Episode

Postwar Madness on Public Roads — (1948 Watkins Glen GP)

Podcast
It's Not the Car
Published
Feb 17, 2026
Duration seconds
5629
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/its-not-the-car/episodes/Postwar-Madness-on-Public-Roads--1948-Watkins-Glen-GP-e3f6ru6
Audio
https://anchor.fm/s/f02659d0/podcast/play/115617158/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-1-17%2Fe07c9828-e113-c42c-91fb-65d39ebfa649.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/episodes/postwar-madness-on-public-roads-1948-watkins-glen-gp
Markdown
/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/postwar-madness-on-public-roads-1948-watkins-glen-gp.md

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Summary

If you do nothing else, listen to the beginning of this episode. The first few minutes. Maybe with a large drink in your hand. A tiny town in upstate New York. A dapper man with glasses, a dream, and a Duesenberg he didn’t need. One of the greatest—and nuttiest—moments in the history of American racing. And that’s how stateside sports-car racing went big time. This show’s format rotates weekly, because squirrel. This episode is our monthly deep dive into an epic moment from racing history. In this case, that means the story of the the 1948 Watkins Glen Grand Prix—America’s first postwar road race, a homespun miracle fit for Mayberry, and weekend that kicked off a movement that’s still going strong today. *** IN THIS EP: A Kentucky man (not Sam) rolls a car into a creek — Ross watches PBS and lives to talk about it — An English car with a supercharger and entirely too much wood in its body structure — Briggs MF-ing Cunningham and you better believe it — Four wheels up at 100 mph — and more! This episode was produced by Sam Smith. Thanks, as always, to our friends at BFGoodrich for supporting the show! ** Who We Are + Spicy Merch: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ItsNotTheCar.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Support It’s Not the Car: Contribute on Patreon ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.patreon.com/notthecar⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Topic suggestions, feedback, questions? Let us know what you think! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ** Check out Sam's book! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Smithology: Thoughts, Travels, and Semi-Plausible Car Writing, 2003–2023⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** Where to find us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/intcpod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thatsamsmith/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/j.v.braun/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠…