Grip Strip Podcast Episode 106 - Eclair Reigns and Sports Entertainment Motorsport

Phil and Josh come back for Episode 106 of the GSP to discuss the Formula 1 opener at Bahrain which saw Charles Leclerc and Ferrari take the opening pole and race of the season.  The guys cover the 1-2 finish for the Scuderia while Red Bull saw both of their drivers fall out late with power unit issues along with fellow RBPT car of Pierre Gasly.  Mercedes was on the back foot all weekend but salvaged a podium for Lewis Hamilton and a fourth for George Russell.  Their customer teams are definitely in trouble but Ferrari customers like Haas are in a great place.  Kevin Magnussen's return to F1 couldn't have went much better with a fifth.

On the flip side of racing, Atlanta Motor Speedway saw WWE-style pack racing for all three major NASCAR national series.  William Byron gave Hendrick Motorsports a third winner among their four-car team to start the season while plenty of drivers left angry with wrecked race cars and BadYear tire failures.  Ross Chastain continues his early season rise with the upstart Trackhouse Racing and proving how the Gen 7 car has helped smaller teams.  Keebler Gibbs won in XFinity and Corey Heim took his first Truck Series win during the Saturday proceedings.  

Josef Newgarden made it a Penske 2-2 to start the 2022 IndyCar season after a last lap, last turn pass on teammate Scott McLaughlin but the story was the Grip Strip and how it affected the cars and tires.  Multiple wrecks were caused by the residue of the Grip Strip but Kyle Kirkwood showed why he's a future star in the IndyCar Series.  On the flip side, we saw why Devlin DeFrancesco is the EggHead of IndyCar.  Issues for McLaren also exist stateside and Alexander Rossi is left to wonder what has happened with his career after a brutal race day.

For the Roundup, recaps of the 12 Hours of Sebring, Sebring 1000 KM, F2/F3 at Bahrain, MotoGP/Moto2 at Mandalika and Supercars at Symmons Plains before previews of NASCAR at CoTA and F1 at the Rights Out GP in Jeddah.  Josh talks about iRacing with his Sim Segment before show close.