Podcast Quicky: Formula One Podcast

Q: Why'd you start the Formula Pod podcast?

A: Formula One needed a good humored, satirical perspective, particularly in the US and UK. It's traditionally a staunch, snobbish sport and the purse strings are held so tight that it's just not very fun for the fans. In the US, the only place to watch the races is on cable or satellite and it's an upgrade package to boot. Sure CBS is broadcasting four races this year, but other than that, there's no place for the enthusiasts to get their F1 fix on a regular basis.

Plus we're good friends who always talk about F1. We know enough about the sport to make it interesting for other Formula One fans, and for so many people out there, we are the F1 conversation they can't have with the NASCAR folks in the office or at school. It's just such a completely different sport, but it can be just as fun to talk about.

Q: When did you start podcasting the Formula Pod show?

A: Our first podcast covered the first race of the Formula One season, March 17th. We previewed the first race using a $10 phone tap from Radio Shack. I called Corey on the phone and we recorded our first episode. The audio quality was so bad that i had to go back and boost the levels for every comment Corey made. Even then, the levels were all over the map. It took hours to do a thirty minute podcast.

Q: Who is involved in making the podcast?

A: Myself and long time friend and race enthusiast, Corey Krause. My dad raced cars and Corey began going to the races with us and he was hooked. So hooked, in fact, that when I visited him during college, he had a complete car disassembled and in boxes in his basement. It was all he could afford. Corey raced a Spec Racer the past few years and is regularly involved with the SCCA. On occasion we'll call on Steven McLaughlin in NC and Derek in Japan, both avid fans.

Q: You've been podcasting a short time, but you already have a big audience. Can you tell us about it?

A: At first we were psyched to reach 100 listeners. We figured if we hit one thousand that we'd be worthy of sponsorship. With the release of iTunes we're getting about five thousand downloads per episode.

Q: How have you promoted the site?

A: Consistency, good tagging and a user friendly playback device for first timers. That's about it.

Q: How much has iTunes affected your traffic?

A: It increased 15-fold overnight in downloads. I think people were just downloading episode after episode. It's has mellowed a bit since then, and we probably grew by about twelve times in the first two weeks. Now we're back to a steady growth, though it is more rapid than before the iTunes release.

Q: Any other comments?

A: It was cool to be in the New & Notable section in iTunes. I think that happened because we were an independent and we had our ducks in a row. An icon next to our name, plenty of episodes, and good tags.

At one point we were right next to Adam Curry's Podshow and it was a moment we'll both always cherish. This is a once in a lifetime experience. To be number one, at anything, and for any amount of time is really a great thing to relish.

Links:

Formula Pod Podcast Details
FormulaPod.com

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to fix incorrect links.