This week on Bringing the Heat With Trey Lyle, Big Machine Racing’s Dr. Patrick Staropoli diagnoses his first few weeks in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series with Michael Massie. He calls the No. 48 seat “the opportunity of a lifetime” after it came together late in the offseason.
With a career as a surgeon, Staropoli walks through his early racing days when the K&N Series was still around, and why he ended up pursuing medicine. Staropoli also shares where he’s at in his current medical practices and how he’s kept connected to the racing world over the years.
After the interview, Danny Peters joins Lyle to review this week’s hottest topics. That includes speculating on the outlook for Alex Bowman, who is missing a second consecutive week after climbing out of the car early at Circuit of the Americas. While Justin Allgaier is this week’s fill-in, the duo ponders what these health questions mean for Bowman’s career going forward.
The two also leave their reviews for the extra horsepower that has been put back into Cup cars this season. After a solid race at Phoenix, drivers gave thumbs up to having more power. Peters agrees with Christopher Bell that NASCAR should keep adding more horsepower in the future.
This week’s quote comes from Ty Gibbs, who made sure to emphasize that he’s “working with the right people” in 2026. Gibbs contended for the win late, and Lyle and Peters offer their thoughts on what feels different for the driver of the No. 54 just four races into the year.
With final thoughts, Peters commends the NASCAR-IndyCar double, as well as Roger Penske’s celebration through and into victory lane over the weekend. Lyle shifts his focus to Formula 1, which is facing an identity crisis with a new car and new media rights deal.
Listen to Bringing the Heat With Trey Lyle wherever you get your podcasts. Click the link below to read the interview with Staropoli.
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 co-host Happy Hour and help out on the podcast front.
He now hosts Bringing the Heat with Trey Lyle and oversees the entire podcast operation for Frontstretch.
Michael Massie joined Frontstretch in 2017 and has served as the Content Director since 2020.
Massie, a Richmond, Va., native, has covered NASCAR, IndyCar, SRX and the CARS Tour. Outside of motorsports, the Virginia Tech grad and Green Bay Packers minority owner can be seen cheering on his beloved Hokies and Packers.
Danny Peters has written for Frontstretch since 2006. An English transplant living in San Francisco, by way of New York City, he’s had an award-winning marketing career with some of the biggest companies sponsoring sports. Working with racers all over the country, his freelance writing has even reached outside the world of racing to include movie screenplays.