Dylan "Mamba" Smith

Founder, Queen City Garage

Dylan "Mamba" Smith is the Founder of Queen City Garage. Dylan drove the No. 25 test car in Project Never Lift's first weekend at Florence Motor Speedway, May 9, 2026.

33 Articles

build-log

One meeting

The team had one meeting about the NASCAR Sundays T-shirt: the one where they decided to make it. Everything after that just happened, 76 minutes from the email to a working store.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Oct 9, 2026

Card: One meeting. That was it. Over the NASCAR Sundays merch shop page.

build-log

We took our driver pages down

Grand National Today had a written profile for dozens of drivers. They weren't good enough, so they're gone until we can do one right.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Oct 2, 2026

Card: We took our driver pages down, over the Grand National Today standings page.

build-log

Nobody finds us through the news

We checked what search shows strangers from Grand National Today. It wasn't one of our race stories. It was the track guides.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Oct 2, 2026

Card: Nobody finds us through the news, over the Grand National Today guide to North Wilkesboro Speedway.

build-log

Could we make this show without AI?

How We Make the Show, No. 14. An honest ledger: what the machine does, what the people do.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 26, 2026

Series card No. 14, Could we make this show without AI?, over a race frame from Episode 5.

build-log

Checking our own copy proved nothing

How We Make the Show, No. 13. A sync check is only as good as what it compares against.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 25, 2026

Series card No. 13, Checking our own copy proved nothing, over an in-car frame from Episode 5.

build-log

The clip sounded worse than the show

How We Make the Show, No. 12. Raw camera audio, twelve decibels of noise, and the fix.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 24, 2026

Series card No. 12, The clip sounded worse than the show, over a Truck Series race contact sheet.

build-log

Every graphic was in the wrong font, and nobody could tell

How We Make the Show, No. 11. One broken font path, and the v08 standard that came out of it.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 23, 2026

Series card No. 11, Every graphic was in the wrong font, over the Rajah Caruth driver board.

build-log

Recording day, by the numbers

How We Make the Show, No. 10. Twelve tracks, 8.5 gigabytes, 343 checks before anyone watches.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 22, 2026

Series card No. 10, Recording day, by the numbers, over a grandstand frame from Episode 4.

build-log

The rundown is a PDF the panel can actually use

How We Make the Show, No. 09. Built from the episode record, so it cannot drift from the site.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 21, 2026

Series card No. 09, The rundown is a PDF the panel can actually use, over a page of the Episode 3 rundown.

build-log

Episode 4 or Episode 5? Let the record count

How We Make the Show, No. 08. Why the site counted wrong, and what counts now.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 20, 2026

Series card No. 08, Episode 4 or Episode 5? Let the record count, over the Episode 5 show layout with the panel.

build-log

One camera ran two percent slow

How We Make the Show, No. 07. Where nine overlaps came from, and the check that now stops the build.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 18, 2026

Series card No. 07, One camera ran two percent slow, over an overhead race frame from Episode 4.

build-log

Two shows in one week

How We Make the Show, No. 06. Truck Series launch week, by the numbers.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 17, 2026

Series card No. 06, Two shows in one week, over the Truck Series show open frames.

build-log

Our backups skipped the show for ten days

How We Make the Show, No. 05. The job and its watchdog shared one hand-typed list.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 14, 2026

Series card No. 05, Our backups skipped the show for ten days, over a Truck Series race contact sheet.

build-log

We rendered the graphics in a web browser

How We Make the Show, No. 04. No image model. Real photos, real numbers, a screenshot as the proof.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 13, 2026

Series card No. 04, We rendered the graphics in a web browser, over the Jeremy Clements driver board.

build-log

Forty files. Four manifests. One checksum each

How We Make the Show, No. 03. How a show package leaves the building.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 12, 2026

Series card No. 03, Forty files, four manifests, one checksum each, over the Episode 1 guest cover sheet.

build-log

Eight gates between the recording and the upload

How We Make the Show, No. 02. The production line, and what stops it.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 11, 2026

Series card No. 02, Eight gates between the recording and the upload, over race footage frames from Episode 4.

build-log

The episode is a database row

How We Make the Show, No. 01. Rundown, documents, picks, people, packages: one record drives the page.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 10, 2026

Series card No. 01, The episode is a database row, over a contact sheet of Grand National Show panel frames.

build-log

We Were Talking About a Driver. Where Was His Picture?

One note on the Jeremy Clements segment gave us a better way to look at the whole Episode 3 graphics package.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 9, 2026

Jeremy Clements in an editorial collage titled The Person Behind the Numbers.

build-log

Making a Weekly Racing Show With AI

At Queen City Garage, the test is how much work we can move from a recording to editorial review before the next race.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 9, 2026

The Grand National Show panel and Jeremy Clements production graphic beside the words A weekly show. A human editor. AI assisting.

build-log

What owning it gets you

Nothing Rented, No. 5. The data, the brand, the pages, and the one honest cost.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 8, 2026

Series card No. 5, What owning it gets you, over fans at the bar throwing their arms up as the race turns.

build-log

Paddock

Nothing Rented, No. 4. Our own RSVP system: one page, one form, one list.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 5, 2026

Series card No. 4, Paddock, over fans packed along the bar reacting to the race at a NASCAR Sundays party.

build-log

Email first

Nothing Rented, No. 3. Two days after launch, NASCAR Sundays sent its own email.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 4, 2026

Series card No. 3, Email first, over a bartender showing his phone to guests at a NASCAR Sundays party.

build-log

What it would have cost to rent

Nothing Rented, No. 2. The cheapest paid plans for a website, an email list and RSVPs, priced. The money was never the reason.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 3, 2026

Series card No. 2, What it would have cost to rent, over a table of die-cast race cars at a NASCAR Sundays party.

build-log

The list is the audience

Nothing Rented, No. 1. A watch party that moves every week runs on one list. We stopped renting it.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 2, 2026

Series card No. 1, The list is the audience, over fans watching the race at a NASCAR Sundays party in New York.

build-log

Sold out at the Hall

In April we were a few tables at the Corner Pub in Charlotte. On Friday we filled the theater at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Sep 1, 2026

A packed theater at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, red seats full of fans facing the Daytona race on the big screen, on a dark charcoal card. Text: Queen City Garage, Build Log. Sold out at the Hall. In April, a few tables at a Charlotte pub. On Friday, the NASCAR Hall of Fame theater.

build-log

The show is not done when it publishes

Each of the four of us got a folder of our own moments, cut horizontal and vertical, with captions corrected by hand.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Aug 28, 2026

build-log

The audience is the asset

Tonight NASCAR Sundays takes the NASCAR Hall of Fame. The room is the visible part. The list that fills it is the thing we actually built.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·Aug 28, 2026

Two fans in vintage NASCAR shirts, seen from behind, watch the race on a bar screen at a NASCAR Sundays watch party, on a dark charcoal card. Text: Queen City Garage, Build Log. The audience is the asset. The room is the visible part. The list that fills it is the thing we actually built.

build-log

P7 to P8 at Florence. Saw Jesus in Three. Hemi Next.

Started seventh. Finished eighth. The chassis spoke. The Hemi listens next.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·May 10, 2026

build-log

The Board

Three cars, one thousandth of a second.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·May 9, 2026

Mamba Smith inside the No. 25 at Florence Motor Speedway — photo by Ethan Lopez

build-log

Mother's Day at the Track

The No. 25 runs sourced equipment with a known dyno curve, and the PNL Hemi goes in after Florence.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·May 9, 2026

build-log

Friday at Florence. Like Riding a Bike.

Practice day before Saturday's race. Faulk drove first. I followed.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·May 8, 2026

The No. 25 Project Never Lift car at Florence Motor Speedway on practice day. White, black, and red livery with B/R Racing on the quarter panel.

build-log

Project Never Lift Is First. Here Is What Comes After.

Project Never Lift is the first project. The engine is the first leg. Drivers come next. Crew after that. Built in Charlotte, in public, starting Saturday at Florence.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·May 8, 2026

Queen City Garage — Charlotte stock car development program

build-log

Queen City Garage Launches With Project Never Lift

Asked in 2022. Said on Kevin Harvick's microphone this week. Florence on May 9 is the answer. Watch us build.

Dylan "Mamba" Smith·May 7, 2026