2023 ARCA Menards Series East champion and Joe Gibbs Racing development driver William Sawalich joins Davey Segal (6:15) to discuss his wildly successful season to date, ending his ARCA season in Victory Lane at Toledo and how big of a change it's been to dip his toe into the Truck Series competition wise.

A first generation racer from Minnesota, Sawalich explains what sparked his interest in motorsports in the first place, the pride he takes in being a Minnesotan, how his schooling works while pursuing a career in racing and why he can't wait until he turns 18.

He also dishes on how he got hooked up with Toyota, JGR and TRICON Garage, his interesting nickname, the dynamic of his sister dating one of his future competitors, what it's like working with people significantly older than him, his 2024 (and 2025) plans in NASCAR's national series and more, including his outlook on some upcoming late model races to close out the calendar year.

Davey also discusses the Round of 12 finale at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL, why AJ Allmendinger's win was so emotional, previews the Round of 8 and Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Papa Segal pays homage to Ralph Earnhardt.

Episode 205: William Sawalich

LEGACY MOTOR CLUB Crew Chief Ben Beshore joins Davey Segal (7:50) to discuss the teams transition from Chevrolet to Toyota and his acclimation process back to the Cup Series after spending some time in the Xfinity Series. He also dives into what makes he and driver John Hunter Nemechek click, who called who to get him with LMC and more.

Beshore also outlines how he feels about the short track package for 2023, why having a year under his belt with the Next Gen car may pay major dividends this season, his humble upbringing in Pennsylvania, what brought him to Virginia Tech, working with his brother RJ on the same pit crew and how often people STILL mispronounce his name.

Papa Segal also pays homage to some recent Hall of Fame inductees by reminiscing on "Tiregate" as we inch closer and closer to the start of the 2024 racing season.

Episode 212: Ben Beshore

Veteran crew chief and Phoenix Xfinity Series winner Jeff Meendering joins Davey Segal (5:35) to discuss his second consecutive win in the desert and third overall in the series with three different drivers. They also dive into how the transition has been thus far in 2024 working with Chandler Smith, how growing up with Berlin Raceway literally in his front yard helped get him hooked into racing and the illustrious career he's enjoyed in NASCAR.

Meendering dives into his start, sweeping floors at Hendrick Motorsports, becoming a crew chief full-time with Bobby Labonte in 2008, why he was underprepared for the task, how the sport and various roles he's held over the years has evolved, his future aspirations, what it's been like working with his younger brother Kevin alongside him and more, including a preview of COTA and why he feels JGR and Toyota should be ones to watch.

Davey also recaps Christopher Bell's dominant win at Phoenix, the debut of the new short track package, briefly previews Bristol and Papa Segal pays homage to one of the best crew chiefs of all-time.

Episode 217: Jeff Meendering

Denny Hamlin Wins the Food City 500 from Bristol Motor Speedway. Listen to post race interviews with Race Winning Crew Chief Chris Gabehart, Joe Gibbs Racing Team Owner Coach Joe Gibbs, and Race Winner Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin Bristol Winner 03/17/2024

Fresh off another Monster Mile win, Ryan Truex joins Davey Segal (7:00) to chat about how and why this win was so much different than his first career dub last season at his home track, staying in the game and chipping away at things, what was giving him fits throughout the day and how he sent it on into Turns 1 and 2 hoping it would stick on the final restart.

He also explains the difficulties in being a part-time driver and finding a rhythm inside the car, frustrations with not finding adequate sponsorship to run full-time with Joe Gibbs Racing yet, giving his brother, Martin Truex Jr., some crap for not holding up his end of the bargain this year, what he specifically does for JGR when he's not driving the Xfinity Series car and why he may need to do a little house remodeling to fit another Miles the Monster trophy.

Papa Segal pays off the O.J. Simpson saga, pays homage to a Kansas native as we enter the month of May and Davey discusses Denny Hamlin's Dover win, why the No. 11 team are far and away the ones to beat right now and looks ahead to Kansas Speedway.

Episode 224: Ryan Truex

Missed it by *that* much. RFK Racing crew chief Scott Graves joins Davey Segal (6:40) on the heels of Chris Buescher and the No. 17 team coming up 0.001 seconds shy of winning at Kansas, the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history. Graves explains the roller coaster of emotions he experienced from thinking they had the win to realizing they didn't, what answers he got from NASCAR when he went to talk to them before leaving the track, the conversation he had with Chris post-race and the photo finish technology the sanctioning body implements.

Graves also dives into the speed RFK has shown as of late with four runner-up finishes and how close they and Ford really are to breaking through and running better every week. He also dives into getting his start as a crew chief in NASCAR, working with a then young Chris Buescher, winning the 2015 Xfinity championship together, leaving Roush for Joe Gibbs Racing before ultimately returning and being a part of Ryan Newman's harrowing 2020 crash at Daytona.

Plus, why the No. 17 should be one to watch this weekend at Darlington, Graves' passion for fitness, background in racing and why he didn't immediately get into it upon graduating from Texas Tech and why he knows the "what's up brother?!" meme.

Davey also discusses the finish that still has everyone buzzing at Kansas, previews throwback weekend at Darlington and Papa Segal pays homage to Bobby Johns as we continue in the month of May.

Episode 225: Scott Graves

2018 Truck Series champion and Iowa native Brett Moffitt joins Davey Segal this week (5:45) ahead of his return to the Xfinity Series and return to Joe Gibbs Racing at his home track of Iowa Speedway. Moffitt explains the excitement surrounding the opportunity to race in competitive equipment at his home track, what it'll be like having friends and family in attendance, how the partial repave will level out the playing field on a track he's won at multiple times and what it's been like getting re-acclimated to JGR after more than a decade away.

Moffitt also dives into getting to know his crew chief for the weekend, Seth Chavka, his partial NCTS schedule with TRICON Garage and why his lack of rhythm has been hindering him during races thus far. He also reminisces on his 2018 championship with Hattori Racing Enterprises and Scott Zipadelli (and Davey shares a funny (and intimate?) story from that night), his time in the Cup Series and why it was a struggle, whether or not he'd like to get back there one day, working as a simulation driver for Hendrick Motorsports, how his time with AM Racing came to an end at the end of 2023 and more, including what it's like now being a father of two, his realistic expectations for Iowa this weekend and some must-dos for those visiting Newton for the first time.

Papa Segal also pays homage to the late Parnelli Jones while Davey recaps Kyle Larson's Sonoma victory and looks ahead to the Cup Series' first trip to the land of corn.

Episode 230: Brett Moffitt

Joe Gibbs Racing Xfinity Series engineer Monon Rahman (7:00) joins Davey Segal to discuss his unique and rapid rise atop the pit box in NASCAR. He explains how the movie "Cars" was a catalyst to launch his passion for motorsports, how his Bangladeshi parents chasing their dreams helped him chase his own and why working on multiple racing programs at the University of Kentucky helped prepare him for the next chapters of his racing career.

Rahman also explains how a Facebook post with a UK professor and 2-time Truck Series champion Ben Rhodes wound up connecting him Venturini Motorsports, also dives into his internship at the NASCAR R&D center, time working with Rick Ware Racing, eventually going back to Venturini and winning his first race at the ARCA level as a crew chief.

He also details what led to his move to Joe Gibbs Racing, how and why Billy Venturini helped him move on and climb the ladder, the adjustment period of moving from ARCA to Xfinity, working under Tyler Allen and the No. 20 Xfinity Series team and how having multiple different drivers behind the wheel impacts his job as an engineer. Plus, he reveals his ambitious goal for 2030 and what the No. 20 team has its sights set on for the remainder of 2024.

Davey also discusses Christopher Bell's weekend sweep at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (his personal playground), previews Nashville Superspeedway and Papa Segal pays homage to a NASCAR Hall of Famer.

Episode 232: Monon Rahman

ARCA Springfield Mile Winner William Sawalich talked with The Freaks before his win Saturday. Sawalich is the 2023 ARCA East champion driving a Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has nine wins and 13 poles in 17 races since last season.  At 17, Sawalich is a first-generation racecar driver from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Perfect execution from Sawalich on a one-lap shootout at the Springfield Mile enabled him to secure his sixth ARCA Menards Series national win of the year.  Listen...

William Sawalich on Numbers, Humility & Race Craft

Guests: 2023 FIA Top Fuel Champion Ida Zetterstrom, ARCA Springfield Mile Winner William Sawalich, Executive Vice President General Manager World Wide Technology Raceway Chris Blair

SpeedFreaks National Radio Show 08/18/2024

Irreverant? Yea. Honest? Ask Smoke. Legendous? Check! SpeedFreaks airs LIVE on Sunday nights 7-9p PST on The Freak Radio Network. PLUS, Sirius 94 - XM 208, live on the net & the Cable Radio Network... Motorsports to Music to some TMZ. And thanks to SoundCloud, if you miss a live show, just listen to them here at your convenience. We are Motorsports Radio, REDEFINED.

Joe Castello interviews NHRA Drag Racing, race winners and news makers. Hang out and talk NASCAR with a community of listeners that love racing, car culture, sports, future tech, and more. WFO is lifestyle with NHRA, NASCAR, F1, and motorsports as the foundation. http://wforadio.com/

Welcome to the place everybody wants to be: Victory Lane! Davey Segal hosts your one stop shop for all things NASCAR, including in-depth interviews, discussion, news and more.

New tracks tagged #Joe Gibbs Racing