Toni Breidinger has and continues to be a trailblazer in motorsports. Being the first female Arab-American in NASCAR and winningest female in USAC history, Breidinger doesn’t pay too much attention to her historic achievements, but rather is focused on the here and now of making it in NASCAR. She joins Davey this week (14:45) to discuss her upbringing in California and getting started go-karting with her twin sister and father. She also recalls how breaking her arm in a crash at a young age didn’t deter her from pursuing her passion.

Breidinger details what being the first female Arab-American driver means to her personally, and why she was surprised that nobody came before her. She also explains how being a woman in racing doesn’t occupy her mind as much as it does others as well as her catchphrase: “the car doesn’t know gender.”

Hear the coincidental story of how she got the opportunity with Young’s Motorsports, and why she didn’t expect to be moving up the ranks this quickly. She dives into her racing career on pavement (and a little dirt), the learning process she’s going through and how the pandemic provided her unforeseen opportunities on track.

Plus, Breidinger’s appearances on The TODAY Show, The Ellen Show and others have introduced her to a national audience. Hear how Breidinger has navigated being in the national spotlight recently, how she deals with haters thinking she’s not truly a racer. How does she utilize social media (where she has over a combined 1 million followers) to her benefit? She explains, along with her experiences modeling and that leading to sponsorship on track, her struggles while moving to Charlotte and her pet bunny named Fetty Hop.

Davey recaps Alex Bowman’s win at Richmond and questions what’s happened to the Virginia short track in recent years. He also briefly previews Talladega and Papa Segal gives an ode to a 93-year-old who stays young behind the wheel.

Episode 104: Toni Breidinger

And *poof* the 2021 NASCAR season has come to a close. Davey is back from Phoenix and recaps the Championship 4 weekend festivities that saw Kyle Larson earn his 10th victory of the season and first career Cup Series title. He speaks on why second chances are a good thing, the Cliff Daniels/Larson marriage that may be lethal for years to come, the other drivers coming up short and more.

Plus, Daniel Hemric and Ben Rhodes earned championships of their own in the Xfinity and Truck Series, respectively. Davey breaks down Hemric's pursuit of that elusive victory, the race-winning move on Austin Cindric and his backflip celebration. Rhodes' press conference may have been more memorable than his race, thanks to his new "Bud" and champagne. But both drivers, despite not being dominators over the course of the season, were deserving champions, as Davey explains.

Papa Segal pays homage to a legend who may have the most nicknames in NASCAR history, Davey hits on Lug Nuts including silly season news, crew chief suspensions, the Busch Light Clash format and more.

Episode 133: Larson Reigns Supreme

Niece Motorsports' Kris Wright joins Davey Segal (6:05) to discuss his start in motorsports, why he was encouraged to take up golf as a profession instead of racing and how his career behind the wheel wound up progressing.

From sports cars to open wheel and now NASCAR, Wright details the steps and decisions along the way, including why he wanted to go down the open wheel path, coming oh-so-close to winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona, racing overseas in Europe and how his lack of success impacted him personally and professionally and how it wound up leading him to stock cars and NASCAR only three years ago.
Competing in stock cars for the first time in 2020, Wright explains how and why that opportunity came about, going "from Silverstone to Hickory" and the dichotomy that comes with that change, his relationship with fellow Pittsburgh native Chip Ganassi and Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr., how he wound up at Niece Motorsports for this season, what his short and long term goals are and more.

Davey also discusses Alex Bowman's Las Vegas victory, why Kyle Busch's comments were misguided and Papa Segal pays homage to "The Rocketman."

Episode 139: Kris Wright

Fresh off his first career NASCAR national series victory, return guest (!) Matt DiBenedetto joins Davey Segal (5:25) to discuss his Talladega triumph, the feeling of relief after winning, the strange nature surrounding the win, emotional calls he received in Victory Lane and how he (or didn’t) celebrate.

DiBenedetto also discusses his move from the Cup Series down to Trucks and how the adjustment has been thus far on and off track. Plus, getting up to speed quick having never piloted a Truck ahead of the season opener, dodging the aggressiveness around him and why Rackley W.A.R. wound up being the right place at the right time for him.

He also gets real about how 2021 ended, from the Wood Brothers departure, to his off-track behavior and more. DiBenedetto explains how he’s moved on from that time period, is better for it and has his focus on the here and now with Rackley. And would he ever consider a return to the Cup Series?  

Davey briefly recaps a rather tame Talladega Cup race, previews the Round of 12 cutoff at the ROVAL and Papa Segal pays homage to the No. 64.

Episode 164: Matt DiBenedetto

Davey Segal welcomes on his youngest guest in podcast history in the form of Jake Garcia to the program (6:25) on the heels of his career-best top five finish at Texas Motor Speedway. The two dive into his season to date, debut at Las Vegas this year and series debut last year at Gateway, how he got involved in racing in the first place and who really was the catalyst for his involvement with motorsports.

Garcia explains how the deal with McAnally-Higlemann Racing and Bill McAnally came together for 2023, what it was like having Chase Elliott drive the No. 35 truck at Daytona while he was still 17-years-old, the relationship with his crew chief Mark Hillman, teammate Christian Eckes, realistic expectations for this season and more, including his late model experience and whether or not he'd like to run the Snowball Derby again.

Davey discusses the storylines coming out of Richmond, including Kyle Larson's first win of the season, Hendrick's penalty amendment and the appeals panel taking over headlines previews Bristol Dirt and Papa Segal pays homage to the No. 80.

Episode 180: Jake Garcia

For the second year in a row, Allison Thorson and ThorSport Racing are CRAFTSMAN Truck Series champions. She joins Davey Segal this week (5:35) to dissect Ty Majeski's 2024 NCTS title, the dominant performance he put in at Phoenix Raceway, how this title feels different than the others and what it means to win back-to-back championships for the second time in ThorSport history.

She also provides some analysis on the organizations driver lineup in 2024, what Conner Jones can learn moving forward from his Homestead-Miami incident, the history of ThorSport, why they've never entertained the thought of moving from Sandusky, Ohio, why her parents don't do a ton of media, what's next for the team, her passion for horses and reigning and more.

Davey also runs through some of the news that came across the wire this week and Papa Segal returns wit a wayback segment.

Episode 253: Allison Thorson

That's right, party people. Seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, 83-time Cup Series winner, NASCAR Hall of Famer and one of if not the greatest NASCAR driver of all-time, Jimmie Johnson (!) joins Davey Segal this week (9:50) for one of the biggest conversations in Victory Lane history.

They discuss how life has been living abroad in London, what the European culture has taught Johnson, being able to travel the world with friends and family, the new kind of horsepower his daughters are into, being a podcast host and more.

Johnson explains why he wasn't even paying attention to his milestone 700th start coming up at Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, reveals his future plans for more races in the Cup Series and chats about the struggles LEGACY MOTOR CLUB has gone through since switching to Toyota. Johnson also looks back on his record-tying seventh championship and reveals what Richard Petty told him on pit road before the race, recalls the two (!) times he fell asleep behind the wheel of a racecar, the reasoning behind getting in shape and starting a trend within the garage back in 2007 and more.

Davey also discusses the return to Rockingham Speedway last weekend and Papa Segal pays homage to the late Al Pearce.

Episode 268: Jimmie Johnson

Guests: NASCAR Sprint Cup Bristol Winner Kevin Harvick, NHRA Lucas Oil Nationals Brainerd Top Fuel Winner Brittany Force, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Bristol Winner Ben Kennedy

SpeedFreaks National Radio Show 08/21/2016:

With the Class of 2021 for the NASCAR Hall of Fame set to be enshrined, Davey touches on each of the inductees and why the new process of electing three individuals instead of five is infinitely better for the sport long term. He also preaches as to why the resume of one inductee makes him a slam dunk for the Hall, despite some naysayers. Plus, a complete recap of a busy weekend of racing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Episode 62: Enshrined Forever

Another week, another member of Bills Mafia on the pod! Alan Cavanna joins Davey (4:30) for an off-season chat with a lot of laughs. Growing up in New England racing against the likes of Joey Logano, Ryan Preece, Doug Coby and more, Cavanna details why his racing career never took off, despite a championship and over 100 trophies.

Cavanna tells the story of how he and his wife, CNN correspondent Dianne Gallagher, met in a courtroom, with a computer, and a friend request. Years later, they’re happily married and finally living together for the first time in Charlotte. A proud Syracuse graduate, he recalls his time on campus for the 2000 national championship run, and how learning the tricks of the trade in journalism during his college years shaped him professionally upon graduating.

Amid the infamous Jeremy Mayfield suspension saga, Cavanna was the first (and only) person to speak with Mayfield, and the backstory on how their conversation came to be is truly remarkable. Plus, some incredibly hilarious (and true!) stories of his time in local news, including a dead dog named shithead, a “creepy masturbator” and much, much more. Patrolling Truck Series pit road this past year for NASCAR on FOX was a challenge, yet rewarding and full of moments. The two discuss being on hand for those, and how Cavanna’s creativity, coupled with his background in news, have aided in his execution of unique content throughout his accomplished career.

Episode 89: Alan Cavanna

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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.

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