy Jordans from a trackside merch truck? They tackled those questions and many more. Later in the episode, the guys welcomed in Ory Roberts from Dick Trickle Racing (fantasy league) to discuss the weekend action at Bristol, some playoff thoughts, and an interesting argument - should lap cars be disqualified after being a certain number of laps down?Finally, some discussion about the new destination for NASCAR - the Circuit of the Americas! Make sure you add Stagger Podcast in your favorite app so you never miss an episode!

Part 2 of the NASCAR 101 series rolls off the grid with some helpful information about (almost) everything that happens in a NASCAR race. This episode was geared specifically for fans that are new to the sport, but also, longtime fans of racing who may not have learned some of the more technical aspects of what they are seeing. Below is a directory of topics that will hopefully help you find some answers to some questions you never even knew you had, or were too afraid to ask. If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to leave us a rating and review in the Apple Podcast app. Thought of something we should have covered and didn't? Hit us up with a question - @staggerpodcast on twitter!The episode guide is below!----more----

3:00 - Practice and Qualifying 4:25 - Crew Chief6:15 - Pre-race Tech9:15 - Pace Car10:55 - Scanners are awesome12:10 - Spotters16:17 - Why are the cars weaving back and forth?19:05 - Green flag and restarts19:38 - Yellow flags and competition cautions21:20 - Tire wear and tire pressure24:14 - Pit Stops32:44 - Fuel Gauges and Speedometers35:22 - Too Fast on Pit Road36:55 - Other Flags (Black, Blue and Yellow, Red, Green and White Checkered)39:04 - Stages40:10 - Drafting41:10 - Loose vs Tight42:30 - Preferred Line or Groove45:30 - Overtime? Yes, Overtime47:23 - Bernard Pollard Questions Answered

Then it's all about NASCAR - Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin continue to show their dominance, the Xfinity race was about as good as it gets, and the guys unveil a new feature they think would make NASCAR even better - combined practice and qualifying. 

Also, the boys talk about a "disaster" of a tweet.

All that and much more! 

As longtime racing fans, J.D. and Derrick Smith know you have questions. And since NASCAR has seen it's share of new fans join the sport over the last few years, we thought it might be a good idea to offer a primer on the premier series for stock car auto racing in the U.S.So, if you are a new fan to NASCAR, this podcast episode was designed for you to hopefully answer as many questions as possible in less than one hour. This episode is part one of two, so look for the second episode next week. We've even broken down the questions in our episode rundown so you can get the answers to the specific questions you have!Thanks for checking out the podcast, and make sure you follow us on twitter and instagram - at @staggerpodcast . Stay Staggered!EPISODE RUNDOWN:

4:25 - What is NASCAR?6:00 - What is stock car?9:37 - How powerful is a NASCAR engine?11:00 - What is a "tapered spacer"?12:34 - What is the difference between NASCAR Cup and the NASCAR Xfinity Series?14:30 - Wait, there are NASCAR Trucks too? 18:57 - What is a NASCAR team? How do those work?22:24 - How do the numbers work in NASCAR?26:07 - How many people work at NASCAR Cup teams?27:38 - What do sponsors do, and why is it so expensive to be one?32:46 - What is the difference between a team with a big budget, and the smaller budget teams? Why does more money = more performance?37:35 - What is a superspeedway? Intermediate? Short track? 46:15 - What is a "Hauler" and why do the drivers talk about them?Check out part two next week!

Among the topics discussed - Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin just keep finding their way to victory lane, Kyle Busch keeps whining about practice, and in all, NASCAR put on a show at a track that sometimes gets a bad rap. You can also heard Derrick's suprisingly solid Chase Elliott impersonation, J.D.'s love for triangles and low downforce, and hear a podcast that was half recorded in a van. 

Derrick also gives you his daily fantasy picks for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and the guys look ahead to the IMSA race at Daytona, as well as the GP of Indy with the INDYCAR Series.

Check out Stagger on twitter and Instagram - @staggerpodcast, and make sure to join us on facebook in the Stagger Nation group. 

- The power of leadership from Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick

- The friendship of guys like Corey LaJoie and Ryan Blaney with Bubba Wallace

- Richard Petty making a statement

- An epic finish to the Cup race, as Erik Jones sees a near victory smash into a million pieces

- The brewing feud between Chase Elliott and Penske

- Why Brad Keselowski might be the guy you don't want to see at your local go-kart track

- Preview of Pocono, including a rundown of all of the things that have run across that track over the years

Today, J.D and Derrick Smith talk about the racist incident at Talladega this weekend, which involved a noose being left in the garage of Bubba Wallace, NASCAR's only current black driver. Hear Derrick talk about his longstanding Bubba Wallace fandom, how racism is a driver safety issue, what NASCAR will do once they catch whoever did this, and moving forward from a racist past.