The Autoweek Podcast

On this episode of “The Autoweek Podcast,” host Rory Carroll guides the gang down the flattest motorcycle racing in the world: flat track racing. Joined on the phone by Steven Cole Smith, and in person by Jimmy Pelizzari, Wesley Wren and Graham Kozak, Carroll and crew take you into the sport’s changing scene. Smith explains pieces of his upcoming feature in Autoweek and gives listeners a good foundation of why flat track racing matters.   Later in the show, Kozak explains his time at a flat track racing school and talks about how different it was from riding motorcycles on the street.   Wrapping the show, Kozak and Wren talk with American Flat Track’s CEO Michael Lock. Lock answers questions about the sport’s changing identity and its evolution.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Jimmy Pelizzari and Robin Warner to talk about the latest news in racing. Kicking off the show, Autoweek NHRA correspondent Susan Wade calls in to dive into the recent antitrust lawsuit filed by NHRA Top Fuel past champion Larry Dixon against the NHRA. The drama started with an expired certification sticker and a suspension, but will likely end in a courtroom. Wade also talks about Tony Schumacher’s absence from the Top Fuel field. NASCAR correspondent Al Pearce also hops on the call to explain why he’s in Seattle. After the phone call, the gang jumps into the Azerbaijan GP. The race was on the not-so-interesting side -- with Mercedes taking another 1-2 finish -- but Warner defends it by laying out all of the action outside of the race. The guys also talk about Lewis Hamilton’s legacy, considering the dominance of the Mercedes-AMG program this year. Following Formula 1, the team dives into the W Series -- the all-women racing series -- that starts this weekend at the Hockenheimring. The series leads to a lively discussion of why this is a good thing for motorsports as a whole. Wrapping the show, Warner talks about his own adventure lapping the Hockenheimring in a Mercedes-AMG GT Pro.

On this episode of “The Autoweek Podcast,” host Rory Carroll, Jake Lingeman and Wesley Wren give an honest assessment of John Travolta’s latest epic: “Trading Paint.” For those unaware of this movie (Ed note: I envy you), it’s a tale of turmoil and triumph on dirt short tracks in the Southern United States. Starring Travolta, Michael Madsen and Shania Twain, the movie tries to capture the romance and heart of dirt Late Model racing. Sadly, it misses the mark and might possibly be one of the strangest films about racing. It’s almost like David Lynch inspired some of the scenes and the film’s sense of time. Though, for fans of Lynch, the movie is actually surprisingly good.   As for its accuracy? Well, the podcast has Autoweek’s short-track expert Matt Weaver chime in to give his thoughts on the movie. Weaver gives the film credit for its accuracy to the sport, but, like the rest of the team, thought it was bad as a movie.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, Host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Jimmy Pelizzari and Robin Warner to talk about the past week in racing. The group kicks the show off with the 1000th Formula 1 race: The Chinese GP. Rory and crew dive deeply into the race and discuss their favorite parts. The continued dominance from Mercedes-AMG is brought up, as well as the problems with Ferrari. More importantly, Autoweek’s Formula 1 correspondent, Joe Saward, calls in to talk about the 1,000th race, the current status of F1 and the history of these 1,000 races. We also learn that Saward has been to over 500 F1 races in a row. Wrapping the show, Carroll describes his weekend at the Long Beach Grand Prix, and his experience at King Taco. More importantly, the gang talks about the IMSA and Indycar races that took place at the track. Both races were scrutinized through the same lens that people judge F1 races, and were deemed less exciting than standard sports car and Indycar races.

On this episode, host Rory Carroll joins Graham Kozak and Wesley Wren to talk about what’s going on in the world of cars. West Coast editor Mark Vaughn helps kick off the show by calling in and talking about his experience at The Race of Gentlemen event in Santa Barbara, California. This latest TROG moves the cars from the sand to the streets -- and the valves to the cylinder head. Of course, flathead-powered cars were allowed, too, but for the first time overhead valve-powered hot rods could compete.   After TROG talk, the group dives into a reader’s question about handing down a first-generation Mazda Miata with an aftermarket, bagless steering wheel to his son. The reader simply was asking if it’s a good idea to hand the Miata over with the aftermarket steering wheel or if he should slap an original wheel back in its place. If you want to know what the group thinks, listen to the show.   Wrapping the second weekly edition of the podcast, the group reviews the 2019 Jeep Wrangler JL Rubicon. Unsurprisingly, the crew loves the car. They go into detail about why it’s more livable than the outgoing platform but why it doesn’t lose its edge.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Wesley Wren and Jimmy Pelizzari to talk about a whole lot of racing. Tackling the NASCAR front, Matt Weaver calls in to talk about the state of the series and bring anyone up to speed who hasn’t been paying the closest attention to NASCAR this year. He also talks about the upcoming race schedule change and how it will affect certain tracks and the racing package as a whole.   After Weaver leaves, Rory receives breaking news: Tyler Reddick will drive a Chevrolet Camaro at the race at Bristol Motor Speedway with an incredibly cool Dolly Parton livery. From there, the guys dissect the F1 race at Bahrain and wax poetically about Charles Leclerc’s near-victory at the race. The team notes that Ferrari’s struggles from Australia seem to be ironed out -- or at least turned into new struggles.   From there, the show moves to an interview with IndyCar driver Max Chilton, who talks about the differences between F1 and IndyCar, the Month of May from a driver’s perspective and what it’s like being teammates with Fernando Alonso for the upcoming Indianapolis 500.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Jimmy Pelizzari and Robin Warner to talk about the start of the Formula 1 season. The gang dives into a discussion about the dominance of Mercedes, the struggles of Renault and the flop of Ferrari. The team also champions the Red Bull switch to Honda power and talks about the regulation changes made ahead of the 2019 season.   Aside from F1, the guys dissect the World Endurance Championship and IMSA race at Sebring -- tipping their hat to drivers who finished one race, only to hop in a different car to run again the following day. Pryson gives a recap of the NHRA’s “Unfinished Business” event. Wrapping the motorsport section, Al Pearce calls in to talk about Kyle Busch’s 200th win and where that falls in the history books.   Next, Jake Lingeman and Wesley Wren join Warner and Carroll to talk about the Audi e-tron all-electric SUV. The discussion leads to a philosophical debate about the evolution of electrification and the environment.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll is joined by Graham Kozak and Wesley Wren at the Detroit Autorama live on the show floor. Responsible for judging the multi-million dollar Ridler contenders Butch Patrico, the co-chair of the Autorama and the president of the Michigan Hot Rod Association, gives insight into judging a Ridler winning car. Patrico also talks about the Great 8 Finalists, the evolution of the Autorama and what it’s like to win the Ridler for the owner of the car. After Patrico, Mike Pryson interviews NHRA legend Joe Amato about his upcoming participation in the “unfinished business” race in Gainesville, Florida and his drag racing legacy. We learn that Amato might have stepped away from drag racing, but still has a desire for straight-line performance with his Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye -- a 797 hp powered pony car. Despite leaving the sport behind, Amato talks about keeping up with the sport and staying in touch with his racing peers. After the Amato interview, we head back to the show floor of the Detroit Autorama to talk with the focus of our “Inside the Thrash” series -- Scott Sheehan. For those unaware, Sheehan managed to slam together a 1927 Ford Model T roadster in the last minutes before the Autorama. He also gives the team a new game: Autorama Bingo.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson and Wesley Wren to talk about the 2019 Daytona 500. Adding to the mix, NASCAR enthusiast and Autoweek motorsports reporter Matt Weaver calls in to talk about what we learned from this year’s race. The guys dive into the implications -- or lack thereof -- of the race results and throw away their tinfoil hats as conspiracy theories are debunked. Friend of the show Killer Mike’s driver’s meeting is also a point of discussion. Afterward, Graham Kozak hops on a microphone to take part in the Autoweek Podcast’s only reoccurring feature -- The Pain of the Trivia Game. Rory asks questions from the 1985 edition of Autoweek’s poorly executed trivia game. Play along and submit your results below or send them to our executive producer. Wrapping the show, Jake Lingeman talks about the 2020 McLaren 600LT Spider and avoids talking about the McLaren 720S Spider -- though he does talk about driving the coupe variant.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Jimmy Pelizzari and Wesley Wren to dive into the upcoming NASCAR kickoff race at Daytona. Joining the group by phone, Al Pearce chimes in with his extensive knowledge of the series as well as his predictions of the upcoming race. The gang tries to tackle the changing rules headed for the 2019 NASCAR season. Afterward, the group discusses the constantly evolving NHRA landscape ahead of its first race in Pomona, California. Living legend Tony Schumacher will be watching the racing from the sidelines as his sponsorship for his Top Fuel dragster was pulled. Courtney Force and Tanner Gray also won’t be returning to the series. From there, the Pryson finally acknowledges that Fernando Alonso is more than just a hype machine, and might be the best living racer after his performance at the Rolex 24. Moving from the motorsport section, Graham Kozak hops on a mic to talk about the recent Grand National Roadster Show, the latest America’s Most Beautiful Roadster winner and the upcoming Detroit Autorama. Baked into that, you’ll find a 2019 Alfa Romeo Stelvio review.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll dissects this year’s Detroit auto show with Wesley Wren, Jake Lingeman and Mike Pryson. Obviously, the group talks about the various new cars revealed during the media days of the event -- namely, the Toyota Supra, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 and the Ram Heavy Duty pickups. The gang also talks about the future of the Detroit auto show and its upcoming move to the summer.   Before that, Mike Pryson talks with the vice president of IndyCar’s communications team, Curt Cavin, about new title sponsor NTT. The interview has Mike exploring the intent of the new sponsorship, as well as Curt’s history as a contributor for Autoweek and the Indianapolis Star.    From there, you can listen to Jake, Wesley and Mike talk to our own Jimmy Pelizzari as he gets ready for his trip to Atlanta, Michigan, to race in this year’s Sno*Drift Rally. This is the first year that Sno*Drift will be run under the American Rally Association’s banner, kicking off their season.   Wrapping the show, Jake and Rory discuss driving a BMW M2 Competition in the snow and if it’s the best way to have fun in the colder months.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll is joined by Mike Pryson, Jake Lingeman and Wesley Wren to dissect the Roar Before the 24 Hours of Daytona. Calling in, because he was actually there, is Steven Cole Smith with a report on what teams look strong, the hype surrounding Fernando Alonso and what you can expect from the upcoming IMSA race.   From there, Graham Kozak hops on a microphone to talk about the Mecum Kissimmee auction with the team. The group has a conversation with Mecum’s Dave Magers to get a feel for the current state of the classic car market, the auction world and more. Magers mentions some noteworthy cars slated to sell in the final weekend of the auction and talks about other Mecum auctions aside from the big Florida sale.   After that, Graham, Rory and Wesley dive into the first of the Autoweek and eBay Motors garage videos -- “the brake job.” The team talks about how the video shoot went behind the scenes, what Wesley’s first time behind a camera was like and what you can expect from upcoming videos.   Wrapping the show, Robin Warner joins the group to talk about the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo he recently drove. The group spins that to the Lamborghini Urus currently nestled in the Autoweek fleet.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Graham Kozak, Jake Lingeman and Wesley Wren to dive into Graham’s recent feature stories: revisiting Michigan’s U.P. with a pair of entry-level off-roaders and his trip to Ralph Lauren’s collection in New York. You might remember Wesley talking about the off-roading experience from his perspective from an earlier episode, but Graham adds to the story with his thoughts on the trip. As for his talk with Ralph Lauren, his tour of the collection and new found fashion tips all get their time to shine later in the episode. The gang also talk about some new metrics from the podcast -- so if you were interested in knowing how well the Autoweek Podcast does internationally, here’s where you’ll find it. Wrapping the show, Rory, Jake, Wesley and Graham all parse through the upcoming Chevrolet Silverado HD’s design. Some love it -- some hate it, and you can listen to all on the Autoweek Podcast.

On this special episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Graham Kozak, Wesley Wren and Jake Lingeman to talk about the 2008 film “Speed Racer.” Directed by the Wachowskis -- hot of their success with “The Matrix” -- the movie didn’t generate quite the box office success or critical acclaim likely expected during its release, though the gang seems to appreciate it a decade later. If you haven’t seen the movie: don’t worry -- Rory and crew tackle a comprehensive plot summary before picking apart the parts of the movie they liked best. The team also takes questions from Twitter. Is the movie good? Find out on this holiday special.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Wesley Wren and Jimmy Pelizzari on a phone call with resident NASCAR reporter Matt Weaver to talk about Brett Moffitt losing his NASCAR Camping World Truck Series seat for 2019. Weaver also guides the group through his recent trip to the Snowball Derby. After the call, Wesley swaps seats with Robin Warner, and the gang jumps into one of the most hotly debated office topics -- Fernando Alonso’s legacy. The team goes through Alonso’s career and debates the merits of the now-retired F1 driver. It’s also unearthed that Rory drove Alonso’s La Ferrari. Wrapping the show, Pryson talks with NHRA Top Fuel Dragster champion Steve Torrence. Listen below, on iTunes, Spotify or anywhere podcasts are played.