Shelby Cobras, Kimi Räikkönen, and Suspension Cork-Sniffing episode artwork

EPISODE · Nov 4, 2025 · 57 MIN

Shelby Cobras, Kimi Räikkönen, and Suspension Cork-Sniffing

from It's Not the Car · host Sam Smith, Ross Bentley, Jeff Braun

How did Ross and a young Kimi Räikkönen end up sharing a fancy London apartment? After 20 years of testing fast cars for a living, which one still makes Sam misty? What really went wrong with Ross’s IndyCar career?Answers to these questions—and more!—in this episode. Probably! Yes!Every so often, INTC does a listener Q+A show. We call that format “NO DUMB QUESTIONS.” This isn’t that. This is Ross and Sam running a weird almost-gameshow and answering uncomfy questions from each other under pressure. ***IN THIS EP: Ross and Kimi — A brake line bursting open in 70-mph L.A. traffic — Ross’s favorite street cars (and why) — How balance is the only thing that matters — a 289 Shelby Cobra — The time Ross watched a Concorde take off from the cockpit of a 747 on final approach — and more!This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “SOME DUMB QUESTIONS.”This episode was produced by Sam Smith.**Who We Are + Spicy Merch:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ItsNotTheCar.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠**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]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠**Check out Sam's book!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠**Where to find us:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠**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, a bestselling author, and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer. Sam Smith is an award-winning writer and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine.We don’t love racing for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.New episodes every Tuesday.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Nov 4, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Shelby Cobras, Kimi Räikkönen, and Suspension Cork-Sniffing

0:00 57:34

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of It's Not the Car?

This episode is 57 minutes long.

When was this It's Not the Car episode published?

This episode was published on November 4, 2025.

Can I download this It's Not the Car episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!