Grip Strip Podcast

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 184 - Hard Work Pays Off

Phil and Josh return for E184 of the GSP to lead into a busy Labor Day weekend of motorsports.  Phil returns from spending the majority of his cruise trip in an F1 simulator, wishing he could race instead of having to watch the current F1 product.  Josh was able to attend the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona and see the destruction and horrendous incidents for Ryan Blaney and Ryan Preece. Both Josh and friend of the show Joe Passero watched Christopher Buescher take his third win of 2023 in an RFK 1-2 finish. 
The guys cover the issues and the playoff grid leading into Darlington.  Phil and Josh provide their thoughts on Kurt Busch officially announcing his retirement from racing. Justin Allgaier held off Sheldon Creed in a photo finish for his first Daytona XFinity win along with an opportunity to sneak in and get the regular season title.  Grant Enfinger utilized his experience and a great setup to earn the Truck Series win at the Milwaukee Mile, their first appearance since 2009 along with a spot in the round of eight. 
Scott Dixon continues to show why he is a GOAT with an epic pit strategy in going back to back at Gateway to keep his slim title hopes alive against his teammate Alex Palou.  Phil and Josh discuss the introduction of red alternate tires on an oval for the first time ever and other key players heading to Portland. 
Fish Lips continues his singular demolition of F1 with his third consecutive Dutch GP victory.  Due to the mixed weather conditions, Pierre Gasly benefited to earn Alpine their first podium of 2023.  Drivers and constructors points are reviewed leading into the Italian Grand Prix.  The guys talk about their respective NFL and Fantasy Football teams with the end of the preseason, along with their prognostications for 2023.
This week's GSP Roundup saw Phil discuss Indy NXT, IMSA GT, F2/F3, MotoGP/Moto2 and NHRA at the U.S. Nationals.  Previews and picks for F1 at Monza, IndyCar at Portland plus Cup/XFinity at Darlington led into Josh's Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 183 - Decision Time & Interview With Austin Theriault

Phil and Josh come back for E183 of the GSP interviewing the 2017 ARCA Series Champion and Maine House of Representative Member Austin Theriault.  The guys talk to Austin about his racing return at the Oxford 250 super late model race and his results at Oxford Plains and his involvement with the Travis Mills Foundation and how this race will assist in fund raising. 
Phil and Josh also ask Austin about his driver development program and connection with Team Hornaday, his NASCAR career in all three major series and his thoughts on the differences in how drivers behave in and out of the race car today relative to when Austin was a prospect himself.  Josh asks Austin about his other role as a House Member for his local district and what how the responsibilities there coordinate with racing.
Phil and Josh then get into the Cup and XFinity events at Watkins Glen, which saw dominant performances for William Byron and Ty Gibbs respectively.  However, the XFinity event had an interesting finish due to the ongoing rivalry between Gibbs and eventual race winner Sam Mayer.  The guys get into the issues with the Next Gen Car and how it has affected the product, the pace of the race itself and what they saw between the two young guns.  Other key players and points are discussed heading to Daytona.
The crew gets into their drafts for the FallBrawl fantasy football league and how they both got the worst grades based on analytics but definitely aren't out of the mix.  Josh discusses injuries and key battles for the Jaguars while Phil laments the continued QB saga behind Brock Purdy for San Francisco.  
A leaner GSP Roundup covers the SRX season finale at Lucas Oil Raceway, NHRA at Brainerd, MotoGP/Moto2 at Austria, Supercars at The Bend, Indy NXT at Gateway, F2 at Zandvoort and IMSA GT at Virginia International Raceway.  Formula 1 returns from their summer break for the Dutch Grand Prix, with Phil and Josh previewing and picking whoever will finish behind FL. 
IndyCar has their last oval race of 2023 at Gateway, so the guys pick whether they believe Josef Newgarden will sweep all of them or not along with wild cards.  NASCAR Cup and XFinity race at Daytona, which means the Tate Fogleman Algorithm makes a return.  The crew make their picks and wild cards while Josh lets us know who TF believes could win at the World's Center of Racing. 
The Craftsman Truck Series returns to the Milwaukee Mile for their second playoff race, so can Ty Majeski make it 2-2 or will one of the other contenders advance? Josh lets us know about all things gaming and iRacing in the Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 182 - Something About Indy

Phil and Josh return for E182 of the GSP to discuss all the racing at one of the motorsports capitals of the world: Indianapolis.  Scott Dixon does his best Danny Sullivan by spinning and winning the Gallagher Grand Prix over pole-sitter Graham Rahal and Christian Lundgaard amongst others.  Dixon takes the Ironman title over former teammate Antoine Kanaan and extends his streak to 19 consecutive seasons with a win.  While Dixon celebrated, teammate Alex Palou was in the news stating he will not honor his contract with McLaren and that he is likely to return and race for Ganassi.  The crew goes over all the craziness that has existed with Palou's contract situation and management while he races towards a second IndyCar title.
For the Cup event, Michael McDowell put a whooping on the field and held off William Clyde Elliott II for his second career victory and a spot in the 2023 playoffs.  Daniel Suarez won pole but a bad pit stop cost the Trackhouse driver and the same issue plagued defending race winner Tyler Reddick and his 23XI team.  Keebler Gibbs dominated the XFinity race on Saturday evening after weather affected the early part of the event while Ty Majeski opened the Truck playoffs with a comprehensive victory.
The GSP Roundup looks at Smoke's domination at his house (Eldora) in SRX while an early crash in Heat One eliminated three drivers and the points contenders were rendered to backup cars.  NHRA raced at Topeka for the last time and they move to Brainerd, Indy NXT at IMS saw argy bargy between teammates, Larson destroys the field for his second Knoxville Nationals victory over his buddy Rico Abreu, 11-time winner Donny Schatz and the stout A-Main lineup.  Kenny Schrader won a Pinty's Series event on dirt at 68 years of age!  MotoGP/Moto2 will be back at Austria along with Supercars at The Bend Motorsports Park.
Phil and Josh talk preseason NFL and preview the FallBrawl league before leading into previews of the Cup and XFinity races at Watkins Glen.  Josh talks iRacing and more in his Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 181 - Repeat Time

Phil and Josh return for E181 of the GSP to cover Kyle Kirkwood and Christopher Buescher's second wins of the 2023 season.  For the IndyCars, Kirkwood used strategy and speed to hold off Scotty McLaughlin and championship leader Alex Palou.  This race was the debut for defending Indy NXT champion Linus Lundqvist for Meyer-Shank Racing, with a Fast 12 qualifying and solid race till it was not.  Compared to the previous two seasons, the race was relatively clean and multiple strategies were at play.
Michigan saw Buescher take his second consecutive victory on a Monday over Martin Truex, Jr. and bring the heritage trophy back to Ford.  Noah Gragson was indefinitely suspended for his social media antics and the NASCAR Hall of Fame nominated Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and Donnie Allison for the 2024 class.  The guys get into their thoughts on all of these items plus the points with just three races remaining in the regular season.  John Hunter Nemechek continues his solid 2023 XFinity campaign, taking his fifth win of the season at MIS.  This was after having issues and argy bargy with teammates Gibbs and Smith. 
The GSP Roundup covers SRX, MotoGP/Moto2, IMSA, WRC, Indy NXT, and NHRA with Anthony Wayne Stewart taking a regional victory at Reading.  Phil and Josh briefly talk about football before previewing the Gallagher Grand Prix of Indy for the IndyCar Series along with picks plus the Cup/XFinity at IMS along with Trucks opening their playoffs at IRP.  Josh lets us know what's going in sim racing in his Sim Segment before show close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 180 - Cashing In

After an interesting weekend of motorsports action, the GSP returns for E180.  With Josh on vacation, Phil brought back friend and contributor Joe Passero to co-host and discuss all things NASCAR.  Christopher Buescher locked himself and RFK into the Cup playoffs with a no nonsense performance at Richmond.  The guys discuss Buescher's effort and who could look back with regret.  XFinity raced at Road America and Justin Allgaier had things going his way...until they didn't and the door opened for teammate and Wisconsin's own Sam Mayer to take his first career XFinity victory. 
Carson Hocevar ate the slice of humble pie and has become a contender for the Truck Series title with a late race pass and victory at Richmond to end the regular season.  The typical result took place at Spa for the Belgian Grand Prix, with Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc rounding out the podium.  Phil provides a points recap as Formula 1 takes their summer break.
The GSP Roundup covers Formula E's season finale in London, Supercars at Eastern Creek, WSBK in the Czech Republic, F2/F3 in Belgium, F1 Academy at Paul Ricard, NHRA's Western Swing closer at Sonoma, SRX, MotoGP/Moto2 at Silverstone, IMSA at Road America, WRC Rally Finland and INDY NXT at Nashville.
Phil previews and makes his picks for the IndyCar Series event at Nashville on the heels of the event becoming the season finale in 2024 before Joe and Phil preview and make picks for the Cup and XFinity events at Michigan International Speedway. 

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 179 - Repeat

Phil and Josh continue the summer swing with E179 of the GSP, reviewing Josef Newgarden's double victory at Iowa Speedway along with Denny Hamlin's 50th career Cup Series victory at Pocono with a controversial move on Larson.  The guys talk about Penske's dominance on short ovals along with the points situation for JNew and Alex Palou.  In the Cup Series, plenty of argy bargy went on and both Phil and Josh let their feelings be known about the incidents. 
Phil went to Pocono Raceway on the Saturday, so he was able to see Kyle Busch win the 100th race for KBM in Trucks and listen to Austin Hill steal the XFinity win from Josh Berry and JRM before reviewing Lewis Hamilton winning pole at Hungary and getting used up at the start for a typical result. 
The GSP Roundup covers F2/F3, WRC, INDY NXT, IMSA, NHRA, Supercars, WSBK F1 Academy and Formula E before Josh tells us how he feels about Trevor Lawrence being ranked 96th in the Top 100 players in the NFL and a brief talk up on training camp. 
Phil and Josh keep their preview and picks short and sweet for the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa before looking at Cup/Trucks at Richmond and XFinity at Road America.  Josh lets us know how his go-karting exploits went last week along with all things gaming in his Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 178 - Front Runners

Phil and Josh return for E178 of the GSP to cover Christian Lundgaard's first career IndyCar victory at Toronto in an action packed event.  Alex Palou fades a broken wing to finish second after starting 15th and Colton Herta earned his first podium of 2023.  The guys go through the race and all the key players leading into the doubleheader at Iowa Speedway. 
NASCAR raced at New Hampshire and it was Joe Gibbs Racing domination, with Martin Truex, Jr. winning another Monday race but his first Cup victory at the Magic Mile along with John Hunter Nemechek getting two consecutive victories in XFinity. 
The GSP Roundup goes over the SRX opener at Stafford, Formula E in Rome, WSBK in Imola, NHRA in Denver, FIA F2/F3 in Hungary, WRC Rally Estonia, INDY NXT at Iowa and IMSA GTD Pro and Am at Lime Rock before briefly previewing the Hungarian Grand Prix for Formula 1 and who will finish behind Verstappen.
Phil and Josh preview and make picks for the doubleheader at Iowa Speedway for IndyCar along with the triple-header at Pocono Raceway for NASCAR's top three series before Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 177 - Repeatability

Phil and Josh return for E177 of the GSP to cover the weekend in motorsports along with the announcement that Daniel Ricciardo would replace Nyck De Vries at AlphaTauri effective at the Hungarian Grand Prix.  The crew goes over the British Grand Prix which had the usual winner, but plenty of action behind and a weekend aided by power unit/driveline issues for Kevin Magnussen's Haas.  Phil follows this with a commentary/rant on Red Bull and the powers that be along with their vaunted driver development program. 
NASCAR Cup and XFinity raced at Atlanta while the Trucks raced at Mid-Ohio a week after the IndyCar Series was there.  William Byron's breakout 2023 continues with his second win at the reconfigured AMS and fourth of 2023 in a rain-shortened affair that started in prime time. XFinity saw John Hunter Nemechek benefit from an intra-team battle/screw up from Kaulig Racing which saw Daniel Hemric displeased with Justin Haley post-race for his third win of the season.  Corey Heim dominated from pole for his second win of 2023 at Mid-Ohio while most of the remaining drivers looked ridiculous out there.
The GSP Roundup covered IMSA, F2 & F3, Supercars, Extreme E, WEC, F1 Academy, SRX with their season opener at Stafford on the return of Thursday Night Thunder, Formula E and WSBK.  Phil and Josh then preview and make picks for the IndyCar race at Toronto along with XFinity and Cup at New Hampshire.  Josh lets us know all things going on in Sim Racing and gaming in the Sim Segment prior to Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 176 - ’Merica

Phil and Josh spend part of Independence Day to record E176 of the GSP aka "1776, We are the champs!"  The guys get into the amazing shock result of Shane Van Gisbergen making his Cup debut for Trackhouse and Project 91 and winning at the Chicago Street Course.  Phil and Josh provide their takes on the race, the spectacle and whether it is a good or bad thing that the three-time Supercars champion came to the States and won.  Also, what happened to those dominant Toyotas? The XFinity race was a mess the entire weekend and was called after multiple attempts to restart for Cole Custer. 
At Mid-Ohio, Alex Palou showed once again why he's the gold standard in the IndyCar Series with a masterful performance to earn his third consecutive victory.  Colton Herta and Graham Rahal started on the front row, but pit road played a huge part in their eventual finishing positions.  The biggest story outside of Palou was rookie Benjamin Pedersen doing his best King Hiro impression on multiple drivers, including Palou.  Formula 1 saw the usual winner at Austria, but the battle for second and behind was more interesting with Charles Leclerc and Sergio Perez rounding out the podium.
The GSP Roundup goes over F2/F3 at Austria and previews for Great Britain this weekend, WSBK, Indy NXT, FIM World Supercross GP, IMSA, Supercars, Extreme E, WEC and F1 Academy before the Tate Fogleman Algorithm makes its triumphant return to make selections for all the NASCAR races this weekend.  Phil and Josh preview and make picks for the Trucks at Mid-Ohio and the XFinity/Cup doubleheader at the Atlanta slot car track.  Josh lets us know what is going on in the world of sim racing, gaming and go-karting in the Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 175 - Fireworks or Not

Phil and Josh return for E175 of the GSP to cover NASCAR's tripleheader at Nashville, with Ross Chastain getting a home win for TrackHouse in the Cup race, with AJ Allmendinger and Carson Hocevar winning in XFinity and Trucks respectively.  The crew goes over the key players in each race and the points along with NBC's return to cover the sport thankfully. 
The GSP Roundup went over MotoGP/Moto2 at Assen, IMSA Six Hours at The Glen, NHRA at Norwalk, WRC Rally Kenya, Formula E in Portland, F1 Academy in Zandvoort, WSBK at Donington, Indy NXT at Mid-Ohio, FIM World Supercross in Birmingham, UK and F2/F3 at Red Bull Ring. 
The guys get back to limit their F1 preview and picks behind Fish Lips for Austria before the previews of IndyCar at Mid-Ohio and the wild card Cup and XFinity races at the Chicago Street Course.  Josh lets us know what's going on in the world of iRacing in the Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 174 - Dog Days of Summer

Phil and Josh come back for E174 of the GSP talking about Palou and Verstappen...a common theme so far in 2023.  Alex Palou took the lead late at Road America for his third victory of 2023 in IndyCar with title rivals Josef Newgarden, Pato O'Ward and teammate Scott Dixon behind.  Polesitter and dominant presence Colton Herta lost out on fuel mileage.  Verstappen won the Canadian Grand Prix but the real battle was behind with Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton bringing it back to 2007 with their tussle for 2nd and 3rd. 
Phil and Josh go through all three major NASCAR series to discuss who has been surprising and who has disappointed, with Phil going off on a rant about Stewart-Haas Racing and imploring the team to make a change for his favorite driver Chase Briscoe (after the show was done on Monday night, SHR announced Richard Boswell was moving over to the 14 car along with Josh Berry taking over the 4 car with Rodney Childers staying on). 
The GSP Roundup covers MotoGP/Moto2, Supercars, Indy NXT, IMSA Six Hours at Watkins Glen, WRC Rally Kenya, Formula E in Portland and F1 Academy in Zandvoort before the crew comes back to preview and make picks for all three races at Nashville Superspeedway on the return for NBC covering Cup and XFinity #slidejob.  Josh lets us know all things going on in the world of sim and gaming with his Sim Segment prior to show cose.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 173 - ”Young” Motorsports Icons

Phil and Josh return for E173 of the GSP with a special guest for 90 minutes of racing, inside stories, marriage advice and investing strategies from motorsports icon (and one of Phil's favorite drivers ever) in "Young" Tom Kendall (Bob Jenkins or any announcer voice from the late 80's/early 90's)! 
The original TK finally made it on after two years of work from the executive producer and played along going over his origins, Sports Cars, Trans Am, NASCAR, driving for all three major American manufacturers, Dan Binks, Caroline aka Pony (who was mortified that she made an appearance in the shot), announcing, flipping houses and more. 
After an awesome interview, Phil and Josh recapped the Cup and XFinity races at Sonoma where Martin Truex, Jr. and Aric Almirola won on Sunday and Saturday respectively.  The guys give their thoughts on road racing and more as NASCAR's top three series head into an off week for Father's Day weekend. 
The GSP Roundup gets into an amazing centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans for WEC, MotoGP/Moto2, NHRA, Supercars and Indy NXT before Phil and Josh make their picks and preview the IndyCar event at Road America and the F1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.  Josh gives us updates in the world of iRacing and gaming in the Sim Segment prior to Show Close.
 

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 172 - Pole Position

Phil and Josh return for E172 of the GSP with IndyCar, NASCAR and F1 coverage and more.  IndyCar raced on the streets of Detroit for the first time since 1991, with Alex Palou battling for his second win of 2022.  The guys get into who else stood out, the rough track and points leading into Road America. 
NASCAR Cup and Trucks went to Gateway with Kyle Busch getting his third win of 2023 while Grant Enfinger benefited from Ty Majeski and Zane Smith wrecking out of the top two places. XFinity had Cole Custer take his first win of 2023 after Parker Kligerman did a Swan Racing type of move in the Festival Chicane. Verstappen won by 25 seconds over both Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton leading George Russell in their first race with the new upgrade package.   
The GSP Roundup goes over F2/F3, NHRA, WRC, WSBK, Formula E, Indy NXT, MotoGP/Moto2 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans for WEC before the crew comes back for previews and picks for Snoreoma Cup and XFinity.  Josh lets us know all things iRacing in his Sim Segment before Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 171 - The Greatest Day In Motorsports IV Recap

Phil and Josh come back on from a long weekend to recap the Greatest Day in Motorsports.  Combining the Monaco Grand Prix, the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600, race fans had over 1,260 miles of action without including all the preliminaries. 
Josef Newgarden took advantage of a Green-White-Checkered in the 107th Indy 500 to deny Marcus Ericsson a repeat and the Borg-Warner bonus over $420,000.  This was off three red flags in the last 20 laps of the event, after a generally clean day prior to that. The guys go over all the key players (McLaren, Ganassi and Ferrucci), the incidents that led to the finish and if that is how the biggest race of the IndyCar season should end plus a points review leading to Detroit.
Verstappen won a mixed weather Monaco Grand Prix over Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.  The only real drama was during the changeable conditions and issues for the drivers during that time.  Many drivers had issues during the day and weekend, which affected the points leading to Barcelona.
Phil and Josh provided live commentary on Ryan Blaney's first points win in 59 races at the rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600. Continuing the 2023 trend, Hendrick and Gibbs had the measure over the majority.  However, the actual most popular driver in NASCAR had a great car and overcame numerous restarts to capture the major. 
The guys also talked about the XFinity race that had been rescheduled five or six times since the original start time, with Justin Allgaier using fuel mileage to get JR Motorsports their first win of 2023.  Trucks actually ran on Friday and saw Ben Rhodes take his first win of 2023 on strategy, and promptly loses his crew chief to Matt Crafton.
The GSP Roundup covers F2/F3, NHRA, WRC, Formula E, WSBK and Indy NXT before Phil and Josh preview and make picks for the IndyCar Detroit Grand Prix returning to the streets of Detroit for the first time since 1991. 
The guys also preview and make picks for the F1 Spanish Grand Prix along with the split NASCAR weekend between Gateway and Portland.  Josh provides his exploits in the iRacing Coca-Cola 600 and other races in the Sim Segment prior to show close.    

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 170 - The Greatest Day In Motorsports IV

Phil and Josh return for one of the best times of the year, leading into the Greatest Day In Motorsports.  The guys review Larson's demolition in the All-Star race and what can be done for short track racing with the Gen 7 along with his double in the Trucks.  Other argy bargy went on in the Open but not a whole lot otherwise; however, the Truck race was a cluster. 
Indianapolis 500 qualifying was epic with Alex Palou setting the fastest four-lap average for the pole along with a 235mph+ lap for the points leader.  Rinus Veekay and Felix Rosenqvist rounded out the fastest and youngest front row in 500 history.  On the opposite end, Graham Rahal failed to qualify on the 30-year anniversary of his father Bobby missing the race after winning the IndyCar championship.  Discussion of the incident for Stefan Wilson and who could be in play is covered also. 
F1 at Imola was cancelled due to rain, flooding and other issues, so the guys give their prayers and best wishes to the community in their recovery prior to a lean GSP Roundup with F1 Academy at Barcelona, Supercars at Symmons Plains, NHRA in Chicagoland and F2/F3 at Monaco.
Phil and Josh preview and make picks for the Monaco Grand Prix for F1 prior to the NASCAR tripleheader at Charlotte Motor Speedway and The Indianapolis 500 prior to Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 169 - Past & Present

Phil and Josh come back for E169 of the GSP to cover IndyCar at the IMS Road Course, which saw Alex Palou take his first win of 2023 and the NASCAR tripleheader throwback weekend at Darlington along with thoughts on who made the Top 75 Drivers of all-time.  A busy Roundup looks at IMSA, MotoGP/Moto2, WRC, Extreme E, Indy NXT, Supercross, F2/F3, F1 Academy, Supercars and NHRA.
The crew previews the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola (Phil isn't calling it by the ridiculous name Liberty came up with), where the guys swap which Red Bull will win before getting into the NASCAR Cup All-Star Race and Trucks returning to North Wilkesboro with Phil adding some memories from the past and Indianapolis 500 Qualifying with who could win pole and who is in trouble. 
Josh lets us know all things gaming and iRacing in his Sim Segment prior to Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 168 - And There’s A Fight!

Denny Hamlin's first win of 2023 in the Cup Series at Kansas was overshadowed by a nicely thrown right cross by Ross Chastain on bowl cut goofball Noah Gragson after a battle between the two during the race.  Hamlin battled his golfing buddy Kyle Larson late and made contact after his driver Tyler Reddick spun the polesitter five laps into the race. 
While the media is coming out saying that was the best race in recent history, the issues with the Next Gen car continue to be exposed.  Grant Enfinger took his first win of 2023 in the Craftsman Truck Series at Kansas in a generally docile event, with Darlington on tap.
Formula 1 at Miami was a fan spectacle and a boring, processional race for a second consecutive year.  Verstappen utilized a better tire strategy from 9th to pass teammate and polesitter Sergio Perez on track for his 3rd win of 2023.  Alonso gets another podium and Lewis Hamilton advanced from 13th to 6th on the same tire strategy as MV. 
The GSP Roundup covers Formula E in Monaco, WSBK in Barcelona, F1 Academy in Valencia along with previews of MotoGP/Moto2 at Le Mans, IMSA at Laguna Seca, WRC Rally Portugal, Extreme E in Scotland and Indy NXT at Indy road course. 
Phil and Josh preview and make their picks for the IndyCar GMR Grand Prix at the Indy RC before discussing the throwbacks at Darlington for all three major NASCAR series.  The crew also makes their picks for all three races before Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.
 

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 167 - Hot Takes and Lifetime Experiences

Technical problems, Phil bowling with the pros and Josh making one of his hottest takes ever...these are just a few of the things that took place on E167 of the GSP.  However, plenty of racing took place as well!  Scotty McLaughlin earned his first victory of 2023 at Barber in a tough battle versus pole-sitter Romain Grosjean and teammate Will Power.  McLaughlin's three-stop strategy became optimal due to a questionable yellow along with Grosjean using up his P2P early. 
NASCAR saw a Truex family double, with Martin taking his first Cup win since 2021 on a Monday after his brother Ryan finally won his first XFinity race after over a decade in the series.  Josh lights the fire with his take on Ross Chastain after continued argy bargy involving the championship runner up from 2022.  Formula 1 at Azerbaijan saw Sergio Perez take his second win of 2023 after a fortuitous full safety car after teammate Max Verstappen pitted.  The Red Bull duo finished 1-2 with Charles Leclerc on the podium after starting on pole.  
Josh and Phil cover their respective NFL teams drafts and their thoughts on the other teams work as rookie mini camps and OTA's take place.  The GSP Roundup covers WEC at Spa, MotoGP/Moto2 at Jerez, NHRA Charlotte Four-Wide, Supercars at Wanneroo, Indy NXT at Barber along with previews of WSBK at Barcelona and Formula E at Monaco. 
The crew previews and makes their picks for the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Miami along with NASCAR Cup and Trucks in Kansas prior to Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.
Josh and Phil
 

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 166 - Draft Day

Phil and Josh return for E166 of the GSP to cover Talladega for NASCAR Cup and XFinity teams and talk about the NFL Draft.  Kyle Busch benefited from a last lap wreck between BFF's Darrell Wallace, Jr. and Ryan Blaney to get his first Talladega win in 15 years while Jeb Burton used multiple Green/White/Checkered's to get Jordan Anderson Racing their first victory in NASCAR while locking into the XFinity playoffs.  The guys get into all the carnage and issues that came up during the weekend. 
Josh spoke about the options Jacksonville has in the first round and Phil added his thoughts on the early part of the draft and what could transpire, plus FallBrawl is back for another year in Fantasy Football. A busy GSP Roundup comes next and includes: WRC, Formula E, World Superbike, WEC, MotoGP/Moto2, NHRA, Supercars, Indy NXT and F2. 
Phil and Josh preview the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and make their picks along with Cup/XFinity at Dover and IndyCar at Barber Motorsports Park prior to Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.

Grip Strip Podcast Episode 165 - Kyle’s Wild

Phil and Josh return for E165 of the GSP to recap IndyCar at Long Beach and NASCAR at Martinsville.  Kyle Kirkwood dominated from pole to win his first IndyCar race, with Andretti Autosport taking three of the top four positions.  Pato O'Ward wore the black hat with two ill-advised moves going into Turn 9, with one eliminating Scott Dixon.  The guys go over the race, what it means for Kirkwood going forward and the points leading into Barber in two weeks. 
NASCAR Cup closed the triple-header weekend at Martinsville Speedway, with Kyle Larson taking his first win at the paperclip along with the grandfather clock.  Even with down-force, aero and engine power adjustments, the racing was just as bad or worse than last year.  Larson was nowhere but used strategy to get track position and eventually lead the last 30 laps to victory. 
Stewart-Haas Racing had four fast Ford Mustangs, but not much to show for that.  Chase Briscoe led the team with a fifth place finish and second most laps led, while pole-sitter Ryan Preece dominated the first stage only to speed on pit road and have to climb back to 15th.  Kevin Harvick ran up front for the majority of the day but issues on pit road and a cut tire relegated the soon to be retiree to 20th.  Aric Almirola had a roller-coaster day but salvaged a sixth.  Other key players are discussed and points are reviewed before the teams and drivers head to Talladega.
In the XFinity Series, Phil picked the driver to win in John Hunter Nemechek, and he paid that off by burning his Toyota Supra to the ground in celebration.  Basically nobody else had anything for him and he is now the points leader in the series over Austin Hill.  The Trucks saw the introduction of the damp weather oval tires, raced in the first stage prior to a stoppage for rain.  Corey Heim battled his former boss Kyle Busch for 124 laps before the race was called and the Tricon Garage driver earned his 3rd career victory.
A packed GSP Roundup covers Supercross, IMSA, MotoGP/Moto2, WEC at Portimao, NHRA at Las Vegas Four Wide (with someone named Anthony Wayne Stewart winning in Top Alcohol Dragster...he's won somewhere before), along with previews of Rally Croatia for WRC, Formula E in Berlin and WSBK in Assen. 
The Tate Fogleman Algorithm returns to the site where it got its name, since the Cup and XFinity teams will be at Talladega this weekend.  Phil and Josh preview and make picks for both races plus the wild card selection.  Josh provides details of his go-karting exploits and iRacing work on his Sim Segment prior to show close.