BONUS: Sam Reads From His New Book — “Mears and My Feet”

Another free bonus episode! Why? Sam has a new book out! To celebrate, we’re releasing four excerpts, each read aloud by him, every Monday for a month. This is the second installment. Sam’s book is called, “Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writings, 2003–2023.” It’s an anthology of his writing for car magazines over the last 20 years. Like the man himself, it’s thoughtful, funny, and deeply human. Today’s story originally ran as a column at Hagerty, the classic-car insurance and media company, in 2021. It’s called “Mears and My Feet.” It’s about racing, pain, and the things we need to do. “Smithology” is available on Amazon in print ($29.95) and as a Kindle e-book ($12.99). Enjoy! ** Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ ** Where to find us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/j.v.braun⁠/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠instagram.com/intcpod/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠facebook.com/INTCPod⁠/⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠facebook.com/Drivercoach/⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** ABOUT THE SHOW: It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and an internationally renowned performance coach and author. Jeff Braun is a championship-winning race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. Together, we explore the emotion at the heart of the machine. We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the bag of meat at the wheel. New episodes every Tuesday.