Victory Lane

Crew Chief Drew Blickensderfer joins Davey Segal (5:10) ahead of the 2025 season to discuss why now was the right time for him to return for his second stint at Front Row Motorsports, his faith in Noah Gragson, what FRM's alliance with Team Penske really means and what's changed at the team since his departure.

Blickensderfer also reminisces on his two Daytona 500 victories, starting off his career winning his first two races as a shot caller with Matt Kenseth, why Carl Edwards stands out among the 18+ drivers he's worked with in his career, his background as a walk-on Division I wrestler at Indiana, why he enjoys being the "head coach" of sorts and more, including his real name and legitimate goals for the 2025 season.

Papa Segal pays homage to Alvin Hawkins, NASCAR's first flagman, as the season approaches.

Incoming NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender Gio Ruggiero joins Davey Segal this week (6:55) to discuss his impending foray into NASCAR's national series with TRICON Garage. He clears the air on his name and not being related to modified legend Reggie Ruggiero, discusses how he thinks the jump from ARCA to Trucks will be, his Winchester 400 win, growing up at Seekonk Speedway, the culture at TRICON and more, including how and why he went behind his moms back to start his racing career.

One of the most respected voices in the garage and co-author of "NASCAR Mavericks" Holly Cain joins Davey Segal (6:40) to discuss her new project, some learnings from it and what some future mavericks in the sport may look like.

Cain also dives into her storied 30+ year career as a sports journalist that has taken her from Florida, to Texas, to Washington and racetracks all over the world. She relives a memorable phone call from George Steinbrenner (yes, that one), reveals the one track she's yet to visit that's on her bucket list, how the sport has changed over the years, relationship building, Dale Earnhardt stories and more, including her love and admiration for the NASCAR community for supporting her during her latest battle with cancer.

Papa Segal also pays homage to "Cha Cha" in the wayback segment to kick off the new year.

After 45 years with the company, 42 of which in motorsports and 26 in NASCAR, Goodyear's Greg Stucker is calling it a career. Goodyear Tire & Rubber's Director of Racing joins Davey Segal ahead of his retirement (5:55) to discuss how he got involved in motorsports with Goodyear after graduating from Vanderbilt, learning racing on the fly with little prior knowledge and getting thrown into the fire from short tracks to IndyCar.

Stucker also dives into some major takeaways from 2024, including the use of wet weather tires and potential future use of them on intermediates, option tires and how soft of a compound they can actually make, what happened at spring Bristol (if they even know, still) and the differences in concrete vs. asphalt as it pertains to tire wear and temperature.

He also reminisces about the good and bad days on the job, including the 2008 Brickyard 400 and why that wound up changing things for the better with their processes, tire wars in the 1990s, the famous Goodyear Blimp, gold car and the meaningful styory behind his patented aviators at the track.

For the second year in a row, Allison Thorson and ThorSport Racing are CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. She joins Davey Segal this week (5:35) to dissect Ty Majeski's 2024 NCTS title, the dominant performance he put in at Phoenix Raceway, how this title feels different than the others and what it means to win back-to-back championships for the second time in ThorSport history.

She also provides some analysis on the organizations driver lineup in 2024, what Conner Jones can learn moving forward from his Homestead-Miami incident, the history of ThorSport, why they've never entertained the thought of moving from Sandusky, Ohio, why her parents don't do a ton of media, what's next for the team, her passion for horses and reigning and more.

Davey also runs through some of the news that came across the wire this week and Papa Segal returns wit a wayback segment.

Davey's better half joins him to recap Championship Weekend from Phoenix Raceway that saw Joey Logano, Justin Allgaier and Ty Majeski triumph in the Cup, Xfinity and CRAFTSMAN Truck Series, respectively. They discuss the playoff format, those calling out Logano for not being a worthy champion based on the format, the possibility of the title race rotating venues, the current antitrust lawsuit between 23XI Racing, Front Row Motorsports and NASCAR, the Martinsville manipulation, look ahead to 2025 and more.

Industry veteran and OG pit spotter Walter Cox joins Davey Segal this week (2:20) to explain what the role of a pit spotter entails and how he and the role began over three decades ago. Cox explains how many feeds he listens to at once during races, what he provides on-air talent with, how he goes about information gathering ahead of races and how the job has evolved over the years.

Cox also dives into his famous trades in the garage area, where he gives canned fruits and vegetables for racing memorabilia, and explains how Kasey Kahne helped make them more known. He also shares anecdotes from his interesting life in and out of racing, including his time as a "Waffle Belly," a radio host and being in a music video.

Davey also recaps the Martinsville manipulation and penalties divvied out in the wake of the penultimate race of the season, Ryan Blaney's impressive win and previews the Championship 4 weekend at Phoenix Raceway.

Short track legend Bubba Pollard joins Davey Segal (2:45) ahead of his second career NASCAR Xfinity Series start this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. Pollard explains how the deal with Sam Hunt Racing came together, why Martinsville Speedway should be a good venue to showcase his skillset and reminisces on his first start in the series earlier this season for JR Motorsports at Richmond.

Pollard also dives into his background as a third generation racer from Georgia, his involvement in running Senoia Raceway back home, how the nickname "Bubba" came to be and why he always has run the No. 26 on track.

Plus, he explains why winning the Oxford 250 was the biggest win of his illustrious career spanning over 100 wins and 15 championships, the current state of short track racing and why he's a bit conflicted from multiple perspectives, his expectations for this weekend at The Paperclip and more.

Davey also recaps Tyler Reddick's daring move to win at Homestead-Miami Speedway and lock himself into his first ever Championship 4 and looks ahead to the penultimate race weekend of the season at Martinsville.

Rackley W.A.R. President and COO Willie Allen joins Davey Segal this week (2:25) to discuss the news of the team joining forces with Kevin Harvick Incorporated for the 2025 season and beyond. Allen explains why Dawson Sutton is the right driver to pilot their full-time Truck Series entry next season and his unique background, how conversations began with Harvick and KHI, what Kevin brings to a team like theirs and how the alliance on the late model side will impact their national series efforts.

Allen also dives into his career as a driver, spanning numerous NCTS and Xfinity Series starts, including for Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss, reflects on Matt DiBenedetto's Talladega triumph for the team, what led to him getting involved in team ownership on the national series side, his future aspirations as an owner and more.

Davey also discusses Joey Logano's win at Las Vegas to punch his ticket to the Championship 4, previews Homestead-Miami Speedway and more.

Joe Gibbs Racing's newly named full-time Xfinity Series driver for 2025 Taylor Gray joins Davey Segal (3:10) this week to discuss how the deal came together and the cool story behind why the entry will be the No. 54 instead of the No. 19 involving his best friend Ty Gibbs.

Gray also details the differences between the Xfinity car and Truck vehicles, working with crew chief Tyler Allen next year and how that relationship has been so far in 2024, how important the driver/crew chief pairing is, pressure associated with running for the winningest team in series history, how he'd characterize his season to date, racing with his brother Tanner and more.

Davey also recaps the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL won by Kyle Larson and the headline news of Alex Bowman failing post-race inspection, being disqualified and Joey Logano being added back in to the Round of 8. Plus, a preview of Las Vegas Motor Speedway.