Takes

Formula One needs a star American driver for the sport to truly take off in the US

That's what the U.S. need. We've got to get a decent American driver running in Formula One. And as soon as that happens, I think the US will just take off even more.

The new financial cap is ultimately healthy for the long-term future of Formula One

I think it's ultimately a positive thing... I think ultimately it's a good one. It's going to take a couple of years to settle down, but I think it's healthy for the whole sport.

Formula One drivers are weighed more than almost anyone because car performance depends on maintaining a precise combined weight of the driver and vehicle

They get weighed after breakfast. They get weighed before they get in the car. They get weighed after they get out of the car because... we have to have them at a consistent weight... it's a combined weight between the driver and the car.

Medina Spirit will almost certainly be disqualified from the Kentucky Derby

If the split sample comes back, the second sample that Baffert is sending out to verify the presence of beta-methasone in the horse's system, if it comes back positive, the horse is going to be disqualified almost certainly from the Kentucky Derby... I feel pretty confident in saying that the horse will probably be disqualified.

The medication in Medina Spirit's system made zero difference in the Kentucky Derby outcome

The amount of beta-methasone that he had in his system absolutely positively in my opinion and according to the opinion of some of the top veterinarians that I've talked to made zero difference whatsoever in the way the horse ran in the derby. It was one one millionth of a gram... There's no way that it had any impact at all on the way he ran.

Bet against Medina Spirit in the Preakness because his Kentucky Derby victory was due to an fluke easy pace

If you're a better player, and the odds of the horse in the Preakness reflect what he did in the Kentucky Derby when he got away with such an easy, advantageous trip... then you're supposed to bet against horses like this. So that's the justification against Medina Spirit.

Jockey changes among elite riders make zero difference in major races

When you're betting and you get into a race like the Kentucky Derby or the Preakness, the jockeys involved are all so good and so competent that the difference between jockey A and jockey B, jockey B and jockey C is negligible... just ignore the rider and focus on the abilities of the horse.

Bet on a Sacred Life and Some Like It Hot Brown exacta in the Dinner Party Stakes

Chad Brown has a horse in there named Sacred Life that looks like an absolute standout... I think if you hook him up in an exacta with the number one horse, Some Like It Hot Brown... I like the 5-1 Exacta, Sacred Life and Some Like It Hot Brown in the race before the Preakness.

Free Bob Baffert

Either way, free Bob Baffert. There's a lot of things wrong with horse racing. Bob Baffert isn't one of them.

My Kentucky Derby win has a huge asterisk because of Bob Baffert

I finally did win the Kentucky Derby, and I talked about it ad nauseum for the days afterwards, and then that one win has a huge asterisk because Bob Baffert is addicted to shooting his horses up with steroids.

Essential Quality is a machine but hasn't run a fast race yet

He's just a machine so far... The one knock on him... [is] he's yet to run what most people would consider to be a fast race by Kentucky Derby favorite standards.

Bob Baffert is the most successful horse trainer of all time

When Bob retires, I think he's in his late 60s, but he's going strong. He'll be the most successful horse trainer of all time.

The #1 post position at the Kentucky Derby is not a disadvantage

There's this bs out there that's been out there for years that the number one post position is this horrible disadvantage and it's not... the advantage of saving ground being on the inside around the turns makes the horse run better than his odds would indicate.

Essential Quality will NOT win the 2021 Kentucky Derby

I can't tell you who I'm going to pick, but it's not Essential Quality.

Bet on Endorsed in the 10th race at Churchill Downs on Saturday

There is a horse running Saturday in the 10th race... His name is Endorsed and I will endorse betting on Endorsed... I think the horse is an excellent play.

Secretariat is the greatest of all time

Secretariat. Well, exactly. Secretariat. It's got to be. American Pharaoh. It has to be Secretariat.

It is statistically more dangerous to be a spectator than a rider in the Tour de France

There have been 27 spectators that have died and three cyclists that have died [in the Tour de France]. So it's more dangerous to not ride in the Tour de France than it is to ride.

iRacing takes the same skill set as real life racing

The thing is, is in iRacing, it takes the same skill set to be good in iRacing as it does in real life, where other sports like a football player doesn't mean he's going to be a good Madden player. ... You're using the same controls.

I guarantee a victory on Sunday at Charlotte

I'll do it, man. I got a new set of paint scheme. We're thanking small businesses out there. So yeah, I'm in. I'm in on the guarantee.

Cycling is just a more boring version of NASCAR

I'd watch basically anything except for cycling. Cycling is it's a more boring version of NASCAR.

Saratoga is the best horse racing track in America and it's not even close

Saratoga for me is not even close [to other tracks]... I go to Saratoga and I used to go for the opening weekend... getting up early and watching those horses work out. It's beautiful there. The whole set up in the old school feel the town. Yes. It's so much history. There is such a beautiful place.

Ryan Newman surviving his Daytona crash is a testament to NASCAR's safety improvements

The fact that he was able to survive that wreck with serious injuries, but the fact that he's still alive is just incredible and it's honestly like a testament to what NASCAR has done since Dale Earnhardt passed away at the Daytona 500 20 years ago.

Being a NASCAR driver is harder than being a podcaster

Oh, it's definitely harder to be a NASCAR driver... What is our physical risk right now?

I have at least 10 years of racing left in my career

[I have] probably 10 [years left]. I'm 34... I would like to think I got a few more years left in me and definitely a few more Championships.

I will win at least four more NASCAR championships

[I'll win] four more. That would be sweet. Yeah four more would be getting six times [total].

Justify's Triple Crown should be vacated because the horse is a cheater

Justify is a cheater. The horse. I hope you're sitting down... Horse racing is not on the up and up. Justify tested positive for using a banned substance... As far as we know, Justify is guilty as sin, and his triple crown win should be, what, vacated? Are we doing that? I would like my money back.

Justify should be branded with an asterisk like cattle

You know what they should do? They should fucking brand him with an asterisk. Like a cattle brand. He's going to have to wear that on his hindquarters for the rest of his days.

It is harder for a jockey to transition to NASCAR than for a NASCAR driver to transition to horse racing

I think a jockey trying to go race NASCAR would be the tougher transition. [NASCAR drivers] would have the tougher transition... I mean, the horses take when that horse takes off it's hard... but I think a jockey trying to go race NASCAR would be the tougher transition.

NASCAR crew chiefs must bend or break the rules to be successful

If you take a car that's legal from front to back, completely legal through the rule book, you're not going to run very well. You're not going to do well. And the crew chiefs, the crew chief that I want, the team that I want, are the ones that are willing to gamble and be aggressive with the rules, bend the rules, maybe break a few rules, because I know that that's what I'm competing against.

USA Rugby Sevens will be in striking distance of first place going into the Paris tournament

The point is that this is the penultimate. So it's the second to last tournament. If we're in striking range going into Paris. We already are. We're in first. Which is the last leg. I might pull a Hong Kong and just fly over to Paris. ... I'm going to say it right now. We'll be in fucking striking distance because I have faith in our boys.

Country House skipping the Preakness is a smart move to protect his legacy

If I'm country house, if I'm that horse, I'd probably do the exact same thing. Because you're never going to top that. You are going out completely at the top of your game. You're a Kentucky Derby winner. And why would you ever try to follow that up?

Maximum Security's disqualification from the Kentucky Derby was 100% the correct call

The actual change from Maximum Security getting kicked out of the race at the end, that was the correct call. 100%. You can't just drift in front of other horses. You have to give them a path.

Maximum Security's Florida Derby win was 'phony' because he wasn't pressured

Let's make Maximum Security into the villain... there should be kind of an asterisk by his last win in the Florida Derby because the competition in that race just basically handed him the race... Everybody else just decided to take back, and all of a sudden this horse is just cruising.

Game Winner is the best of Bob Baffert's three Kentucky Derby contenders

Game winner, trained by Bob Baffert... I think he's the logical horse. Game winner to me is the best one of the three. He's 0 for 2 this year, but he should have won both those races. I think he's coming up to the race in good fashion.

Win-Win-Win and By My Standards are the best long shots in the Kentucky Derby

Win-win-win and a horse named By My Standards, who won the Louisiana Derby... anywhere from 18 to 25 to 1. That's about the price win-win-win is going to be, too. I think [Win-win-win] is set up to run a pretty good race.

Bet against Bellafina in the Kentucky Oaks because she doesn't like the track at Churchill Downs

The favorite in the Oaks is going to be a horse named Bellafina... The only bad race Bellafina has ever had in her life was... here at Churchill Downs. She doesn't look very good [this week]... for a horse to have those negatives and to be the favorite, I think it's a good horse to bet against.

Joey Logano is a 'baby back bitch' for blocking me on Twitter after I called him 'Slowy Slogano'

My other who's back is that baby back bitch, Slowy Slogano, who blocked me on Twitter for calling him Slowy Slogano. How soft is that? He basically tweeted and said, 'I had a great car, but sometimes it doesn't break your way,' which is a classic... So I filled it in for him, and then he blocked me.

I gave my pit crew a $40,000 total bonus for winning the Daytona 500

I gave them each a $2,000 bonus, which, I mean, there's 20 guys, so that's $40,000. Plus, I give a tip to my pit crew. I offer them $200 a man if we can pick up one spot per pit stop.

I expect Denny Hamlin to win at least five races this year

Hey, man, I'm proud of you, man. We bounced back after a tough year last year and started off right, so I expect at least five wins.

Fights are good for NASCAR and the league secretly loves them

Is it good for the sport? Absolutely. They secretly are high-fiving. You know, you don't want anyone to get hurt. They'll put out there that, you know, we don't like it. No way. It's like Dana White. They love it. Gets eyeballs.

Toyota will have a big year in NASCAR in 2019

Is this going to be a big year for Toyota? Should be. That was the other thing. We got four great drivers... we only had four or five cars, but we found a way to finish one, two, three [at Daytona].

Justify may be running low on energy heading into the Belmont Stakes

In the Preakness, he wasn't quite as good as he was in the Kentucky Derby... Energy level might be getting a little bit low. He really needed that wire to come up when it did in the Preakness... How much he's got left in the tank is the big question.

Hofburg and Vino Rosso are the best horses to bet on to beat Justify

I think the two best horses to be betting on in this Belmont are Hofburg and Vino Rosso... Ten of the last 18 years, the Belmont has been won by horses that ran on Kentucky Derby weekend, skipped the Preakness, and waited for the Belmont to be rested.

Free Drop Billy is a strong longshot bet to finish in the Belmont Stakes superfecta

There's another horse in there that fits that profile that's probably going to be 20-1. His name is Free Drop Billy... I think he's got a good shot to be part of, let's say, the Superfecta at a big price.

Call to Mind is the top horse to bet in the Belmont Gold Cup

The horse's name is Call to Mind, M-I-N-D, Call to Mind, number one in the Belmont Gold Cup tomorrow. I don't know what the price is going to be... but there's another horse if you want to hook that one up in some exotics.

Gronkowski the horse does not have much of a chance in the Belmont Stakes

We talked to the trainer, and he doesn't even know what to expect... It's like he's been going up against Class A pitching, and now he's got to go against the Yankees. So you have no idea what to expect. Big, nice, good-looking horse. I don't think he has much of a chance.

The Curse of Apollo in the Kentucky Derby is absolute BS

To be honest with you, 2018, it's absolute BS. It should have gone up in flames six years ago with a horse named Bodie Meister... now this year there are two horses, Justify... and Magnum Moon... it matters not even a little bit.

Justify is the most likely winner of the Kentucky Derby

I think Justify is probably the most likely winner, although he's going to be the favorite.

Midnight Bisou will win the Kentucky Oaks

I think the winner of the Oaks is going to be a horse named Midnight Bisou... She comes from behind, makes this electrifying move from off the pace.

I will win the 2018 Daytona 500

Yes, I would [guarantee a victory this Sunday]. Starting on the front row, we're starting second with our FedEx Camry... I think that we got just a good, if not better, shot because obviously our car is faster.