Daily Driver Podcast

The Win Light Lab with Kris Whitfield

Today on The Daily Driver, I am excited to announce a new program coming to This Is Bracket Racing: The Win Light Lab. Rolling out throughout 2026, each version of the Lab will be hosted by one of our ELITE instructors including Mike Mans, Justin Lamb, Kris Whitfield, Gage Burch, Mikey Sturgill, and Matt Dadas. Each Lab will be focused on a different element of competition.

We kick things off with The Win Light Lab: The Mental Edge, hosted by Kris Whitfield, who joins us today to talk about why small-group learning matters and why the mental game is such a powerful separator in racing.

Is Footbrake still a thing?

Today on The Daily Driver, we kick off Question of the Week, a segment many of you already recognize from the ThisIsBracketRacing Facebook page. Now, we’re bringing those conversations to the podcast. This week’s question: “Is footbrake still a thing?”

If you’ve got a topic you want us to tackle, submit it at thisisbracketracing.com/ask. With insights from the TIBR and ELITE brain trust, this episode starts a series of Q&A discussions built around the questions racers are asking right now.

Graduation

Today on The Daily Driver, we reflect on graduation. Young racers stepping into full-size competition. It’s an emotional transition and a reminder of how fast it all goes. These drivers are capable, talented, and how we choose to support them will help shape the future of the sport. 

Pressure

On this episode of The Daily Driver, we talk about pressure. Why it shows up, how experience changes it, and why it never fully goes away. The key isn’t eliminating pressure, but learning to embrace it as a sign you care and letting it prepare you to perform at your best. 

The Power of Community

In this episode of The Daily Driver, I’m exploring the power of community and why no one truly succeeds alone. Drawing from a powerful study, personal experience, and lessons from TIBR Jr. and ELITE, I break down how independence can get you started but growth accelerates when you surround yourself with people who share your ambition. The right community doesn’t just support you… it makes you better. 

Grace

In this episode of The Daily Driver, I share advice I gave a young racer heading to his first big-money, multi-day event. The one word he needed to hear? Grace.

Big events are long, expectations are high, and mistakes are part of the process. The difference isn’t whether you mess up, it’s how you respond when you do. This episode is about trusting the racer you know you are, letting go of the occasional mistake, and moving forward with confidence.

The stuff of LEGENDS

From time to time on The Daily Driver, I like to share the audio version of my column, The Science of Winning, which appears in NHRA’s National Dragster magazine. This week’s piece is titled “The Stuff of Legends.”

How can I improve this offseason?

In this episode of The Daily Driver, we’re talking about how racers can make real gains during what we call separation season, the offseason. While many step away or hit pause, this is actually the best opportunity to improve, refine habits, and build an edge that shows up when it matters most. 

Golden Era

In this episode of The Daily Driver, I’m talking about a familiar concern in racing, the rising cost of competition and what it means for the future of the sport. It’s something I’ve wrestled with lately, until I realized my own dad was saying the same thing more than 30 years ago. And since then, the sport hasn’t just survived, it’s thrived in ways none of us could have predicted.

Unintended Consequences

Today we’re talking about what happens when you shift your focus to something new on the track. Maybe you’re rock-solid on the tree, but decide to prioritize the finish line next round. You execute perfectly there but suddenly you’re late on the tree. Sometimes the mental energy required to level up a new skill takes away from the things you normally do well. So what’s the answer?