Autoweek Podcast

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll guides Natalie Neff, Mike Pryson and Graham Kozak through the 60th Anniversary issue of Autoweek. Al Pearce calls in to explain how covering racing has changed in over the last 60 years. The team crack open the Autoweek trivia game and talk about the first car to win the F1 constructors' championship -- the Vanwall. The hosts also try to dissect the future of Autoweek, the car industry and the car hobby -- without an orb or crystal ball.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll talks with Jimmy Pelizzari, Robin Warner and Mike Pryson about his trip to this year’s Le Mans. Robin, who was also at Le Mans, compares his experience from the Toyota pits with Rory’s time with Porsche. The guys talk about the race’s highlights, including Fernando Alonso’s overall victory in his Toyota in the LMP1 class.   After the Le Mans discussion, the episode moves to a prerecorded interview with the Team Joest Mazda DPi IMSA endeavor. While this was recorded before the Detroit Grand Prix, the team talks about the pressure to compete at the top level and the struggles it’s overcoming as the season progresses.   Wrapping the show, Graham Kozak talks about his tip to Gridlife in South Haven, Michigan. Stepping away from his classic car realm, Graham enjoyed his experience at the Gridlife festival but would still rather go to a Packard club meet. Also, Robin talks about the Ferrari 488 Pista and the Jaguar XE SV Project 8.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll, Wesley Wren, Jimmy Pelizzari and Jake Lingeman tear into the battle against the Detroit Grand Prix. The group discusses the reasons behind the race’s protests and talk about how it didn’t seem to affect the race. The guys also talk about Mark Reuss’s unfortunate spin at the race, which captured everyone’s attention.   After the Detroit GP wrap-up, Jimmy talks about the Olympus Rally -- a stage rally that’s part of the American Rally Association, or ARA. Jimmy talks about attending a rally as a spectator instead of his usual role of competitor, as well as Autoweek’s affiliation with ARA.   Following rally talk, guest Vaughn Gittin Jr. climbs out of his Ford Mustang drift machine and into the Autoweek Podcast studio to talk about his own line of RTR Mustangs and Ford F-150 pickups. He also tells the story of how he got into drifting and what it was like to drift a Ford F-150 Raptor around the Nurburgring.   After the interview, Jake leads a discussion

On this special episode of the Autoweek Podcast, Robin Warner, Mike Pryson and Wesley Wren join host Rory Carroll to tackle the Indianapolis 500, the Monaco Grand Prix and the Coca-Cola 600. Rory also introduces a series of interviews held ahead of the Detroit Grand Prix that should give some insight into what the teams and the fans should expect during the races on Belle Isle. After the short motorsports section and brief introduction, Mike, Robin and Wesley interview Ed Carpenter Racing’s Jordan King. Jordan handles the road racing duties for Ed Carpenter and hails from across the pond. Jordan talks about his experiences in the U.S. since he came to IndyCar, the cultural differences between Brits and Americans and his opinion on iced tea. Following that, Mike and Robin talk to Tristan Vautier and Matt McMurry about the No. 90 Spirit of the Daytona Racing Cadillac DPi-V.R car. While both young, the drivers have racked up tons of experience so far in their respective careers. McMurry, 20, is even the youngest

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll guides Mike Pryson and Wesley Wren through the terrible Formula 1 race in Spain and Ford’s recent dominance in NASCAR. Before dissecting why the Spanish GP was bad, the team is joined by Jimmy Pelizzari by telephone to talk about his reconnaissance laps of the Southern Ohio Forest Rally. When Jimmy isn’t talking about F1 on the podcast, or doing his actual job at Autoweek, he races a Subaru 2.5RS in various stage rallies around the Midwest. Jimmy gives a firsthand account of the stages of the Southern Ohio event, as well as insight into what it’s like to go rally racing. Afterward, Robin Warner, Mike and Jimmy interview Wayne Taylor Racing’s Jordan Taylor. Jordan talks about his life of racing and watching his brother leave his team, and tells some stories about his early racing career. Jordan also talks about how demanding the different races of the year can be, with their vastly different race lengths. Following the interview, Graham Kozak leads

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll is joined by guest Tony Kanaan to talk about Kanaan’s Indianapolis 500 win, his new line of wheels and his car collection. Before the interview, motorsports editor Mike Pryson, Jimmy Pelizzari and Robin Warner talk about the Formula 1 race in Baku and the NASCAR race in Talladega. The gang analyzes Lewis Hamilton’s victory, the Red Bull team’s crash and Valtteri Bottas’ tire puncture. After the motorsports section and the Kanaan interview, Graham Kozak and Jake Lingeman hop on mics to update the Autoweek Garage Beer Tournament and talk about the recent outing to Grattan Raceway. The team dives into what happened during their track day and how the Mustang handled the stress. Closing the show, Robin reviews the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and Jake finally gives his driving impressions from his Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 drive.

On this episode of that Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll dives into the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix with Jimmy Pelizzari, Wesley Wren and Graham Kozak. The guys look at the Bahrain Grand Prix briefly and analyze the close racing as well as Kimi Raikkonen’s crew member’s mishap. It’s a similar story for the Chinese GP, except of course no crew members were injured. Later, Rory talks about his recent trip to the Long Beach Bubba burger Sports Car Grand Prix in Long Beach, California, and the following IndyCar race. Graham talks about his recent trip to the Metropolitan Pit Stop where he saw some ultra-rare Metropolitans, camped in an Airstream trailer and lived with SoCal traffic. Also, Rory leads a discussion about the Porsche 919 Evo and introduces the Autoweek Garage Beer Tournament. As for drives, Jake walks around his recent jaunt in the 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 at Road Atlanta. Because his driving impressions are embargoed, the group squeezes as much information out about the car

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll talks about the Australian GP with Robin Warner, Jake Lingeman and Jimmy Pelizzari. The gang dives into ESPN’s bumbling of the race’s broadcast, its half-hearted attempt at a Twitter avatar and how Lewis Hamilton lost. Afterward, the guys talk about the start of the IndyCar season and how it might be more exciting to watch than F1. After the motorsports section, Wesley Wren joins the discussion about everyone’s project cars. Rory gives an update on his Porsche 911, Jake gets his Mustang ready for track use, Wesley explains the problems of storing cars in a damp garage (and the demise of his favorite clutch shop) and Jimmy talks about his Datsun 260Z. After bemoaning their project cars, the group introduces the new Autoweek long-term 2018 Ford Mustang and review the super-short-term loan of a McLaren 720S. Jake guides us through the Mustang’s options and then everyone talks about their favorite parts of the McLaren.

On this episode of The Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll talks with Steven Cole Smith about the 2018 12 Hours of Sebring, the Ferrari flip, Mazda’s future in IMSA and what teams are looking good early in the year. Afterwards, Robin Warner and Wesley Wren talk with Rory about Formula 1’s Barcelona testing sessions and what we can expect at from the F1’s first race of the season. After the motorsports section, Graham Kozak and Jake Lingeman join the table to talk about the 2018 Detroit Autorama, the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and the Golden Sahara’s unearthing. Wrapping the show, the gang talks about the 2019 Ram 1500 and explains a new tool giveaway.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll is joined in studio by IMSA racer and Wright Motorsports driver Christina Nielsen to talk about her switch to Porsche, the best airports in the country, being a woman in racing and her feelings about becoming immortalized by Lego. Also joining in on the interview are Graham Kozak, Mike Pryson and Natalie Neff. After the interview, Wesley Wren joins the group to talk about the 2018 Lincoln Navigator and the 2018 Infiniti Q60 Red Sport 400 AWD. The group talks about the buzz around the Navigator, its incredible size and how it stacks up against the uber-luxe SUV competition. During the Infiniti chat, the crew brings up Infiniti’s inspiration for the car (BMW’s Hofmeister kink), its engine and the problems with steer-by-wire.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll is joined by Mike Pryson, Graham Kozak and Jake Lingeman to talk about the Daytona 500 with NASCAR legend Al Pearce. Pearce has been to 50 Daytona 500s, 46 of which were reported to Autoweek magazine. Over his time, Pearce has gone from asking Richard Petty why he climbed through the door of his Plymouth to insider deep dives into the personalities of the sport. During the interview, Pearce talks about his first Daytona 500, how he got there, and how it changed his life. He adds to the Daytona stories with other hilarious stories of NASCAR legends that show how much drivers have changed in the past 50 years. After the Daytona discussion, Wesley Wren joins the group to tease the upcoming DIY issue with a talk about tools. Before talking about tools, the hosts give a shoutout to a listener. Afterward, the gang reviews the long-awaited Mini Ductor 2, talks about why expensive tools make sense and talk about their favorite tools for their past.

On this special episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll talks with Mark Vaughn, Robin Warner and Mike Pryson about the late Dan Gurney. The show starts with Mark detailing Gurney’s early life in New York, his move to California and his inclusion in the Southern Californian hot rod scene of the late 1940s. From there, Mark takes us through his racing career, eventually reaching a seminal time in 1967 where Gurney cemented his legacy as one of the top drivers to ever climb behind the wheel of a race car. In the span of a few months, Gurney raced at the Indianapolis 500, Le Mans, the Belgian Grand Prix, the Green Valley 300 Trans-Am race and the Monaco Grand Prix. All the while traveling to back and forth to Weslake to check on his new V12 engine’s development. Of course, that was also the year that, during his Le Mans celebration, Gurney sprayed his victory champagne on the crowd -- changing racing celebrations forever. After Gurney, Wesley Wren hops on mic and Rory talks about his first time at t

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll joins Mike Pryson, Robin Warner and Graham Kozak to talk about the upcoming racing season. The group talks about Danica Patrick’s Daytona 500 return and what it means to racing as a whole. They also talk about the other race in Daytona -- the Rolex 24. They speculate about the expected heavy hitters and discuss Jackie Chan’s DC Racing team’s inclusion of the race. A quick look at Dan Gurney’s life is also mentioned, but expect a more substantial Gurney episode in the future. After Pryson leaves, Wesley Wren hops on mic to talk about the hits from this year’s North American International Auto Show. The guys highlight Hyundai’s Veloster N before getting derailed by a cultural analysis of 1968’s “Bullitt.” After the team reach a conclusion about “Bullitt,” they dive back into the auto show. Trucks like the new Ram 1500 and the Ford Ranger were the talk of the show floor in Detroit, alongside the new G-Class. After the auto show, the team review the Ki

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll talks with Jimmy, Graham and Robin about the 2018 Dakar Rally and news from the Roar Before the 24 in Daytona. The gang discusses the history of the Dakar Rally and mentions that rally legend Sébastien Loeb still races this race. It should be noted this was recorded before Loeb crashed during the race. After Jimmy leaves, Wesley joins the discussion to talk about Graham’s latest financial burden -- a 1948 Packard. Graham bought the Packard during his trip to the Mecum auction in Kissimmee, Florida. Rounding out the show, Robin talks about his time in the Mercedes-AMG GT4 race car. Make sure to subscribe and let us know what you think!

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, Host Rory Carroll is alone in the studio to introduce a special treat -- an interview with Willy T. Ribbs. The accomplished racing driver talks about his life on and off the track. Tibbs spent time in various racing series, such as Trans Am, NASCAR, IndyCar to name a few. This interview was recorded during the early stages of Autoweek’s podcast, so ignore the format and interview recording quality and enjoy the life of one of racing’s underappreciated legends.

In episode 17 of the Autoweek Podcast, Mike Pryson, Matt Weaver and Graham Kozak join host Rory Carroll to discuss the Autoweek Awards. The guys talk about the whys and wherefores behind all the awards coming to the next issue of Autoweek magazine. After the awards section, Executive Editor Natalie Neff and Wesley Wren join in to talk about what cars the staff would pick … if we did a Car of the Year. While Autoweek doesn’t do a traditional end-of-year award for a car, the group talks about the five cars the staff liked most in 2017.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll leads a discussion with Graham Kozak, Jimmy Pelizzari and Wesley Wren about their various project cars languishing around the Midwest. Rory dives into the history of his Porsche 911 and its current state of disrepair. Jimmy talks about his 1974 Datsun 260Z, 1988 Mazda 323 GTX rally car and 2000 Subaru Impreza 2.5RS. Wesley tells us about his fleet of seemingly absent cars: a 1954 Ford Crestline Victoria, 1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Galaxie and (partially) a 1930 Ford Model A. Graham talks about his 1951 Packard and his plans to restore a Nash Metropolitan before his fall 2018 wedding. Closing the show, the crew talks about the Mercedes-AMG GT R.

In this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, host Rory Carroll, Mike Pryson, Graham Kozak and Jake Lingeman talk about the end of the racing season, NASCAR’s playoff season and Formula 1. The group also talks about the big names that won’t return to the track next year -- namely Dale Earnhardt Jr. After the motorsports section, the gang talks about the recent dune buggy ban in Texas and the Koenigsegg Agera RS top speed run. The legacy of the Dodge Viper is also discussed, along with notes about Graham’s drive to Tennessee in a Viper ACR and J.P. Vettraino’s visit to the Viper assembly plant. Keeping the high-horsepower talk alive, the group describes the latest Corvette ZR1, the future of Corvette and what records it will break. The crew reviews our year with a Genesis G90 and a few months with a Mercedes-Benz E400 wagon.

On this episode of the Autoweek Podcast, the motorsports section features host Rory Carroll talking about the events of the U.S. Grand Prix with Wesley Wren and Robin Warner. Later, Jake Lingeman, Graham Kozak and special guest Trevor Strunk of the “No Cartridge Audio” podcast join Rory and Robin to talk about video games. The hosts run discuss how racing games like Gran Turismo and Forza affect car culture. The hosts also dive into the strange world of uber-specialized simulators. Instead of a traditional drive review, Jake and Trevor review the latest racing games to hit the market.

On the special Spooktacular episode of the Autoweek Podcast, Master of Scaremonies Gory Scarroll (Rory Carroll) talks with Snake Lingeman (Jake Lingeman), Wooohhhh-esley Wren (Wesley Wren) and Graham Stoker (Graham Kozak) about The 24 hours of LeMons at GingerMan Raceway. Then, Graham leads a discussion about “Christine,” “Rubber” and “Maximum Overdrive” to argue that car movies where cars are the villain aren’t scary before exploring the various paranormal places that popped up after the rise of the automobile -- haunted bridges, highways and gravity hills. Finally, the group discusses the most haunted car currently in the Autoweek fleet -- a pumpkin orange Mercedes-AMG G63. The vaunted G-Wagen is a 5.5-liter turbocharged V8 ultra-luxe SUV that is polarizing enough to split the staff down the middle.