Pave It Black: The Official Podcast of NAPA

As we wrap up our 11th season exploring asphalt's role in building America, we look at what's coming next. With the help of NAPA President and CEO Audrey Copeland and FleetWatcher by AlignOps executive vice president Adam Harshman, we unpack how the asphalt pavement industry has evolved technically and culturally over the past decade. From sustainability becoming a formal engineering discipline, to real time visibility transforming how contractors manage fleets, plants, and job sites, to artificial intelligence now supporting knowledge transfer and decision making, this episode covers the key shifts reshaping our industry. Tune in for an optimistic view of where asphalt pavement goes next. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.

This week we talk safety with Coral Todd, an Environmental Health and Safety leader at Duval Asphalt and an active member of NAPA's Health and Safety Committee. Coral shares her unconventional path into the asphalt pavement industry and explains why she believes safety is really about stewardship, not just rule enforcement. We discuss her WINS framework for building practical safety improvements from the ground up and how public trust starts with the standards crews hold themselves to every day. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.

Auburn University professor Jeff LaMondia joins Richard & Brett to explore a side of infrastructure planning that rarely gets discussed: the behavioral data behind where and why people travel. Jeff explains how understanding daily commuting patterns, remote work trends, and even vacation travel habits directly shapes decisions about where roadway investment and pavement rehabilitation happen. He also dives into resilience planning, sharing how his research on work zone impacts and airfield pavement helps agencies prepare infrastructure for extreme weather, sea level rise, and other long-term risks. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.

In this episode of Pave It Black, three generations of the Lemon family, Larry, Jay, and Jack, share what it's like running a family-owned asphalt paving business that's been a NAPA member since 1955, from how they each found their own path into the business to the mentors who shaped them along the way and what it means to be an industry leader. Tune in for a candid conversation about the responsibility of leadership and how to balance a growing business with protecting family time.

How does a slab of asphalt end up inside the Smithsonian? In this episode of Pave It Black, NAPA legends Peter Wilson and Ron White explain how the asphalt pavement industry became part of the National Museum of American History's America on the Move exhibit, a look at transportation's role in shaping the country. Wilson and White walk through the fundraising campaign that made the exhibit possible, the logistics of producing and transporting a finished asphalt sample across state lines, and the installation process at the Smithsonian itself. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.

What does it take to build a world-class research institution? Former and current NCAT Directors, Ray Brown and Randy West join us to tell the story of a two-person operation to a 50+ person research powerhouse. Ray and Randy walk through the industry shift that made NCAT necessary and share major research breakthroughs that reshaped how state DOTs design and fund roads. Looking ahead, Ray and Randy share their predictions for the asphalt pavement industry, along with why investing in the next generation of pavement engineers, through programs like the Road Scholars Fellowship, matters as much as any single research finding. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.

This week we talk to Dr. Marshall Thompson of the University of Illinois and Kevin Burke of the Illinois Asphalt Pavement Association about the AASHO Road Test: a landmark research project that reshaped pavement design in America. Marshall shares firsthand memories from visiting the test as a university undergraduate, and both guests explain how the results influenced decades of AASHTO pavement design guidance. Tune in for a rare, detailed look at the research foundation underneath nearly every modern pavement design decision. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.

As Route 66 celebrates its centennial, we welcome Dan Lewis, Executive Director of the New Mexico Asphalt Pavement Association, and Mike Skinner, Executive Director of the Asphalt Pavement Alliance, to explore the road's remarkable staying power. Dan and Mike share how the roadway drove economic growth in local towns, how it survived decommissioning in 1985, and why perpetual pavement design has kept the road alive. It's a celebration of a road, and the pavement engineering behind it, that has become inseparable from the American story. This season is sponsored by FleetWatcher by AlignOps. Watch FleetWatcher in action.