NASCAR on NBC podcast, Episode XIX: Juan Pablo Montoya, Ryan Hunter-Reay, Ray Evernham

With the annual Memorial Day weekend tripleheader on tap Sunday for motorsports’ biggest day of the year, the NASCAR on NBC podcast welcomed a tripleheader of vaunted guests for its latest episode.

The roster includes the past two winners of the Indianapolis 500 – Juan Pablo Montoya and Ryan-Hunter Reay – and the man voted the greatest crew chief in NASCAR history by a 2006 media poll – Ray Evernham.

Montoya won last year at the Brickyard in his second start with Team Penske, marking the longest gap between Indy 500 victories (having won his first start at the 2.5-mile track in 2000).

The Colombian once viewed Indianapolis as just another track, but his viewpoint has shifted through the passion of his car owner, who has a record 16 Indy 500 wins.

Feeling the withering drive of Penske, Montoya laughs that he prefers to stay inside his motorhome to stay focused on the task at hand.

“It feels so different,” Montoya said. “I actually spend a lot of time in the bus … because it’s so intense. Thursday, someone turned on the light. The intensity level goes up and everyone starts getting more serious, more serious, more focused.”

Hunter-Reay, who outdueled Montoya’s teammate, Helio Castroneves, to win in 2014, will start third Sunday at Indy. He discussed his chances this season and his son’s passion for racing.

Having restored a car for Indy legend Mario Andretti that will be driven in a prerace parade at the Brickyard, Evernham is in Indianapolis this weekend as well to watch the 100th running of the Indy 500. The NBCSN analyst previewed the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, explaining how tire wear could impact the longest race of the season.

You can listen to the podcast by clicking below or download and subscribe to it on iTunes by clicking here. The free subscription will provide automatic downloads of new episodes to your smartphone. It also is available on Stitcher

Here are times cues for easy referencing while listening to the episode:

Starting grid for the 57th Coca-Cola 600

Martin Truex Jr. will lead the field in the Coca-Cola 600 to the green flag Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Behind him in the field will be Joey Logano, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. Defending race winner Carl Edwards starts ninth. Seven-time Charlotte winner Jimmie Johnson rolls off seventh.

Here’s the starting grid for NASCAR’s longest race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team among three that will lose pit stall selection for Coca-Cola 600

NASCAR announced Thursday that three Sprint Cup teams had received their fourth warning and would lose pit stall selection for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s team received its fourth warning after failing template inspection twice before qualifying.

Jimmie Johnson‘s team received its fourth warning after failing template inspection twice before qualifying.

Aric Almirola‘s team received its third and fourth warnings Thursday after failing template inspection twice and the Laser Inspection Station twice before qualifying.

Teams lose pit stall selection for every fourth warning. With pit stall selection not taking place until Saturday morning, the teams of Earnhardt, Johnson and Almirola lose pit stall selection for this weekend’s event.

Ty Dillon fastest in final Xfinity practice at Charlotte

Ty Dillon claimed the fastest speed in the final Xfinity Series practice for the Hisense 4K TV 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Dillon posted a top speed of 181.342 mph while recording 48 laps in the session.

Daniel Suarez was second fastest at 181.056 mph while also recording the best 10-lap average for the session.

The top five was filled out by Erik Jones, who was fastest in the first session, Austin Dillon and Brennan Poole.

Speed Chart 

‘The Double’ awaits Mark Martin, who will commute often between Indy and Charlotte

INDIANAPOLIS — Though he will attend Sunday’s Indianapolis 500, Mark Martin will have the chance to celebrate his NASCAR Hall of Fame election with some of his closest friends in racing.

Martin, who will be inducted in the 2017 class with Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, Raymond Parks and Benny Parsons, told NBC Sports that he will be leaving a few hours after the 100th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Racing begins and catching a flight to North Carolina.

He will be headed to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he will take in the Coca-Cola 600 (which he won in 2002) and the congratulations of those he raced against in the Sprint Cup Series.

Martin also is expected to be at Charlotte for a NASCAR-arranged media availability Saturday.

Martin, who was in his second year on the ballot, felt he had such little chance to be chosen for the Hall of that he left his native Arkansas earlier this week to attend the Indy 500.

“It was a bucket list sorta thing,” he said.

But then came Wednesday’s announcement that he had been elected – while he was on the road headed to Indy, no less – and Martin’s travel plans suddenly became a lot more complicated.

He attended Thursday’s Indy 500 Media Day at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He will fly Friday afternoon to Charlotte and returns to Indy later Saturday after his appearance at the Charlotte track. Then it’s back to Charlotte again after watching the start of Sunday’s race.

“I was speechless, still not sure what to say, other than I’m surprised,” Martin said of his selection for the NASCAR Hall. “If I’d been voting, I’d have voted another way.

"But I’m humbled and honored and not only to be in this class because of the performance of the people in this class and the people, the persons they were. … I just feel really fortunate. It’s like icing on the cake, like the race you never won but always wanted to, and more.”

To further illustrate his total surprise at being chosen for the Hall, Martin quipped, “I did not expect it, or otherwise I wouldn’t have been in the motor home driving up here yesterday.

“I hadn’t been to (the Indy 500) in my lifetime, so now it appears I’m going to be doing the ‘double.’ I’m not driving, but I’m doing the ‘double’ anyway.”

Here’s a few posts from Martin’s Twitter account about his time at IMS on Thursday as well as his selection for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR America: Terri Parsons: ‘We’ve been waiting so long for this to happen’

Wife of the late Benny Parsons, Terri, talks about what it means for the 1973 Sprint Cup champion to be inducted to the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

NASCAR America: Mark Martin inducted into Hall of Fame

Considered the greatest driver to never win a Sprint Cup championship, Mark Martin is part of the 2017 Hall of Fame class. The native of Batesville, Arkansas, was runner-up five times. Martin won the Southern 500 twice and and earned 96 victories in NASCAR’s national series.