WE HAVE A MERCH STORE NOW: ⁠https://www.itsnotthecar.com/⁠

You asked, we delivered! . . . is exactly what we will tell the authorities.

*** 10% OFF ALL ORDERS FOR THE FIRST WEEK ***

BRIEF SALES PITCH: Sam built a website. That site holds both useful info about INTC and driving-adjacent merchandise. Sam wrote every word there and designed all of our merch.

Is he a seasoned design professional, you ask? No.

Our advice: Visit ⁠ItsNotTheCar.com⁠ not to support this podshow or engage in the unparalleled joy of commerce, but to marvel at the garage-couture trainwreck therein. Or . . . to read a lengthy excerpt from the lyrics of the 1957 Broadway musical “The Music Man.”

(Perhaps you think that last line is a joke. I assure you it is not.)

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, the time in 1999 when three Mercedes-Benz Le Mans prototypes left the ground at nearly 200 mph and hurtled dozens of feet into the air.

(Our “normal” episode descriptions will return next week.)

Related Trivia: ⁠ItsNotTheCar.com⁠ also contains trivia. Did you know that Ross has coached fighter pilots? Or that Jeff has won the 12 Hours of Sebring eight times?

Sam is writing these words and will share his own trivia here in a sec even though he absolutely loathes talking about himsel—OH LORD WHAT IS THAT LOOK OVER THERE oh whew nevermind it was nothing but hey gosh gee darn now wouldn’t you know it, we’re out of space!

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠⁠

**

Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's book!

⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠⁠⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Formula 1 can be so boring. The King Mother-Humper of dull TV, with so much unknown: Why is Danny Ric slow now? Are those cars battling, or does it just look that way? How many different hairstyles can Lando Norris possibly have, and why does every single one make him look like a dapper little cutie patootie?

Here’s the catch: Every broadcast holds answers. And when you know how to find them, F1 gets *way* better.

INTC co-host Ross Bentley is a professional driver coach. He gets paid to watch racing, and he sees things in F1 that you don’t. Here now, he shares his methods!

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Instant Expert.”

Related Trivia: Jeff had commitments at tape time, so this one is just Ross and Sam. For the record, Sam needs a haircut. Sam’s wife says he should stop telling the barber to “cut it like Lando,” and that he looks nothing like that kid no matter what they tell him at the local Curl Up and Dye, but she is wrong, you see, even if Sam is middle-aged and balding and his body is basically just a sad quilt of farmer’s tan and coffee stains, and well, er, LOOK, TINY WHITE LIES ARE ALL THAT GET SOME OF US THROUGH THE NIGHT, OKAY? PLEASE JUST LET ME HAVE THIS

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠

**

Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

What happens when famous actors go fast? Not just Cool Hand Luke. Also Tom Cruise, Patrick Dempsey, and many others, including that guy I can’t remember from that one show. (You know—that dude with the hair and the face?)

Spoiler: There is crashing! But that’s not the point.

Ross has coached Hollywood celebrities. Jeff once worked with Paul Newman himself. Plus, we dip into the weird and wonderful story of the 1977–2016 Long Beach Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race. Which was basically Formula 1, except the part of Max Verstappen was played by Carlton from “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Ross Teaches Sam a Thing.”

Related Trivia: Jeff and Sam were at the VIR IMSA race last weekend, working and slapping INTC stickers on children and livestock. So many people found us in the paddock to share how much they enjoy this show! Thank you—we really enjoyed meeting all of you!

(Except you, Tom from South Dakota. You know what you did.)

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon ⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠

**

Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠

⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠

⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠

⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Cheats II: Electric Boogaloo! Back by popular demand, like before but more! Firsthand accounts from an INTC host who works in the paddock!

Our first installment of “How Pro Racers Cheat” was back in May. We didn’t intend for this to become a series, but you loved it and asked for more. We could have said no, but that would be lame, and then we wouldn’t get to hear Jeff Braun talk about race cars with mercury pumps. (Yes.)

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Jeff Shares a Secret.”

Like last time, this episode is just Jeff and Sam. Ross was off gallivanting around the country. You know, gadding about! Jazzing around! And other such language I certainly didn’t just lift from an online thesaurus!

Related Trivia: Sam will be at this weekend’s IMSA race at VIR. He may have INTC stickers. If you see him and want one of those stickers, all you have to do is utter the super-secret code phrase: “Hey Sam, can I have a sticker?”

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon ⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠

**

Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠

⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠

⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠

⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠

⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

In the summer of 1965, a V-8-powered love song from California dethroned Ferrari, shut up the haters, and won America its first FIA manufacturer’s road-racing championship.

Naturally, almost no one here noticed.

The Californian car was a gutsy experiment from a 28-year-old ex-GM designer named Pete Brock. Their story holds bootstraps, napkin math, and one badass stab at 180-mph immortality.

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, the short, brilliant comp life of the 1964–1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.

Related Trivia: Want to read Sam’s never-before-published notes from track-testing a museum-grade Daytona clone at Summit Point and hanging out with Brock himself for Road & Track? They’ll go live on our Patreon today—link below!

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠

**

Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠

⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

When INTC’s tape day rolled around, Sam was sick. He landed a nasty bout of food poisoning and went wreck-it ralphing. So we postponed our planned show, and then Ross and Jeff hit the mic to improvise.

Their topic? The driver-engineer relationship!

Questions answered in this ep: Why do you need an engineer, anyway? What makes that relationship crucial in pro racing? Should you be embarrassed if you can’t feel a change someone made on your car? What should you do if you’re the only person on your team—both driver *and* engineer? And more!

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Ross and Jeff Steal the Show.” It’s a good format.

Related trivia: Sam will be back on the show next week. If you don’t like that, you are wrong! This means you, Tom from South Dakota—we know you’re listening!

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Once, Jeff and Robby Unser tried to qualify a car for the Indianapolis 500. Jeff was the engineer. Unser was the driver.

The car stunk to high heaven.

Unser was scared.

This is that story.

Here now, one man’s experience with the epically uncompetitive Riley & Scott Mk. VII Indy Racing League Indy car. Has Jeff Braun—esteemed INTC host, legendary bus driver, and championship-winning race engineer—met a worse race car? He says no.

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Jeff Tells a Story.”

Related trivia: Want to read Jeff’s test notes and see his spreadsheets and setup from that Indy 500 attempt? We’ve published those docs on our Patreon. Check ’em out—link below!

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Gossip time! Why did Ross steal that Ferrari from Chip Ganassi? Just who dropped that tire on Jeff's toe at Daytona and became his sworn enemy for life? Which aging F1 driver did Sam give a wedgie to in the pits at Lime Rock? Listen and find out!

(Warning: This episode may not actually contain the above information.)

This episode's working title was "The Dumbest Things We've Seen in Racing." When we sat down at the mic, it got way more interesting—a discussion about high-pressure environments, room for error, and how "dumb" doesn't always mean what you think.

This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This format is called “Ross and Jeff Teach Sam a Thing."

Related Trivia: Jeff was at Mosport this weekend with the AWA IMSA Corvettes. Ross was coaching LMP2 remotely from his home in Seattle. Sam was at Road America for the WeatherTech vintage races. Only one of them spilled a Siebken's Root Beer on his shoes and doesn't regret it.

This episode was produced by Mike Perlman.

**

Support It’s Not the Car:

Contribute on Patreon

⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Check out Sam's new book!

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think!

⁠⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

Where to find us:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/INTCpod⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/Drivercoach⁠⁠⁠⁠

**

ABOUT THE SHOW:

It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts.

Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine.

We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel.

New episodes every Tuesday.