Grip Strip Podcast Philip G. Mathew

After another great weekend of motorsports and the NFL Draft, Phil and Josh return for E218 of the GSP.  The Penske cheating scandal didn't affect Scotty McLaughlin and the Thirsty 3's, since he won Pole and became a two-time winner at Barber. 
Josef Newgarden definitely took a lot of hits with his press conference and Tim Cindric's lame excuse too regarding the cheating scandal.  In lighter news, Georgina the mannequin dropped off the bridge and got run over by debutant Luca Ghiotto in the process.  The guys go over all of this along with the firing of David Malukas at Arrow McLaren after never racing for the team.  
NASCAR raced at Dover for their only time of 2024 with the rivalry of Hamlin and Larson coming through.  Larson had the faster car, but Dennis played the aero blocking game and held the Hendrick driver off.  The Joe Gibbs Racing weekend started with Ryan Truex winning his second straight XFinity race at The Monster Mile after a great battle with Carson Kvapil.  
Phil and Josh review their teams NFL Draft hauls along with other key players picked who could make an immediate impact in the league.  For the GSP Roundup, Phil looks at NHRA, MotoGP/Moto2, Formula E, Indy NXT, AMA Supercross and F1 Academy.  The guys get back to preview the F1 Grand Prix of Miami and NASCAR Cup and Trucks at Kansas prior to Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.
 

After a wild weekend of motorsports, Phil and Josh are back to cover it all on E217 of the GSP.  Tyler Reddick was wishing he could get a ride on team owner Michael Jordan's shoulders after sneaking through on the outside for that victory.  Reddick's son Beau spent quality time with Uncle MJ while his Dad navigated the carnage caused by Michael McDowell making a bad block on Brad Keselowski.  In the process, Ford continues to be winless in 2024.  Is this a time for concern and when will Ford actually win again?
Jesse Love has been on the cusp of victory lane all season in the XFinity Series but he finally closed the deal with his first win at Talladega.  The assist went to all of the midfielders working for themselves at the end while Love had to battle with fuel mileage and not having a teammate to help after Hank Hill and Kligerman wrecked late in the race.  JRM's sketchy plate race tactics never came to the fore after they watched multiple cars get destroyed.  
At Long Beach, Scott Dixon once again showed why he is a GOAT.  On an epic fuel save mission, the six-time champion held off Josef Newgarden for his second win on the streets.  The drivers (including Newgarden) who went with the prime strategy were left to wonder and JNew wanted Colton herta to get a penalty for aggressive driving.  The starts/restarts at Long Beach have always been a problem and this weekend didn't quell any concerns.  
Fish Lips won everything at Gyna, but the greater storylines were home country hero Zhou and Sir Lewis Hamilton, scoring a second in the sprint and scored points in the race after an abominable qualifying.  Toto continues to talk out of his behind regarding the LH situation while Norris lays down for his buddy Fish Lips.  
The GSP Roundup is busy this week with IMSA, WEC, Supercars, WSBK, WRC, NHRA, MotoGP/Moto2, Formula E and Indy NXT before Phil and Josh return to preview and make picks for IndyCar at Barber.  NASCAR Cup and XFinity come to the Northeast for their sole visit to Dover, so the guys make their predictions for the weekend accordingly.  Josh lets us know all things going on in the world of iRacing and gaming in his Sim Segment prior to show close.

After another majestic week at Augusta National, Phil and Josh return for another edition of the GSP.  Scottie Scheffler solidified his place as the No.1 player in golf with a second Masters victory.  Ludvig Aberg showed the world he is another young hotshot, with the potential for future greatness.  Aberg finishes second in his major championship debut while other major players struggled.
In the world of NASCAR, William Clyde Elliott ends his second longest winless streak of his career and gets Hooters their first victory since the late Alan Kulwicki in 1992 at Texas.  Teammate William Byron got the assist after cleaning Ross Chastain out on the final lap.  Plenty of wrecks, a lack of passing and virtually no tire fall off were other key storylines heading into Talladega.  
The XFinity Series had the best product per usual, with the added bonus of a photo finish.  Sam Mayer's brutal start to 2024 came around after holding Ryan Seig off at the line for his first win of 2024.  Teammate Justin Allgaier continues to show pace and dominate races, but cannot close.  Kyle Busch wins his second Truck race of 2024, holding off former protege Corey Heim to earn the victory. 
This week's GSP Roundup looks at MotoGP/Moto2 at CoTA, Formula E in Misano, Supercars in New Zealand, WRC Rally Croatia, IMSA at Long Beach, WEC in Imola, WSBK in Assen and NHRA Four Wide in Vegas.  Phil and Josh return to preview the first Formula 1 race in Gyna since 2019.  The guys look at who will finish behind Fish Lips and other key stories heading to Shanghai. 
IndyCar races a major with the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach and the crew gives their prognostications for the winner and podium.  NASCAR leaves the Texas dump to race at another demo derby called Talladega.  The Tate Fogleman Algorithm joins Phil and Josh to make picks and bold predictions before Josh's Sim Segment and Show Close.

On the week of The Masters tournament, Phil and Josh celebrate another tradition with E215 of the GSP.  One tradition that has taken place for the last 40 years is Hendrick Motorsports winning.  That continued with a first at Martinsville: their first 1-2-3 finish in team history, after white bread William Byron took his third win of 2024.  While it was a great day for HMS, the Cup short track package might be even worse than ever before.  The guys cover all the key players, stories and points heading to the Texas dump.
Another person who loves Martinsville is Aric Almirola and he showed that with help from teammate Sheldon Creed's argy bargy in the XFinity Series.  Christian Eckes took his second win of 2024 after he and points leader Ty Majeski dominated the Truck Series race.  Phil and Josh cover both events and give a points update.  Formula 1 continues to be the same garbage, even if Daniel Ricciardo and Alex Albon crashed out of the Japanese Grand Prix to setup a restart.  
The GSP Roundup recaps the NHRA Arizona Nationals, previews MotoGP/Moto2 at CoTA for the Grand Prix of the Americas, Formula E in Misano and defending Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki returning to Erebus Motorsports and losing his main backer Peter Adderton in the process.  Phil and Josh preview The Masters tournament and discuss what to expect from Eldrick.  NASCAR's top three series race at the Texas dump, so Phil and Josh preview and make picks for each race.  Josh lets us know all things going on in iRacing in his Sim Segment prior to the show close.

Phil and Josh return after the Easter weekend for E214 of the GSP, with the main discussion point being Dennis Hamlin absolutely jumping the final restart and winning at Richmond.  The Cup Series debuted rain tires so they could start the race but NASCAR dictated when they could use them and when to remove them.  Once that was completed, two drivers essentially had their way - Kyle Larson and Martin Truex, Jr. 
However, two cautions played a role in the final result: the drive out of the groove for Kyle Busch during a cycle of pit stops, and the caution with two to go between Larson and Darrell Wallace, Jr. which set up the GWC for Hamlin to pounce after his team provided a great pit stop.  The guys go over all of this and the continued issues with the short track package, while covering MTJ's list of people he was angry at. 
On the XFinity side, Chandler Smith is really good at Richmond.  He won over teammate Aric Almirola (who won both stages) in a Gibbs benefit, which the guys said would happen.  The bigger stories were the debut of Late Model standout Bubba Pollard for JRM and the wreck between Joey Gase and former GSP guest Dawson Cram.  Cram finished Gase off into Turn 1, and the car owner decided to rip his bumper cover off and attempt to throw it in the window of the JD Motorsports driver's car.  Both have made merch off the incident but it was an expensive day for Gase.
The GSP Roundup covers WRC and Formula E, while Liberty Media acquires Dorna Sport (the group that runs MotoGP and WSBK) and an NHRA Arizona Nationals preview with my respect and credit to Matt Hagan being discussed.  Phil and Josh return to preview Fish Lips getting back to the top step at the Japanese Grand Prix and who will finish behind him before previewing and making picks for all three major NASCAR series at Martinsville.  Josh lets us know all things going on in iRacing and gaming in his Sim Segment prior to the Show Close.

Phil and Josh return for E213 of the GSP to actually talk about Formula 1, since the Smooth Operator Carlos Sainz returned from an appendectomy and won the Australian Grand Prix.  Sainz had overtaken Fish Lips on the track but the Red Fool leader fell out with brake failure.  The guys talk about his first DNF in two years, Sainz getting a dominant win with a Ferrari 1-2, McLaren being with them, Mercedes being terrible, Daniel Ricciardo looking at the exit door and Logan Sargeant holding Alex Albon's manpurse.  
A generally uncompelling weekend at the Thermal Club saw a usual result, with defending series champion Alex Palou win pole and dominate the main event to win his Chip Ganassi team $500,000.  The other standout was former 10 car driver Felix Rosenqvist, who's new home at Meyer-Shank suits him well.  Phil and Josh look at the race, what can be changed and who made/missed the show. 
Circuit of the Americas hosted NASCAR and saw William Byron become the first repeat winner of 2024 in dominant fashion.  Track limits played a part along with pit road penalties in a race that generally lacked any drama.  The new "short track" package continues to suck in actually allowing cars to pass and provide more driveability.  Hendrick and Toyota continue to lead while Ford struggles. Chris Bell made a list of enemies, including former teammate Kyle Busch. 
On the XFinity side, Yung Money benefitted from Bobby Hill parking his car in front of SVG on the final lap of the race, costing both a chance at victory.  Sam Mayer finally gets a decent result and there was a mixed bag among the contenders.  For the Truck Series, Corey Heim barely had any resistance on his way to his first win of 2024.  The revelation was Conor Zilisch, who made his debut and qualified on pole.  After a tough start, the Trackhouse development driver moved his way back into the top five at the end of the race.  On the flip side, Marco Andretti's rear end fell out of his Roper Racing truck.  
The GSP Roundup covers F2/F3, Supercars, MotoGP/Moto2, WSBK, NHRA, WRC and Formula E before leading into previews and picks for the Easter weekend races at Richmond for NASCAR Cup and XFinity.  Josh lets us know about everything going on in iRacing on his Sim Segment before the Show Close.