October 31, 2025 • 11 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
And he's here to talk NASCAR, of course, but he
(00:02):
cares deeply about the Carolina Panthers. It's Marty Snyder, of course,
NBC Turner, Amazon NASCAR studio host Pitt Reporter, reporting live
from Phoenix where they race for a championship this weekend. Marty,
what's going on, Buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Davie? What's happening? Welcome from lovely warm Phoenix, Arizona, as
we get ready for a championship Sunday coming up on
NBC Sports this weekend. But yeah, no, I do care
deeply about what's gonna happen in Lambeau on Sunday with
the Panthers. You know, KB, I feel like I'm starting
to figure out this team. Okay, And here's my thought.
It's a team who's trying to figure themselves out, right,
(00:37):
young teams. It's honestly a coaching staff trying to figure
themselves out. So you're gonna have blowout games like that
happened with the Bills last Sunday. You're gonna have games
where they impress you. You're gonna have games where they frustrating,
games where they're really good. So I think that's what's
going on. And it's frustrating as a Panthers fan, you know,
And they might keep it annoyingly close on Sunday, but
(00:57):
I think I think this is just it's a team
and the coaching staff trying to figure out who they
are and how to win games.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah. I like that. Somebody asked me earlier. I thought
it was kind of a profound question. They said, KB
answered me that, and I don't know if it means anything,
but I thought it was an interesting way to ask it.
He said, is this team just slightly better than last year?
Or is the organization on the right track and we're
just watching overall progress? And I thought, huh, I think
that's it's a fair way to ask the question. I
don't know, Marty. I want to believe though, that this
(01:24):
is just part of the learning, you know, the growing
pain and learning curve, and that they are in fact
on the right track quote unquote.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah. And I think it's a coaching staff that's on
the right track, and it's a it's an organization that
is making good decisions. And I've really had to kind
of check myself on my expectations. Right if they were
five hundred, if you told me that at the beginning
of the year. You and I probably would have taken that. Right,
if you told me that a lot of the draft
picks are kind of working out, we probably would have
taken that, you know. And I think we said back
(01:53):
in August, this is a team that is preparing for
twenty twenty six, and it's hard to keep all that
in focus when your winning games. I compare it a
lot to you know, a race car driver that comes
out with a ton of speed, a young driver like
Carson Hoosovar. Right, He's got all this speed, he can
almost win races, but he makes all these stupid mistakes
and he as puts himself in bad spots and people
(02:14):
get mad at him, you know. And it's a lot
like that. So use a NASCAR comparison, right, you know,
the kid's gonna win races, you know eventually, Like you know,
Connor Zillach who's come up the Cup next year, is
gonna win championship someday in the Cup Series. It's just
they got to get there. They got to learn how
to make it happen. And I think that's where we're
watching real time with the Panthers.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Okay, so let's talk racing then Phoenix they racing for
a championship on Sunday and everything's on the line. We also,
you know, we're still talking about what this looks like
going into the future, what the end of the season
will look like in future years. Like, what are your
thoughts on I mean, you've been here before at the
end of the year at Phoenix. It's not the first
time obviously, but like just you know, kind of I'm
sure soaking all that in, you know, is this the
(02:55):
last one?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
You know?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
What are you thinking about? Is we probably are on
the precipice of something new at the Cup Series.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, I mean, if we're talking about what the playoffs
are going to look like moving forward, I think it
will look you know, I think honestly, well number one,
NASCAR hasn't made up their mind yet, that's number one.
But number two, I think it's going to look a
lot like what it looks like right now, except for
what it seems to be tracking towards is that the
championship will be a championship round, not a race. So
(03:23):
you're probably looking at a ten race playoff much like
you have right now, seven races, you know, for the
bulk of that, you know, those ten and then you
have an elimination. Then you left with four or five
drivers wherever NASCAR kind of draws that line, and then
you're going to have a three race round for a championship.
That seems to be it. What has the latest traction
(03:44):
right now? I think the thirty six race thought, you know,
meaning that they would run thirty six races to decide
a champion is out. I think that's where it's tracking.
I believe. I think a one race championship is out.
I don't think NASCAR wants to move forward with that
format that they currently have right now. So if I
had to put money on the line right now, I
(04:06):
would say, you're looking at a ten race playoff. You know,
I don't know how many drivers that will be, if
it's ten, sixteen or how many ever that winds up being,
or if it's just all the winners and that's it.
And then you just have an elimination over those seven races,
starting you know, in early September, all the way until
the final three races, and then you have a three
race championship round accrowned champion. That seems to be what
(04:28):
the driver's like. It seems to be a more fair
way to decide it, and I think that's what's going
to happen moving forward if I had to bet right.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Now now Marty. Heading into this weekend, specifically into two
lower Series, there's been a lot of talk about maybe
one thing that could help the thirty sixth race season
format return is if both Connor Zilich and Corey Heim
don't win the championships tonight and tomorrow. Do you think
there's any crediance to the idea of the thought that
the full season points will return if two guys who
(04:56):
had completely dominated their series and no one's been close
to don't win a championship because of this one race
or do you think the three to three four model
would still be the favorite?
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah? No, I listen. Kevin Harvick brought that up this week.
I don't think Kevin is wrong. But you know, you
can go back to Christopher Bell not winning the Truck
Series championship, William Byron not winning the Truck Series Championship
when both of them really deserve to. That's nothing new,
you know, I think it's new as of this year,
you know, for people who haven't you know, been paying
(05:28):
to a paying attention to a broader picture smoke. But
I think that, you know, I just think there. I
would say right now, if I was betting again on
what the format will be next year, I would say
the least the one that has the least shot is
thirty six races. I just think that NASCAR doesn't want that.
I don't think anybody wants a driver to start their
(05:51):
engine with three races to go in the season and
win the championship. Now. I know, if you look at
the overall season points right now, it's a pretty close battle.
That's not the case every year. I just don't think
anybody is interested in that. I think there will be
a playoffs next year, and if I had to bet again,
I think it's going to be ten race playoffs, seven
races in that playoff, one single cutoff, and then how
(06:14):
many ever race drivers to decide the champion over a
final three race segment. And I think that's a fair
way to do it. And as it sits now, you
would have Phoenix, you would have Martinsville, and you would
have Miami as those final three races three very different
race tracks, and that's a better sample set than just
one race.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Marty Schnyder NBC NASCAR. He'll be in studio and in
the pits Sunday at Phoenix where they'll crown a champion,
and of course that champion could be Denny Hamlin. We
all understand that Danny or Denny rather is a big name.
He's a pro athlete, right, so a lot of people
love him, a lot of people hate him, especially in
this sport. But we also have learned gotten confirmation rather
something that I'm sure lots of folks in the garage
(06:53):
knew already that Denny's father appears to be definitely ill.
I think Denny said yesterday this will be his last
chance to race for a championship in front of his dad.
I'm rooting for him. I mean I made that clear yesterday.
I'd like to see it, you know, certainly, given the
backdrop of that. But what do you think it looks
like with him out there on Sunday? How does he race?
Do you expect to see anything in particular, given what's
(07:14):
going to be on his shoulders when he gets on
the track.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, you know, Denny certainly has a lot to fight for.
You know, there's all the off track stuff with what's
going on with twenty three eleven and NASCAR. There's all
the on track stuff with having one of the best
years of his career at the age of forty four,
in his twentieth year, can he finally make it happen.
It's a seventh shot in the final race of the
year to win a championship. And then you had on
top of that his dad, Dennis, who did so much
(07:38):
for him to kind of get him going, mortgage the
house twice to kind of keep Denny's racing career going,
and he certainly wants to win it for his dad.
And yeah, I mean, his dad's not doing well, and
Denny and I talked about this yesterday. It probably is
Dennis's last shot to watch his son race for a championship,
and he wants to do it for his dad. There's
(07:59):
certainly a motivating factor there, but he wants it for
himself as well. KB. I mean, he's had so many
shots at this and and I don't know that even
Denny expected this season to work out as well as
as it could have or as as it has. Right
sitting here a couple of days away from running for
a championship, I'll tell you this, I think surprisingly to
(08:20):
some fans, it'll be a very popular championship if Denny
Hamlin can pull it off and he wins the title
on Sunday. I think even the competitors, you know, and
I'll share with you guys, we talked, We hung out
with all four drivers yesterday. They all think Denny Hamlin's
the one to beat. They all think that they have
to the championship runs through the eleven car and I
and I think they're right, and I think this is
(08:42):
Denny Hamlin's championship to lose. It just feels like there's
a bit of they're the team of fate this year.
Now that comes with a lot of pressure obviously, and
there's a lot on this team, But I think no
one handles pressure right now in this business as well
as Denny Hamlin, and I think he is the driver
to beat on Sunday. Now, we're about to practice on
True TV here in about an hour, so I'll let
(09:02):
you know after that practice. But I think right now,
before they've even put a car on the track, I
think Denny ham wants to got to beat. Well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Speaking of the championship for Marty, I feel like the
guy that's been talked about the least has been his
teammate Chase brisco Now, Chase in the second half of
the year has been one of the best drivers on
the circuit bar none, But it feels like still many
people are writing him off. And honestly, at a track
like Phoenix, Marty, it's very hard to pass and qualifying
(09:30):
means a lot. No one's been better at qualifying this year,
specifically in big races compared to Chase Briscoe. I mean,
he's been arguably the best at qualifying since Ryan Newman
in the mid two thousands. Is there an opportunity where
Chase brisco just slides underneath the cracks and wins this
championship based off of how he's been performing on the
second half of the season, Well, I.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Mean one hundred percent. You got to remember he's won
at Phoenix before he got his first Cup win here
with Stuart Haas, and I think, you know, he could
certainly win the race or win the championship on Sunday,
And for whatever it's worth, he has been extremely loose,
Like I've been kind of shocked at how loose he
is and how he's like, listen, I'm just happy to
(10:12):
be here. I'm just a guy who a year ago
didn't have a ride, and all of a sudden, I've
got a ride, and all of a sudden, I'm in
the Championship four. And his hero Tony Stewart is. You know,
he's very close to Tony, and Tony called him last
week and said, listen, you you've earned this. You deserve
to be here, and just enjoy it, don't you know.
Don't listen to all the noise and all that's going
(10:33):
to go on. Just enjoy your family during the week,
go to Phoenix and have fun. And if you go
have fun, you can win this race. And I think
that's where he's operating from. He seems very loose to me,
and I think that's but in a good way. Like
he's he doesn't seem to be the moment, doesn't seem
to be too big for him. And I think they
have been good enough. And you got to realize this
(10:55):
is James Small, his crew Chie's fifth time being here
as an engineer or a crew good time, and he
has a championship with Martin Truex Junior in twenty seventeen.
So I think that team is way more experienced, you know,
beneath the driver than people realize and I think certainly, Martin,
or listen to me, Martin. I think Chase could go
out and win the championship in his first year in
(11:17):
the nineteen.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Marty, have fun out there, brother. We appreciate it's been
a long season and we look forward to watching the coverage.
We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Been a lot of fun. Can't wait to be home
for a few weeks though, but it's been a lot
of fun. Make sure you check things out on NBC
on Sunday. Can't wait to bring in the championship race.
And he's here to talk NASCAR, of course, but he
(00:02):
cares deeply about the Carolina Panthers. It's Marty Snyder, of course,
NBC Turner, Amazon NASCAR studio host Pitt Reporter, reporting live
from Phoenix where they race for a championship this weekend. Marty,
what's going on, Buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:12):
How are you?
Speaker 3 (00:14):
Davie? What's happening? Welcome from lovely warm Phoenix, Arizona, as
we get ready for a championship Sunday coming up on
NBC Sports this weekend. But yeah, no, I do care
deeply about what's gonna happen in Lambeau on Sunday with
the Panthers. You know, KB, I feel like I'm starting
to figure out this team. Okay, And here's my thought.
It's a team who's trying to figure themselves out, right,
(00:37):
young teams. It's honestly a coaching staff trying to figure
themselves out. So you're gonna have blowout games like that
happened with the Bills last Sunday. You're gonna have games
where they impress you. You're gonna have games where they frustrating,
games where they're really good. So I think that's what's
going on. And it's frustrating as a Panthers fan, you know,
And they might keep it annoyingly close on Sunday, but
(00:57):
I think I think this is just it's a team
and the coaching staff trying to figure out who they
are and how to win games.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
Yeah. I like that. Somebody asked me earlier. I thought
it was kind of a profound question. They said, KB
answered me that, and I don't know if it means anything,
but I thought it was an interesting way to ask it.
He said, is this team just slightly better than last year?
Or is the organization on the right track and we're
just watching overall progress? And I thought, huh, I think
that's it's a fair way to ask the question. I
don't know, Marty. I want to believe though, that this
(01:24):
is just part of the learning, you know, the growing
pain and learning curve, and that they are in fact
on the right track quote unquote.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Yeah. And I think it's a coaching staff that's on
the right track, and it's a it's an organization that
is making good decisions. And I've really had to kind
of check myself on my expectations. Right if they were
five hundred, if you told me that at the beginning
of the year. You and I probably would have taken that. Right,
if you told me that a lot of the draft
picks are kind of working out, we probably would have
taken that, you know. And I think we said back
(01:53):
in August, this is a team that is preparing for
twenty twenty six, and it's hard to keep all that
in focus when your winning games. I compare it a
lot to you know, a race car driver that comes
out with a ton of speed, a young driver like
Carson Hoosovar. Right, He's got all this speed, he can
almost win races, but he makes all these stupid mistakes
and he as puts himself in bad spots and people
(02:14):
get mad at him, you know. And it's a lot
like that. So use a NASCAR comparison, right, you know,
the kid's gonna win races, you know eventually, Like you know,
Connor Zillach who's come up the Cup next year, is
gonna win championship someday in the Cup Series. It's just
they got to get there. They got to learn how
to make it happen. And I think that's where we're
watching real time with the Panthers.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
Okay, so let's talk racing then Phoenix they racing for
a championship on Sunday and everything's on the line. We also,
you know, we're still talking about what this looks like
going into the future, what the end of the season
will look like in future years. Like, what are your
thoughts on I mean, you've been here before at the
end of the year at Phoenix. It's not the first
time obviously, but like just you know, kind of I'm
sure soaking all that in, you know, is this the
(02:55):
last one?
Speaker 2 (02:55):
You know?
Speaker 1 (02:56):
What are you thinking about? Is we probably are on
the precipice of something new at the Cup Series.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Yeah, I mean, if we're talking about what the playoffs
are going to look like moving forward, I think it
will look you know, I think honestly, well number one,
NASCAR hasn't made up their mind yet, that's number one.
But number two, I think it's going to look a
lot like what it looks like right now, except for
what it seems to be tracking towards is that the
championship will be a championship round, not a race. So
(03:23):
you're probably looking at a ten race playoff much like
you have right now, seven races, you know, for the
bulk of that, you know, those ten and then you
have an elimination. Then you left with four or five
drivers wherever NASCAR kind of draws that line, and then
you're going to have a three race round for a championship.
That seems to be it. What has the latest traction
(03:44):
right now? I think the thirty six race thought, you know,
meaning that they would run thirty six races to decide
a champion is out. I think that's where it's tracking.
I believe. I think a one race championship is out.
I don't think NASCAR wants to move forward with that
format that they currently have right now. So if I
had to put money on the line right now, I
(04:06):
would say, you're looking at a ten race playoff. You know,
I don't know how many drivers that will be, if
it's ten, sixteen or how many ever that winds up being,
or if it's just all the winners and that's it.
And then you just have an elimination over those seven races,
starting you know, in early September, all the way until
the final three races, and then you have a three
race championship round accrowned champion. That seems to be what
(04:28):
the driver's like. It seems to be a more fair
way to decide it, and I think that's what's going
to happen moving forward if I had to bet right.
Speaker 2 (04:34):
Now now Marty. Heading into this weekend, specifically into two
lower Series, there's been a lot of talk about maybe
one thing that could help the thirty sixth race season
format return is if both Connor Zilich and Corey Heim
don't win the championships tonight and tomorrow. Do you think
there's any crediance to the idea of the thought that
the full season points will return if two guys who
(04:56):
had completely dominated their series and no one's been close
to don't win a championship because of this one race
or do you think the three to three four model
would still be the favorite?
Speaker 3 (05:06):
Yeah? No, I listen. Kevin Harvick brought that up this week.
I don't think Kevin is wrong. But you know, you
can go back to Christopher Bell not winning the Truck
Series championship, William Byron not winning the Truck Series Championship
when both of them really deserve to. That's nothing new,
you know, I think it's new as of this year,
you know, for people who haven't you know, been paying
(05:28):
to a paying attention to a broader picture smoke. But
I think that, you know, I just think there. I
would say right now, if I was betting again on
what the format will be next year, I would say
the least the one that has the least shot is
thirty six races. I just think that NASCAR doesn't want that.
I don't think anybody wants a driver to start their
(05:51):
engine with three races to go in the season and
win the championship. Now. I know, if you look at
the overall season points right now, it's a pretty close battle.
That's not the case every year. I just don't think
anybody is interested in that. I think there will be
a playoffs next year, and if I had to bet again,
I think it's going to be ten race playoffs, seven
races in that playoff, one single cutoff, and then how
(06:14):
many ever race drivers to decide the champion over a
final three race segment. And I think that's a fair
way to do it. And as it sits now, you
would have Phoenix, you would have Martinsville, and you would
have Miami as those final three races three very different
race tracks, and that's a better sample set than just
one race.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Marty Schnyder NBC NASCAR. He'll be in studio and in
the pits Sunday at Phoenix where they'll crown a champion,
and of course that champion could be Denny Hamlin. We
all understand that Danny or Denny rather is a big name.
He's a pro athlete, right, so a lot of people
love him, a lot of people hate him, especially in
this sport. But we also have learned gotten confirmation rather
something that I'm sure lots of folks in the garage
(06:53):
knew already that Denny's father appears to be definitely ill.
I think Denny said yesterday this will be his last
chance to race for a championship in front of his dad.
I'm rooting for him. I mean I made that clear yesterday.
I'd like to see it, you know, certainly, given the
backdrop of that. But what do you think it looks
like with him out there on Sunday? How does he race?
Do you expect to see anything in particular, given what's
(07:14):
going to be on his shoulders when he gets on
the track.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, you know, Denny certainly has a lot to fight for.
You know, there's all the off track stuff with what's
going on with twenty three eleven and NASCAR. There's all
the on track stuff with having one of the best
years of his career at the age of forty four,
in his twentieth year, can he finally make it happen.
It's a seventh shot in the final race of the
year to win a championship. And then you had on
top of that his dad, Dennis, who did so much
(07:38):
for him to kind of get him going, mortgage the
house twice to kind of keep Denny's racing career going,
and he certainly wants to win it for his dad.
And yeah, I mean, his dad's not doing well, and
Denny and I talked about this yesterday. It probably is
Dennis's last shot to watch his son race for a championship,
and he wants to do it for his dad. There's
(07:59):
certainly a motivating factor there, but he wants it for
himself as well. KB. I mean, he's had so many
shots at this and and I don't know that even
Denny expected this season to work out as well as
as it could have or as as it has. Right
sitting here a couple of days away from running for
a championship, I'll tell you this, I think surprisingly to
(08:20):
some fans, it'll be a very popular championship if Denny
Hamlin can pull it off and he wins the title
on Sunday. I think even the competitors, you know, and
I'll share with you guys, we talked, We hung out
with all four drivers yesterday. They all think Denny Hamlin's
the one to beat. They all think that they have
to the championship runs through the eleven car and I
and I think they're right, and I think this is
(08:42):
Denny Hamlin's championship to lose. It just feels like there's
a bit of they're the team of fate this year.
Now that comes with a lot of pressure obviously, and
there's a lot on this team, But I think no
one handles pressure right now in this business as well
as Denny Hamlin, and I think he is the driver
to beat on Sunday. Now, we're about to practice on
True TV here in about an hour, so I'll let
(09:02):
you know after that practice. But I think right now,
before they've even put a car on the track, I
think Denny ham wants to got to beat. Well.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Speaking of the championship for Marty, I feel like the
guy that's been talked about the least has been his
teammate Chase brisco Now, Chase in the second half of
the year has been one of the best drivers on
the circuit bar none, But it feels like still many
people are writing him off. And honestly, at a track
like Phoenix, Marty, it's very hard to pass and qualifying
(09:30):
means a lot. No one's been better at qualifying this year,
specifically in big races compared to Chase Briscoe. I mean,
he's been arguably the best at qualifying since Ryan Newman
in the mid two thousands. Is there an opportunity where
Chase brisco just slides underneath the cracks and wins this
championship based off of how he's been performing on the
second half of the season, Well, I.
Speaker 3 (09:50):
Mean one hundred percent. You got to remember he's won
at Phoenix before he got his first Cup win here
with Stuart Haas, and I think, you know, he could
certainly win the race or win the championship on Sunday,
And for whatever it's worth, he has been extremely loose,
Like I've been kind of shocked at how loose he
is and how he's like, listen, I'm just happy to
(10:12):
be here. I'm just a guy who a year ago
didn't have a ride, and all of a sudden, I've
got a ride, and all of a sudden, I'm in
the Championship four. And his hero Tony Stewart is. You know,
he's very close to Tony, and Tony called him last
week and said, listen, you you've earned this. You deserve
to be here, and just enjoy it, don't you know.
Don't listen to all the noise and all that's going
(10:33):
to go on. Just enjoy your family during the week,
go to Phoenix and have fun. And if you go
have fun, you can win this race. And I think
that's where he's operating from. He seems very loose to me,
and I think that's but in a good way. Like
he's he doesn't seem to be the moment, doesn't seem
to be too big for him. And I think they
have been good enough. And you got to realize this
(10:55):
is James Small, his crew Chie's fifth time being here
as an engineer or a crew good time, and he
has a championship with Martin Truex Junior in twenty seventeen.
So I think that team is way more experienced, you know,
beneath the driver than people realize and I think certainly, Martin,
or listen to me, Martin. I think Chase could go
out and win the championship in his first year in
(11:17):
the nineteen.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Marty, have fun out there, brother. We appreciate it's been
a long season and we look forward to watching the coverage.
We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
Been a lot of fun. Can't wait to be home
for a few weeks though, but it's been a lot
of fun. Make sure you check things out on NBC
on Sunday. Can't wait to bring in the championship race.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!