IMSA Champ Explains: What the Heck is Race Strategy?

Once, humans set foot on the moon. Some steely eyed engineer types did some math and took some gambles, and then some steely eyed pilot types sat on a big firework and flew off. Huge achievement, neat space candle. And that plan—the *strategy*—made it possible. Related: A host of this show is a pro race engineer. Jeff Braun has won the 12 Hours of Sebring eight times and the 24 Hours of Daytona twice. His résumé includes a whopping ten IMSA / Grand-Am championships. Race strategy makes Jeff’s job go ’round. So we had him explain it! This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. We call this format “Instant Expert.” RELATED TRIVIA: Once, Sam found himself at the end of a grueling enduro. It was the last corner of the last lap; the win was make-or-break. In the heat of battle, he made a strategic choice—he took out two drivers at once. And hey, those little girls were really unhappy about that, but they were also Sam's nine- and eleven-year-old daughters, and that’s how the MarioKart cookie crumbles, rugrats! Boom goes the red-shell dynamite! Dad-strat champion forever! This episode was produced by Mike Perlman. ** 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 new book! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ https://www.amazon.com/Smithology-Tho... ** Where to find us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  / ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠   ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠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.