Five to Go

Episode 309: Diagnosing Bristol and our view from the track

Five to Go
Episode 309: Diagnosing Bristol and our view from the track
April 16, 2025
After Doug Turnbull's and Devin Kupka's trips to Bristol Motor Speedway, they break down Kyle Larson's dominant performances with Dan Elliott. The trio discusses the causes and potential fixes for the lack of passing - and how that was not only a problem in Sunday's race. They also preview Rockingham, talk about how tires have changed, discuss the future of Xfinity and Truck Series chassis, and analyze some dangers on the Cup Series pit road. And Devin has some eye-popping stats on how clean the Cup Series race was.
Date Name
04/16/25 Episode 309: Diagnosing Bristol and our view from the track After Doug Turnbull's and Devin Kupka's trips to Bristol Motor Speedway, they break down Kyle Larson's dominant performances with Dan Elliott. The trio discusses the causes and potential fixes for the lack of passing - and how that was not only a problem in Sunday's race. They also preview Rockingham, talk about how tires have changed, discuss the future of Xfinity and Truck Series chassis, and analyze some dangers on the Cup Series pit road. And Devin has some eye-popping stats on how clean the Cup Series race was.
04/09/25 Episode 308: Drama in a dry Darlington race and Hendrick's possible new goal Dan, Devin, and Doug go over Denny Hamlin's late Darlington win and the three types of heartbreak for Byron, Reddick, and Blaney. They also discuss why Kyle Larson came out so many laps down and what Hendrick's new strategy may be...along with a possible lofty season-ending goal. And they explain what a NASCAR commissioner means and another strange litigious moment.
04/02/25 Episode 307: Rough driving Martinsville meltdown...and another intriguing lawsuit With Dan back in the saddle, he, Devin, and Doug break down Denny Hamlin's dominant Martinsville win and what it could spell for the rest of the season. They also discuss the topic of the week in NASCAR: how to deal with the messy driving from that Xfinity Series Martinsville race. The crew also tackles what could be the start of Silly Season with the Legacy Motor Club lawsuit with Rick Ware Racing, how soft the Goodyear tire can go, and how harrowing changing tires used to be on pit road.
03/26/25 Episode 306: A deeper look at points and the drivers in a big hole after Homestead With Dan Elliott away, Doug Turnbull and Devin Kupka dig into the Homestead-Miami results and share how they expected Larson to break out and why they think Bowman has done a lot to save his job. They also check the stat lines on drivers who are struggling and share the stat in the standings that is easy to overlook. They also look at the Martinsville entry lists and the surprise names on them, including a retinal doctor and a cancer survivor.
03/18/25 Episode 305: Vegas brings a first for Wood Bros. in nearly 40 years With Dan away, Doug and Devin discuss the highlights from a raucous Las Vegas Motor Speedway race and they quantify what Josh Berry's win means for both the driver and the Wood Brothers team. They cover the numerous pit road miscues, the importance of tires in 2025, and the drivers going the wrong way in the standings. And they also talk about NASCAR in SoCal and look ahead to Homestead for all three series this weekend.
03/13/25 Episode 304: 2025's fantastic start, penalty yin-yang With Dan away, Devin and Doug discuss Christopher Bell's rare three-peat and all the ins and outs of three exciting Phoenix finishes. They discuss the option tire and whether it passed the eye test and the tough breaks for several other drivers caught up in wrecks. They also talk about a potential false read in the TV ratings, Cousin Carl going Prime time, and why they generally agree with how the Briscoe and Cindric penalties turned out.
03/04/25 Episode 303: A heavyweight COTA finish, soft tire spice in Phoenix Doug, Dan, and Devin talk about the classic showdown between Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch in COTA and what they left wanting more of. Doug shares his view from Turn 6, including Hamlin's dumping of Dillon. They discuss the funky weight in cars, tire management, Ty Gibbs' early struggles, and Katherine Legge's Cup Series debut. They also talk about the option tire in Phoenix and why tire management needs to be more important in the Gen-7 car. And they toss around the conundrum around Ross Chastain vs. AMS and COTA.
02/27/25 Episode 302: Atlanta is the best race on the Cup circuit With Dan away, Doug and Devin share their weekend updates from being on the ground at Atlanta Motor Speedway, including Devin's up close view of Ross Chastain and Ryan Blaney confronting Carson Hocevar on pit road. They discuss why AMS is the best Cup race these days and what makes it different from Daytona and Talladega. They also dig into the prickly "last lap caution" issue and go over some bold fixes. Devin and Doug also talk about what Corey Heim's 23XI deal could mean for another driver's future and preview the weekend's races at COTA.
02/18/25 Episode 301: Luck and fuel in Daytona and our AMS home track primer Doug, Dan, and Devin share their impressions of the Daytona 500, including Byron's survival of the luckiest and what to do about fuel-saving. They also recap the other three of the weekend's races and chew on Cleetus McFarland's in-car YouTube chats. And they discuss the rigidity of the Cup cars and the timing of the caution flags to end the races. Lastly, the crew breaks down the AMS race weekend and where fans can meet Joey Logano and see a new paint scheme.
02/11/25 Episode 300: Daytona preview and the five races we most anticipate Doug, Dan, and Devin pour over the entry lists and the weekend schedules to preview NASCAR's opening weekend in Daytona. They make some predictions and debate the importance of the Daytona 500 crowning elite winners. They also talk about the five races they each look forward to the most this year and Dan has quite the story about Talladega and a 300 pound block of ice.
02/04/25 Episode 299: Chase's Clash and working on cars in haulers Doug, Devin, and Dan recap Chase Elliott's dominant Clash victory and discuss whether or not NASCAR has solved the short track problem. They also discuss teams disappointed with their Clash run, why this race could be a springboard, and what the future of the Clash could be. They also discuss off-site inspections, the Chevy "nothing" car, Ford's EV stock car, a change up top at Penske, and what FOX lacked in the Clash broadcast. They also discuss breaking news about Xfinity that dropped during the recording.
01/29/25 Episode 298: The Clash, The Rock, and 2025 is alive Doug, Dan, and Devin break down what they expect from The Clash at Bowman-Gray Stadium and whether or not the move from the non-traditional fan is the right one. They also discuss why Rockingham may be the perfect NASCAR track and react to Kasey Kahne's return there. The crew also breaks down a flurry of pre-season headlines (including Corey LaJoie's new plan) and mourns the loss of two influential NASCAR figures.
01/22/25 Episode 297: JRM takes on the 500, NASCAR gets FAST With Dan away, Doug and Devin comment on JR Motorsports attempting the Daytona 500 with Justin Allgaier, Truex Jr. and Johnson taking more stabs at it. They also talk about some new entrants to The Clash, Cody Ware's move to the No. 51 car, and the latest in the NASCAR antitrust suit. Then they discuss NASCAR's launching a FAST channel on Tubi and its importance.
01/15/25 Episode 296: NASCAR's new rules, plus author Lee Weeks and Matt DiBenedetto Doug and Devin break down NASCAR's latest rules bulletin and weigh in on the damaged vehicle changes, the Playoff waiver, and the open exemption provisional. They also discuss Mike Wallace's not being allowed in the Daytona 500 and the difference in FOX's promos of NASCAR and Indy. Doug also interviews "Sundays at the Track" author Lee Weeks (:53 min) and driver Matt DiBenedetto (1:10) on his faith journey, which is among those profiled in the book. DiBenedetto also discusses the end of his Cup career and new opportunities in the Xfinity Series.
01/10/25 Episode 295 - Big Daytona 500 names, rotating races Doug, Dan, and Devin talk about some surprising and big names entering the Daytona 500, the growing list of NASCAR drivers in the Rolex 24, and the NASCAR team that may want to run Indy. They also discuss some Truck, NXS, and ARCA driver news, the start date for the NASCAR monopoly lawsuit, and Chase Elliott's popular new sponsor. They also toy with the idea of having NASCAR races rotate on and off the schedule.
12/31/24 Episode 294 - The upper hand in the NASCAR suit, grading the Cup Series' middle class Doug, Dan, and Devin discuss the suing teams' big recent win versus NASCAR and what a non-chartered Tyler Reddick could have decided. They also parse through some racing headlines and chew on the idea of AI helping make a new Playoff format. The crew also talks about NASCAR's big media facility controlling much of the live content in the next years and how that saves broadcasters money. And the boys give season grades for RFK Racing, Trackhouse, and 23XI.
12/17/24 Episode 293 - Driver marketing and grading five more Cup teams Doug and Devin talk about NASCAR's tweaks to the practice and qualifying formats for 2025, the latest twists in the big lawsuit, and if there could be another lawsuit soon. They also discuss driver marketing incentives and how NASCAR has missed the mark in recent years. And they grade the 2024 Cup seasons for Kaulig Racing, Legacy Motor Club, Wood Brothers Racing, Richard Childress Racing, and Stewart Haas Racing.
12/10/24 Episode 292 - Platforms and grading Cup teams Doug, Dan, and Devin talk about the Snowball Derby and buzz through some other racing headlines. Included in that mix is NASCAR president Steve Phelps saying the platforms for NXS and NCTS changing, at some point. Dan defines what a platform is and Doug wonders why the changes came to Cup first. The crew also grades the seasons for Spire Motorsports, Front Row Motorsports, the former JTG Daugherty team, and Rick Ware Racing - and Devin has a harsh grade for one of them.
12/03/24 Episode 291 - Short tracks, lawsuits, and uniforms Doug, Dan, and Devin discuss the NASCAR drivers entering the Snowball Derby and Dan recalls how pricey post-race tear down can be for teams. They also talk about the latest in the NASCAR lawsuit saga, Toni Breidinger's move to Trucks, and new Truck Series firesuits and the reasons why NASCAR changed the rules.
11/26/24 Episode 290 - GM finally allowed in F1, crew chief shakeups With Dan away, Doug and Devin discuss the big F1 weekend in Vegas and Cadillac/GM's move to F1, including American drivers to consider. They also talk about Chris Gabehart's move from the No. 11 pit box and some other big crew chief announcements and why JGR made the move. And they talk about 23XI adding Herbst to a third team and whether or not the No. 35 has a charter, Truex Jr.'s Cup news, and some other Silly Season moves.