12 Questions with Michael McDowell

FromThe Teardown

Start listening View podcast show

12 Questions with Michael McDowell

FromThe Teardown

ratings:

Length:

19 minutes

Released:

May 7, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

The 2021 Daytona 500 champion joins the 12 Questions this week to talk about parenting, what it really feels like to crash in a race car and what he finds interesting about some of the top NASCAR drivers.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Released:

May 7, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

After the checkered flag waves each week, motorsports journalists from The Athletic, Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi, offer instant reaction, analysis and debate straight from the racetrack.

Skip carousel

Social Spotlight: Austin Dillon: This is the first edition of a new feature called the “Social Spotlight,” where I’ll spend some time asking people in the NASCAR industry about their social media usage. First up: Austin Dillon. You can hear the full interview in the podcast at the bottom of this page, but below is a transcript for those who would rather read it (the transcript has been condensed and edited for clarity). JG: Do you have any private social media accounts? AD: I’m all public on everything. No private stuff. I used to have a Facebook, but don’t have one anymore (except) for the one RCR runs and I do Facebook Live videos from. But as far as Instagram and Twitter, it’s all me. JG: Are you on Snapchat? AD: No. I deleted Snapchat when I got engaged — even before that, when I got a girlfriend. I just didn’t think Snapchat was really for me. Didn’t need it. (Chuckles) JG: So you associate Snapchat with the old days when it wasn’t as corporate. AD: Yeah, and it’s kind of repetiti by The Teardown
18 min listen
Untitled Jeff Gluck Podcast: Episode 2: Jordan Bianchi from SBNation.com stops by again to help me break down the NASCAR Media Tour. by The Teardown
24 min listen
Atlanta Post-Race Podcast: Nate Ryan from NBC Sports co-hosts this week’s post-race podcast from his rental car during the drive home from Atlanta Motor Speedway. Nate, who has a much more interesting and professional podcast than this one — the NASCAR on NBC Podcast (check it out!) — successfully navigated the highways surrounding Atlanta while recording this. And yes, we arrived safely. by The Teardown
40 min listen
12 Questions with Kyle Busch: The 2017 version of the 12 Questions begins with 2015 Cup champion Kyle Busch. Starting with this interview, the 12 Questions are in both podcast form and written form (a transcript has been edited for clarity below). 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? You have to have some sort of natural ability to apply all the work and everything you do to the racetrack. There’s drivers out there I’ve tried to help along the way during the past few seasons that I give them all the work and everything possible I know what to do, and yet they can’t quite equate it to the racetrack. So there has to be a talent there. What is the real number there? I think you have to have 100% talent, but you also have to work at it 100% in order to be successful. You can’t just be a 50% talent and a 50% work ethic, because that’s half of both, right? 2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards have all retired in the last c by The Teardown
16 min listen
12 Questions with Elliott Sadler: The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with Xfinity Series points leader Elliott Sadler of JR Motorsports. I spoke to Sadler at Bristol Motor Speedway. This interview is available both as a podcast and written interview, which is transcribed below. 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? I think it’s gotta be 70 percent from natural ability and 30 percent from working at it. From what I’ve learned in my career, I wish I worked as hard when I was 20 as I do now. I’m way in better shape than I was 20 years ago. I’m more mentally prepared each and every week for races now than I was 20 years ago. I just wish I knew then what I know now (about) working at it and staying right. But I think natural ability and hand-eye coordination, just starting at an early age and getting adapted to it and adjusting to it as you go, I think helped me get to where I’m at today. 2. Jeff Gordon, Tony by The Teardown
14 min listen
Post-Texas podcast with Brant James: My former podcasting partner Brant James from USA TODAY Sports joins me at Texas Motor Speedway to break down everything we saw this weekend. by The Teardown
26 min listen
Off-weekend NASCAR podcast with Mom and Dad: With no race this week, I enlisted my mom and dad — Susan and Mike Gluck — to join the podcast and give their thoughts on the NASCAR season so far. by The Teardown
19 min listen
Social Spotlight with Landon Cassill: The “Social Spotlight” series continues this week with Landon Cassill, who drives the No. 34 car for Front Row Motorsports. This interview is available in both podcast and written form. How would you describe your social media philosophy? I’m a child of the internet, as we all are, for the most part. I’m your typical Millennial, I think. I grew up doing school work on the internet, playing video games on the internet. I feel like internet culture is part of my life, so I kind of just live it out that way. It’s kind of an extension of me. What was the first social media platform you used? Xanga was my first social media platform. What was Xanga? Xanga was a blog site. Me and my friends had Xanga pages and we’d just post daily content, I guess. (Laughs) It’s all pretty similar — everything has kind of moved from one to the other. Back then, you’d get home from school, log onto the internet on my computer at home — we had dial-up internet for the long by The Teardown
19 min listen
12 Questions with Kasey Kahne: The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports. I spoke to Kahne at Texas Motor Speedway. 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? When I was younger, it was both, because my dad always was on me to learn about the cars and work on the cars. But from the first time I got on a four-wheeler, a car or whatever, I felt like I knew what I was doing — and that was nice. So I’d say I had a little bit of ability driving, but I’ve always had to work at it. Today, I’d say I work way harder than (use) ability, it feel likes at times, so it’s just tough. Racing’s tough. It’s always changing, so you can’t just drive. You have to be aware of a lot of other things if you want to go fast. 2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards have all retired in the last couple years. What’s your pitch for fans of theirs to become fans of yours? Carl may come back; you’ll by The Teardown
14 min listen
Untitled Jeff Gluck Podcast: Episode 3: I convinced a reluctant Sarah Gluck to be this episode’s podcast guest so we could talk more about why we’re currently in Albuquerque and our recent trip to China. Also, the podcast now has intro music from a NASCAR fan/DJ named Enshrowd! by The Teardown
26 min listen
Untitled Jeff Gluck Podcast: Episode 1: In the first-ever episode of my new podcast, Jordan Bianchi from SBNation.com joins me to help digest all the changes announced for the 2017 NASCAR season. (Warning: I didn’t know how to edit a podcast very well yet, so the volume is uneven at times — sorry!) by The Teardown
35 min listen
Post-Phoenix podcast with Bob Pockrass: On this week’s post-race podcast, I’m joined by ESPN.com’s Bob Pockrass to help me break down all things Phoenix. Plus, Bob weighs in on whether he’d punch me in the face. by The Teardown
22 min listen
The Untitled Jeff Gluck Podcast: Episode 4: I’m riding solo in this edition of the podcast, but I’m not alone thanks to questions submitted in the patron Facebook group. Topics include Daytona Day, Danica’s sponsor situation and Dale Jr.’s strong Phoenix test. by The Teardown
40 min listen
12 Questions with Martin Truex Jr.: The 12 Questions interview continues this week with Martin Truex Jr. of Furniture Row Racing. It is available in podcast form and is also transcribed below. 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? I guess you kind of get to this level off natural ability. For me, building cars, growing up around racing and learning about it early before I even started driving is what helped get me to this level. But once you get here, you realize, “OK, everybody is pretty good.” You’ve got to try to find those little things that stick out of how to get better. Obviously, a big part of it is the team you’re with and the ideas they have and how you kind of work together. It’s definitely a combination of both. You’re always looking for something — that next little thing you can do better. After every weekend, we’re always looking at each other on our team and saying, “OK, what have we got to do to be better?” Whe by The Teardown
10 min listen
Social Spotlight with Samantha Busch: Each week, I ask a different member of the NASCAR community about their social media usage. This week: Samantha Busch — the wife of Kyle Busch and the owner of Murph Boutique. You have incredible restraint on social media. You must get a lot of hateful tweets, but yet I’ve never seen you lose your cool. What’s your secret? Well, usually I type it all out just to get it out there and vent, and then I delete it. But I just figure they’re looking for that negative reaction, that’s why they’re sending the mean tweets, so if you just ignore them, they’ll go away. You’ve been on Twitter for a long time now. Over the years have you had any incident where you did lose your cool and then you regretted it later? Wait, do you actually remember how we started Twitter? No, how did it start? I started Twitter because you were telling me about it and then I got engaged (in Feb. 2010). And then you came to interview me that day, and that’s how it got started. That by The Teardown
22 min listen
Fight! Las Vegas podcast with Jim Utter and Chris Knight: Jim Utter of Motorsport.com and Chris Knight of Catchfence.com join me in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway media center to help analyze the fight between Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. by The Teardown
20 min listen
12 Questions with Garrett Smithley: The 12 Questions interviews continue this week with Garrett Smithley, driver of the No. 0 car for JD Motorsports in the Xfinity Series. This interview is available in both written and podcast form. 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? I think you have to have natural ability. I started racing very late compared to a lot of guys. I started at 15 in Bandoleros and Legend cars. When I started racing, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t have family that came from a racing background. I’m a first generation racer; my dad never raced. It’s a wonder we went to victory lane at all and won championships. So I think it has a ton to do with natural ability. I think now that I’m in NASCAR the last few years, racing some Truck races, last year running pretty much a full season with JD Motorsports and coming back for a second full season, I think that’s when I’m really going to have to put in the wo by The Teardown
21 min listen
Social Spotlight with Kenny Wallace: Each week, I’m asking someone from the racing industry about their social media use in a feature called the Social Spotlight. Up next: Kenny Wallace, the longtime driver and FOX Sports analyst. This interview is also available in podcast form. You were one of the first people in NASCAR to really understand social media, understand how to use your Facebook page, your Twitter page. You’ve always been so into it. Why did you embrace it early on? What did you see in it that made you feel like you need to be part of that? Well this is incredibly true: It had nothing to do with me. What happened was I had a gentleman who was running KennyWallace.com, and I thought it was boring, and I said to him, “We need to put video on KennyWallace.com.” He said to me, “It’s too expensive.” So then all of a sudden, he said, “Let’s go to Facebook and you can do videos for free there.” And then I remember saying, “Facebook is for children.” And he was appalled; he says, by The Teardown
23 min listen
Social Spotlight: ‘Boris’ from Joe Gibbs Racing: This week’s Social Spotlight interview is with Bryan Cook, director of digital and social media for Joe Gibbs Racing. Cook is affectionately known as “Boris” and is the face of all things JGR social media. I spoke with him Thursday at the JGR shop. What are you doing with this under-construction space at Joe Gibbs Racing? We’re building a social media studio that’s going to center a lot around video, because those are the two big things that our partners and our fans are really enjoying. Social media is one of the top three things we hear from partners. Obviously for fans, it’s a continued way to get them connected to the drivers and our team. My goal is to make them feel like they’re a part of the team. The more we can do that, the more we can have a space that makes it easy to go live on a Facebook or an Instagram or even a Twitter is important. I think it’ll be important, too, because it’ll give us a chance to shoot more cars, it’ll g by The Teardown
24 min listen
Daytona 500 Post-Race Podcast: Matt Weaver from Autoweek joins me to help sort through the Daytona 500, and we end up on a tangent to discuss the state of NASCAR fandom and what drivers could do better. by The Teardown
42 min listen
Digesting the Clash with Jordan Bianchi and Three Dumb Questions with Courtney Force: In Episode 6 of the Untitled Jeff Gluck Podcast, SBNation.com’s Jordan Bianchi returns to help me break down the Clash and Daytona 500 qualifying. Plus, the debut of a new segment called “Three Dumb Questions” (around the 22-minute mark) featuring Courtney Force! by The Teardown
32 min listen
Social Spotlight with Bubba Wallace: The third edition of the “Social Spotlight” focuses on the social media usage of Roush Fenway Racing’s Bubba Wallace. We spoke last week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. First of all, I have to give you some credit because a few years ago, you told me about this amazing (photo editing app) called Snapseed. I don’t even use that anymore. You don’t even use it? What have you moved on to? They have Lightroom which is a really good photography app you can get on your computer, and is what a lot of professionals use — I think. But they have it for your phone, so I use that now. Well apparently I have to move onto that. Every time somebody is like, “I really like your Quiet Track picture,” I’m like, “Oh yeah, actually I totally enhanced that using Snapseed,” but I just don’t tell them. Really, I think the trick for photography when you post on social media is you have to make it look nice, but you can’t give it away that it looks too filtered. Right. Yes. Tha by The Teardown
18 min listen
Post-Martinsville Podcast with Matt Weaver: Matt Weaver from Autoweek joins me on a carpool ride podcast back from Martinsville, where we discussed all things STP 500 as well as some strange Matt stories, Sheetz and my first post-race podcast sponsor — SAM Tech! by The Teardown
46 min listen
Post-Fontana podcast with Jordan Bianchi: SBNation.com’s Jordan Bianchi joins me via Skype to discuss all things Fontana — from Kyle Larson’s breakout season to complaints about commercials. by The Teardown
46 min listen
12 Questions with Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Each week, I’ll ask the same 12 questions to a different NASCAR driver. Up next: Dale Earnhardt Jr. of Hendrick Motorsports. (Note: This interview was conducted at Atlanta, so the reference to punching a driver had nothing to do with the Las Vegas fight.) 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? For a long time, it was all ability, low effort. Now I think it’s 50-50. 2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards have all retired in the last couple years. What’s your pitch for fans of theirs to become fans of yours? You know, I’ll be honest with you — I’d probably steer them toward the new guys. I’m on the backside of my deal, so for the health of the sport, I think it’d be awesome if they grabbed onto (Ryan) Blaney or Chase (Elliott) or somebody like that. They’re going to be successful and are going to be around a long time. That would probably be better for everybody. 3. What is the hardest by The Teardown
18 min listen
Social Spotlight with Jimmie Johnson: Each week, I ask a member of the NASCAR industry to shed some light on their social media usage. This week: Seven-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson, who won Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie, you are quite proficient at a number of social platforms. What is your favorite one to use? I’m torn, but I would head towards Instagram. I’m a huge fan of photography and imagery and when it first started off, it was kind of a not-so-popular space (and had) great creativity. It certainly has morphed into something more mass; I’ve seen enough of everyone’s dinners and stuff like that to drive me crazy. But Instagram is probably my favorite. It’s closely followed up by Strava (a workout tracker where followers can like and comment on runs or bike rides). I enjoy my physical activities and it’s amazing how knowing you’re going to post to that app and site, how it will motivate you to run faster, pedal harder, ride longer. You think of interesting n by The Teardown
20 min listen
Social Spotlight with Mike Joy: This is the latest in a series of interviews where I ask people in the racing industry about their social media usage. The interviews are also available in podcast form. This week: Mike Joy, the longtime NASCAR broadcaster from FOX Sports. Joy is on Twitter at @mikejoy500. First of all, I see you a lot on Twitter. Are there any other platforms that you are active on? I’m on Facebook, but it’s mainly as a member of groups: One for the road race car — the BMW my son races — two for vintage MGs and there’s even a group on there for cars that I used to race back in the 70s in IMSA. So, it’s mainly for the group aspects why I’m on Facebook. FOX introduced us to Twitter. When Twitter was fairly new, they thought that it would be a good idea for us to have an online presence, and when we saw that a lot of the teams and drivers and crew people and families were on there too — and especially when we found at Daytona that we could sometimes get quicker updates of by The Teardown
17 min listen
Social Spotlight with Brennan Poole: Each week, I’m asking someone from the racing industry about their social media use in a feature called the Social Spotlight. Up next: Brennan Poole, the Xfinity Series driver from Chip Ganassi Racing. You can follow Poole’s vlog on YouTube here or check out his Twitter and Instagram feeds. This interview is also available in podcast form. You’re into a lot of different forms of social media. What’s your favorite? That’s a good question. I was trying to come up with something funny to say there, but I just don’t have anything. I totally bombed it. But I like YouTube. I like creating the vlogs and doing the videos. Like you said, it’s Friday here in Bristol and I have vlog coming out today, so I’m excited about that. It’s a West Coast Swing vlog. I got to go out there and run Corvettes and I went hiking and I was in Vegas. We ran into Siegfried from Siegfried & Roy, so I have a lot of cool content for the vlogs. That’s what’s really fun to me — tryin by The Teardown
22 min listen
Post-Richmond podcast with Kelly Crandall: Kelly Crandall from Racer.com joins me to help analyze all things Richmond, including Joey Logano’s win, the point standings after nine races and why the “Track Takeover” fan event seemed like a success. by The Teardown
34 min listen
12 Questions with Clint Bowyer: The 12 Questions interview series continues this week with Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing. The interview was conducted Sunday morning prior to the Martinsville race. Here is the archive of other 12 Questions from this season. 1. How much of your success is based on natural ability and how much has come from working at it? I would say with me, I don’t know why, but natural ability seems to be the case. This has always come relatively easy for me. The hardest part of our game anymore isn’t the fact you can drive better than the next guy; everybody at this sport, at this level, can drive and is capable of winning these races. It’s how well you work with your team, how well you communicate to your guys to get the most out of your race car. 2. Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards have all retired in the last couple years. What’s your pitch for fans of theirs to become fans of yours? (Note: I know the following answer makes no sense, but it’s Bowyer by The Teardown
14 min listen

More Episodes from The Teardown

Skip carousel

Darlington Delivers: Jeff and Jordan discuss the thrilling final stage of the Darlington race and debate NASCAR's upcoming 2025 schedule changes. by The Teardown
84 min listen
Never Closer: After the all-time closest finish in NASCAR history, Jeff and Jordan are abuzz about the racing at Kansas Speedway. by The Teardown
74 min listen
Defense Wins Championships: Air blocking decides another race while Dover proves to be another battle of NASCAR's elite drivers. by The Teardown
71 min listen
Talladega (Tyler's Version): A fuel-savings superspeedway race at Talladega sparks some debate between Jeff and Jordan, but there's no arguing over the importance of a Michael Jordan celebration for NASCAR. by The Teardown
74 min listen
Cowboy Comeback: Texas turns into a surprisingly entertaining race and a driver snaps a long winless streak. by The Teardown
66 min listen
Trigger Warning: Jeff's mood turns sour after another disappointing short track race, which sparks a rant. by The Teardown
71 min listen
Richmond Review: Controversial calls, spoiled strategies and wet weather tires are among the topics after an Easter race at Richmond. by The Teardown
63 min listen
Green in the Heart of Texas: A relatively tame race at Circuit of the Americas leaves Jeff and Jordan to wonder about the state of NASCAR road racing, whether COTA will be on future schedules and how track limits should be officiated. by The Teardown
76 min listen
Bristol Banger: Jeff and Jordan marvel at an unexpectedly incredible Bristol concrete race. by The Teardown
60 min listen
By Phoenix Standards: Did NASCAR's new short track rules package produce a good race at Phoenix? by The Teardown
71 min listen
Vegas Verdicts: Jeff and Jordan wonder how much they can jump to conclusions after the first 'real' race of the NASCAR season. by The Teardown
68 min listen
Have You Ever? by The Teardown
64 min listen
Just One Of Them Daytona Deals by The Teardown
71 min listen
2024 Daytona 500 Preview by The Teardown
67 min listen
Jumping the Start by The Teardown
70 min listen
Our 2024 NASCAR Team-by-Team Preview by The Teardown
126 min listen
Our 2024 NASCAR Wish List by The Teardown
50 min listen
Season Finale: Listener Mailbag by The Teardown
116 min listen
2023 NASCAR Season: Team-By-Team by The Teardown
101 min listen
The Hangover by The Teardown
68 min listen
2023 NASCAR Season In Review by The Teardown
132 min listen
12 Questions with Landon Cassill (2023) by The Teardown
41 min listen
Two-Time by The Teardown
79 min listen
12 Questions with Christopher Bell (2023) by The Teardown
12 min listen
Breaking Through by The Teardown
60 min listen
12 Questions with Daniel Suarez (2023) by The Teardown
21 min listen
Miami Vibes by The Teardown
62 min listen
12 Questions with Carson Hocevar (2023) by The Teardown
27 min listen
Strength on Strength by The Teardown
61 min listen
12 Questions with Chase Elliott (2023) by The Teardown
27 min listen

Related podcast episodes

Skip carousel

12 Questions with Michael McDowell (2022) by The Teardown
14 min listen
12 Questions with Landon Cassill (2022) by The Teardown
31 min listen
12 Questions with Kyle Larson (2023) by The Teardown
28 min listen
12 Questions with Chase Elliott (2023) by The Teardown
27 min listen
12 Questions with William Byron (2022) by The Teardown
17 min listen
12 Questions with Chase Elliott (2022) by The Teardown
22 min listen
12 Questions with Michael Waltrip by The Teardown
25 min listen
12 Questions with Harrison Burton (2023) by The Teardown
21 min listen
12 Questions with Austin Cindric (2022) by The Teardown
18 min listen
12 Questions with Daniel Suarez (2023) by The Teardown
21 min listen
12 Questions with Christopher Bell (2022) by The Teardown
17 min listen
12 Questions with Martin Truex Jr. (2023) by The Teardown
17 min listen
Post-Daytona podcast with Kelly Crandall: Kelly Crandall from RACER and The Racing Writer’s Podcast joins me to help break down everything that happened Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. by The Teardown
28 min listen
Daytona 500 Post-Race Podcast: Matt Weaver from Autoweek joins me to help sort through the Daytona 500, and we end up on a tangent to discuss the state of NASCAR fandom and what drivers could do better. by The Teardown
42 min listen
12 Questions with Kyle Larson (2022) by The Teardown
21 min listen
12 Questions with Alex Palou (2023) by The Teardown
20 min listen
12 Questions with Brad Sweet by The Teardown
27 min listen
322 | Tire Wear: Careful What You Ask For: Dale Jr. & Tyler Reddick join to break down the wildest Bristol race in years by Door Bumper Clear
97 min listen
12 Questions with Tyler Reddick (2022) by The Teardown
22 min listen
12 Questions with Carson Hocevar (2023) by The Teardown
27 min listen
Eight New Year's Resolutions for NASCAR by The Teardown
40 min listen
12 Questions with Tyler Reddick by The Teardown
27 min listen
12 Questions with Chase Elliott by The Teardown
20 min listen
12 Questions with Will Power (2022) by The Teardown
17 min listen
12 Questions with Daniel Suarez by The Teardown
15 min listen
Offbeat NASCAR Awards and Superlatives podcast with Brant James: Brant James joins me to help hand out imaginary awards in 10 categories, including: Best NASCAR Twitter Feud, Crankiest Interview of the Year, Biggest Disappointment and Most Valuable Driver. by The Teardown
55 min listen
12 Questions with Austin Dillon (2018): The 12 Questions series of interviews continues this week with Daytona 500 winner Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing. This interview was recorded as a podcast but is also transcribed for those who prefer to read. 1. How often do you have dreams about racing? I’ve had a couple of dreams about racing, and one in particular was about the Daytona 500. I had this dream where I looked in the rearview mirror and no one was behind me and I was coming to the checkered flag. I haven’t had those memories (about dreams) very often, but I did have that one, which is crazy. I thought about it leading up this offseason, and that was a dream and it all happened. It’s weirded me out for a while, but it’s a cool one. I haven’t really had any more. I’ve had one or two others that I’ve brought up at just random tracks that I’ve been on. When you get to focusing on them so much and you’re on the simulator, you can see the track in your mind and your mind just by The Teardown
19 min listen
12 Questions with Ben Rhodes (2023) by The Teardown
30 min listen
12 Questions with Austin Hill (2023) by The Teardown
25 min listen
12 Questions with Kyle Larson by The Teardown
22 min listen

Discover this podcast and so much more

12 Questions with Michael McDowell

12 Questions with Michael McDowell

Description

Titles in the series (100)

More Episodes from The Teardown

Related podcast episodes