Skip to content
OpenAIOpenAI

What racing reveals about working with AI — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 22

Racing is a sport of tiny margins and mountains of data. OpenAI researcher Joyce Ruffell and RaceTek Systems co-founder Chase Holden are each using AI to help teams make better use of information from the track, the garage, and the people behind the wheel. They discuss OpenAI’s research collaboration with Chip Ganassi Racing and how Chase used ChatGPT and Codex to go from hosting a NASCAR podcast to building a racing intelligence company. They also examine how AI could give smaller teams an edge without replacing the human expertise at the heart of racing, and why car culture runs so deep at OpenAI. Chapters 00:43 Intro to OpenAI researcher Joyce Ruffell and Chip Ganassi Racing 02:43 Intro to Chase Holden and RaceTek Systems 07:45 Joyce’s path into racing 10:00 Helping racing teams work with AI 15:31 Combining human feedback with racing data 18:26 How AI helps smaller teams compete 21:43 Spreadsheets and the “data wars” in racing 27:03 Getting started with AI and Codex 30:08 How RaceTek won its first customer 33:01 Humans, robot racing, and the future of competition 39:26 Using AI beyond the racetrack

Andrew MaynehostChase HoldenguestJoyce Ruffellguest
Jul 16, 202641mWatch on YouTube ↗

Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
July 16, 2026
Duration
41m
Channel
OpenAI
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Racing is a sport of tiny margins and mountains of data. OpenAI researcher Joyce Ruffell and RaceTek Systems co-founder Chase Holden are each using AI to help teams make better use of information from the track, the garage, and the people behind the wheel. They discuss OpenAI’s research collaboration with Chip Ganassi Racing and how Chase used ChatGPT and Codex to go from hosting a NASCAR podcast to building a racing intelligence company. They also examine how AI could give smaller teams an edge without replacing the human expertise at the heart of racing, and why car culture runs so deep at OpenAI. Chapters 00:43 Intro to OpenAI researcher Joyce Ruffell and Chip Ganassi Racing 02:43 Intro to Chase Holden and RaceTek Systems 07:45 Joyce’s path into racing 10:00 Helping racing teams work with AI 15:31 Combining human feedback with racing data 18:26 How AI helps smaller teams compete 21:43 Spreadsheets and the “data wars” in racing 27:03 Getting started with AI and Codex 30:08 How RaceTek won its first customer 33:01 Humans, robot racing, and the future of competition 39:26 Using AI beyond the racetrack

SPEAKERS

  • Andrew Mayne

    host

    Host of the OpenAI Podcast who introduces the episode and interviews the guests.

  • Chase Holden

    guest

    Co-founder of RaceTek Systems, building AI-enabled racing intelligence software for motorsports teams.

  • Joyce Ruffell

    guest

    OpenAI researcher with an automotive background who discusses OpenAI’s motorsports work with Chip Ganassi Racing.

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of OpenAI, featuring Andrew Mayne and Chase Holden, What racing reveals about working with AI — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 22 explores racing shows how AI wins through organization, speed, and teamwork OpenAI researcher Joyce Ruffell describes a collaboration with Chip Ganassi Racing focused on making high-bandwidth time-series racing data accessible, comparable, and actionable faster than traditional workflows allow.

RELATED EPISODES

Brad Lightcap and Ronnie Chatterji on jobs, growth, and the AI economy — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 3

Brad Lightcap and Ronnie Chatterji on jobs, growth, and the AI economy — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 3

AGI progress, surprising breakthroughs, and the road ahead — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 5

AGI progress, surprising breakthroughs, and the road ahead — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 5

Episode 16: Building AI for Life Sciences

Episode 16: Building AI for Life Sciences

State of the AI industry — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 12

State of the AI industry — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 12

Inside ChatGPT, AI assistants, and building at OpenAI — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 2

Inside ChatGPT, AI assistants, and building at OpenAI — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 2

How a reasoning model cracked an 80-year-old math problem — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 20

How a reasoning model cracked an 80-year-old math problem — the OpenAI Podcast Ep. 20

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.