NASCAR's ‘Full Speed' returns to Netflix: Takeaways from a slowed-down Season 2

New York Times

07-05-2025

The second year of Netflix's 'Full Speed' might be the second-best NASCAR docuseries season ever produced.
The problem is that Season 1 was so exceptional, it makes the latest edition feel like it fell short.
Season 2, released Wednesday, is solid enough to warrant a third year. Hopefully, this isn't the end of NASCAR's time on Netflix. The new season lacks the magic and freshness of the inaugural season that drew so many raves, and some moments feel repetitive of last year.
There's not as much of an emotional punch, nor are there breakout, scene-stealing characters (like Bootie Barker in the Guenther Steiner role from the Formula One 'Drive to Survive' docuseries). Still, many NASCAR fans will find it worth watching.
Here are takeaways from Season 2 of 'Full Speed' (spoilers below). All-access again
We're granted a peek behind the curtain for key playoff drivers and learn a few things along the way. William Byron takes us inside a session with his sports therapist — something he says he's never revealed publicly until now. We get to see the tender moment of Daniel Suárez greeting his father at the airport and letting him see his car collection in person for the first time. We ride along in Gianna Blaney's party bus en route to Homestead (and see her go wedding dress shopping) and experience some of the early-life moments of Chase Briscoe's twins.
There are fun mic'd-up moments, although fewer than last season. For example: As NASCAR debates the Championship 4 lineup at Martinsville, Joey Logano approaches Ryan Blaney on the victory stage.
'Dude, it's a s—show back there right now. It's a whole thing. They haven't announced the four yet,' Logano tells a surprised Blaney.
'Hey, I know we're in,' Blaney laughs.
Drivers featured the most in the off-track scenes include eventual champion Logano and Blaney, along with Byron, Briscoe and Suárez. Drivers like Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Harrison Burton get some decent screen time.
But it's Christopher Bell who is shown the most, which was Hamlin's role last year. And with good reason: It certainly felt like Bell's year for much of the playoffs, until it wasn't, which means part of the story must be told through his eyes. A reminder of the playoff randomness
Last year, it was revealed that 88 percent of 'Full Speed' viewers did not watch the previous season's championship race, underscoring the high number of potential new fans watching the show. Imagine being among that target audience, unfamiliar with the inner workings of NASCAR, and seeing how the playoffs unfolded this time.
It's a Walmart sign falling on the racetrack in Atlanta to thwart Suárez's hopes. It's Logano getting eliminated after the race at the Charlotte Roval, only to be restored into the field hours later after Alex Bowman's disqualification. It's NASCAR taking 30 minutes to decide whether Bell was in or out after riding the wall at Martinsville.
Producers had more to work with in terms of storylines and personalities early in the playoffs, and 'Full Speed' admirably tries to get us invested in drivers like Burton, Suárez and Briscoe (none were in the playoffs in Season 1). They were all eliminated by the end of Episode 3, which made their storylines feel too brief or rushed. Wives take center stage
While the drivers play it relatively low-key and don't have much interesting to say in Season 2, their wives show more personality.
'We sent our boy to war on a donkey holding a wooden spoon,' a seething Julia Piquet says of Suárez's car after Bristol. 'Is it just me, or is it completely unacceptable that our teammate runs 10th and is not even in the playoffs? Why the f— aren't the two teams helping each other?'
Morgan Bell openly tears up over the stress and heartbreak of the playoffs, the series' symbol of the postseason's human toll. Gianna Blaney delights in her famed 'Ryan F—ing Blaney' line from Season 1, and the series has multiple callbacks to it (we're shown various shirts worn by fans who embraced it).
Meanwhile, the drivers are portrayed as normal people who don't live flashy or remarkable lives; essentially the opposite of the F1 docuseries. Briscoe describes himself as 'the most average person in the world,' and analyst Steve Letarte notes people wouldn't recognize him in a grocery store.
Bell is described by Letarte as 'just that guy that is there' and by ESPN's Marty Smith as having a 'non-boisterous, non-polarizing, never-says-anything-to-piss-anybody-off kind of vibe.' Morgan says her husband's consistency is 'for some reason, not exciting.' But in terms of the most drama this season, it's ultimately focused around Bell. Race manipulation? Didn't happen
One of the biggest questions going into the season was how Netflix would handle two sticky issues in the playoffs: First, the Bowman disqualification that restored Logano into the next round after he was eliminated. Second, the controversial race manipulation at Martinsville.
The show handled the Bowman part as well as it could, surprising viewers the same way it felt in real time. We got to see Logano's immediate thoughts after the race ended ('Upset? Of course it hurts'), and then a follow-up the next morning after the driver was back in the playoffs ('All of a sudden, Netflix wants to talk to me again!').
But the series inexplicably leaves out a major moment at Martinsville and creates a gaping hole when it fails to address the Chevrolet race manipulation (which prompted major penalties and an offseason rule change). Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon playing blockers for Byron is never shown, nor is any audio played regarding their move; same with Bubba Wallace, who tried to return the Chevrolet favor on behalf of Bell.
Instead, the sole focus is on Bell's wall ride and whether it was legal. Perhaps that's because NASCAR focused on the wall ride to determine the Championship 4, but the context of why Bell had to make that move was never presented.
At least there's plenty of coverage of how unfair it felt to Bell, who tells the cameras, 'That judgment call from NASCAR was a life-altering call. They took a potential championship away from me.' His bitter news conference at Phoenix, where he proclaims he was 'robbed,' is also shown. Radioactive
What made 'Full Speed' compelling last time were the rich storylines and nuggets that felt new even to the most hardcore NASCAR fan, like Hamlin's father keeping his Michael Jordan victory cigar behind glass. This time, moments felt reminiscent of Fox Sports' weekly 'Radioactive' feature, which pairs radio chatter with a cinema-quality race recap. Do 'Full Speed' viewers need to care about what happened in Stage 1 of the Talladega race?
Perhaps producers didn't have as much to work with. Some of the main characters, like Byron, Blaney and Logano, were highlighted in the first season and didn't seem to have many new developments in their lives, aside from Blaney building a pool in his backyard and planning a wedding. In general, last year's playoffs fell flat. The outcome generated an offseason of conversation, and NASCAR has formed a committee to look at potentially changing the format.
Logano, of course, is adamant he does not care about perception.
'It's easy to look at our season and say, 'Boy, they got lucky,'' Logano tells the camera. 'I just don't see it that way.'
This season of 'Full Speed' may not have been as satisfying for viewers, but neither were the playoffs themselves. Hollywood can only do so much.
(Top photo of William Byron being interviewed after his controversial win at Martinsville last November: Jonathan Bachman / Getty Images)