New B/R Racing correspondent Dylan "Mamba" Smith. New B/R Racing correspondent Dylan “Mamba” Smith. (Bleacher Report.)

Saturday will mark something unusual for NASCAR. The Quaker State 400 at Echo Park Speedway in Atlanta will mark the first leg of the new NASCAR In-Season Tournament (following five seeding races on Prime Video), and it will mark the circuit’s first race on TNT since 2014. Around that, TNT Sports has brought in some notable figures, and not just for the race broadcast itself.

Many of the deals TNT Sports strikes also have a significant social component with their Bleacher Report and House of Highlights platforms. For these particular broadcasts, their B/R Racing Bleacher Report vertical has tagged in veteran motorsports driver, mechanic, and media figure (with Fox and with NASCAR’s in-house efforts) Dylan “Mamba” Smith as a special correspondent. Smith spoke to AA via e-mail this week about that role, saying he appreciates B/R’s unconventional approach to NASCAR.

“The B/R Racing group has a whole lot of energy and wants to do things outside of the box, which is great for me because that’s my homerun swing,” Smith said. “I enjoy making fun content that everyone else wouldn’t think about trying. From that aspect it’s been similar: NASCAR & Fox have really allowed me to step into who I am as a person. But being on the TruTV show NASCAR: Inside the Playoffs was the best way for me to show TNT and Bleacher Report that I am the right person for the job.”

Smith said the biggest asset he brings is his existing relationships to drivers and crews.

“I think the most important thing for me to bring to B/R is my relationships within the garage, and using those to pull out the personalities of the athletes and crew members in the garage that I know our new audience will really love and appreciate.”

He said those connections come from the variety of roles he’s worked in, and he wants to emphasize that experience in his B/R work.

“I think making sure that off the top people know that I have raced in the past and currently still do is important. I want people to feel like they can ask any question they might have and feel like the answer is coming from experience.

“I’ve also been a mechanic at every level, won championships with Kyle Larson, Harrison Burton, Sheldon Creed, and Kevin Harvick. I went from a mechanic to social media/communications/PR for a team; I hope that diverse background will appeal to this group of people.

Bleacher Report has often won praise for its young-skewing demographics, while NASCAR has often been criticized for having an older demographic than many sports (although that shifted with the Prime races). Smith said he thinks reaching the B/R audience could be great for NASCAR.

“I see the B/R audience as a resource to inject a lot of energy and new ways of looking at the sport–both new and die-hard fans. We are built on a very core demographic that I love and adore. The B/R platform is going to give me the opportunity to expose what makes racing one of the greatest industries in the world.”

He said the key goal there is figuring out what works for that audience, and creating content to match it.

“The goal is to engage them where they are, with the same type of content that they love from other sports with a NASCAR twist on it. If I can do that, we’ll be converting new fans, and hopefully new people to work within the space as well.”

But the goal here isn’t just about reaching existing fans of Bleacher Report. There’s also a need to connect with existing NASCAR fans who may not really know TNT Sports (given that their organization’s last broadcast of the Cup Series came in 2014) or Bleacher Report (which hasn’t always been a particular racing destination). Smith said those fans are in his mind as well, and one way to reach them is connecting with drivers.

“Obviously there are some practical ways we’ll continue to grow the B/R Racing brand among current NASCAR fans through traditional methods like collabs, which we’ve done in the past with Bubba Wallace, and mentions. But the biggest growth will come from the authenticity of the content we produce–engaging with younger audiences with social-friendly content like behind-the-scenes captures with drivers and crew members, or friendly competitions to engage fans.”

On the growth front overall, Smith said he thinks the In-Season Challenge is a tremendous opportunity for NASCAR.

“It’s one of the best things I think we’ve done to our schedule in a long time. Typically this part of the year becomes the dog days of summer, heavy in routine. I know that many in the industry have thought the All-Star race should be more money, that maybe hasn’t happened yet, but now we have two opportunities to win a million. Plus the fans can win a million with a perfect bracket, which is super important, because without the fans none of this happens.”

And on his media roles overall, he said that’s been a fun area to explore in addition to racing and crew work.

“I love what I do. I am a people person, I always have been. I like engaging and hearing different point of views. And trust me, if you watch my socials after a race, you will see people love to give them too!”

Smith said being involved in racing is a dream for him, but he does want to keep driving in addition to his media work.

“Racing is all I know, it’s all I’ve wanted to do since I started when I was four. Being able to help grow this sport has been the best. But I miss competition, so every once in a while I have to dust off the helmet and get back in the seat.”

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.