Rephonic
Artwork for It's Not the Car
Indy 500
Le Mans
Porsche
Gilles Villeneuve
Formula One
Indycar
Road America
1979 United States Grand Prix
Ferrari 333 SP
NASCAR
Mille Miglia
Engineering Approach In Racing
Can-Am Series
Roger Penske
Mark Donohue
Wind Tunnels
Watkins Glen
IMSA
Mclaren F1
Racing Technology

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. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer with time in NASCAR and IMSA. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. We don’t love motorsport for the nuts and bol... more

PublishesWeeklyEpisodes90Founded2 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
LeisureAutomotive

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Artwork for It's Not the Car

Latest Episodes

IndyCar is a gnarly old series, and 2025 was one of the sport’s gnarliest seasons. So we asked the one and only Marshall Pruett to break it all down—own the mic, spit Palou truth, don’t hold back.

(That’s Pruett's secret—he never holds back.)

Selec... more

Picture it: Your scrappy little pro race team has a rough 2024. The next year, out of nowhere, you win Daytona. Then the whole gang takes its first trip to Le Mans and lands a killer finish.

The rest of Jeff Braun's 2025 IMSA season was, to quote Je... more

More than 150 corners. Twelve point nine miles. History out the wazoo, big fun, big challenge to drive quickly. The Nürburgring Nordschleife is basically the world’s greatest race track.

Wanna go? Of course you do! How convenient—Ross just got back ... more

Little ditty... 'bout a race and a Speedway! Two Indy names, growin’ up in the heartland. Race gonna make the front page of the Indy Star? Speedway gonna something something… uh... museum... race... car!

Yeah, sure, that makes sense! Don't tell me i... more

Key Facts

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Recent Guests

Marshall Pruett
One of the world's most accomplished motorsport journalists and an old friend of the hosts.
Racer.com
Episode: Speedway Truth Bombs! — (2025 IndyCar Season Recap) — w/ Marshall Pruett
Chris Andrews
Lead engineer for the Vassar Sullivan IMSA team, former NASCAR engineer and crew chief
Vassar Sullivan IMSA team
Episode: How NASCAR Cheats – Part 2! — w/ Chris Andrews
Kyle Kinard
Freelance automotive journalist
Episode: INTC Movie Club – “Days of Thunder” (1990)
Baptiste Viala
A systems engineer and data specialist working with AWA Racing at Le Mans.
AWA Racing
Episode: The Drama of Your First Le Mans — w/ Baptiste Viala
Jeff Braun
Co-host and competition director at AWA Racing
AWA Racing
Episode: The Secret Life of an IMSA Team
Nick Ienatsch
Winning motorcycle road racer and instructor
Yamaha Champions Riding School
Episode: Two-Wheel Science 101 — w/Nick Ienatsch
Vaughn Gittin, Jr.
Two-time Formula Drift champion, champion off-road racer, and factory Ford driver
RTR Vehicles
Episode: Drifting is Harder Than You Think — w/Vaughn Gittin, Jr.
Dr. Sue Jackson
World-renowned researcher and psychologist specializing in flow state
Queensland University of Technology
Episode: Flowing Into the Zone — w/Dr. Sue Jackson
Tony Quiroga
Editor in Chief of Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Episode: Inside Car and Driver's "Lightning Lap" — w/Tony Quiroga

Hosts

Sam Smith
Sam is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine, known for his storytelling abilities and deep knowledge of motorsport and automotive culture.
Jeff Braun
Jeff is a champion race engineer with experience in both NASCAR and IMSA, providing technical insights and engineering prowess to the discussions on racing.
Ross Bentley
Ross is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach, bringing a wealth of knowledge and personal anecdotes related to racing and driver performance.

Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars from 339 ratings
  • Like Peter Egan in audio

    Great stories with topic and format changes that keep me interested. Thanks for the content!

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Brewster Baker's no.1 fan
    United States3 months ago
  • The Story of Narcissus

    Sam the host is a bit pompous like he often listens to his own voice

    I'd wager every other sentence said is for him and not the audience

    Apple Podcasts
    3
    NiMiDesign
    United States5 months ago
  • Think like a racer

    Road raced competitively for 10 years. Everything the best coaches and mentors told me comes up here, and then some. Ego vs mastery orientation in golfers is discussed by a famous sports psychologist. This is mastery race car engineering and driving. And they take polite shots at the ego folks, which is simply fun.

    I’m faster in a PC sim racecar employing a handful of nuggets from this pod as well.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    late_apex
    United States5 months ago
  • An explorative and thorough podcast about everything surrounding “The Car“

    So I’m going to try to not go onto 16 different tangents because there’s no way I’ll ever hold a candle to Sam Smith in that talent to do so. Trying to encapsulate the greatness of this podcast in a review is confounding. The chemistry in that the three hosts have with one another is enviable. Their ability to deep dive the automotive engineering principles, the human mind, and the way they intertwine is something you just have to listen to and behold. This is not a podcast where you give it a s... more

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Hatepylons
    United States6 months ago
  • Love the show

    As an auto racing fan, this show is a must for anyone who is interested in the people that make racing so fun.

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    OldF150
    Canada6 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Fantastic podcast, glad to have found it.
The chemistry the hosts have with one another is enviable.
Great stories with topic and format changes that keep me interested.
Great storytelling with insights into the emotional aspects of racing.
This podcast speaks to me as a self-confessed motorsport nerd.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Speedway Truth Bombs! — (2025 IndyCar Season Recap) — w/ Marshall Pruett
Q: What does Alex Palou's work ethic look like?
People from Ganassi emphasize that Palou's work ethic is extraordinary, paralleling it with the dedication seen in other top racing drivers.
Speedway Truth Bombs! — (2025 IndyCar Season Recap) — w/ Marshall Pruett
Q: Where is Dixon at?
Scott Dixon is in a challenging position as he tries to adapt to the dominance of Alex Palou, facing new challenges in his career later on.
Listener Q&A: Track-Day Focus for Beginners
Q: How can drivers maintain the human element in the mix with new automotive technologies?
Drivers need to adapt to changes in feedback and focus on isolating their senses to better understand the car's dynamics.
Listener Q&A: Track-Day Focus for Beginners
Q: What would you say are the three most important things to focus on as you progress through HPDEs?
Listen to your instructor, focus on vision, balance, and controls depending on what needs improvement.
The Drama of Your First Le Mans — w/ Baptiste Viala
Q: What did you learn from the experience at Le Mans?
Baptiste reflects that it was a stress test for their team and highlighted areas for improvement in communication and organization, which he hopes will benefit their future work in IMSA.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

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Frequently Asked Questions About It's Not the Car

What is It's Not the Car about and what kind of topics does it cover?

This podcast focuses on captivating stories from the world of racing, emphasizing the human experiences and emotions intertwined with speed and performance on the track. The hosts, who each bring unique expertise from their backgrounds in IndyCar racing, race engineering, and automotive journalism, discuss a variety of themes, including car handling, the psychology behind racing, and the complex dynamics of sponsorship. Their engaging conversations often weave personal anecdotes with technical insights, making each episode both informative and entertaining. What sets this podcast apart is its ability to explore deep emotional connections with motorsport while celebrating the unique characters and narratives within the automotive community.

Where can I find podcast stats for It's Not the Car?

Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for It's Not the Car. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to It's Not the Car and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

How many listeners does It's Not the Car get?

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What are the audience demographics for It's Not the Car?

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How many subscribers and views does It's Not the Car have?

To see how many followers or subscribers It's Not the Car has on Spotify and other platforms such as Castbox and Podcast Addict, simply upgrade your account. You'll also find viewership figures for their YouTube channel if they have one.

Which podcasts are similar to It's Not the Car?

These podcasts share a similar audience with It's Not the Car:

1. Dinner with Racers
2. The Smoking Tire
3. The Carmudgeon Show
4. The Marshall Pruett Podcast
5. Spike's Car Radio

How many episodes of It's Not the Car are there?

It's Not the Car launched 2 years ago and published 90 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

How do I contact It's Not the Car?

Our systems regularly scour the web to find email addresses and social media links for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the contact information that we could find in our podcast database. But in the unlikely event that you can't find what you're looking for, our concierge service lets you request our research team to source better contacts for you.

Where can I see ratings and reviews for It's Not the Car?

Rephonic pulls ratings and reviews for It's Not the Car from multiple sources, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Castbox, and Podcast Addict.

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What guests have appeared on It's Not the Car?

Recent guests on It's Not the Car include:

1. Marshall Pruett
2. Chris Andrews
3. Kyle Kinard
4. Baptiste Viala
5. Jeff Braun
6. Nick Ienatsch
7. Vaughn Gittin, Jr.
8. Dr. Sue Jackson

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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