{"podcast":{"title":"It's Not the Car","slug":"it-s-not-the-car-6747786","podcast_index_feed_id":6747786,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/f02659d0/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://www.itsnotthecar.com","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/40190452/40190452-1704583104013-fbbc87158798b.jpg","author":"Sam Smith, Ross Bentley, Jeff Braun","episode_count":109,"summary":"It’s Not the Car is a podcast about people and speed. We tell racing stories and leave out the boring parts. Ross Bentley is a former IndyCar driver and a world-renowned performance coach. Jeff Braun is a champion race engineer with time in NASCAR and IMSA. Sam Smith is an award-winning journalist, a club racer, and a former executive editor of Road & Track magazine. We don’t love motorsport for the nuts and bolts—we love it for what it asks of the meatbag at the wheel.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786"},"episode":{"title":"Get a Job as a Race Engineer! — w/ Charlie Ping","slug":"get-a-job-as-a-race-engineer-w-charlie-ping","published_at":"2025-12-09T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/get-a-job-as-a-race-engineer-w-charlie-ping","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/its-not-the-car/episodes/Get-a-Job-as-a-Race-Engineer---w-Charlie-Ping-e3c35h7","audio_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/f02659d0/podcast/play/112350183/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-11-9%2Ffcb77cd0-0729-667b-a33f-09585403d4fe.mp3","summary":"You asked for it! This is the first episode of a new series where we unpack just what it takes to get a job in pro racing. Charlie Ping is a pro engineer. Over the last 20 years, his career has spanned IndyCar, sports cars, and the Australian Supercars Championship. He helped develop Acura's LMP1 and LMP2 prototypes, and he developed and led the manufacturer track-testing program for Chevrolet's IndyCar aero kits. These days, Charlie works alongside INTC co-host Jeff Braun at Toronto’s 13 Motorsports, where he helps run a Corvette Z06 GT3.R in IMSA’s GTD class. We brought Charlie on the show to pull apart his career—and to share the lessons he’s gathered along the way. The ones that might help someone—maybe you!—chase the dream of working full-time in professional motorsport. This show changes format weekly, because squirrel. This week’s format is called “HOW I GOT HERE.” This episode was produced by Sam Smith. ** 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! ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠INTCPod@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ** 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/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/rossbentley/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://rossbentley.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://speedsecrets.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ** ABOUT THE SHOW:…","meta_description":"You asked for it! This is the first episode of a new series where we unpack just what it takes to get a job in pro racing. Charlie Ping is a pro engineer.…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3807,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/episodes/get-a-job-as-a-race-engineer-w-charlie-ping/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/it-s-not-the-car-6747786/get-a-job-as-a-race-engineer-w-charlie-ping.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}