Victory Junction is the organization this charity ride is helping. It’s a cause connected to racing that supports kids who are dealing with serious health challenges.
Topic
Inferno
“Inferno” here sounds like a named part of the show. It’s basically when the discussion shifts into the main guest conversation.
The segment references the Coca-Cola 600, a major NASCAR race. Mentioning it in the context of Kyle Petty and the Wood Brothers highlights the racing pedigree and the kind of events tied to his career and team history.
A dirt bike is a motorcycle made for riding on dirt and trails, not regular streets. They’re talking about it as a fun, exciting “right of passage” for their kids.
The Dodge Road Runner is an older American car that was built to be fast. People remember it because it has a big-engine feel and a distinctive look. The podcast mention sounds like it’s tied to a personal memory of driving or seeing one.
A go-kart is a small racing vehicle you drive, usually at low speeds compared to cars. They mention it to say they didn’t do that step before moving on to motorcycles and then cars.
They’re talking about a big charity ride that goes across the country. This one is the 30th time they’re doing it, and the route is planned around famous places in the U.S.
They bring up Buddy Baker, a well-known racing name, to explain how racing culture ran in their circle. It’s part of the story of how they learned to ride before racing cars.
They’re also riding part of Route 66. Route 66 is famous in the U.S. for car trips and road-trip culture, and they’re doing it for its 100-year celebration.
“Riding the Dragon” is a nickname for a very twisty, famous road. People go there because it’s challenging and fun to drive through carefully.
Concept
security guards / secret service
The conversation mentions security logistics for a high-profile guest (Herschel Walker) and compares it to needing Secret Service. While not a car topic, it’s relevant to understanding the operational side of large rides—how security requirements can affect who can participate and what support is needed.
“Pit calls” are the decisions teams make about when to pit, what to do during the stop (tires, fuel, adjustments), and how to time it relative to cautions and track position. In NASCAR, pit strategy can swing a team’s finishing position and points outcome.
They’re talking about NASCAR changing how the season is run and how points are earned. That can change what teams do during races—like when they pit—because they may need to score points, not just finish first.
They’re talking about a points/qualification threshold where only the best group of drivers moves on. So teams may focus on finishing in a position that keeps them in the hunt, even if they’re not racing for first.
NASCAR races are broken into parts, and you can earn extra points in each part. Even if you’re not going to win the whole race, you can still score by doing well in the stages.
They’re saying the Toyota cars have been doing really well lately. That usually means the teams running Toyotas are setting them up well and executing better than others.
It means cars spend a lot of time chasing the car in front instead of taking big risks. The host says the real intensity shows up more when you’re not near the front.
The regular season is the main part of the racing year where drivers try to earn points. Those points help decide who gets into the playoff races later.
Daytona is a famous race track where NASCAR often kicks off the season. The host is using it to say the season has already moved along.
Term
pressure is mounting
“Pressure is mounting” reflects how NASCAR standings dynamics tighten as the season moves forward. As points become harder to make up, drivers and teams push harder for results, especially around the regular-season midpoint and beyond.
An electric vehicle (EV) runs on electricity stored in a battery, not gasoline. In racing, that matters because teams have to manage battery power and plan around how energy is used during a race. It’s a different kind of engineering challenge than traditional gas cars.
NASCAR has different racing series, and some are named after sponsors. Here, they’re talking about the O’Reilly Auto Parts series and whether electric or crossover-style vehicles could show up in NASCAR. That would change how teams build and race the cars.
A crossover is like a car-SUV hybrid—usually built on a car platform and meant to be more comfortable and practical than a traditional SUV. Mentioning it in NASCAR suggests they’re considering different vehicle shapes than the usual race cars. That could affect how the cars look and how they handle.
“Threading the needle” means trying to balance two things that don’t perfectly match. In this case, it’s about keeping NASCAR exciting while also figuring out how new vehicle tech (like EVs) could fit. The challenge is doing it without losing what makes the sport appealing.
The Ford Probe is a sporty Ford car, usually a two-door, meant to drive more like a performance car than a basic commuter. People bring it up when talking about how a car is designed to feel and handle. In this episode, it sounds like it’s being used as an example in a discussion about engineering and performance.
“Bleeding edge” just means the newest, most experimental technology. The point here is that you don’t always need to use the absolute newest engine/motor tech to have a good race product.
OEMs are the regular car companies that build the vehicles. In racing, they can have a lot of influence on what technology and direction the sport follows.
A “five to 10 year project” highlights the long lead times required for major powertrain and racing-platform decisions. Motorsport programs often need years for development, testing, homologation, and infrastructure alignment.
Qualifying is the session that sets where each car starts the race. If you qualify well, you usually have a better chance to avoid crashes and get to the front.
“Logging laps” means getting track time during practice/qualifying/race—important for learning the car’s handling and building confidence. For a debut, the hosts imply the priority is to complete laps reliably rather than take unnecessary risks.
Fuel saving means driving a little more gently so you don’t run out of gas before the race ends. Late in the race, that can affect how fast drivers can go and how aggressively they can race.
They’re talking about a recent NASCAR race at a track in Kansas. The point is that TV coverage and audience reach can vary by where and when races are run.
Topic
NASCAR Rally Auto Parts series
They’re mentioning a NASCAR series that has a sponsor name attached. The discussion is mainly about which TV networks carry it and how that affects how many people see the races.
IndyCar is the top open-wheel racing series in the U.S. They’re using it as an example of a motorsports product that stays on major TV networks and grows its audience.
They’re talking about NASCAR’s TV/streaming contract that includes Amazon. The claim is that it’s helped reach new viewers and the race broadcasts have been strong.
They’re discussing a change in where races are shown—less on the big free TV channels and more on cable/other services. The question is whether that strategy will eventually bring ratings back up.
Bristol is a famous NASCAR track where races are typically very intense because it’s a short track. They’re saying the Bristol race drew unexpectedly low TV ratings for the time of year.
The NASCAR Cup Series is NASCAR’s biggest, top-tier racing league. They’re talking about how fewer people are watching it on TV at the start of the season, and that could affect how NASCAR negotiates future TV contracts.
O’Reilly is a sponsor connected to a NASCAR series. The hosts are saying that series is getting more viewers over time, especially because it’s shown on regular network TV.
Term
green light checkered scenarios
This phrase is about how a race ends—whether it finishes normally under racing speed (green) or gets affected by late cautions. The point is that the final result can feel unpredictable when the race finishes in a certain way.
It means the car didn’t have enough fuel left to keep running. When that happens in a race, it can force other drivers and teams to adjust their plans right away.
A restart is when the race starts moving at full speed again after a slowdown. The first moments after the restart are crucial because position can change fast.
Three wide means three cars are trying to fit next to each other at the same time. It’s more dangerous because there’s less room, and mistakes can lead to contact.
Concept
ricocheted in the back
It sounds like the car got hit and then bounced around after the impact. That kind of contact can mess up how the car handles, so it’s harder to drive fast afterward.
“Bottom” usually means driving as close to the inside of the track as possible. Whether it’s a good idea depends on grip and how the car is behaving that lap.
“Balance” is how steady the car feels in the turns. If it’s “good enough,” the driver can still manage the car, even if they had a couple of rough moments.
Overtime is NASCAR’s way of adding extra laps so the race can end with racing under green lights. If there’s a late caution, they try again so the finish is more exciting and fair.
A “plate” is a NASCAR engine restriction used at some big tracks to slow the cars down. The hosts mention it while talking about why superspeedway races should end under green.
A green-flag finish means the race ends while everyone is racing normally, not slowed down by a caution. The hosts prefer this because it usually leads to more dramatic, competitive endings.
“Yellow” is NASCAR’s caution—cars slow down and drivers can’t race at full speed. The hosts are saying fans usually want the race to end under green instead of during a caution.
Stage racing breaks a NASCAR event into multiple segments, each with its own competitive goals and timing. The speaker argues that stage lengths (98 laps, then 45-lap stages) don’t fully eliminate fuel-saving tactics because teams can still plan fuel usage around the stage boundaries.
Track position means where you are on the track relative to other cars. In NASCAR, being near the front can help you go faster because you can work with other cars and avoid getting stuck behind them.
Drafting is when cars benefit from the air created by the car in front. If the cars behind can’t get around the ones ahead, they can’t really race at full speed, even if they want to.
They’re arguing about whether racing drivers (and golfers) count as athletes. The hosts point out that racing takes real physical effort and mental concentration.
They’re talking about how race cars can be extremely hot inside. Drivers often wear a cooling suit that circulates liquid to help keep them from overheating.
G-forces are how hard a car is accelerating compared to normal gravity. In racing, turning and braking can push your body really hard, which is why drivers train for it.
A “cold suit” is a driver cooling garment that relies on a functioning liquid-cooling system. If it fails, the driver can overheat quickly because the suit is no longer removing heat effectively, which can become dangerous in hot conditions.
A driving simulator is like a video game, but it’s built to mimic how a real car drives. Even though you’re sitting still, it can be harder than it looks because you still have to brake, steer, and react at the right times.
In a simulator, “difficulty” is basically how much help the game gives you. Harder settings usually make the car harder to control and punish mistakes faster.
LIVE
It's time for Bringing the Heat with Trey Lyle.
What is up, ladies and gentlemen? Welcome on in to another edition of Bringing the Heat with Trey Lyle.
I am the aforementioned Trey Lyle.
Joining me today is a great show.
We got Stephen Stumpf joining us for, I believe, the first time this season after his trip to Kansas this past weekend.
But first, we get to Kyle Petty.
Yes, the great Kyle Petty will join us for his, to celebrate, to talk about his 30th edition of Kyle Petty.
Kyle Petty charity ride across America that's coming up to support Victory Junction in May.
So we sit down with Kyle Petty, talk about the journey of the charity ride across America, how it came together.
The first stops, why some stops are so special to him, including the start in Sonoma, plus his thoughts on the season so far.
So the great Kyle Petty now heads in to the Inferno.
Now, it's time for crowd of over 160,000 is on their feet, cheering for Kyle Petty.
In the middle of turn three, now he's in turn four.
If he can just get it home safely, he says.
Kyle Petty now the short shoot on the front straightaway.
Kyle Petty is going to win the Coca Cola 600.
What a day for Kyle Petty and the Wood Brothers team.
And the Wood Brothers are jubilant there in victory lane.
To go into the Inferno with Brian.
Welcoming into the Inferno, truly a fun guest.
It feels like we have this conversation, whether it's myself or Brian Nolan every year with Kyle Petty.
But it is always fun to celebrate the Kyle Petty charity ride across America.
The 30th year of this happening.
KP, what does that mean to you to hear that big number 30 feels like a big, big number for you starting this in 1995.
But ultimately, what is this ride across America mean for you?
Yeah, it's crazy, man.
It is a big number.
And I'm fascinated by it because I didn't think we were going to last three years and here we are 30 years.
And you know what?
It just speaks volumes for the people who believe in it and who have been a part of it through the years from every celebrity rider to every rider that just saw it on the internet or saw us pass through their town and decided they'd do it.
And obviously, obviously, the focus being victory junction and sending kids to camp has helped us because that's what this is all about.
It's all about raising, riding motorcycles and us having a good time, but raising enough funds to send kids to camp to be able to change their lives and for them to have a good time.
So, you know, you throw a fun time with a good cause and it's going to stick around for a while.
So let's go back.
It's 1995.
You're doing this for the first time.
Did you ever imagine and you sort of already said this, but I do when I ask you, did you ever imagine you're prepping for your 30th?
It seems pretty insane.
No, listen, it was crazy.
That first year, we just wanted to ride motorcycles from California to North Carolina.
We decided we'd do it for charity and we stopped at some children's hospitals and we did some stuff and that kind of became our MO.
That's what we did those first three or four years, four or five years.
And then when Adam's accident happened in 2000, then we focused all the money on getting camp started and the doors opened in 2004 at camp.
And that's where every dollar that we've raised has gone since.
But no, no, I don't think I think when we started the ride, it was let's get back to North Carolina and then we, we did it again.
And then it's like, okay, let's do it one more time and then let's quit.
And then we decided we'd do it till five and here we are 10, 15, 20, 25.
And here we are at 30 and it's still going strong.
And listen, I tell people all the time, I've got three little boys, Overton and Cotton in the van.
And someday it's going to be changed from the Cow Petty charity ride to the Petty Boys charity ride.
And they're going to keep doing it so they can send kids to camp.
I was going to ask you that.
Are you, I saw you posted on Twitter a photo of them riding dirt bikes.
I was like, are you, you're already bringing in the prep I see.
Listen, my dad bought me my first motorcycle when I was five or six.
And anytime any, all these little boys, when they turn five, when Overton turned five, he got a dirt bike.
When Cotton turned five, he got a dirt bike.
The van turns four this year and he's jonesing for one right now.
He's a little bit ahead of the other two, but when he gets five, he'll get his dirt bike.
And that's, that's the way it is.
You just grew up on them.
And who would have ever thought when I was five or six years old that the thing that I was having the most fun and life on that someday would help other people.
And that's kind of the way I look at the motorcycle.
Harley Davidson's been behind us for so long as a partner in this.
But a motorcycle can, can make dreams come true for kids.
Okay. I have to ask, since your dad is Richard Petty, when he hands you a two wheel, you're like, dad, where's my four?
Was that what was your reaction when you were five years old?
Like I'm used to seeing you race four wheels, let alone two.
Yeah, we didn't.
So it's funny.
I tell people this all the time.
So I got a motorcycle when I was five.
And by the time I was in the first and second grade, we had a, we had an old road runner and I'd drive it to the end of the driveway and set in it and wait for the bus to come and run the heat.
Never had a go cart.
So I went straight from a two wheeler at six or seven years old to driving a car.
And that's kind of, that was my transition.
So it was only fitting that when I was 17, 18 and started driving a race car a little bit young.
But, you know, we, we, we just, my dad had dirt bikes.
Buddy Baker had dirt bikes when he drove for my dad and they would come to the house and we just ride dirt bikes.
And that's what everybody did.
That's a, that's a pretty good way to learn Richard Petty, buddy Baker.
That's a, that's not a bad to learn how to ride from.
So you're starting in Sonoma.
This event, by the way, starts May 1st, beginning at Sonoma at the racetrack.
What ultimately, obviously you mentioned you started, you started in California, but why pick Sonoma is kind of the start for this special occasion.
So what we used to do is we just looked at the race schedule when the race schedule would come out and we were on the West Coast, we'd say, let's ride back.
Sonoma was always in June then is kind of when it was.
And, you know, that, that first year we left Sonoma left the racetrack a few of us did and we rode down to the 49ers training camp and that's, that's kind of where we started.
We left there from, from down towards south of San Francisco and then we went south down the LA and over to Vegas and down the Phoenix.
I mean, we kind of weaved our way back across.
So we kind of took the starting point as being Sonoma and that first year we ended at a little restaurant down from Charlotte Motor Speedway called Sandwich Construction Company where most of the teams used to go for launch.
So this year we're ending at Charlotte Motor Speedway because sandwich construction is not there anymore.
So we're in the general vicinity of where we started.
We're in the general vicinity of where we ended and we connected it because it's America's 250th birthday.
It's the Centennial for Highway 50.
So we're going to ride part of Highway 50, the loneliest road in America.
We're going to ride part of Route 66.
It's the Centennial of Route 66.
So we're going to ride part of that.
We're going to Graceland.
We're going to Bass Pro Shop.
There's not a better American success story than Johnny Morris and Bass Pro.
We're going to Chattanooga to the Cochrane Museum.
We're going to the Willstow Time Museum.
We're riding the Dragon, which is 11 miles of highway that has more turns than any other piece of highway in America.
So we're we're we've kind of incorporated a multitude of things into our year this year.
It's our 30th.
It's America's 250 and we're going to do American things.
Okay. I do want to ask you two bucket list questions of this.
You have, as you mentioned, you've made many stops throughout the entire 30 years of this.
Is there still places that you want to like knock off the list of like,
I would love to, if we can make it work, like ride through here.
You've gotten 48 of the 50 states.
I think it's a little hard to get Alaska and Hawaii, but good luck.
That's possible. It's possible.
Alaska is definitely possible.
Yeah, it's possible.
Yeah.
Yeah, I, you know, I don't know, you know, I think, listen, we've seen the world's largest ball of twine and Darwin, Minnesota, the world's largest pop pan up in Traverse City, Michigan.
I mean, we have, we have seen some of the world's largest forks, the world's largest chairs.
We've done things like that.
We've seen the Grand Canyon.
We've been the Bryce Canyon.
We've been the Moab.
We've been to so many national parks and so many state parks.
We've been down along the border into Lajitas, Texas, way, way as far south as you can go down through Del Rio and down that way.
We've been far north as Maine and as far south as Key Largo.
So we've been a little bit of everywhere in this country.
There's not many places that we haven't passed within at least 50 or 100 miles.
So I'm not sure there's many places that I've been or that we haven't been.
There's a lot of places that I would like to go back to.
There's a lot of places up around Oregon and Washington state down through Arkansas.
Love Arkansas.
Love Utah down in the New Mexico.
There's a lot of places I'd like to go back to.
Well, you've had plenty of guests join you.
So this is going to be the second part of my question.
I know you got from Matt Kenseth, Mike Helton, Clint Boyer, Ken Schrader, Kenny Wallace, David Reagan, Rutledge Wood, Rick Allen, Bill Davidson all joining you.
Your dad's joining you.
Is there still someone on your list that you would be like, man, if I could just get them for a little bit of a stretch, it would be a pretty cool time.
Listen, I keep trying to talk Dale Jr. into it, but I don't think he's ever going to get on a motorcycle.
I think his dad taught him the exact opposite.
Stay away from him.
Stay away from him.
You know what?
It's so funny.
You know, Herschel Walker has gone with us for a number of years and now he's the ambassador to the Bahamas.
So he couldn't go this year unless he brought his security guards and he said, you don't need secret service on this ride.
Not like I hear you, brother.
But you know, it is, here's the thing is for Kenny Wallace and Kenny Schrader and Matt and those guys, they come on the ride and we refer to them as celebrities.
After they're on the ride, they're just another rider and our riders embrace them.
They don't care whether Kenny Wallace ever drove a race car or talked, run his mouth on TV.
They don't care.
They don't care whether Matt Kenseth ever won a championship or whether Richard Petty did.
They're just another rider on the motorcycle.
And that's the deal.
If you're that kind of celebrity and you want to come on and just be one of the people on the ride, then it's always open.
At Kyle Petty at KP Charity Ride at KylePettyCharityRide.com is where you can visit and learn more information.
Kyle, I will end with this.
Just some thoughts on the season so far in NASCAR.
I have to ask you one NASCAR question in all of this because you are an analyst.
What are your world thoughts?
Ty Gibbs, we're recording this right before, right after Bristol.
Ty Gibbs just coming off the win.
What are your thoughts on this season so far, given the new format?
So listen, I think it's been a good season.
I think the format has changed racing, changed the way some of the pit calls are made.
It's not a win in your end, man.
You got to make some points.
And we're seeing guys, some guys who know they have a 12th or 15th place car,
staying out, trying to get some stage points to get those points to be in that top 16.
Because that's where it's at.
And we see guys just hanging on in that top 15 or 16.
The Toyotas have been strong.
The Toyotas have been incredibly strong.
Even if you take Tyler Reddick and his phenomenal start to the year and what he's done this year,
you take that out, the Toyotas have been strong.
Ty Gibbs has been extremely strong.
Even if you look at everything that he's done, he may be the strongest Toyota.
When you look at it from what he's been able to put together and strain together.
I think that puts a lot of pressure on the Christopher Bales and the Chase Briskos and the Bubba Wallace.
My car is strong and it's time to step up.
I need to win something.
So I think you look at that.
I think the Chevy's have been a little bit farther off than what I thought they were going to be this year.
I will say that, but they've got a new body.
Give them time.
The Fords have shown speed some places or some of the Fords have and some of the Fords haven't.
And that's an internal thing that they have to work on.
But I think the racing on the racetrack has been good.
Maybe not everything you see on TV because sometimes on TV,
all they seem to do is follow the leader or follow the second or third place guy.
But when you get back to fifth, sixth, seventh or you get back to 15th,
those guys are driving like their life depends on it.
And there's been some good races.
So I think it's been a solid, solid year and a solid start to the year.
I find it fascinating that we're eight races in,
which means we're a third of the way through the regular season,
which it seems like we just started the season in Daytona not long ago.
So the pressure is mounting on all these guys to go out and score points.
And it's going to be interesting in these next few races.
Kyle Petty at Kyle Petty on Twitter at KP charity ride.
If you want more information about his stops and where he'll be,
Kyle Petty charity ride.com KP always fun to chat about this.
Wish you the best of luck on the ride as a son of a man who has a Harley.
I appreciate Harley Davidson as well.
So always appreciate this time and good luck on the ride.
And hoping that we increase the 23 million RA raised for victory junction.
Yeah, you will man.
Thanks for helping us out.
We appreciate it.
That was Kyle Petty in the Inferno.
It's time to upgrade you on the latest news in NASCAR.
Bringing Kim into the program now.
Steven underscore stomp.
Steven stomp here.
Steven, what's up my man?
Hope you're doing well.
Let's dive right into the news.
Interesting comments from John prose of NASCAR recently about the possible first electric vehicle
as well as changes to the O'Reilly auto parts series.
Let's start with this.
One day using a crossover vehicle or maybe an EV vehicle in the NASCAR O'Reilly auto parts series.
He said, there is certainly a needle to be threaded there along the line of entertainment and sport.
Maybe you can even go beyond sport and just say pure engineering probe said.
I think for us, I feel like we don't need to be on the absolute bleeding edge of powertrain technology
prevalent to our OEMs and also entertaining to our fans.
Do want to add a couple of notes.
This is nothing is imminent.
This could be a five to 10 year project.
According to Mike Ford, this is from holler talk.
The EV NASCAR developed was cited as an example of this type of planning as it started developing it with respect to market consumer interest in EVs about five years ago.
Obviously demand has fallen off in that time, but NASCAR has the technology ready if need to for recognize the negative reaction online to process quote that took off and made a point.
The NASCAR will listen to its fans and we'll take that into account.
NASCAR has done done any fan council surveys on this matter yet and doesn't know if they will do or not.
I brought up how good O'Reilly is doing now with some of its best ratings.
Ultimately, Stephen, where do you stand on this?
Do you think that the NASCAR O'Reilly auto parts series should kind of stay where it's at in terms of the product it puts out on the track or down the line?
Could NASCAR change kind of the brand's identity?
Well, me personally, I hope it stays exactly where it's at.
The ratings are way up in the series.
The O'Reilly car seems to be still the best product of the three series so far.
That series is on the rise.
I wouldn't say it's completely perfect, but it's probably as close to perfect as you can be at the moment.
But I think it just shows how much power the OEMs and the pull they have.
They're an important part of the sport.
If they want to go a different direction, they will.
If NASCAR feels that they need to go a different direction, they will.
It's unfortunate because I feel like the product we have is so great.
But I think the good news is that it sounds like if anything does happen, it's not going to be for quite a long time.
So that's kind of my hope.
I think, you know, need to be prepared in the event that changes do happen.
But for now, let's just enjoy the series as much as we can while it's still the way it is.
Yeah, it's their best product.
I think it's their best pure racing product in terms of what you see each week.
And it's difficult for me to see them try to change something in which they have such a good on-track product in the NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts series.
Well, someone who's made a couple of NASCAR O'Reilly Auto Parts series starts this season, was Daniel Dye.
He's obviously most notably from his recent suspension to the comments he made online,
but has been since reinstated after going through sensitivity training.
He will now race in the NASCAR Cup series starting this week in a Talladega.
He also competed in Okinawa, Daytona, and the fall Talladega race with Live Fast Motorsports.
Steven, quite interesting journey for Daniel Dye.
Dye these past couple of months, but overall thoughts on him starting out with a chance now there are over the limit in terms of open cars this week.
With a chance to make his Cup series debut this week in a Talladega.
Well, well, first of all, before we think about him making a debut, like you said, we need to make sure that, you know, when you look to see who qualifies first,
you've got the 33 at Jesse Love with RCR, you've got the 44 at Joey Gase and NY Racing,
you've got the 62, Casey Mears with Beard, you've got the 66, Chad Fincham with Carl Long,
and then you've got the 78, Daniel Dye with Fast.
I think he should be able to make this show.
I think the last spot is going to be a battle between the 44 and 66 cars in qualifying to see who gets it.
But, you know, if he makes the show, I think it's just going to be a matter of staying out of trouble, you know, logging laps, making it to the finish.
And I feel like that's going to be most of the racing we see, especially in the first half of the race with the 98 lap stage,
you know, to have to, you know, curb the fuel saving towards the very end.
But again, I think, you know, in terms of what to expect out of Daniel Dye from a debut,
I think just, you know, log laps, you know, log laps, stay out of trouble,
and, you know, try and be there towards the end is the best, you know, he and one could hope for.
Well, Talladega's going to be on Big Fox like it was this past weekend at Kansas.
But, Stephen, I have to give you credit for this.
You kind of did the research, so we'll say this is a Stephen sizzling stat, if you know, you know.
But between March 1st, so we're going a little bit back in time.
In October 25th, there are only three races on network television.
Yes, you heard that right. Only three on network television.
Stephen, they got a lot of money for this new TV deal.
But ultimately, they result in not being on network TV or not having that network exposure as much,
where we've seen growth from two places that are always on network TV,
the NASCAR Rally Auto Parts series, as well as the IndyCar series,
which are both on CW and Fox respectively.
Overall, do you think NASCAR is regretting its decision on taking maybe more money for less exposure,
where they maybe could have taken slightly less money for more exposure?
So I'll start off by saying I don't think they're regretting the Amazon part of the deal.
The viewership is showing that they're reaching audiences that they wouldn't have reached before.
And the coverage of those races has been damn near flawless.
It's been fantastic. It's kind of raised the bar for the coverage of these races, which I think is a plus.
Everything else, everything else though, not good.
I remember thinking about the state of the sport address at the end of Phoenix in the 2025 season,
and NASCAR was talking about how they knew ratings-wise they were going to take a hit this year
with fewer races on network TV, more on cable, and so on.
But what they wanted to look for was seeing an increase starting in 2026 for every race
and kind of building their way back up with the new normal.
But we are not seeing that.
The ratings, at least the start of the season, are keep going down.
Bristol was especially shocking. We got 1.9 million viewers in an April race that wasn't delayed on Fox Sports 1.
That was, I think, the first sub-2 million race on Fox Sports 1 ever that wasn't delayed,
which again is just shocking.
The ratings just aren't looking up at the moment for the start of the cup season.
On the other hand, the O'Reilly series, the CW, they continue to see increases year over year.
That series is doing fantastic in viewership, and just having it on network TV has done it so much good.
We're not seeing that with the cup series at the moment, and they need to turn around the decreases
because it's going to be a long six years until 2032 when they can renegotiate a new deal.
At the moment, I'd say they look to be in trouble in that regard.
Yeah, absolutely. It's fascinating because I do think there's a lot of buzz around what Amazon and TNT brought,
and the fact that you're on streaming services like Amazon Prime and HBO Max, I think are really good things.
It will be fascinating to see.
Now, there are a lot of factors that could lead to ratings being down and so on and so forth,
and we only have one and a third sample size of this.
So there is a long way to go.
Well, a guy who wished maybe we go back to another way of doing things is Denny Hamlin,
as he is now our focus for the soundbite of the week.
I just, I got beat by that a few years ago, and I just, I knew in my mind that the top is supposed to be,
but the numbers say the bottom, but in these green light checkered scenarios,
even though the number is out, everything is just so different.
And so, I certainly always want to watch Denny Hamlin.
Yeah, he always gives me the opportunity to choose wherever I want to,
and you know, it's just a double edged sword, a push,
but I know that it's going to be his first opportunity, and it's going to go, it's going to go up,
so I need to choose to do everything to make sure that nothing happens.
Mr. Hamlin, how frustrated was this knowing that you dominated stage one,
stage three were right there, and then Tyler ran out of gas, and then you had a green light checkered.
Yeah, I didn't know Tyler ran out of gas, I was only at the wall.
I didn't know anything about the gas, but yeah, team did a really good job with the strategy there on the third stage,
and they got my car where I needed to be.
You know, that was the best that we had been in probably 150 laps, and so it made it easy.
Once, even though we were a tired deficit, it allowed me to be on offense,
and even when the 45 got around, I actually felt pretty confident.
I was still going to get back around him on the last lap if I hadn't already,
but he made the mistake coming two ago there, and, you know, he allowed us to capitalize,
and yeah, from that point on, I needed chaos.
Any pressure for Mel to choose from the top, and not go with you on that final restart?
No, I'm not really sure.
I know we went to a paper, but I don't know how or why.
Once you got split three wide by Larson, and the one was that at three, I mean, there.
Oh well, sort of. Yeah, and then the 20, I don't know what happened, I don't know if you got ricocheted in the back,
but we went all the way to bottom, then I had an horrible angle, and then I got passed.
The five was not good, but those last two laps are, you know, I think the 45 got around easily.
Our balance is good enough. We just had two bad corners in a row when there's only four corners.
Denny, did you have a perspective of what happened to the 51 car there with three laps to go?
I don't know how to pass, but that's pretty much all here.
We just had a situation where you understand why they didn't pull the yellow there.
I mean, it was in the middle of the racetrack.
Wow.
That was Denny Hamlin post-race discussing the incident with the 51 and him ultimately falling in overtime.
Stephen, this part of this conversation that's been brought back up is, should we go back to the idea of revisiting overtime
and should races finish kind of naturally? Where do you ultimately end up on that?
So, I'm someone that I don't think most people would be.
I'm someone that more kind of prefers, you know, scheduled distance, standing at the scheduled distance.
I think at least, okay, what I will say is I think for when you have the plate, not the plate,
the super speedway races, you know, Daytona, Talladega, Atlanta, it's always, they're always so close.
And I feel like those ones, even if they're more destructive, you have to have a green flag finish on those ones.
I think for those ones to end it under yellow is wrong or it really leaves the lot to be desired for fans,
especially when those are the places where we will always get the photo finishes, the close finishes and the exciting finishes.
I think you got to end them under green there no matter what.
I think for everywhere else, I think it's much more up to debate because I think, I mean, this race was pretty much going to be over
and at least, the very least it was going to be between the 11 and 45, they were 10 seconds ahead of everyone else.
I think in this case, if you wanted to say, oh, let's, you know, caution, let's end at the scheduled distance,
I think that would have been fine. But I think at the very least, I think about how the leaders at such a disadvantage now,
you know, heading into overtime, especially with double file restarts, the multiple attempts, you know, from 2004 to 2009,
the driver that would have won in regulation went on to win 85% of the time because there was only one attempt,
there's single file restarts. Now, with double file restarts, the multiple attempts that the leader at the start of overtime
only goes on to win about 50% of the time now, which is significantly less.
So I think, I think, I guess my ultimate thoughts on it are, you know, drafting races, keep overtime as it is for everything else,
maybe go back to one attempt or single file restarts or something like that to get it finished while still keeping it pretty fair
and from what happened in the laps before it.
I'm just keeping the same everywhere and I'm fine with overtime. These races happen.
Unfortunately for Denny, it appears he's been on the wrong side of more of them than most. But again, just keep them all the same.
Well, we only got one more segment. We're going to wave that checkered flag and wrap this podcast up.
It's going to be a drag race all the way back to the start finish line.
No caution. They're side by side.
Right to the line.
The checkered flag is out and it's time for the final thoughts.
Final thoughts. Anything you want to rant, rave or review.
Mr. Steven Stump, the floor is yours.
So I think the big, and I'm going to write about this Thursday night, but I think the big thing heading into Talladega is
fuel saving, fuel saving, fuel saving and how NASCAR desperately wants to try and get due away with it.
That's why we have the 98 lap first stage, then we'll have the second stage and the third stage of 45 laps.
Well, I'm going to write about how that's ultimately not going to fix the problem because, you know,
45 laps is enough for teams to make it on one fuel run.
So theoretically they don't have to save and they can go all out.
But that implies that teams will be filling their fuel tanks up at the end of the stages to start the second or third stages.
But, you know, even then the teams, you know, especially going into the final stage, the teams aren't going to fill their tanks up all the way.
They're going to do just enough or maybe less than what they need to make the final run
because that track position is so important they will take less fuel and maybe even risk running out
just to get the track position out front.
And as we've seen in the past, as long as the leaders are saving, there's not really much and the track is blocked.
There's not really much the cars behind them can do even if they want to go all out.
So I think I applaud NASCAR for trying to fix the, you know, trying to at least fix the fuel saving.
But I think the teams, they're smart.
They're all, they're always going to find a loophole out of, you know, things that NASCAR throws at them.
And I think, I think unfortunately we're going to see more fuel saving.
Maybe it's not really going to change from the races we've seen at Talladega years past with this car.
All right. Let's sit back. I'm going after Stephen A. Smith.
All right. Stephen A. Smith saying NASCAR drivers and golfers are not athletes.
Buddy, take up Lovar Scott called him out.
Front row motorsports called him out.
I think Will Buxton called him out.
Get, get in one of those cars.
On a hot day.
And feel the G-forces pulling you to go 150 to 200 miles an hour around a racetrack.
And you're in a car with no air conditioning and your cold suit might fail.
So you have hot liquid just rolling through your body and you're burning yourself.
Okay, Stephen A. Like this is, I think it's the dumb, dumbest take that they say NASCAR drivers are not athletes.
It's just like they put their body, they have to have a mental focus and their bodies to such a degree and such a harsh condition that a normal human can't handle it.
And so, like, you're not going to see Stephen A. Smith get out there and win a race on Sunday.
Because, again, he is not as good and not as mint.
Like he is not as good as Denny Hamlin or Bubba Wallace or any, or Kyle Larson or Tyler Reddick, obviously.
Like it's just a dumb take for someone who wants to have a take about everything, even though he clearly does zero research on half the stuff he talks about.
So it's just, it's dumb.
It was so dumb.
I don't know why Stephen A. Smith said it about golfers too.
Like, someone who's tried to play golf, like, and sucks at it, like, it's just dumb.
It's just, it was the dumbest take of the week.
Anyways, Stephen, you mentioned it.
You got an article coming out Thursday for FrenchStretch.com detailing the fuel saving at Talladega.
At Stephen underscore stump is your social.
Before you get on out of here, anything else you want to plug?
Um, that's kind of it for me right now, but I will just say adding on to what you said about Stephen A. Smith and, you know, his comments.
I mean, go try it for yourself.
They have driving simulators at the Hall of Fame in Charlotte.
I tried one of those and I didn't even do a half a lap up to speed before I wrecked badly on the simulator.
So it's, it is not just driving a car.
It is way harder than it looks.
And I challenge everyone to try it themselves.
Exactly.
A great point.
I did the F1 arcade place, which is an F1 simulator.
And I put in on way too hard of a difficulty the first time thinking I was cocky because I have a steering wheel at my house and I did terrible.
Um, so, yeah, just stop Stephen A. Just stop.
All right. That will do it for us. Make sure you check out the latest episode of happy hour.
John Newby was there.
He joined the guys for a fun episode. Chris even had to talk for a little bit because Mike Neff showed up late.
So if you want to flame Mike Neff, please do for showing up late to happy hour.
Um, so thanks so much to Chris Graham and Caleb Barnes helping me get this podcast together.
Thanks so much to Stephen.
Thanks so much to Kyle Petty and make sure you check out the Kyle Petty charity ride.com to learn more about Kyle Petty's 30th charity ride across America for Stephen Stomp.
I'm Trey Lyle. We're signing off now.
Make sure you check out the next edition of the Front Stretch Podcast Network, which is through the gears, our betting podcast with Wyatt Watson.
He'll be joined by Eric Schneck, who's our host of Stockcar Scoop.
We'll have the reaction to the race at Talladega this Sunday.
So check out the next couple of podcasts for the network. We'll be back next week.
But signing off for now on this great edition of Bringing the Heat.
About this episode
Kyle Petty talks through the meaning behind his 30th Kyle Petty Charity Ride Across America, starting May 1 in Sonoma and ending near Charlotte, with stops tied to American landmarks and road legends. He reflects on how the ride evolved since 1995, including the shift to Victory Junction after Adam Petty’s accident, and shares family “prep” for future rider generations. The show then pivots to NASCAR: Ty Gibbs’ strong start, debate over potential EVs in the Xfinity-style series, TV ratings concerns, Daniel Dye’s Talladega Cup debut, and fuel-saving strategy plus overtime rules.
