Hauler Talk

NASCAR Sr. Director of Marketing Services Justin Swilling joins to discuss the impact winter weather will have on The Clash this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium.
Hosts: NASCAR Communication's Mike Forde & Amanda Ellis + NASCAR.com's Nate Ryan
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NASCAR announced on Monday the return to the Chase format with some updates to the old system! Win, and you're in, along with playoff points, are no more, as the top 16 drivers in points after 26 races will chase the championship. Mike and Nate discuss the behind-the-scenes discussions of the format change, along with several rulebook changes that will go into effect for the O'Reilly Auto Parts series and the Craftsman Truck series when they start their season in Daytona mid-February.
0:00 Welcome to the show
1:30 Testing at North Wilkesboro and the effects of 750 horsepower
12:10: 2026 lug nut rulebook update for NOAPS and NCTS
17:20: Addition of OEM provisional to NOAPS and NCTS
30:45: Minimum age requirement raised in the NOAPS
31:50: Fastest lap rule change
38:27: Behind the scenes of the Chase format discussions
56:00 Modeling the old points system and the new system and competitive the results were
1:04:50: Mark Martin’s outspokenness on the playoff committee
1:10:01: How much can the schedule change with the elimination of cutoff races
1:15:20: Why the Chase field size is 16 drivers
1:17:45: How the new format impacts specialist drivers who relied on certain tracks to make the playoffs
1:22:15 Jeff Gordon’s comments on the new format
1:23:12 Show close
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Mike, Amanda, and Nate wrap up the 2025 season after returning from Phoenix, kicking off by talking about the championship celebrations by Corey Heim, Jesse Love and Kyle Larson. Amanda explains what the champion goes through after they win and how winning multiple championships have different experiences. The group then talked about the Awards Ceremony moving two days after the Cup Series Championship instead of waiting a few weeks to celebrate. After Mike and Nate discuss the caution that sent us to Overtime in Phoenix where William Byron blew a tire as Denny Hamlin was three laps away from his first championship. The group wraps up this episode talking about the Riedel system that NASCAR has been using to communicate among race control during the race season.
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Mike, Nate and Amanda sit down for this season's penultimate episode of Hauler Talk. The big topic of discussion from Martinsville was Sam Mayer wrecking Jeb Burton after the checkered flag and what penalties were handed out. Nate inquired about why there were no free passes given out during some of the cautions at Martinsville. Then the group looked forward to this weekend's race in Phoenix, starting with remote race control staffing, inspection procedures, and then a deep dive into the post-race activities for the champions after they win.
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NASCAR Communications' Mike Forde and Amanda Ellis are joined by NASCAR.com's Nate Ryan to review the YellaWood500 at Talladega. Coming up this weekend, Goodyear is bringing a new set a left-side tires to Martinsville for the penultimate race of the season. Plus, NASCAR's Managing Director of Track Development Jerry Kaproth explains how the San Diego street course was built.
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