Daily Driver

Today on The Daily Driver, I share one of my favorite memories involving my father and a lesson in belief, perseverance, and passion for racing that has stayed with me for nearly 25 years. From a rain-delayed national event in Topeka to a wounded race car and a matchup against my idol, this story is about more than competition, it’s about the unwavering confidence a parent can instill and the impact that belief can have long after the moment has passed. 

This week’s Question of the Week comes from David, who asks: How do I strategize against my opponent at different types of race tracks when it comes to time slips. For example at Worldwide drag strip they use the time slip app I can look up an opponent's car number and gauge whether he's dialing honest or holding some numbers. How do I strategize against my opponent at racetracks like Benton that still use the paper time slips?"If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

On this episode of the Daily Driver we are discussing Geographic Superiority in drag racing and the ongoing debate regarding which regions of the country produce the best racers.

Back at the beginning of March, there was a question that was submitted here on the Question of the Week "What percentage in the final round (Winner and RU) in $25k and larger races that allow it are doubled?" and we wanted to take another episode to really peel back the layers of doubling. If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. 

This week’s Question of the Week comes from Ben, who asks: My question is, for an altered that weighs roughly 1650lbs (125" wheelbase) and makes 550 horsepower, what would be your suggestion for the rear wheel/tire combination?If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

Today on The Daily Driver, I’m excited to introduce another course in our Win Light Lab program at This Is Bracket Racing - Win Light Lab: Understanding Data Acquisition, hosted by Mike Mans.Mike, a multi-time NHRA winner and respected shock and suspension expert, joins us to talk about the value of small-group learning and why it’s so effective for dialing in individual vehicle combinations. We also dive into how understanding and applying your data can turn a significant investment into a real competitive edge on the track.

This week’s Question of the Week comes from Brad, who asks: How can I make my car react quicker?If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

This week’s Question of the Week comes from Jamey, who asks: What do you find is the best breathing technique at the starting line?If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

This week’s Question of the Week comes from Denny, who asks: What do racers want to hear during the race? Do you prefer just win loss stats(numbers)? Do you want history behind racers?If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

This week’s Question of the Week comes from Mark, who asks: What percentage in the final round (Winner and RU) in $25k and larger races that allow it are doubled? If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

This week’s Question of the Week comes from Robert, who asks: How do you game plan when you don’t know who you’re racing? Joining us to break it down is Kris Whitfield, guest instructor from ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE, sharing insight on preparation, mindset, and strategy when the matchup is unknown.  If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

This week’s Question of the Week doesn’t actually come in question form and full transparency, I borrowed the idea from the Be00Take00 Podcast. Instead, today’s Daily Driver dives into a fun (and debatable) topic: Who are the top five sportsman racers of all time?If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

Today on The Daily Driver, we continue on with the Question of the Week, a segment many of you already recognize from the ThisIsBracketRacing Facebook page. Now, we’re bringing those conversations to the podcast. This week’s question: "Are Bottom Bulb Racers Really at a Disadvantage?"If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

Today on The Daily Driver, I am excited to announce a new program coming to This Is Bracket Racing: The Win Light Lab. Rolling out throughout 2026, each version of the Lab will be hosted by one of our ELITE instructors including Mike Mans, Justin Lamb, Kris Whitfield, Gage Burch, Mikey Sturgill, and Matt Dadas. Each Lab will be focused on a different element of competition.We kick things off with The Win Light Lab: The Mental Edge, hosted by Kris Whitfield, who joins us today to talk about why small-group learning matters and why the mental game is such a powerful separator in racing.

Today on The Daily Driver, we kick off Question of the Week, a segment many of you already recognize from the ThisIsBracketRacing Facebook page. Now, we’re bringing those conversations to the podcast. This week’s question: "Is footbrake still a thing?"If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

Today on The Daily Driver, we reflect on graduation. Young racers stepping into full-size competition. It’s an emotional transition and a reminder of how fast it all goes. These drivers are capable, talented, and how we choose to support them will help shape the future of the sport. 

On this episode of The Daily Driver, we talk about pressure. Why it shows up, how experience changes it, and why it never fully goes away. The key isn’t eliminating pressure, but learning to embrace it as a sign you care and letting it prepare you to perform at your best. 

In this episode of The Daily Driver, I'm exploring the power of community and why no one truly succeeds alone. Drawing from a powerful study, personal experience, and lessons from TIBR Jr. and ELITE, I break down how independence can get you started but growth accelerates when you surround yourself with people who share your ambition. The right community doesn’t just support you… it makes you better. 

In this episode of The Daily Driver, I share advice I gave a young racer heading to his first big-money, multi-day event. The one word he needed to hear? Grace.Big events are long, expectations are high, and mistakes are part of the process. The difference isn’t whether you mess up, it’s how you respond when you do. This episode is about trusting the racer you know you are, letting go of the occasional mistake, and moving forward with confidence.

From time to time on The Daily Driver, I like to share the audio version of my column, The Science of Winning, which appears in NHRA’s National Dragster magazine. This week’s piece is titled “The Stuff of Legends.”

In this episode of The Daily Driver, we’re talking about how racers can make real gains during what we call separation season, the offseason. While many step away or hit pause, this is actually the best opportunity to improve, refine habits, and build an edge that shows up when it matters most. 

In this episode of The Daily Driver, I’m talking about a familiar concern in racing, the rising cost of competition and what it means for the future of the sport. It’s something I’ve wrestled with lately, until I realized my own dad was saying the same thing more than 30 years ago. And since then, the sport hasn’t just survived, it’s thrived in ways none of us could have predicted.

Today we’re talking about what happens when you shift your focus to something new on the track. Maybe you’re rock-solid on the tree, but decide to prioritize the finish line next round. You execute perfectly there but suddenly you’re late on the tree. Sometimes the mental energy required to level up a new skill takes away from the things you normally do well. So what's the answer? 

In this episode of the Daily Driver, I’m unpacking something I recently said during a webinar: I’d rather be wrong than indecisive. In everyday life, I’m intentional, I take my time before reaching conclusions because I value learning and adaptability. But when it comes to racing, I will stand behind what I said in that webinar. 

As we do here from time to time on The Daily Driver, I like to share the audio version of my column The Science of Winning featured in NHRA’s National Dragster magazine. This week I am sharing The Trophy Case. 

This week's Daily Driver episode is dedicated to honoring the 2025 NHRA Lucas Oil Sportsman Champions. 

Wednesday afternoon, NHRA made an announcement that changes the game! Due to an awful forecast, the sportsman classes will run to completion Thursday... without a time trial! How does this wrinkle alter the championship chase? And what questions are still unanswered?

There is no driver coming into Pomona with more potential variance in outcome than Darian Boesch. And he's not even racing in Pomona. He's coming into the season finale leading both Top Dragster and Top Sportsman. Will he end the weekend as the 4th driver in NHRA history to win 2 world championship in the same season? Or will he leave empty handed? 

We're here, the final race on the NHRA Lucas Oil series schedule. What will happen in the Super Classes? Will Whitfield and Brock hold on? 

Continuing our deep dive into last weekend’s captivating race in Vegas, I mentioned in yesterday’s episode that today would be dedicated to Jeff Taylor. He’s a three-time NHRA World Champion and this past weekend he reminded everyone exactly why. 

This is what I love about November every year. This past weekend was absolutely captivating. Today’s episode of the Daily Driver is dedicated to Justin Lamb, who came into the event knowing he had to do one thing: win the race. Nothing less would do. And boy did he show out! 

On today’s episode of the Daily Driver, we’re talking about lane discrepancies and how you can use them to your advantage. 

Jimmy Hidalgo, Jr. is the favorite in Super Stock... but it's not over! Kris Whitfield is the favorite in SC... but it's not over! JJ Brock is the favorite in SG... but it's FAR from over! Luke does his best to break down all the scenarios (and even gives some odds) in today's Daily Driver!

As we come into the final two weeks of the season, only the Stock Eliminator and TAFC titles have been determined. Today, Luke breaks down the favorites and contenders in the "fast" classes: Top Dragster, Top Sportsman, and Competition Eliminator!

Only two events remain in the 2025 NHRA Lucas Oil season! In this episode of Daily Driver, I’m recapping all the action from Las Vegas, a weekend that favored the points leaders. No lead changes this time, which is something you don’t see often this late in the year. 

In this episode of Daily Driver, we’re diving into the “nothing to lose” mindset. I’ve learned over the years that when I race with that mindset, I perform at my best. The real challenge? Figuring out how to tap into that mindset consistently. 

In this episode of The Nerd Out, fair warning, it’s going to run longer than 10 minutes, we’re diving into the incredible drama of Super Gas. Over the past three seasons, the chase has come down to Pomona, and it feels like destiny is leading us right back there again. As we head into this weekend, 11 drivers remain mathematically in the hunt for the world championship and all 11 are entered in the West Coast races. 

Today, we’re resetting the stage in the 8.90 Super Comp category as we head into the final three weeks of the season. It’s fair to say the 2025 season has been all about one man, Kris Whitfield. But there’s a twist... he waived two events that he actually went on to win. Because of that, the championship isn’t quite locked up just yet.

Short of Super Gas, the Super Stock title race may be the most compelling. Reigning champ Jimmy Hidalgo, Jr. is the leader in the clubhouse with what "should" be a fairly comfortable lead... But his two closest contenders have combined for NINE NHRA World Championships!

Over the next week I'm going to try my best to set the stage for the remaining 3 weeks of the season. Today I'm focusing on the Stock and Comp classes. 

Continuing on with the Nerd Out series and this week I'm turning the spotlight back on Top Dragster. 

The Nerd Out series is back, and it’s getting way too juicy to cram multiple classes into a single weekly episode. So, we’re switching gears. From now on, each episode will focus on just one class at a time, with multiple episodes dropping every week.This episode? It’s all about Stock Eliminator. Let’s nerd out!

It's that time of year again... time to Nerd Out! Today I wanted to take a bird's eye view on a few classes that I don't think will be too impacted by the trio of upcoming divisional races this coming weekend.   

From time to time on The Daily Driver, I like to share pieces from my column The Science of Winning featured in NHRA’s National Dragster magazine. This week I am sharing The Jr Dragster Experience. 

On this episode of The Daily Driver, we’re joined by none other than Mikie Sturgill, former NHRA World Champion, multi-time track champion, and multi-time divisional champion. A highly respected figure in the sportsman drag racing world and a guest instructor with ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE, Mikie brings a wealth of knowledge and real-world experience to the mic. So I had to ask him the burning question, why the switch from a dragster to a door car? 

 From time to time here on The Daily Driver, I like to share a piece from my column in The Science of Winning, featured in NHRA’s National Dragster. Today, I’m bringing you one titled ‘Where I Come From'.

On this week's episode of the Daily Driver, I am joined by one of our regular guest instructors in ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE Matt Dadas to talk about his ability to adapt, evolve, and drive multiple classes. 

This week's episode is taken from our segment over on the ThisIsBracketRacing Facebook page called Question of the Week. Each Friday we answer a question submitted from racers from all over. Submit your questions over at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. This is a common question that comes up a lot about what helmet shield do you recommend? One of our regular guest instructors over in ThisIsBracketRacing ELITE, Mikie Sturgill joins me in answering this. 

This week's episode centers on character — the kind that shows when it seems to matter least. When no one’s watching, how will you choose to act? 

This week brings the final audio edition of the ThisIsBracketRacing email series on the idea of what if bracket racing was easy and it is focused on the mental game of racing. How to make performing under pressure, easy!