Winner of the Week

Legendary drag racer John Force came into The Freak Nation Sunday night just hours after winning his 16th NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Funny Car title. Force is a regular in The Freak Nation nearly as much as he's a regular in Victory Circle. He talked about his win and his renewed effort to get new sponsors to replace Ford and Castrol, long-time sponsors who said 2014 would be their last year with John Force Racing.

Grand-Am Rolex DP Lime Rock winner Jordan Taylor took time out from the celebration Sunday Night to talk about his 2013 Rolex Daytona Prototype championship with teammate Max Angelelli. The title came with Wayne Taylor Racing, a team owned by his father Wayne Taylor. Taylor is launching a great career with his first title before his 23rd birthday. It was fun to find out his favorite "adult" beverage is apple juice.

The hottest names in Grand-Am Rolex Daytona Prototype competition is Jordan Taylor and his teammate Max Angelelli. The Wayne Taylor Racing Team won its second race in a row Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to build on their series leading championship hopes with one race remaining. Taylor's becoming a Freaks Favorite especially when he talks about his eye for music videos including the one he has planned for his Father Wayne. Listen...

IndyCar Sonoma winner Will Power talked with The Freaks in the midst of his dash to the airport to return home. Power had his wife drive while he talked with The Freaks. That's a running theme in this conversation. So is the biggest controversy in the Sonoma Raceway IndyCar race: a penalty given to race leader Scott Dixon that eventually gave the win to Power. It's a story that'll continue through the coming week but we get Will Power's reaction now. Listen...

NASCAR Nationwide Mid-Ohio winner A.J. Allmendinger is one of our favorite guests in The Freak Nation. He's especially fun after a win like the one Saturday when he dominated the stock car race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. But wait'll you hear A.J.'s praise of Roger Penske and his indifference to Kenny Sargent! Listen...

Grand-Am Rolex DP Road America winner Brendan Hartley is considered a rookie in Grand-Am. But the Starworks Motorsports driver is far from a rookie. He's a driver in the World Endurance Championship in prototypes and he's a test driver for Mercedes GP, an F1 team. But he's also a sampler of great cheeseburgers. Hartley is very diverse... here's proof.

NHRA Top Fuel Seattle winner Morgan Lucas took time to talk to The Freaks Sunday night before he took his pregnant wife to celebrate with the rest of his team. But Lucas was quick to talk about his future as a team owner in addition to his future as a driver. In fact, Lucas had a lot to say about the NHRA's future with Ford. The auto maker said it was leaving NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing after next season. Listen...

NHRA Pro Stock Denver winner Allen Johnson continued his excellence at the Mopar Mile High Nationals outside Denver. Johnson is a long time Friend of the Freaks who is the defending NHRA Pro Stock champion. He knows how to win and celebrate wins like few others. So when we go to the source, we get a fountain of knowledge on the Victory Party. Listen...

NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force is in the news for a far different reason this week. She's part of the ESPN The Magazine Body Issue. Courtney is posing tastefully nude in the Mojave Desert with drag racing equipment like drag slicks and a parachute. Force told The Freaks how she liked the idea of posing for the magazine, what her Dad - 15-time Funny Car champion John Force - thought of the idea and how long it took her to agree to the photo session. Here's Courtney...

NHRA Top Fuel Chicago winner Tony Schumacher got his 72nd all-time win Sunday at his home track in Illinois. The Freaks have been with Schumacher for many of those wins the last 13 years. So we had to ask how it was to be the veteran driver being chased by the new blood in NHRA Top Fuel drag racing. We also asked about the criticism of NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, a difficult question for a driver who makes his living in the sports most diverse racing discipline.

15-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force got a special win Sunday at Bristol. First it was his first win in 31 events. And, second, it came on Father's Day. There was one round win against his daughter Courtney. It was a memorable Father's Day for one of The Freaks Favorite Friends. John Force is a special man that extends beyond his brilliant racing career. Listen to his schedule as well as his past triumphs in The Freak Nation.

IndyCar Dallas winner Helio Castroneves had his last conversation on a winning weekend with The Freaks Sunday night. And while we tried to make Helio a hero for his victory at Texas Motor Speedway, Castroneves was quick to say his win was because of his consistency on the track and not because his car was that much better than the field. He also talked aobut the high speeds at TMS and how that affects racing there. Listen...

IndyCar Detroit winner Simon Pagenaud interrupted the celebration of his first IndyCar win to come into The Freak Nation Sunday night. Pagenaud has interests that are far reaching from IndyCar to rallycross to California red wine to American IndyCar drivers. He's a real Renaissance Man! But Pagenaud's first IndyCar win seemed to sneak into every spotlight we shined on the situation. Listen...

One of the most successful drag racers in history, Jeg Coughlin, came into The Freak Nation Sunday night to celebrate his NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Pro Stock victory in Topeka, Kansas. Coughlin also had some explanations for his milestone 500th round win in NHRA competition. That puts him among the best drag racers ever. And he remembered his first visit in The Freak Nation anyway!

Austin Kimbrell drives a Loan Mart Pro 2 truck in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. But he also is a passionate Detroit Red Wings fan in the National Hockey League. Kimbrell put a hockey Game 7 aside Sunday night, though, to visit with The Freak. He didn't disappoint. Kimbrell loves the aggression of short course off-road racing. It's kind of like hockey without the fighting. Here's Austin.

Two-time Supercross champion Ryan Villopoto added the 2013 title to his tool box making him a rare three-time champion as in three consecutive titles. Villopoto is entering some rarefied Supercross air with this year's title and his tenth win of the season this weekend in the Supercross finale in Las Vegas. But we were concerned about the non-championship answer to a question The Freaks dropped on Ryan's lap at the end of the interview. Listen...

Loan Mart off-Road driver R.J. Anderson took a major win Sunday in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. Anderson won a tough Pro Lite Unlimited race in Las Vegas and he took a break from tearing down his pits to talk to The Freak Nation. Anderson is tough that way! He's also a Friend of the Freaks who'd take any kind of time out to share some off-road insight with The Freaks. Here's Anderson after a major win.

IndyCar Long Beach winner Takuma Sato made significant history Sunday when he became the first Japanese driver to win an IndyCar race. It breaks the ice in so many areas. It was his first career win in 5 starts. And the first win for A.J. Foyt's racing team since 2002. The legendary Foyt, himself a four-time Indy 500 winner, wasn't at Long Beach because he was home in Texas getting ready for surgery this week. It was great to speak with Sato who's changing the history books as we speak.

Tyler Clary is one of the best swimmers in the world. That includes an Olympic Gold Medal in the 200-meter backstroke in Olympic record time. But the records Clary has his eye on are those set behind the wheel. He'd like to drive in IndyCar or NASCAR and he ready to start that effort next weekend during the Toyota Celebrity Race at the long Beach Grand Prix. Clary is fun in addition to being focused on competition in any race. You'll enjoy this visit...

IndyCar Barber winner Ryan Hunter-Reay is a long-time Friend of the Freaks. He was a special friend last year when he won the 2012 IndyCar Championship. So his first win of 2013 raised a special flag for The Freaks. Hunter-Reay came into The Freak Nation to talk about his win at Barber Motorsports Park but we got lost in a rabbit hole about Parenthood. Ryan's win came when he wife and won weren't at the race. It was difficult...

IndyCar St. Petersburg winner James Hinchcliffe is a long-time Friend of the Freaks. So when he won his first IndyCar race at St. Pete Sunday it was fun to share a few minutes with the Canadian driver. Hinchcliffe is the Mayor of Hinchtown, his online personality, but now he's the points leader of IndyCar after a brilliant drive in the 2013 season opener. Hinch said he'd just left a celebratory dinner with friends and family. Guess who had to pick up the check! Listen...

NHRA Gainesville Pro Stock winner Allen Johnson has picked up where he left off last season when he won the 2012 NHRA Mello Yello Pro Stock championship. His win Sunday at the Gatornationals came at the expense of his teammate Jeg Coughlin. It shows the strength of the team. Johnson's conversation with The Freaks also showed the strength of his commitment to celebrate in green fashion on St. Patrick's Day. Listen...

2012 Gatornationals Top Fuel winner Morgan Lucas is a longtime Friend of The Freaks. So when he visits he's not afraid to talk about the things triggered by his Gators win including his glove superstitions and the Harlem Shake. The Gators is the next stop in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series and Morgan explains how he gets his team ready to defend it's win a year later. We also talk about why the team's Harlem Shake video won't win any MTV awards next award season. Listen...

Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson is becoming an important person in The Freak Nation. After a long visit in Daytona, Wilson was back Sunday night after his Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge team won its first race Saturday at Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Wilson pitches in Texas through last season but when Saturday's race started, he was on his way to a pitching assignment in Arizona with the Angels. But Wilson missed little with the win. He explains...

NHRA Phoenix Top Fuel winner Tony Schumacher is a regular visitor in The Freak Nation. When you win seven Top Fuel titles you get regular reservations to The Freak Nation on Sunday nights. Schumacher leads the Top Fuel points by a substantial margin after only two rounds of the 2013 Mello Yello Drag Racing season. The Sarge even had some commentary on NASCAR drivers who are happy for Top 20 finishes compared to the rough road facing drag racers who must face stiff competition just to get a chance at winning. Here's Tony...

Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion and, now, two-time Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson came into The Freak Nation Sunday night and felt free to talk about a host of issues from his Daytona 500 win Sunday to Harlem Shake videos on You Tube. In between Johnson found time to remark about his triathlon and marathon running and Jeff Gordon's break dancing. Needless to say it was a wide ranging conversation. But, rest assured, you'll learn a lot about Johnson in these few minutes. Listen...

NHRA Pomona Funny Car winner Courtney Force didn't get her first win at the Winternationals Sunday evening. But the win was special because it was in front of family and friends who may not have had the chance to see her first victory last year outside Seattle. Courtney leadss the Funny Car points heading to the second round of the season next weekend in Phoenix. But, for her, that may not be as important as proving to her friends she's one of the fastest women in motor sport. Listen...

The Lucas Oil Drag Boat Racing Series can offer the most dramatic racing in motor sports especially in the Top Fuel category where the equipment used includes some of the same technology used on the NHRA Top Fuel dragsters. One of the most successful magicians in the drag boat category is Eddie Knox who was visiting the NHRA Winternationals Thursday. He told The Freaks some stories including one where the boat had to be sank in order to get the win. Listen...

2012 NHRA Mello Yello Funny Car Champion Jack Beckman is one of the quickest around, on and off the track. It's why we like to have him in The Freak Nation. His quick wit means there's always fun. And Thursday at the Winternationals in Pomona were no different. Beckman was ready with stories about his championship crew and his championship return to his hometown in Southern California. Listen...

San Diego Supercross winner Davi Millsaps came into The Freak Nation Sunday night to talk about his great season so far, one that includes two wins in Southern California. Millsaps is the points leader in the 450cc class of Supercross. But the real jaw dropping comments from Millsaps started when he was asked about getting his children into Supercross. Millsaps was so against the idea that we had to follow up. It was a captivating conversation. Listen...

Five-time Rolex 24 winner Scott Pruett is maybe the best sports car driver in U.S. history. He backed that up this weekend with his record tying fifth win at the 24 Hour Classic at Daytona International Speedway. Pruett spend more than ten hours behind the wheel to get the win but when he wasn't behind the wheel when the race was being won in the last hour he was a nervous wreck. Pruett is used to being in charge when the rubber meets the road. Find out how his personality makes it easy to cheer for him on and off the track.

Grand-Am driver Scott Pruett has won the Rolex DP championship five times including the last three in a row. Pruett is one of the best sports car drivers in U.S. history. It's why we had him in The Freak Nation Sunday night to preview the Rolex 24 at Daytona where The Freaks will be next week thanks to the support of Continental Tires. Pruett gave us a look behind the scenes especially at his conditioning and training to open the 2013 season with the longest race of the year. Listen...

Max Papis is one of the most versatile drivers in all of motor racing. He drives and coaches NASCAR, he's about to return to a Ferrari ride in the Rolex 24 later this month and Mad Max has a long resume in open wheel. In addition to all this Papis is a long time Friend of The Freaks who flew for nearly 22 hours to return from Italy to Charlotte where he visited with The Freak Nation. And maybe the best part of the visit was Papis' candor right out of the gate. He didn't waste any time telling The Freaks what he thought of them! Listen...

Supercross Anaheim 1 winner Davi Millsaps came into The Freak Nation Sunday night after a celebratory dinner with his mechanic and the rest of the Millsaps' Family. Davi told us he's still trying to wrap his mind around the win Saturday night. He saw a replay of his win over Trey Canard at Anaheim and he explained to us how he made the last lap pass that put him on top of the podium. Millsaps said his win in the Supercross opener is one of the things on his Bucket List. We don't think it will be his last win this year... Listen.

IndyCar driver Will Power is far ahead of the field on IndyCar road courses. But his fight on ovals kept him from the 2012 championship. He talked about that with The Freaks this weekend but he also went into depth on his wine tastes and his tastes in hair styles demonstrated on Twitter recently. He also has his own will on issues like the IndyCar front office. Will Power is very comfortable talking with The Freaks. Listen...

Longtime Friend of the Freaks and ALMS driving star Memo Gidley was part of the winning team in this weekend's NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill, the longest race in the U.S. Gidley did much of the driving overnight so he took a few minutes to describe how he kept awake at speed. He also explained what happened when his best laid plans on the track challenged his keep-awake routine. Gidley and his Porsche crew won going away including a last minutes repair that helped them all get to Victory Lane. Listen...

General Tires off-road racing champion Justin Lofton won the Best in the Desert Henderson 250 for the second straight year over the weekend. And as soon as he got off the plane after traveling home, he called into The Freak Nation to talk about the win, his career driving NASCAR trucks and the family business feeding cattle that might end up in your fast food burger or a restaurant filet. Lofton is a far reaching conversation. That's why we enjoy him stopping by. Listen...

1-800 Loan Mart CEO Oscar Rodriguez came into the Freak Nation Sunday night to talk about the thousands of dollars his company is putting up for a Street Stock race Thanksgiving Weekend. Sounds crazy because it is! Rodriguez loves racing so much he nearly bought it, at least a small part of it. Wait'll you hear about how he's moving from dirt racing on a short track oval to flying over jumps in an off-road grand prix. Listen...

2012 NHRA Top Fuel Champion Antron Brown came into The Freak Nation while he was celebrating his history making title won Sunday evening in Pomona. Brown had to hang on all afternoon for his title. He lost in the first round when he engine exploded in a race with Spencer Massey. The resulting fire sent him to the infield care center and to the sidelines where he had to wait out his teammate and opponent for the title, Tony Schumacher. When Schumacher lost in the finals, Brown had his line in the history books. And he was REALLY happy about it! Listen...

Tony Schumacher is one of the most successful Top Fuel drivers in NHRA drag racing history. He's won seven championships including six in a row. Going into the final round at Pomona next weekend he's second in points chasing his teammate and points leader Antron Brown. Schumacher has won in dramatic fashion in Pomona and he's won in dominating fashion during his title run. Can he close the 62 point gap he currently has with Brown? If so, how'll he get it done? What's it like to be locked in a string of championships like NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson? Listen...