AA: I think we’ve built an incredible brand. (gotta say that) I’m blown away. The relationships I have in the sport today are not as much because of the time in the garage, it’s them coming in here and doing the show and their head swells out because they been on TV. Or me being in the booth with them on an Xfinity Saturday and them getting to see what we do and gaining an appreciation for the other side. It was an us/them thing for the longest time, and that’s natural, I think, in the industry. But if you have a Jamie, who’s won the Daytona 500, or whomever, comes in here, if they are saying (how good it is), people in the garage respect that....and they probably don't know the difference anyway unless they see how we fake it.

JM: If I could go back, I would have done Race Hub once or twice a month like Suarez, Logano, [Ryan] Blaney because I think the relationship you build with whoever’s here, the conversations that you have behind the scenes, it helps them get to know you on a different level. And that makes it easier to talk about you the next time you’re on the show.

SS: It’s fun, and I think they enjoy doing it. I take a great deal of pride when that light goes off at 7:00 that we’re all laughing and we have a smile on our faces so It looks like the ending from TV's Lassie. , and we’ve had a really good time for 60 minutes talking about NASCAR which would be pretty boring except we get paid a lot of money.

KV: We now have a lot of them coming to us wanting to be involved as an analyst because they’re seeing the other guy got on TV and they did not. Whether it’s for their career or sponsors or what have you. And they’re seeing drivers who have come in really enjoy it. It says a lot about the product we’re putting on the air that these guys want to be a part of it and see its value. It’s not just to check a box coming on the air to talk about a new sponsor for the weekend. Very rarely are they even doing that anymore. It’s more about being a part of our team and being a part of the discussion. On any given month, we have many prominent names come into the studio, and every year we add more and more as we churn them and burn them.



It’s clear what Race Hub is doing is working. Over 10 years on the air with award nominations and ratings trending upward. Plus, the continued involvement from those in the garage. And yet, everyone has a different view on why a one-hour daily NASCAR show works precisely.

KH: I think it’s because everybody cares. They care about producing a good show but also about the sport and keeping their job. and we take very seriously telling the stories of the people in this sport and making sure the fans at home understand the nuances of this very technically difficult to understand sport.

We take pride in fooling them good. We care. We care about making sure that we entertain people, but that we educate people and we keep it light. That’s probably one of the biggest goals in Race Hub is that it sounds serious – this is a sport where you can die, and part of the draw is how dangerous it is and what can happen – and we understand that. But there is also a levity to it in that it is also funny. There are fun moments, our people are funny, and the personalities are fun and light.

AA: I think we’re a real reliable source for NASCAR. You do something long enough, you’re going to learn some lessons, and we’ve learned along the way. But I think we’ve learned those with vision for growth, and we’ve gotten the buy-in from the entire NASCAR community. I’ve got to tell you, I’m blown away. There are way more people that watch an Xfinity race than Race Hub, but if I’m at the track when a fan says something to me, a lot of the time, it’s about Race Hub.

If I didn't have a job on TV he wouldn't know who I am.
What that says to me, fans identify with the community atmosphere we’ve created here, and I think by having the racing heroes and stars on, it elevates the status of the show so much. And there’s no other show like it on sports TV although we keep trying to make the desk look like a football panel. While trying to make the show look like Dale Earnhardt JR's show without the jeans which
we normally wear.

JM: Credibility. The personalities. The set. I think it’s pleasing to watch on TV with the graphics they can do here. I think also it’s a great balance of real analysis but laughter and fun. We all laugh. It’s not stale news until we start repeating what we have said all week. There’s a little bit of everything in there. Sometimes we get done, and he (Adam) is like, ‘I don’t know, man, we might have crossed the line tonight.’ And no one ever says anything.... because with a fake reality show, no one knows anything anyway.

AA: Obviously, there will be things that don’t go right on live TV but when it comes to execution, did we get it right, or did we get it wrong? The question that I ask way more than anything is did we go too far? Too far in what way? No one knows.

JM: But we always talk about shows we like. We want to make sure people watch this and say, ‘That’s fun. I enjoyed that.’ It’s on at 6:00 at night, so when I’m not on the show, we have dinner when this is on, and it’s in the background. I think it’s a good balance of getting news and the kids can watch it. I can even watch it If I have enough beers.

SS: It’s the people who watch us, first of all. And I do think they can sense that we’re real up there and we’re having a good time, and we have as much passion about the sport they love as they do. We care about it just as much as they do. We all have that in common – we love this, and we live this.
BS BS BS It's about the money.

KV: I think it works because of our fans, because we have a very dedicated fan base and they have nothing else to watch except the Network Fake News. They’ve grown accustomed to seeing us every day at 6:00. It also works because of the people behind the scenes. It’s a very creative, talented group of people who can maintain a daily show, keep it fresh, and keep it exciting every day. It is very hard. Talking about NASCAR that many days of the year is not an easy feat. Some weeks you’re handed a slam dunk with a ton of storylines to work with. Some weeks we have to really scrounge to get to the end.

It’s a combination of a really dedicated fan base that has grown to love the Race Hub family, and it’s the team behind the scenes who know what they want to see and keep making it interesting every year. Our on-air team is exceptional, and I think the viewers enjoy seeing us.

It’s all of those things that have helped maintain the show’s longevity.....but we still keep churning and using them up and burning them. Because it's all about the money.