SVG, F1’s Identity Crisis, and the Racing That Feels Alive Right Now | Stacking Pennies
About this episode
Corey LaJoie and Ryan Flores break down the action-packed weekend at Sonoma, highlighting Shane van Gisbergen's continued road course dominance and what makes V8 Supercars drivers so uniquely skilled. The duo debates Ty Gibbs' stage-points strategy, dissects the chaotic on-track incident involving Denny Hamlin and Carson Hocevar, and laughs over Hocevar's relentless social media trolling. From Ryan's wild Pacific Coast Highway road trip to the latest bracket-buster updates in the NASCAR in-season challenge, this conversation offers an entertaining, driver's-eye view of the garage's biggest storylines.
This week on Stacking Pennies, Skip is back from California and the boys are talking about the racing that actually feels alive right now.
SVG wins again at Sonoma, which sends Corey and Skip into a full V8 Supercars breakdown: why Shane van Gisbergen looks so different, what NASCAR can learn from Supercars, and whether more drivers from Australia and New Zealand could be coming next.
Then the guys get into why F1 feels stale, why NHRA knows exactly who it is, Maddi Gordon’s first Top Fuel win, Bozi’s Lexus team getting IMSA flowers, road course pit stops, Pikes Peak chaos, and World Cup fans discovering America.
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Shane van Gisbergen
"Another red eye, another ass kicking by SVG. Buddy. How? We're actually going to break down. We've, we talked about, everybody talks about all the same stuff, right? Given SVG is flowers, talking about how good he is and why he's good and using the clutch."
An incredibly talented race car driver from New Zealand who won three championships in Australia before moving to America. He famously won his very first NASCAR race in 2023, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in decades, and is known for his amazing footwork and control on twisty tracks.
A highly decorated New Zealand racing driver who dominated the Australian Supercars Championship, winning three titles before making a historic transition to NASCAR. He shocked the motorsport world by winning his NASCAR Cup Series debut at the 2023 Chicago Street Race, showcasing his world-class heel-and-toe braking and road-course mastery.
V8 Supercars
"So we were actually going to get into and break down later in the show V8 Supercars. Because that's something that is near and dear to our heart. We've had several guests on this show to really and truly break down what a V8 Supercar is and what skills that these guys learn."
A highly popular racing series in Australia featuring loud, powerful V8-engined sedans. Because the cars are very heavy and hard to control, the drivers who race them develop incredible car-handling skills.
A premier touring car racing category based in Australia, featuring custom-built race cars powered by high-output V8 engines. The cars are notoriously difficult to drive due to their high horsepower, low downforce, and locked rear differentials, making the series an elite training ground for road-course racing talent.
spool rear end
"The thing about the car that they should know is they run a locked differential. Yeah. So they have a spool rear end. So both wheels are locked together. All the time."
A part in the rear of a race car that locks the back wheels together so they always spin at the exact same speed. This makes it harder to turn corners smoothly, but it gives the car great traction when accelerating in a straight line.
A mechanical setup where the rear differential is completely locked, forcing both rear wheels to turn at the exact same speed at all times. While it provides maximum traction under acceleration, it makes cornering difficult because the inside wheel cannot rotate slower than the outside wheel, often requiring drivers to slide the car or bounce over curbs to help it turn.
Next Gen car
"The rear wheels are when they're not under load, they spin freely of each other. And there's an adjustment that the cup teams use. And we played with this in the early days of next gen car of pressurizing the transaxle to make the discs grip more so they don't free wheel free wheel as much."
The newest style of race car used in NASCAR's top division. It was designed to look more like modern sports cars you can buy in a showroom and features updated technology like a single center wheel nut and independent rear suspension.
The common name for NASCAR's seventh-generation Cup Series race car, introduced for the 2022 season. It modernized the sport's technology by introducing independent rear suspension, a sequential transaxle, rack-and-pinion steering, and center-lock single wheel nuts, replacing decades-old solid-axle designs.
brake bias
"Always messing with the bias. They had this lever in the you can't run the lever in the cup car, but you can run it in the O'Reilly car and you can run in the truck. It's a lever to valve. You can shut the rear brake percentage off. The more you stand it up, the more it chokes off rear percentage."
A control that lets a race car driver choose whether the front brakes or the rear brakes do more of the stopping work. Drivers adjust this during a race to keep the car stable depending on whether they are going uphill, downhill, or trying to turn.
The distribution of braking force between the front and rear wheels of a vehicle, which drivers can adjust on the fly using a cockpit lever or dial. Shifting the bias forward prevents the rear wheels from locking up and sliding, while shifting it rearward helps the car rotate into corners but increases the risk of spinning.
wheel hop
"You start pulling some rear brakes so you don't get any wheel hop. SVG was playing with it three times a lap. Really? So you go into 11 or it's a no. Wow."
A violent shaking or bouncing of a car's wheels when a driver brakes or accelerates too hard, causing the tires to rapidly grip and slip on the pavement.
A violent bouncing of the drive wheels that occurs under heavy braking or deceleration when the tires repeatedly lose and regain traction. In rear-wheel-drive cars on road courses, wheel hop under braking can cause the rear end to break loose, often leading to a spin.
Ford F-150 Lightning
"Yeah, let's let's peel some of that off there. Lightning McQueen. That was number 12 of the best doing it ..."
The Ford F-150 Lightning is a large pickup truck that runs entirely on battery power instead of gasoline. It is made by Ford and looks very similar to their traditional trucks, but it operates quietly. Because it has no gas engine, it features a large extra storage space under the front hood.
The Ford F-150 Lightning is an all-electric version of Ford's highly popular full-size pickup truck. It combines traditional towing and hauling utility with modern battery technology, featuring dual electric motors and standard all-wheel drive. It is a frequent topic of discussion as a major milestone in the automotive industry's transition to electric utility vehicles.
Project 91
"Yeah, it'd be fun to see who comes over from there, especially with the Project 91 deal, because, you know, Shane knows those guys. He knows who's good."
A special racing program that invites famous drivers from other sports, like Formula 1, to try their hand at racing a NASCAR stock car.
A part-time entry program created by Trackhouse Racing designed to give world-class international racing drivers from other disciplines (like Formula 1 or Supercars) an opportunity to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series. It famously fielded Shane van Gisbergen for his historic 2023 Chicago victory and Kimi Räikkönen.
charter system
"It's a gift and a curse. The charter system, because the guys are kind of locked in where they are. Yeah. Um, but I don't know."
A system in NASCAR similar to team franchises in other sports. It guarantees that the 36 teams holding a "charter" get to race in every single event and receive a guaranteed share of the prize money.
NASCAR's franchise-like system introduced in 2016, which grants 36 team charters guaranteeing entry into every Cup Series race and a larger portion of the purse. Charters can be bought, sold, or leased, creating tangible enterprise value for NASCAR team owners.
clipping
"And they, they're so far under the tire because they're clipping in certain areas. I'd say they're clipping power. The majority of laps to recharge or regen their, You said there are three seconds of laps slower than last year on average."
When a modern Formula 1 car runs out of battery power on a long straightaway, causing it to suddenly slow down slightly before the driver even hits the brakes.
In Formula 1, clipping refers to the moment when a hybrid power unit runs out of harvested electrical energy on a straightaway, causing the car to lose top-end speed suddenly before the braking zone. It occurs when the energy recovery systems (MGU-K/MGU-H) cannot deploy any more power, forcing the car to rely solely on its internal combustion engine.
DRS
"And they've had to get the speed back by using what, what there's no DRS anymore, but they use straight line speed. It's a button where you get within the straightaways and you hit the button. That's when you see the Ferrari wing flip upside down. See the front wings lay down and then you get into the braking zones. And it, whenever you hit the brake, it flips everything back up. That's basically DRS."
A button that Formula 1 drivers can press to open a flap in their rear wing. This reduces wind resistance and makes the car go much faster on straightaways to help them pass other cars.
Drag Reduction System; a driver-controlled device in Formula 1 aimed at promoting overtaking. It allows the driver to open a flap in the rear wing on designated straightaways, reducing aerodynamic drag and increasing top speed by roughly 10-12 km/h.
Challenger Hellcat
"OK, with the Hellcat, let's put in every one of cars we got. Yeah. And a truck. Yeah. Well, and give me some of that."
An incredibly powerful American muscle car famous for having a supercharged V8 engine that makes a loud whining noise and produces massive amounts of horsepower.
A high-performance American muscle car powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter Hemi V8 engine producing over 700 horsepower. It became an icon of modern American horsepower wars, famous for its straight-line speed, loud exhaust note, and tire-shredding capabilities.
Chevrolet Corvette
"...pefully everybody's OK from that. Did you see the Corvette wreck? You got that wreck up?"
The Chevrolet Corvette is a famous two-seat sports car made by Chevrolet. It is designed to go fast, look sleek, and handle sharp turns. The modern version has its engine placed in the middle of the car behind the seats to help it balance better.
The Chevrolet Corvette is an iconic American sports car, currently in its eighth generation (C8) which features a mid-engine layout. It is highly regarded for delivering supercar-level performance and handling at a highly competitive price point. It is frequently discussed in automotive circles due to its high speed, striking design, and popularity in track-day events.
Pikes Peak
"YouTube specific. So the audio listeners, whether you're on Serious XM or straight audio, they don't get to see these things because these are meme reactions or some big, big crashes. I don't know what you have keyed up here first. If it's the pikes peak one, bro, this is the, oh, give me that one first. It looks fake. Pikes peaks to hill climb."
A massive mountain in Colorado where racers drive custom cars up an incredibly steep, twisty road with scary drop-offs and no guardrails to see who can reach the top the fastest.
A famous 14,115-foot mountain in Colorado that hosts the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, also known as "The Race to the Clouds." The 12.42-mile public road course features 156 turns with no guardrails in many sections, challenging drivers with extreme elevation changes and thinning air.
Legends Car
"I'm going to go out to, I find myself deep into it now with this legends car, my buddy, Everett Larson. We've had this legends car collect in dust for the last year, too. And I was like, I'm going to put my little buddy Everett Larson this thing."
Small, scaled-down race cars that look like old-fashioned cars from the 1930s but run on powerful motorcycle engines. They are used to teach young drivers how to race.
A class of spec racing cars designed to look like 1930s American coupes and sedans, scaled down to 5/8ths size. Powered by motorcycle engines, these lightweight, high-horsepower-to-weight vehicles are highly popular for grassroots racing and driver development.
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