Send us Fan Mail

200 mph sounds fun until you remember it can be 140 degrees inside the car, your cool suit might fail, and you have to stay laser-focused for four straight hours with zero timeouts. That’s where our NASCAR roundtable starts: are race car drivers athletes, or is the word “athlete” getting stretched too far? I’m joined by Tony Bogan, Mike Worrell, and Dave Frank to argue it out with real examples, from heat exhaustion and mental fatigue to the steering load and G-forces that add up lap after lap.

From there we give the pit crews their flowers. If you’ve never really watched a NASCAR pit stop as a performance, you’re missing one of the wildest parts of the sport. We talk about why so many crews are built like SEC football players, how a nine-second four-tire stop can make or break a race, and why the “over the wall” athletes might be the most underrated stars in racing.

We also dig into how NASCAR safety has evolved since Dale Earnhardt Sr., what the HANS device and safer barriers changed, and why the Gen 7 car brings its own trade-offs. Then we go straight into the fan side: the pull of dirt track racing and the World of Outlaws, the return of classic venues, the road course debate, and the rules that drive us nuts, including stage cautions that drag on and whether races should sometimes end under yellow.

If you’ve got strong NASCAR opinions, you’ll fit right in. Subscribe, share this with a race fan, and leave a review, then tell us your answer: are NASCAR drivers athletes, and what’s the first rule you’d change?

All music brought to you by former guest of the show Speedo

Subscribe for exclusive content: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1530455/support

Support the show

Follow us on all social media

X: @mikebonocomedy
Instagram: @mikebonocomedy
@tiktok: @mikebono_comedian
Facebook: @mikebonocomedy