NASCAR'S New Generation
About this episode
Joey Logano steps in as guest host for Kevin Harvick, bringing along a hilarious throwback shirt from their infamous past feud. Alongside Caitlin Vinci and Mamba Smith, Logano recaps the action-packed West Coast swing, focusing on the Sonoma race. The crew breaks down Shane van Gisbergen's continued dominance on road courses and how he is forcing the entire field to elevate their game. They also analyze Chase Briscoe's near-miss, Denny Hamlin's surprising road course resurgence, and the tightening points battle as the Cup Series heads toward Chicagoland.
Sonoma Raceway
"We're going to recap everything that happened, obviously in Sonoma. Look ahead to Chicagoland where we haven't been for some time... Sonoma should be a good track as a place. I feel like I know how to get around and had, you know, maybe eight to 10 laps worth of decent speed in the car."
A famous, twisty race track in California's wine country. Unlike oval tracks, this one has lots of hills and sharp turns that require drivers to turn both left and right.
Sonoma Raceway is a challenging 2.52-mile road course nestled in the southern Sonoma Mountains of California. It is famous for its dramatic elevation changes, off-camber turns, and lack of run-off areas, making it one of NASCAR's premier road-course events.
Shane van Gisbergen
"So once again, we saw SVG's continue dominance. He had the double win, obviously in the O'Reilly's and Cup Series winning in spectacular fashion, eight wins and 68 starts for SVG. What do you take note from him and see from him when you're competing against him and also how he's changed the road course racing game?"
A famous race car driver from New Zealand who shocked the NASCAR world by winning his very first race in the series. He is exceptionally good at driving on tracks with left and right turns, rather than the usual oval tracks.
Shane van Gisbergen, often referred to as SVG, is a highly decorated professional racing driver from New Zealand. He gained international fame by winning his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the Chicago Street Course in 2023, and is widely regarded as one of the most talented road-course racers in modern motorsports.
Trackhouse Racing
"But do you think some of that too, is their cars that trackouts are, are behind the eight ball a bit right now? ... Even though trackhouse is a place that we look at, they're like, they've had speed and success early and like we expect them to keep having that and they do stuff a little different, a little bit more fun."
A popular and modern NASCAR race team co-owned by the music artist Pitbull. They are famous for trying new things and bringing in famous drivers from other types of racing around the world.
Trackhouse Racing is a professional NASCAR Cup Series team co-owned by Justin Marks and Grammy Award-winning artist Pitbull. Founded in 2021, the team is known for its modern marketing approach and its 'Project 91' program, which brings international racing stars into NASCAR.
Chicagoland Speedway
"All right, we are headed to Chicagoland. Next, Joey, we haven't been there in seven years. So what do you think this will be like with this car? And like, what are you guys anticipating?"
A 1.5-mile oval race track near Chicago that hosted NASCAR races for nearly two decades before taking a long break from the schedule.
Chicagoland Speedway is a 1.5-mile D-shaped tri-oval speedway located in Joliet, Illinois. It hosted NASCAR Cup Series races from 2001 until 2019, known for its curved backstretch and high-speed, multi-groove racing.
NASCAR Next Gen
"The next gen car in general, the bumps are worse in it because you're sitting on those limiters so much. So he's kind of sounded like, you know, restarts could be a little sketchy when you got to go over the bump."
This is the current design of race car used in NASCAR's top series. It was introduced to make the race cars look and handle more like modern sports cars you can buy at a dealership.
The NASCAR Next Gen car is the seventh-generation spec racing platform used in the NASCAR Cup Series. It features a completely redesigned chassis incorporating independent rear suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, and transaxle integration to modernize the sport's technology.
suspension limiters
"The next gen car in general, the bumps are worse in it because you're sitting on those limiters so much."
Small, hard blocks in the car's suspension that stop the springs from squeezing down too far. Because modern race cars are set up very low to the ground, they hit these hard stoppers constantly, making the ride extremely bumpy for the driver.
Suspension limiters, often referred to as bump stops or travel limiters, are rigid components used to restrict the upward or downward movement of a car's suspension. In NASCAR, teams run the cars extremely low to maximize aerodynamic downforce, causing the chassis to ride directly on these limiters over bumps.
cool suit
"there's a conversation that keeps coming up on, on socials about the cool suits. And since we have a guy that's in it, one, do you use one? Hell yeah. Okay. We're Ryan Blaney. Yeah. Can you, yeah. So RB, RB's obviously went out this weekend and he fought through it, which it always seems like they go out at the war like a row course."
A special undershirt with tiny tubes running through it that pumps cold water around the driver's body. It keeps drivers from overheating inside race cars, which can get hotter than a sauna during summer races.
A cool suit is a specialized driver cooling system consisting of a water-cooled undergarment connected to a refrigeration unit or ice chest inside the race car. It circulates chilled liquid to help racing drivers regulate their body temperature in cockpit environments that can exceed 130°F.
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