The Racing Writer's Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Ep. 245 | Rutledge Wood Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

Rutledge Wood isn’t running around inside a racetrack as he has in years past, but he’s still plenty busy. Rut catches us up on what he’s been doing lately; being used where he fits best and telling stories; having to be comfortable engaging people and wondering around; if being on TV has helped him develop a thick skin of other skills; getting his start in racing through a Craigslist ad; being on TV for cars but having a marketing degree; learning to love cars from his dad; why cars were the thing that stuck with me; if his daughters will also have a love of cars; Floor is Lava being the biggest thing he’s ever done; being recognized all over the world; his beard being a whole story; the weird dynamic of having merchandise; everything he can be seen right now and what’s going on.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 244 | Ben Barnicoat Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Meet Ben Barnicoat, one of the new drivers on the Lexus IMSA program for the Vasser Sullivan team. We’re going to learn how much fun the team is; the balance of having fun but knowing when it’s time to go to battle; how Barnicoat ended up on the Lexus radar for an IMSA seat; if it’s been everything he expected this season; being a former McLaren driver; doing sim work for Mercedes; being a teammate and sharing an apartment with Jack Hawksworth; not knowing Jack until now but growing up not far from each other; following his dad into racing; racing life in the U.K. and the recognizable names Barnicoat competed with; if F1 or open wheel was the original dream; the adjustment from open wheel to sports cars; getting used to having a roof over his head; the process of a driver change during a race; competing in the GTD Pro category; the skill set to be a road racer; the worst driving conditions to deal with; experience of racing full-time in the United States; a breakdown of the season with one race to go.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 243 | Daylon Barr Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

Daylon Barr had other dreams involving racing before picking up a camera and giving photography a try. In this episode Barr takes us inside how he spend his weekdays; what it means to be an independent photographer; finding good help and time off; it being a physically demanding job; dealing with a big load of clients and how he comes about business; becoming Trackhouse Racing’s main man; getting photos to clients quickly and during a race; the pride of seeing his work in the wild; having an entertaining Twitter account but getting his wrist slapped; having a fondness for racing but photography coming later; being college roommates with Brandon Brown and getting into NASCAR; being self-taught; having creative freedom from his clients; when he realized he wanted to make racing photography his career; having side hustles to help get to the racetrack; if he tried to get with a big agency; earning respect in the media center photo room; some of the big hurdles in the job; knowing he has the shot in the moment; what people wouldn’t know about the job; not having an idea what’s going on during the race; being up close and personal of pit stops; if there are events or things he’d like to shoot one day.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 242 | Jerry Freeze (Front Row Motorsports) Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

How did Jerry Freeze go from owning a successful lawn care business to general manager of the NASCAR team Front Row Motorsports? Freeze takes us inside his love of racing and how he took a chance by moving to North Carolina; learning from Tad Geschickter, and then spending 12 years at Petty before arriving at Front Row; what being a general manager entails; the state of Front Row as the season winds down; how the organization prepared for a new car; what happens to old inventory and the parts and pieces Front Row still has; how much Next Gen has helped Front Row’s performance; if the parity will continue; what Next Gen means for alliances; will there actually be a long-term financial impact from the switch; if Zane Smith has been a surprise; the conversation around keeping a truck team after last season; evaluating Todd Gilliland’s rookie season; how Michael McDowell has been able to shine; if it’s becoming more realistic for Front Row to think of themselves as playoff contenders; if Front Row is looking to keep their stable of drivers going forward.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 241 | Angelle Sampey Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

Angelle Sampey is a three-time NHRA Pro Stock Motorcycle champion and not only the winningest female in NHRA but professional motorsports. Sampey sits down for a chat on all things drag racing, but we first start with how things are in the swamp a year after Hurricane Ida. From there, we dig into the season and why she believes her team “is the one to beat” in Pro Stock Motorcycle this year; why Angelle says she’s fighting herself on the bike; having self-confidence in drag racing; breaking down the skill it takes to drive a Pro Stock Motorcycle; the origin story of falling in love with motorcycles; going through a beauty pageant phase and how she went from hating it to realize it was another form of competition; the story of the first leathers she wore in her NHRA debut and how that connects to the correct pronunciation of her name; secretly testing a Winston Cup stock car; being afraid of being a girl in racing and calling it one of the biggest mistakes in her career; if it’s surreal to have taken a nearly six-year break from racing to come back and be just as successful; shooting for 50 career national event wins; the 2021 championship loss being a driving force.
EDITOR'S NOTE: Angelle qualified No. 1 at Indianapolis for the U.S. Nationals, which is her fourth No. 1 qualifier of the season. She was eliminated in the first round.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 240 | Courtney Enders (pt. 2) Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

Trophies, fights, and TikTok, oh my! As we wrap up our conversation with Courtney Enders, we’re getting all kinds of stories this week. The episode picks up with Courtney describing a house full of racing memorabilia; who is more competitive between Courtney and Erica; inside the Disney movie (Right on Track) made about the Enders sisters from its accuracy to Brie Larson playing Courtney; doing their own stunts; how the film helped grow drag racing; a high school Enders sister brawl; when and why Courtney’s driving career came to an end; why she got on a Pro Stock Motorcycle in 2018; if she knew she’d need to find something else in racing; the way she cheated to start her business; the challenges or hurdles of what Courtney does; the dominance and representation of females in NHRA; being a champion gymnast and all-star volleyball player; superstitions around race day clothing; the outrageousness of her TikTok videos; Texas girl loving the Steelers, not the Cowboys.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 239 | Courtney Enders (pt. 1) Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

Courtney Enders used to drive race cars and might have a recognizable last name, but she can be your hype woman, social media star, or busy businesswoman. We’re digging into all of it with her over two episodes. In the first part of our conversation, we learn about the many hats Enders wears for her sister and others in the NHRA; her new job as a content creator with FloSports and how drag racing, including the NHRA, plays a part; the pressure to present a good product at Flo; being self-critical and reviewing her work; media veterans that Enders leans on for pit reporting; what was intriguing about pit reporting and why Enders suddenly wanted to do something different; funny hashtags that are very real insults about being attached to her sister; if it bothers her to be asked about Erica but the way she leans into the haters; the pure bond between Courtney and Erica; being vibe control for the race team and how important that is and why it matters.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 238 | Davey Segal (pt 2) Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

In the second part of our conversation with Davey Segal, we’re digging into producing various NASCAR content. Segal admits he stole the idea for his post-race TikTok videos; acknowledges the risk in mocking drivers he has to work with; why he got into podcasting and how his show has evolved over the years; what he wants to get out of his interviews; being conscious of eye contact; putting in the work to be confident, comfortable, and clean in interviews; the process of making interview requests; what it means to be a multimedia journalist; working close to home; explaining some very specific personal facts from his website; what he most enjoys about his job(s).
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 237 | Davey Segal (pt. 1) Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Fellow podcaster and media friend Davey Segal is a jack of all trades, and we needed a lot of time to dig into all of them. This week in the first part of our conversation, Segal explains how he landed his role as an associate producer for SiriusXM NASCAR Radio; bringing video to the SiriusXM NASCAR social channels; the story of how he first got into racing; shedding the fan skin to become a media member; when the realization happened about wanting to become a media member; why he chose Michigan State for college and making the most of it; building a NASCAR portfolio while in college; the grind to get to the racetrack; how much it means to be able to walk into the garage.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall

Ep. 236 | Kyle Petty Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

Kyle Petty has a book about to be released (Aug. 9), and this week Petty tries to explain why he wrote it and why now. From the first stories he wrote not making it into the book; emotions of getting the stories and memories on paper; if there are stories in the book that people don’t know or heard before; why Petty had to be 21 to start racing; learning that not all tracks let a driver run wide open; highlighting all of the Petty family in the book and the education Petty received in the race shop; losing Adam and not wanting to know the details; how writing was therapeutic for Petty and also gave him some realizations; why he ended the book talking about NASCAR; how readers can get the book; what Petty wants readers to take away after reading.
Music created by Tony Monge.
Please support my work through Patreon: www.patreon.com/KellyCrandall
Preorder ‘Swerve or Die’ https://bit.ly/3Q7CWwN

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