0:00 / 0:00
Ty Gibbs’ 1st Cup Win, Zilisch Holds off Larson, + Red Bull Racing Chaos Continues

Ty Gibbs’ 1st Cup Win, Zilisch Holds off Larson, + Red Bull Racing Chaos Continues

SPEED with Harvick and Buxton Apr 14, 2026 49 min
0:00
0:00

About this episode

Bristol’s new tire and aero package set up a top/bottom racing groove and a dramatic finish: Ty Gibbs held off Ryan Blaney after a late restart to score his first Cup win, with heavy emotion tied to his family—his father passed the day after his series title. The show also spotlights Connor Zillich’s first short-track Cup win at Bristol, beating a dominant Kyle Larson via Rodney Childers’ older-tire late-race strategy. Beyond NASCAR, they discuss Red Bull’s escalating personnel chaos, F2 coming to Miami/Montreal in 2026, Indy 500 entry ripple effects, and a big FIA debate about unpaid F1 volunteers.

Cars: GMC Cyclone
Filter:
|
Technical Too Afraid to Ask
Concept

Bristol

"Yeah, well, Bristol was unbelievable. You know, there were a lot of questions going into Bristol of what the new tires were going to do."

Bristol is a NASCAR track. Because it’s a short track, grip and tire behavior matter a lot, so changes to tires or the track can strongly affect the race.

Concept

rubbered in

"...to try to really get the track on the bottom of the racetrack rubbered in as much as they could. And it spread out probably 100 laps..."

“Rubbered in” means the tires leave rubber on the track, making it grippier. As more rubber builds up, the track changes and can affect where you can drive fastest.

Brand

O'Reilly

"Ty Gibbs won his O'Reilly series championship and the next day is his father passed away."

O’Reilly is an auto parts company. They sponsor NASCAR series, so their name shows up in the championship branding.

Concept

race shop

"he grew up in that race shop. That's where he sat on the simulator upstairs. That's where he rode his motorcycle around the shop."

A race shop is where the team works on the cars—fixing them, tuning them, and getting them ready to race. It’s basically the team’s headquarters.

Term

flat tire

"Could have actually won this race in the fall, made a mistake coming to Pit Road, had a flat tire,"

A flat tire means the tire isn’t holding air anymore. That makes the car harder to control and usually costs the driver a lot of time.

Concept

Rodney Childers

"a bold strategy called by crew chief Rodney Childers to stay out on older tires late in the race. Propelled Zillich to the win..."

Rodney Childers is identified as the crew chief who called the late-race tire strategy. In NASCAR, the crew chief’s decisions—especially around pit timing and tire choice—are often the difference between winning and falling short.

Concept

$350,000 bonus

"[637.0s] the race. Corey Heim was actually racing for $350,000 triple truck challenge bonus. And that"

They’re talking about a big cash bonus—$350,000. When that much money is at stake, drivers may take bigger chances to secure the result.

Brand

Red Bull

"And I think that, you know, we've seen some people, um, you know, move out from underneath the Red Bull banner... Christian Horner, gone. Helmut Marco, gone. Adrian Newey, gone."

Red Bull is the company behind the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. When big people leave the team, it can affect how the cars are built and how they’re run at races.

Car

GMC Cyclone

"...action, connect down to one day with an impending cyclone headed towards Taupo, Brody Kostecchi, maintaine..."

The GMC Cyclone is a pickup truck that was built to be fast, not just for hauling. It’s a special version of a truck that uses a much stronger engine than you’d expect. People talk about it because it was designed to feel more like a performance vehicle.

Concept

World Rally Championship

"And the World Rally Championship was in one of my favorite countries on earth, Croatia. For rally Croatia this weekend, a lot of crashes, big crashes for the championship leader, Thoreaule Solberg, and also for the race leader, Thierry Neville, who crashed out on the very last stage of the entire event."

WRC is the biggest global rally championship. Drivers race through timed stages, and one big mistake can ruin the whole event.

Concept

Penske

"going to do episode three about Penske, and they ended up filming at Barba, where Scott McLaughlin"

Penske is a major racing team run by Roger Penske. They compete in big series like IndyCar and NASCAR, and they’re known for strong cars, engineering, and team support.

Concept

NASCAR

"know, we've got a majority NASCAR audience and you're going for the easy play every week with the, ... Well, I went NASCAR this week thinking if I pick a NASCAR driver, guaranteed win, right?"

NASCAR is a popular American racing league where drivers race purpose-built stock cars. The conversation is about choosing drivers and predicting who will perform best.

Concept

driver of the week

"there's so many fans replied to it and they're like, why is Larsen on the list? He didn't win anything this weekend. And I'm like, it's driver of the week. It's not winner of the week."

“Driver of the week” is a selection format that rewards overall performance rather than strictly being the race winner. The hosts explicitly contrast it with “winner of the week,” explaining why a driver who didn’t win could still be chosen.

Company

FIA

"Well, Will, the FIA recently did a report about the extent of the unpaid volunteers at the F1 events."

The FIA is the organization that oversees major auto racing rules and governance. In this clip, they’re linked to a report about volunteer work at F1 races.

Term

marshals

"...also marshals, you know, if you guys are watching and you will have an opinion... why isn't the FIA paying the marshals for the work that they do?..."

Marshals are the trained people stationed around the track during a race. They help with safety—like signaling and responding when something goes wrong.

Concept

formula one

"...if you guys are watching and you will have an opinion on this is formula one is one of the richest sports on earth. Motor racing as a whole is a very rich sport..."

Formula One is the highest level of race car competition in the world. It’s run by the FIA, and races require a lot of trained people on-site to keep things safe.

Term

EMT

"...we pay the rest directors and you have to have the local ambulance and the local EMTs and the local flag person..."

EMT means Emergency Medical Technician. They’re trained to give quick first-aid and emergency care if someone gets hurt during a race.

Concept

race director

"...consistency of hearing the race director and people on the radio from a week to week basis."

The race director is the main official calling the shots during a race. They decide how incidents are handled and communicate key instructions to teams and officials.

Concept

medical car

"...the medical car turns up with, it was Alan van der Merbe and Dr Ian Roberts in it."

The medical car is the emergency vehicle that reaches an incident quickly with trained medical staff. In F1, it’s part of the structured response system that supports rapid assessment and coordination with other responders.

Concept

IndyCar

"...the AMR safety team that we have in IndyCar goes to every single race..."

IndyCar is the top-level open-wheel racing series in the United States. The speaker uses it as a comparison point for how safety staffing and event consistency are handled versus Formula 1.

Concept

Formula 1

"...marshals in Formula 1 are trained and they're trained brilliantly..."

Formula 1 (F1) is the premier global open-wheel racing series. In this segment, it’s the context for discussing how race control, medical response, and track marshals are organized and staffed.

Concept

Monaco

"It started with a Ferrari in the 1950s and it's driving through the streets of Monaco..."

Monaco is a famous place for racing, especially because Formula One runs there on city streets. The ad uses that recognizable racing setting to make it feel special.

Brand

Colonel Sanders

"[2316.3s] suit from last, they've, they've got me in my Colonel Sanders suit from last year. [2323.6s] Colonel Sanders suit. Oh man. Well, I'm glad we have something. It looks good."

Colonel Sanders is the famous KFC mascot. Here it’s just describing the theme of the driver’s suit—like a sponsor costume.

Term

catch fence

"[2375.2s] Lane Shaw flying through the air right there. Thank God that catch fence is there. [2380.6s] And it didn't hit the ground all the way. Absolutely crazy. Wow. Wow."

A catch fence is a safety barrier that helps protect people when a car crashes and goes off the track. It’s there to catch debris or stop the car from going further.

Term

curb

"[2399.3s] Oh my gosh. Oh man. He hits one of those curves. [2408.8s] Watch this curve right here. All the place. Oh my gosh. I did that one time. ... [2441.7s] looks like, Oh, what the hell? Why would they put that up there? I guarantee you that was a [2445.2s] Hans lock right there for him when he hit that, when he hit that curb."

A curb is the raised edge at the side of the track. If you hit it wrong at speed, it can bounce the car and make it harder to control.

Term

big turtles

"[2419.8s] those big turtles that they put, I think it was coming out of turn five on the start, [2424.5s] they all fanned out. They had them perpendicular to the racing service and everybody crashed."

“Big turtles” sounds like a nickname for something on the track that can make the car bounce if you hit it. The speaker is saying it can contribute to crashes, especially right at the start.

Concept

gravel traps

"So they do without gravel traps so that if you spun, you could just come back to the pits and you wouldn't have to spend [2499.7s] hours taking the gravel out of the car."

Gravel traps are areas beside the track filled with loose gravel to slow a car down if it goes off. The downside is the gravel can get into the car and take a long time to remove.

Concept

street circuit

"...talk about the rigors and the challenges of driving a street circuit alongside F1 drivers."

A street circuit is a race course made from normal city streets. It’s usually tighter and bumpier than a purpose-built track, so driving is harder and safer margins are smaller.

Concept

MotoGP

"...we hear from MotoGP superstar... Marco Bezeki."

MotoGP is the top level of motorcycle racing. It’s where the fastest bikes and riders compete on road-racing tracks.

Concept

caution

"...Frankie Malcolm in the middle is crushed. Caution in turn one Riley Herbst."

A caution means there’s a problem on the track, so cars slow down. Drivers have to be extra careful, and it can affect when teams pit and how they line up for the restart.

Request an Explanation

Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.

Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.

Want to learn more?

Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.

Explore Terms

Help improve this episode

See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.

Report incorrect info
Suggest better explanations
Flag missing cars