In this week of Bringing the Heat with Trey Lyle, NASCAR on NBC play-by-play announcer Leigh Diffey joins the show to talk about his past year, from covering the Rolex 24 to IndyCar to Supercross to the Olympics before finishing with NASCAR. Diffey also highlights some of the high points and top events he’s called in his career.
After the interview, Stephen Stumpf joins Lyle to react to the hottest storylines in the week, many of which come from the Xfinity Series. The two discuss their level of surprise to the Kaulig Racing announcement that Josh Williams will no longer be driving the No. 11 Chevrolet, effective immediately.
The other big Xfinity announcement came when NASCAR announced Austin Hill would be suspended from the upcoming race at Iowa after right-rearing Aric Almirola at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday (July 26). Stumpf and Lyle discuss the implications of the penalty and how costly it could be for Hill during the playoffs.
On the Cup side of things, the conversation turns to further rumors that Mexico City will not be on the 2026 NASCAR schedule, while a return to Chicagoland is looking more and more likely.
The soundbite of the week comes from Bubba Wallace and his opening statement in the press conference following his triumph in the Brickyard 400. Based on the comments, Stumpf and Lyle share their thoughts on the impact of Wallace winning, both for his career and for 23XI Racing as a whole.
In their final thoughts, Stumpf proposes a revised bracket challenge based on points seeding, saying he will keep up with those matchups over the next five races. Lyle also gave a nod to Stewart Friesen, who is recovering after a serious crash in a dirt race earlier this week.
Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.
A Graduate of Virginia Tech in Sports Media and Analytics, Trey Lyle has been covering NASCAR since 2021 as the producer of the Fast Lane with Ed Lane on VTRN Sports 93.3 FM in Lynchburg, Va.
Trey joined FS in 2023 to cohost Happy Hour and help out on the podcast front as the producer for Brining the Heat with Bryan Nolen. Now, he oversees the entire podcast operation for Frontstretch.
Stephen Stumpf is the NASCAR Content Director for Frontstretch and is a three-year veteran of the site. His weekly column is “Stat Sheet,” and he formerly wrote "4 Burning Questions" for three years. He also writes commentaries, contributes to podcasts, edits articles and is frequently at the track for on-site coverage.
Find Stephen on Twitter @stephen_stumpf