Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / Kenny Conversation With Denny Hamlin!

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Kenny Conversation With Denny Hamlin! · Kenny Wallace Media

• 0:00
  Hello everyone, and welcome back to any conversation brought to
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  everything you need. And they are telling me right
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  now that they got Jeep parts and truck parts for you to get.
• 0:22
  All right, you're looking at him.
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  I've been working on this man for two years.
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  My friend, My friend, Danny Hamlet.
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  Been playing hard to get with the Herminator.
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  How you doing, Danny? Doing good, you're doing good.
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  I feel like we've had our, we've already had our Kenny
• 0:37
  conversation through social media with our back and forth
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  here and there so well. Let me just say this before we
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  get started. I've enjoyed you my whole life.
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  You, we've spent some time in Vegas on the roulette table when
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  you were just a rookie. I've watched you come along.
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  I knew you were a bad ass driver running those flat tracks
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  through Virginia. And it sure has been a joy for
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  me to know you. I think that's why I'm a big
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  Denny Hamlin fan. So it's been a joy for me to
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  watch you the last 20 years. And Can you believe time has
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  gone this quick? I mean, remember when me and you
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  was racing going through Turnstream Ford Phoenix and you
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  were running that baby up by the wall and you you were digging.
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  I know it it's, it's hard to believe it's been 20 years.
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  I mean, that's, that's realistically, it's been truly
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  20 years since my first, first time in Xfinity and back in 2004
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  and, and 2005. So yeah, gosh, it's just time
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  flies. You know, it just seems like not
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  long ago that I was, you know, just trying to make my way
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  through the, the ranks and, you know, didn't find myself in, in,
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  you know, the Xfinity Series back in 2005.
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  And then I only got to spend a really 3/4 of a year there
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  before, you know, JG Arch just kind of moved me up much quicker
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  than what I was, you know, expecting or hoping.
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  Yeah, well, and and they did that and then this is me saying
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  this. They did that because you have a
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  God gifted talent. You know, some people have to
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  work to be a race car driver and you were gifted it, did you?
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  Who knew first that you were going to be good?
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  Was it your mom, dad, any of your friends around you?
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  I mean, you were, you were pretty good.
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  I mean, I think any kid that's trying to grow up and do this
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  right, I think their parents are always going to be biased and
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  believe that they're, they're good, right?
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  And they're going to support their kid no matter how good or
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  mediocre they might be. They're, they're going to
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  support it, right? They're going to they're
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  encourage them to to keep going. But I think that the moment
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  turned for me when my mom actually started coming to more
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  of my go Kart races when I was younger.
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  And then they had a powder puff night.
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  And the moment that she got on the go Kart herself and
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  experienced it like that fueled her passion for racing.
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  And then I remember from that point on, my mom always then
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  went into Richmond International Raceway and started getting
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  season tickets that she still holds today.
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  So that's been, I mean, 35 straight years she's been a
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  season ticket holder at RIR. And, you know, it was that
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  moment in which I was five or six years old, my parents took
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  me to a race. It was actually to an Xfinity or
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  Busch Series race. I think you might have actually
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  won the, my very first race I went to, you know, I did in the
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  8 car. I, I can't remember, but it was
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  like 85 or 86 or 87 somewhere in that range.
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  And I just feel like my passion for racing started at that
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  moment, this minute. I smelled the tires and the fuel
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  and the burning rubbing going by.
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  I was hooked on racing. Yeah, and I want to talk about
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  your mom and dad and where you were born.
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  I I got some pretty good notes, but you just made me think of an
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  audible that I want to call. We have a lot of data now in
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  NASCAR, whether it's dart fish or you, you drivers able to lay
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  over what you're doing with the gas, the brakes.
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  And you know, I, I always saw what made Jeff Gordon so great.
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  And I always say it's kind of like playing the piano, right?
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  It's the gas, the brake, you know, the steering wheel, all
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  that and in timing. So I don't, I want you to tell
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  me when you look at all this, and I asked John Force this,
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  what do you have, Denny, that other drivers don't?
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  Where you, when your car's right, you, you make speed, you
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  seem to be fast when that car is closed.
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  What do you see in your driving traces that you have that other
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  drivers don't have? It's such a hard question
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  because I think the way that maybe you and, and the outside
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  public, you know, fans of mine might, might see things that
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  they think that, you know, I, I've just been able to do this
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  at a high level all the time. I, I think I'm, I think I was
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  very average on talent. I just think I worked really,
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  really, really hard to get better.
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  You can agree or disagree with that and I, I can see both sides
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  of the argument, but I just know that when I typically put more
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  work into being better and it didn't always come from data or
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  analytics, right? We we that just came around and,
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  and NASCAR in the upper ranks really in a big way over the
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  last five to six years. But before that, I mean, I would
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  study some of the best short trackers in in the Mid-Atlantic.
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  Eddie Johnson, Phil Warren, you know, Wayne Patterson, Roy
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  Hendrick, just some of the best that I watched their techniques
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  on the short tracks. And I'm like noticing, OK, what
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  makes Eddie Johnson great is that he saves his tires.
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  What makes Phil Warren great is he's a great qualifier.
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  I mean, it, it just, I just took little things from all that and
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  I saw that wow, this guy, when he starts to be really fast and
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  run, it's because he's rolling center a little bit faster than
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  the other guy. And so then I started putting an
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  emphasis when I start driving on how can I increase my center
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  roll speed just a little bit, right?
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  And that's going to carry all the way down the straightaway.
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  So I just feel like I wasn't always really, really fast, but
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  I worked my way into it because I became a student of the game.
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  And I think that sometimes I, I think there are far more
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  talented drivers out there in the Cup series than me that have
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  far less wins. But are they what are they doing
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  to increase their craft and make it better?
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  Some will be limited by their work ethic.
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  Some will be limited, you know, by time.
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  They just don't want to put the time in to do it.
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  And that goes a little bit into work ethic and then some will
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  not have the opportunity to be in a top notch ride like I've
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  been part of for the last 20 years.
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  So I think there's a lot of me's out out there that we probably
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  will never see or hear from. I really like what you said.
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  I want to comment on that. What you said is you're not
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  naturally talented, that you worked extremely hard at it.
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  It it reminds me of of the rock group Aerosmith.
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  I have a good friend named Brad Whitfield who's the acoustic
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  player. They say, you know, Joe Joe
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  Perry's another Jeff Gordon. He's he knows how to play the
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  damn guitar. But Brad Whitfield went to
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  school for it. And but they're both with the
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  greatest rock'n'roll band in in America, which is Aerosmith.
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  So thank you for telling me that, because that makes me feel
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  a little bit better about myself.
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  You know, I know that what you're saying is that, you know,
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  if I study my craft a little bit harder, if I, you know, my guy
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  back in the day was Butch Lindley, you know, he didn't use
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  much brake. And that was the big thing.
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  You know, he, he, he was famous for not using the brake pedal
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  and just hauling ass. You know, and you know what's
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  interesting about in NASCAR, right?
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  It had been part of the Cup Series now for 20 years is I've
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  had to go through generations of cars, right it from Generation 4
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  to what we have now. And they went from running 900
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  and some horsepower with low down force to now very little
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  horsepower, 650 and higher downforce, right?
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  And, and more tire grip. So I've had to evolve my style
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  as we've had different cars. And I think what's helped me
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  with the next Gen. in particular is my short track background of
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  late model stocks where we didn't have a ton of power in
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  those engines, right? It was about center roll speed,
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  center roll speed. What do I need to do to get that
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  center roll speed that really helped me adapt to this next
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  Gen. It seemed like better.
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  My style of saving tires was beneficial for the previous
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  generation car that had a ton of horsepower that you would blow
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  the rear tires off of it. So I I just experience that I
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  gained through the local short tracks helped in every
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  generation car that we've run so far.
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  Yeah, thanks for spending that time with me.
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  I had to get, I had to get that out of my head just because I
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  feel like you're one of those drivers.
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  It, it's burnt into my brain going into the old turn 3 at
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  Phoenix and watching you not try to run that yellow line.
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  I, I was always focused on getting down to that yellow line
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  and you, you just, you let the front of that car go and I, and
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  I was like to do is stay behind you.
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  We'd come off the corner and I'd be right behind you again.
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  And I'm like, I'm running low, I'm making speed.
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  But he's, he's exiting better than me.
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  And that moment is what made me think he's special.
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  He know he's got it and just wanted to share that with
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  everybody. So thank you for that.
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  OK, let's let's start the interview now or or as I say, as
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  I say, a conversation. All right, this is a fun one, So
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  hang with me. James Dennis Allen Hamlin.
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  OK, OK. What's your real name?
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  None of the above. It's Denny.
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  Yeah, OK, So you know, I'll see you floating around on Facebook
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  and I, I don't know if it's a fake one.
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  It says James. I'm like that's.
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  Being Yeah. That's really you?
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  Yeah. Well, I'm gonna have to follow
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  you now. I know.
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  So my my dad is Dennis Allen Hamlin.
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  OK. And James was a name that has
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  been passed down in the Hamlin family for generations,
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  generations. And his dad's name was Junior.
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  And so I was the next, I was the next one to need to get James
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  put in my own name because I didn't my parents didn't know.
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  And, and at the time, there were no other Hamlins with the name
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  James going in the next generation.
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  So the James game, he said, I want him to be.
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  I want him to be, you know, Dennis Hamlin, junior.
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  But I got to put James in there, so I'll just put James Dennis
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  Allen Hamlin. So I'm not actually a junior to
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  my dad, even though he'll he'll say he's Big Denny.
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  I'm little Denny. Yeah.
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  But yeah, James is just a family name that's been passed down.
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  And actually it's in my oldest daughter's middle name.
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  She's Taylor James Hamlin. Oh man, there's my.
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  Oh, hi sweetheart, I love you. What?
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  That's really good. Can I finish this interview
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  after this? OK.
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  He's the greatest. Oh, I love your kids and and
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  that Taylor TVI haven't seen it while that Taylor listen that
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  that was awesome. I mean, she'd be there all day
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  long with you make me happy. I have grandbabies now, but that
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  your, your daughter Taylor, I really think she's going to be a
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  superstar. I, I think she's going all the
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  way to be an actor or I mean actress.
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  I think you're going to be the best too.
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  And, and I really think that you are, I think you and your sister
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  are going to be together. And so you're going to be in
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  movies. I, I tell you, Taylor loves
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  Broadway. I mean, I think that, you know,
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  her voice and her acting and things like that.
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  She's really working extremely hard and she does voice lessons
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  and, and acting lessons and things like that.
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  And I think Broadway's where she would like to go in the long
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  term. Molly's still following her,
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  following her footsteps. Like she's wanting to do with
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  whatever big sister's doing right now.
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  So but they're, you know, they are very different in their
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  personalities and whatnot. But it's, it's a joy to raise
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  kids. And obviously I was very
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  overwhelmed when I, I found out that I was going to have my very
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  first one. I was very nervous, you know,
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  Hey, can I do this or not? But I tell you it's it's as good
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  as it gets. Well, she she listen, I've done
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  60 something of these and that right there is the sweetest
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  thing that's happened just because I have followed you,
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  your wife, everybody on Instagram and just watching
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  Taylor. It was Taylor TV and I don't see
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  Taylor TV anymore. I'd like to see it brought back.
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  She's she's, she's, she's coming back with her own YouTube
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  channel now. She's, she's in the makeup and
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  all that stuff. So come on, come on.
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  You're, you're 11. You're not.
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  You're not 1617. So OK, we're going to keep
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  having a little fun here before we get hardcore
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  ostrochinophobia. You have a fear of shellfish?
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  Yes. I mean, it's difficult to say I
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  don't like seafood. I'll tell you that.
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  I've had a few episodes of like an allergic reaction if I go to
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  a seafood and steakhouse. So it's like, I don't know if
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  it's because you know your pencils or I don't know.
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  I've only had a few episodes where it's really happened, but
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  I really feel like I just don't like fish.
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  I don't like the texture of it. I don't like the smell of it and
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  I certainly don't like eating it.
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  And I can only imagine the only reason you would go to one of
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  these places is if Coca-Cola or Toyota.
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  Like Danny, we got a nice restaurant for you tonight and
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  you're like, where the hell are we going?
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  Show me show. Me the meat, bring me the cows.
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  Yeah, right. OK, so a couple more things
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  here. Born in Tampa, FL that caught me
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  off guard. Moved to Virginia at two years
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  old. Tell me that story.
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  Why were you in Florida and how did you end up moving to
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  Virginia? It was my dad's job, so he
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  worked at Great Dane Trailers, tractor trailers, he was the
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  service manager. He worked there for 20 some
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  years and his job just relocated.
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  So he, you know, after my parents had me, I was born in
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  Tampa, FL there right in Brandon and moved up to Virginia, which
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  was where I was raised for 20 years.
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  I stayed there until I was 2324 years old and then once I signed
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  my deal with Joe Goof Racing and then I moved to North Carolina.
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  So I've actually been in Carolina now the same amount of
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  time that I was raised in Virginia.
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  So it just was through my dad's work, he had family that was
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  from the Roanoke area, the Stanton area.
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  So he just wanted to relocate. Yeah, good stuff.
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  OK, I do this with all the superstars and you're going to
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  love me for it. And I tell everybody the same
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  thing. Big Brother Rusty, he said.
• 15:51
  Herman, it's sad to say you've got to remind people because
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  they remember what they want to. So I'm going to remind everybody
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  how great you are and then we're going to talk about it.
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  So Denny Hamlin, 43 years old now, 20 years in NASCAR.
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  That's insane. 845 NASCAR starts in totality.
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  Here's the big boys now. 54 Cup wins, 18 Xfinity wins, two
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  Craftsman Truck Series wins. So you're part of a rare group
• 16:28
  that's done it all. Man, I'll tell you what, this
• 16:31
  one gives me goosebumps. Three time Daytona 500 winner
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  2016 2019-2020 2015 Sprint All Star winner This one, they just
• 16:47
  keep getting better. So this next one is thought of
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  as if if you win one race here, you're a driver.
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  You won the Darlington Southern 503 * 2010 Seventeen and 20.
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  No wonder Joe Gibbs 2022 Coca-Cola 600 winner then you
• 17:12
  fell in love with Daytona Bush Light Clash winner 2006, 2014,
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  2016, 2024. This one here is a hidden gem.
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  First NASCAR Cup rookie, whoever qualified for the NASCAR Cup
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  playoffs. So you were a rookie and
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  immediately made the playoffs were coming to the end.
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  And there's more, but we had to cut them off because they were
• 17:39
  rolling off the page. You and Kyle Larson, one of
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  NASCAR's 75 greatest NASCAR drivers.
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  And then I say this automatic NASCAR Hall of Famer.
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  Now, as I was rolling through that, I asked everybody the
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  same. What was going through your mind
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  as I was telling you all that? I think about the ones that got
• 18:07
  away. They all say the same.
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  I know it's crazy. We, we do not celebrate our own
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  accomplishments. We usually only celebrate our
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  kids accomplishments or our friends accomplishments.
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  We, we rarely take time to really sit back and enjoy what
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  we've accomplished ourselves. I'm very, very guilty of that.
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  You know, if I if I go and win this weekend, I'm going to be
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  over it by Tuesday and I'm going to be talking about how am I
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  going to win Indy the following. So I think that that's kind of
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  retirement is a time to really kind of reflect on those things
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  for me. I really care about packing up
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  the stat column now. Like, you know, I want to
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  continue to build that resume that you just read there.
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  I mean, that means a lot to me. I look at my name or my face on
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  the trophy for the Southern 500 and I see the greats of all
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  time. I feel like I don't belong on
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  that trophy. So it's, it's surreal to me that
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  I've accomplished what I have in the sport.
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  I just haven't sat down and really enjoyed them quite yet,
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  which is is a shame because I know that that's, that's part of
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  why I work so hard to, to do this and do this at a high
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  levels because you want to accomplish these things and then
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  enjoy those accomplishments. But I'm probably too big of a,
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  you know, asshole. Like I said on my, on my
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  podcast, when it comes to competition, I just, this one's
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  not good enough. I need another and I need
• 19:43
  another. And so I, I certainly feel like
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  it's maybe a character flaw within me that I, I need to
• 19:50
  enjoy things a little more. I I enjoy being around you.
• 19:55
  Are you a prick? I mean, are you mean I don't
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  know that. So I, I, I can tell you that.
• 20:01
  Ask any fan that's. Then to a a NASCAR race, I'm
• 20:05
  usually the last person to driver intros 'cause I'm signing
• 20:08
  autographs the longest. Like I, I try to do my best to
• 20:13
  accommodate fans that come to race tracks.
• 20:17
  If I see someone wearing my gear, if I am not late to
• 20:20
  somewhere, I will stop and and sign for them or say hello to
• 20:23
  them. The rivalry that I have with the
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  fans kind of at the moment or the last, you know, year or so
• 20:31
  has more just been spirit of the game, right?
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  And, and sometimes you need some self motivation to push yourself
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  to the next level. And, you know, when we watch
• 20:41
  documentaries like Michael's last dance, the things he would
• 20:45
  make up in his own head that people said about him that
• 20:48
  wasn't actually true, but it he used that as motivation to push
• 20:52
  himself harder. I feel like I do that sometimes
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  with the race fans. Thank you because that's getting
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  ready where I'm going. And, and I love it that you said
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  it that way. We can have fun with it.
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  I, I, I had this question. You have three wins this year.
• 21:08
  How are things going on the competitive side?
• 21:10
  But let's let's talk about that in a minute.
• 21:12
  So Daryl Waltrip once said he became more famous for his voice
• 21:19
  on the cars movie than his NASCAR accomplishments and it
• 21:23
  bothered him. So actions detrimental with
• 21:28
  Jared Allen. This this is I mean, you're over
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  here, you're a great, you're a Hall of Famer, but this action
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  is detrimental. I mean, has changed the
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  trajectory of you be be let's just just talk about it.
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  Tell how the hell did this start?
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  And it's become bigger than the sport now that actions
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  detrimental has. Well, I think that Dale Junior
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  saw that I was always making headlines when it came to my
• 22:01
  media availability each and every weekend, right?
• 22:04
  There's always hot topics. It was safety, it was this, it
• 22:08
  was that, it was the next Gen. and competition, all this stuff.
• 22:12
  And, and what you would see was be like little snippets of these
• 22:15
  articles of maybe one quote of one line of what I said.
• 22:20
  And it wasn't the full context of what I was talking about.
• 22:24
  And he's like, man, I, I understand you because I know
• 22:27
  what you're saying, but I don't think the fan understands you.
• 22:30
  And I think you need to have a forum and a platform to explain.
• 22:36
  And you need more time. You need more than 20 minutes to
• 22:38
  do that right when you need to talk about, you know, hot topics
• 22:41
  in in the sport. And so he finally twisted my arm
• 22:45
  enough to to do it right. I'm like, all right, well, tell
• 22:47
  me the obligation. How really how much effort am I
• 22:51
  going to have to put into this thing?
• 22:53
  He's like, listen, we're going to have it all, you know, set up
• 22:55
  for you. Highlights will be on your phone
• 22:58
  soon as the race is over. We're going to have all the
• 23:00
  drivers comments, all that, so you can be up to date with
• 23:03
  what's going on. And I says, all right, I, I can
• 23:06
  do that. So you know, we're a year and a
• 23:08
  half into it now and certainly it has changed the the dynamic,
• 23:13
  right? I feel like certainly my voice
• 23:16
  has some weight within the sport.
• 23:19
  NASCAR listens. They, they listen to you as
• 23:21
  well, right? They, they, we people don't
• 23:23
  think they do, but NASCAR listens to what's on social
• 23:26
  media. And so I always said my show is
• 23:31
  not a fact based show. Mine is an opinion based show,
• 23:35
  right? I'm going to give you my opinion
• 23:38
  of whatever the topic might be. I get paid to talk about the hot
• 23:44
  topics in the sport. I need to comment on things that
• 23:47
  sometimes are uncomfortable for me to have to comment on because
• 23:50
  there's a conflict of interest. So, but that's what I get paid
• 23:54
  to do. So I'm not speaking out just
• 23:57
  because I I want my voice heard. I'm speaking out because that's
• 24:01
  my job. And I think that it's actually
• 24:04
  giving me and we're starting to see now other opportunities in
• 24:09
  the media beyond what we're doing now.
• 24:11
  And I think that, you know, I certainly feel like there's
• 24:15
  three things, three major jobs that I have, right?
• 24:17
  I have the driver, Denny Hamlin. I have the car owner, Denny
• 24:21
  Hamlin, and I have the media member, Denny Hamlin, right?
• 24:24
  The one that talks about what we see on Sundays.
• 24:28
  But those are three things that I love doing.
• 24:30
  I love running the race team. I love putting the pieces of
• 24:33
  this, you know, Monopoly together to figure out how am I
• 24:37
  going to create a championship caliber team?
• 24:39
  How am I going to move these pieces around?
• 24:41
  How am I going to spend my money correctly to to make this
• 24:44
  happen? I enjoyed the work that it takes
• 24:47
  to be good on the racetrack and I also enjoy talking about the
• 24:51
  sport. And so I listen, I myself and
• 24:55
  NASCAR are closer than what people think we are.
• 24:58
  People think that we we butt heads, but I have an A good
• 25:02
  relationship with those people. And I told them when I did have
• 25:06
  a sit down with them when maybe they didn't like necessarily
• 25:09
  what I said. Let me tell you something I said
• 25:13
  My podcast is a good thing for this sport, and 80% of the time
• 25:18
  you're going to like what I say, but there's going to be 20%
• 25:21
  you're going to fucking hate it. Yeah, and they're not perfect.
• 25:23
  But you're going to have to be the big boys.
• 25:25
  You are the league. We're going to have to put up
• 25:28
  with that criticism because people TuneIn, because of the
• 25:32
  honesty that they know I'm going to give.
• 25:34
  The minute I start converting and just petting NASCAR's back
• 25:38
  and saying, oh, they did great, great, great, the legitimacy
• 25:42
  goes away and people will stop tuning in.
• 25:45
  One thing that I liked that I had wrote down here is I think
• 25:50
  it is, but do you find it help helpful to right a wrong?
• 25:54
  So in other words, when I watch Dirty MO and I love their, I
• 25:59
  love everything you all are doing there.
• 26:01
  But one of my favorite things in life right now is when we know
• 26:05
  what happened 15 years ago, but nobody talks about it.
• 26:10
  And I see on Dirty MO media right now and I see you do it.
• 26:13
  I see people like you and Dale Junior and some of the guests,
• 26:17
  they're righting a wrong. It's kind of like now people
• 26:22
  going, Oh yeah, this is what happened back then.
• 26:24
  And everybody's like, holy crap, why didn't you all say that back
• 26:28
  then? I think your show action is
• 26:32
  detrimental. Do you find it helpful right now
• 26:37
  to go? No, no, this is what happened
• 26:39
  today. You you are you are able to
• 26:42
  right or wrong immediately. I would say it goes back to 80.
• 26:48
  Twenty, 80% of the time, yes. 20% of the time I dig myself a
• 26:52
  deeper hole. I'm.
• 26:54
  Never going to get out of this. So, so I, I think that certainly
• 27:00
  there it's more positive in that aspect than than not.
• 27:04
  But you know, listen, I'm going to make mistakes on the
• 27:06
  racetrack just like the next guy.
• 27:08
  And for me to be able to publicly speak on it right away
• 27:12
  when it's like probably screwed up there, it's better than
• 27:17
  letting the fans simmer on it for seven days until I have my
• 27:20
  media session at the next racetrack.
• 27:22
  So it it it is helpful in that sense.
• 27:25
  I, I go past it, you know, you go past these little town
• 27:28
  churches and they always have some type of Bible verse or
• 27:32
  something they dreamed up and it says you don't have to comment
• 27:36
  on everything. I'm like, well, I do just like
• 27:47
  exactly what sorry God, but got to say this or else, you know,
• 27:53
  Dale Junior, I I read an article and he was very grateful that
• 27:58
  you did. You're doing actions
• 28:00
  detrimental, but he also believed he said in when I read
• 28:03
  it, he said, you know, he feels like one day you're going to go
• 28:06
  off and do your own deal. But as of right now, would you
• 28:10
  please do this deal? So what where is Denny Hamlin?
• 28:13
  Are are you going to make him pay you enough money to keep
• 28:17
  doing what you're doing or one day are you going to start your
• 28:20
  own dirty MO media? You know, I'm not really sure.
• 28:24
  I don't know what the future is going to bring.
• 28:26
  I mean, I don't know that I'm with those guys through the end
• 28:29
  of this year and then we'll figure out something from there.
• 28:31
  But I mean, I'm very grateful for the opportunity that Mike
• 28:34
  Davis and the and Dale Junior have given me with with that
• 28:38
  platform. You know, they from the very
• 28:41
  beginning, they, they said, this is your podcast, right?
• 28:44
  If you ever want to go do your own thing, it's your podcast,
• 28:47
  right? We just want to help distribute
• 28:49
  it and whatnot. And they, they've done me a
• 28:52
  very, very solid job and I've been very happy with that.
• 28:56
  Where it transitions to in the future?
• 28:58
  I, I don't know. I think that it has spurred some
• 29:02
  conversations with, you know, Current TV partners and things
• 29:05
  like that of, you know, what happens when I'm done racing,
• 29:09
  What happens? What can they do with me while
• 29:11
  I'm racing? And so it certainly has given me
• 29:14
  the opportunity to grow my brand far beyond being just the race
• 29:19
  car driver, and I'm so grateful for that.
• 29:21
  Yeah, and and one thing I want to comment, and it's something I
• 29:24
  started doing now on Kenny conversations, I like to
• 29:27
  comment. One thing I learned from you is
• 29:30
  you're very analytical. You're very smart.
• 29:33
  You're not just a race car driver.
• 29:36
  And and I'd like to say thank you because it give me a look
• 29:40
  inside of you. You're you're smart and I really
• 29:44
  like the show. I think it's fantastic.
• 29:48
  And, and like you said, there's no doubt in my mind NASCAR's in
• 29:51
  a better spot because of actions, gentlemen.
• 29:54
  And, and one more thing I never knew, but that Mike Davies, he's
• 30:00
  the key behind all this stuff, I guess.
• 30:01
  I guess Junior's just kind of his partner, but this is Mike
• 30:05
  Davies. He's a brilliant mind, isn't he?
• 30:07
  Yeah, he he's, he's the quarterback of it, no doubt
• 30:10
  about it, or maybe the head coach of it.
• 30:11
  I don't know how you want to speak to it, but I think that he
• 30:15
  has. I mean, they've brought on
• 30:16
  obviously, you know, Jeff Buck and and Jordan Bianchi in the
• 30:19
  teardown, right? They brought them in at the
• 30:22
  beginning of this year. So they pretty much got every
• 30:24
  day of the week kind of blocked off, right.
• 30:26
  And that was one of the things that, you know, I was adamant to
• 30:29
  them when I when we started this.
• 30:30
  I says, you know, I, I want to be the first out, you know, I
• 30:34
  want to be the first one out right afterwards.
• 30:36
  They're like, well, to do that, you're going to have to do it
• 30:38
  right after the race or you're going to Monday morning.
• 30:42
  And I'm like, all right, I think I can handle that.
• 30:44
  But yeah, they've done a great job with their media company.
• 30:48
  And I think, you know, it doesn't happen without the sport
• 30:50
  of Dale Junior. I think he is the rock that
• 30:53
  brings the legitimacy to that, right.
• 30:55
  And so it's just he's got the other things like DBC and and
• 31:00
  others that help support Dale Junior and and his platform.
• 31:04
  And so I'm just part of the part of the branches on this tree.
• 31:07
  Yeah, just a couple more things and I'll quit wearing this
• 31:10
  subject out, but I just think it's kind of reinvented you.
• 31:14
  Dale Junior's a brilliant mine too.
• 31:16
  He's he's very smart, very analytical.
• 31:18
  I think, I think you two are, if you're different, that's fine,
• 31:22
  but you both are kind of like minded.
• 31:24
  You really a good study the sport.
• 31:27
  Just wanted to add that in there.
• 31:29
  So let's move on. I don't know if you were always
• 31:34
  like this. I don't think you were.
• 31:36
  So I'm asking the question and and you you shed a little light
• 31:40
  on it already that you are having fun with the fans.
• 31:43
  You are creating these controversies.
• 31:47
  And you know what Kevin Harvick told me that on Kenny
• 31:49
  conversation, he said a lot of it was a show, Herman.
• 31:52
  I said, well, I'll be damned. Good job.
• 31:56
  So you're not, you're not the first because Harvard shocked me
• 32:00
  saying that. But my question is this.
• 32:04
  You are able at the top of your game, the highest form of
• 32:08
  Motorsports, you are able to tune out all controversies and
• 32:12
  go out and win. And I'm like, I'll be damned.
• 32:14
  Look at him. He just went through a hurricane
• 32:18
  and he's leading the race with one to go.
• 32:20
  Where did you get that? Where did you learn that?
• 32:25
  You have to have a really good tackle box, as my friend Greg
• 32:28
  Fernelli would say. You got to be able to put
• 32:32
  different parts of your life in different parts of your brain,
• 32:37
  and you got to be able to shut those off when it comes time to
• 32:41
  focusing on the racing. And so one thing that I've
• 32:45
  always I can at least hang my hat on, right, is that I've
• 32:49
  never gone into a race unprepared.
• 32:53
  As much shit as I have going on, as much as it, you know, takes
• 32:57
  out of me being the dad, the the owner, the podcast or whatever
• 33:01
  it might be. I never felt like when I got in
• 33:05
  the car, I am unprepared. So I always made sure that I set
• 33:10
  aside the proper time to prepare to make sure that I give 100% of
• 33:15
  my best effort when I got in the car.
• 33:17
  And so because I just never wanted to look back on my career
• 33:20
  when it's over and say, no, I could have got to 7080 wins if I
• 33:27
  would have done this. Like I don't want to have those
• 33:29
  regrets. And so that's why I'm a
• 33:32
  workaholic like I am now, is that I just don't want to have
• 33:34
  those regrets later down the road.
• 33:37
  Well, there's an old saying that I I learned long time ago and
• 33:40
  and I'd like to think this fits you too.
• 33:43
  You can chew gum and walk better than anybody.
• 33:48
  You're able to throw a stick of dynamite up there.
• 33:50
  And while it's blowing up, you're over here winning the
• 33:52
  right here. You're over here winning the
• 33:54
  race. Your daughter's come in.
• 33:55
  Daddy, I love you. I I admired.
• 33:58
  I like it because I kind of think that's the way I am.
• 34:01
  I feel like you're my brother. Your confidence here lately for
• 34:07
  me is very contagious. What do you talk to Michael
• 34:13
  Jordan about? Tell me about confidence
• 34:17
  contagious Michael Jordan. I mean, you know, I cannot even
• 34:23
  say Michael Jordan and just slide by it.
• 34:25
  I'm thinking like the greatest athlete of all time.
• 34:31
  What do you talk to Michael about confidence and being it
• 34:34
  can. It seems like it's rolled down
• 34:36
  to you is what I'm saying. Yeah.
• 34:38
  I mean, listen, if confidence won wins championships, I would
• 34:42
  have been a multi time champion. Long time, yeah.
• 34:47
  Championships are meant to be. I I know so, especially in this
• 34:50
  stupid ass format, right? But anyhow, I just feel like
• 34:57
  he's always been such a big supporter of mine.
• 35:00
  And I mean, you can go back to video of him, you know, coming
• 35:03
  to homestead when I've been part of the championship battle for
• 35:06
  years and years, right? He's, he's always attended.
• 35:09
  He's gone out of his way to support me now along the along
• 35:13
  the way, yes, he gives me motivation, right?
• 35:16
  He says the right things to me that makes me lock in and get
• 35:20
  focused. But he also knows that it's on
• 35:23
  me to have to, to, to want to want it, right?
• 35:27
  I, I have to want it. If I don't want it as bad as it
• 35:31
  as it takes to win it, then it's never going to happen.
• 35:34
  And I do have it. I do want it.
• 35:37
  But some, you know, sometimes the stars just don't align
• 35:40
  right. And and I think he recognizes
• 35:42
  more than ever, man, how much how many variables are part of
• 35:46
  the sport, right? It's just the best car.
• 35:49
  I think it's statistics I saw was like 30 or 40% of the time
• 35:53
  the best car and driver win on a weekly basis.
• 35:55
  We've seen it over just the the last month in NASCAR, you know,
• 36:00
  the races are chaos and they get turned upside down and the guy
• 36:03
  has in the back are now in the front and just all kinds of
• 36:07
  stuff goes on. And it's like, yeah, But over
• 36:10
  the long haul, right, I feel like if I just keep putting
• 36:13
  myself in position, it will happen.
• 36:15
  And, you know, while I've been part of Final Fours and leading
• 36:19
  the points at the end, like if I just keep knocking on the door,
• 36:23
  eventually someone's going to answer.
• 36:25
  And that was been the biggest thing that he's taught me.
• 36:27
  It's just keep putting myself in position, stay focused and, you
• 36:32
  know, keep putting the work in and and if it happens, it
• 36:35
  happens. If it doesn't, I'm going to be
• 36:37
  just fine. As Mark Martin would say, my
• 36:39
  life is no different today than if had I won the 1995
• 36:44
  championship. Like it just doesn't change
• 36:46
  anything. That's true.
• 36:48
  It changes what people may see about me.
• 36:50
  It doesn't change what I see about me.
• 36:53
  The Great Dick Trickle, the man that taught me.
• 36:56
  I got pictures of it. He he would say it in that
• 36:59
  Wisconsin deal. He'd say, my boy, you got to
• 37:02
  wanna. And I've listened to you say
• 37:05
  that three times just now. Michael Jordan says you got to
• 37:07
  want it. Trickle would say you got to
• 37:10
  wanna. And and boy, that really does
• 37:12
  separate people because there are people that want it, but
• 37:17
  they just don't put everything into it And they bitch and they
• 37:19
  moan, complain. I don't got this.
• 37:21
  I don't got that. I just want to say that I really
• 37:24
  like that, that comment. I got to wanna.
• 37:30
  I'm shocked that Joe Gibbs. No, I I take it back.
• 37:35
  I'm impressed that Joe Gibbs allows you to run that 2311
• 37:40
  team. He must think it must be good
• 37:43
  for you. So.
• 37:45
  So Joe Gibbs is over here. Of course you're winning
• 37:47
  everything. He he's your you.
• 37:48
  You are his top driver. You got the greatest sponsor.
• 37:53
  He must see that. Tell me about you and Joe Gibbs
• 37:56
  and you over there helping. I've heard good things about
• 37:59
  you. They say you're in the 2311 shop
• 38:01
  all the time. Yeah, I am, I'm, I'm very active
• 38:05
  in it. And I mean, it started during
• 38:06
  COVID, right? It, it's when I had that eight
• 38:09
  weeks off in the middle of spring, summer and I was like,
• 38:13
  man, this is usually where we're going to the racetrack.
• 38:15
  And now I'm just sitting around at home on a Saturday and
• 38:18
  Sunday. I'm like, is this what
• 38:20
  retirement's going to be like, you know, because at that time I
• 38:22
  was 40 years old, 2020. And I'm like, if this is what
• 38:26
  retirement's like, I, I'm going to have to come up with
• 38:28
  something. I, I, I can't golf every day, so
• 38:32
  I need to come up with something.
• 38:33
  And so at the time, we knew that COVID was taking its toll on the
• 38:39
  Levine Racing team and that had an, an alliance with, with Joe
• 38:44
  Gibbs Racing. And like, OK, so I can somehow I
• 38:49
  can buy that team, preserve the alliance that it has with Joe
• 38:54
  Gibbs Racing. It not only will help me create
• 38:58
  a future for myself beyond driving, but I also can help
• 39:03
  create more resources and money going into JGR that's going to
• 39:06
  make my car faster. So I'm like, I need to call 2O
• 39:10
  to see if I can make this happen.
• 39:12
  And so I did, first of all. And then I said, well, wait a
• 39:16
  minute. Let me sit down with Joe and Coy
• 39:18
  1st and I says, guys, I might ask you a kind of a very serious
• 39:22
  question. I said, is there any opportunity
• 39:25
  for me to own a place, own a piece of Joe Gibbs Racing?
• 39:28
  I'm I'm very interested in and at the time, you know, Joe's
• 39:32
  getting up there in age and, and Coy was still there and, and it
• 39:37
  was like, you know, he's like, I don't think so.
• 39:42
  I said, I, I just want to know for sure because I think I'm
• 39:47
  going to make a move if, if I, if there's no place for me to
• 39:50
  have ownership here at JGR, which I'd love to carry on the
• 39:53
  legacy that Joe Gibbs has shown me and how he runs his team.
• 39:59
  I I want to make sure that you guys are OK if I do this on my
• 40:02
  own then and I says but I I'm going to need your help.
• 40:06
  I need your hey, let me say this.
• 40:08
  I forgot it. It'll straighten me out.
• 40:11
  Actually, this 2311 team is making Joe Gibbs money because
• 40:15
  you must be giving him money. Yes, yeah.
• 40:18
  So that's basically how this works, right, Is that we pay
• 40:22
  them, we pay them a fee and a hefty fee every single year to
• 40:27
  gather all the information that those 400 employees put
• 40:30
  together, right? We have roughly 100 at 2311,
• 40:34
  right? In order to have the
• 40:37
  infrastructure that JGR has, I would have to hire 2-3 more
• 40:41
  hundred more people. Toyota would have to give us a
• 40:43
  whole lot more money, more money.
• 40:45
  And so instead of that, they're happy with their agreement with
• 40:49
  Joe Gibbs Racing. I says, OK, well then make me a
• 40:51
  top tier, but then help me with my alliance with JGR.
• 40:56
  And so they do that to, to, to a great amount.
• 41:01
  We, we're forever grateful for that.
• 41:03
  But it, it's a double fold, right?
• 41:05
  It helps my team be better but also creates resources to make
• 41:09
  my 11 car faster. Man, you just hey, is that your
• 41:12
  wife there? No, it's actually Taylor.
• 41:15
  Tell her to come here for a minute.
• 41:17
  Kenny. Hi.
• 41:18
  Good. How are you?
• 41:18
  Beautiful. Tell me about your doggy.
• 41:22
  This. Is.
• 41:24
  Lulu, Lulu, hi. We picked we picked her up in
• 41:27
  Saint Louis, Oh, we found her at the we found her at the Arch.
• 41:32
  And so I. Saw that?
• 41:34
  Someone who had a litter of puppies that they were looking
• 41:37
  to. She's straightening you out.
• 41:39
  Get rid of. She made Milo a lot.
• 41:41
  Better. I saw it on Instagram or.
• 41:43
  Somewhere they dumped her out at the river.
• 41:46
  She was just six weeks old and so we took her home.
• 41:49
  Her name was Hulu River Hamlin. Her middle name was.
• 41:52
  River. Hey Taylor, I told your dad that
• 41:55
  I've been a big fan of yours ever since you started Taylor TV
• 41:59
  and he says that he thinks you're going to be in Broadway.
• 42:02
  Is that what you want to do? You're a great singer.
• 42:05
  I watch your, I watch your, your you sing on Instagram.
• 42:09
  I have an audition today for On Broadway Today.
• 42:13
  That is big. Do you go downtown Charlotte to
• 42:16
  do that? No, we're doing a video
• 42:18
  audition. I was going to do their Frozen
• 42:20
  Junior but we we missed the deadline so I'm going to try out
• 42:24
  for Lion King and Aladdin instead.
• 42:27
  What's your what's your favorite song?
• 42:29
  Just hanging out with mom and dad?
• 42:31
  What? What's your go to song?
• 42:32
  Hamilton, the Skyler sisters or burned by football.
• 42:38
  So Fitba so. She loves, she loves Hamilton
• 42:41
  the musical. So yeah, that's her thing right
• 42:43
  now. Sing me just a little bit of it
• 42:45
  real quick. I'll sing a song.
• 42:48
  I'll sing I. Have a sore throat?
• 42:50
  OK. OK.
• 42:52
  Well, listen, I love you and I'm a big fan of yours, and I know
• 42:55
  you're going to make it to Broadway, OK?
• 42:57
  OK. Why not?
• 42:59
  'Cause I got to do this interview, that's why I can't
• 43:01
  keep her. Hey, this this is a this is a
• 43:04
  big show all. Right, all right, I can put her
• 43:09
  in my. Mouth.
• 43:11
  No, don't. Don't bite her.
• 43:13
  Well, you got to bite her ear. Maybe she's awesome.
• 43:17
  All right. Well, I'm a big fan of hers.
• 43:20
  OK, so I want to say this. You know that You know, there's
• 43:25
  that Dun Dun Dun and you're waiting for you just finished it
• 43:29
  for me. I forgot that and and I know
• 43:32
  this is kind of being a hard ass, but no reason.
• 43:37
  Now the reason I get it. You know, Joe Gibbs, I mean
• 43:40
  you're you're making him a lot of money because 2311 and you're
• 43:43
  helping make his team bigger and better.
• 43:46
  Is that right? Yeah, actually 2311 actually hit
• 43:51
  a milestone this weekend. They kept telling me going into
• 43:54
  this Chicago Rd. course, they said, you know, we're we're
• 43:58
  going to you're the you're the next Toyota car in front of us
• 44:02
  in points. Tyler Reddick was right behind
• 44:04
  me and they said, you know, after this road course race, we
• 44:06
  should actually, you know, we park our haulers in order of
• 44:09
  where you are in points. And Hendrick is first and then
• 44:13
  it's Joe Gibbs Racing gets their four haulers and then 2311 was
• 44:16
  next in line. He says we're going to jump over
• 44:18
  you guys and be the head Toyota team after this week.
• 44:20
  And I'm like, good luck. And so so now Tyler Reddick and
• 44:26
  the 45 team is the the highest Toyota team in the points right
• 44:29
  now. That is bad ass.
• 44:30
  And I can see Charlie right now editing this piece because I've
• 44:36
  always wondered, you know, how Joe let you go over there and do
• 44:38
  that. But and, and you know, I never
• 44:41
  thought about, you know, you were COVID was a bad deal, but
• 44:45
  you were able to have this sneak peek in your life like, Oh, I
• 44:49
  can't handle this. No, no question.
• 44:51
  And, and I always knew I wanted to run another business.
• 44:54
  I thought it was going to be like another trailer shop.
• 44:57
  My dad myself, you know, we had a trailer shop back in the day.
• 45:00
  We, we had like race car trailers and not, not tractor
• 45:04
  trailers, but like landscape trailers and we used to install
• 45:06
  hitches and stuff. And I loved my job.
• 45:09
  I loved it. You know, I was a welder,
• 45:11
  fabricator. I, I used to be the electrician.
• 45:14
  They got to figure out all the wiring problems and I was like,
• 45:16
  you know, I want to have that business back again when I have
• 45:20
  enough money to buy one. And instead it's like I ended up
• 45:24
  starting the race team and it's like, all right, this is my
• 45:26
  project that I get to be a part of and and build.
• 45:30
  Speaking of what your dad, you know the the trailer shop, did
• 45:34
  you say your dad worked for Great Dane?
• 45:35
  He did. Yeah, yeah.
• 45:36
  So that that was a legendary name in my day.
• 45:40
  Let's change subjects just a little bit.
• 45:44
  Your your dad did not want. I thought it was awesome, 'cause
• 45:47
  I would thought it was a great showmanship.
• 45:49
  You know, the fans are booing you and you're like, you just
• 45:52
  egged them on. I'm like, yes, you're like, I
• 45:54
  beat your favorite driver and this is like, you know, yes, you
• 45:58
  know, you just pisses him right off.
• 46:00
  And but your dad later on said son, I don't like that.
• 46:04
  And and you, you reported on it, but for the Kenny conversation.
• 46:09
  Tell me about that. Did your dad call you or how'd
• 46:11
  that come down? He did call me numerous times
• 46:15
  and my dad's one of those guys you don't pick up the first
• 46:17
  time. He's just going to keep calling
• 46:19
  me too. So they I got a problem.
• 46:25
  I'm like, what's the problem, Dad?
• 46:27
  He's like, you got to stop that shit.
• 46:30
  He's like, that's just too cocky.
• 46:31
  I'm like I said, yeah. But Dad, it, it, it gets a rise
• 46:37
  out of the fans and that's awesome.
• 46:39
  And he's like, I don't like it. I you, you better stop that
• 46:42
  right now. I'm like, all right, Dad, I, I'm
• 46:45
  a listen to you on this one. Yeah, so it, it, you know,
• 46:49
  that's funny because I've heard the world's wealthiest man,
• 46:52
  Warren Buffett, or was Elon Musk or, you know, it's, it's funny,
• 46:57
  isn't it, Danny? No matter how big we become, we
• 47:00
  always our childhood, you know they always say that the 1st so
• 47:04
  many months, whatever. But you, you are your father,
• 47:09
  you know, I guess you are your mother.
• 47:11
  So to this day, even though you're a bad ass and you run the
• 47:14
  show and you got all the money, your mom and dad are still
• 47:18
  everything, aren't they? Yeah, 100%.
• 47:20
  I mean, I, I'm very close to them.
• 47:21
  I was over their house actually last night.
• 47:23
  My poor mom had to put her dog down, so I was there to get her.
• 47:28
  But yeah, my, my mom and dad supported me and they sacrificed
• 47:32
  so much. Like, you know, when my dad
• 47:35
  worked at Great Dane Trailers, my mom worked at AAA travel.
• 47:38
  My parents had very normal jobs. Our total household income was
• 47:42
  100 grand. They made, they made fifty each,
• 47:46
  right? And that, that that was what
• 47:47
  they had. And they had a few old cars that
• 47:49
  they would go to car shows with. They had to sell all that stuff
• 47:53
  because you kind of in racing, you want to support your kid.
• 47:56
  You got to keep buying tires and chassis and brakes and fenders
• 48:01
  when you rip them off. And like, it's just, it was a
• 48:04
  lot for my parents to have to support on their own.
• 48:08
  And luckily I had friends of the family that just would help pay
• 48:13
  for an engine or help pay for the damage that I had that
• 48:16
  weekend to just keep me stringing along.
• 48:19
  And so it all paid off in the end.
• 48:21
  And I'm certainly happy now that they get to enjoy the life that
• 48:25
  they deserved for so many years, right?
• 48:27
  I've paid my dad back in many, many old cars that he had to
• 48:30
  sell. He's got all those back and then
• 48:33
  some. And my mom is getting to enjoy
• 48:36
  the life that she should have deserved when she was grinding
• 48:39
  away overtime hours of AAA. Man, she's she.
• 48:42
  She's got a bad ass name. That's one of my favorite names.
• 48:45
  Mary Lou, I I can hear your mom's mom.
• 48:48
  Mary Lou, get your butt in here right now.
• 48:50
  That. Sounds like my dad.
• 48:53
  I love that. You know, I'll look at Taylor
• 48:58
  Swift and I'll see her mother following her and and I'm
• 49:02
  thinking about your mom and dad right now.
• 49:04
  You know, there has to be that moment where Taylor Swift's Mama
• 49:08
  or you know, your dad or your mom, Have they ever, have they
• 49:12
  ever looked at you like they don't know who you are and say,
• 49:14
  son, I can't believe you made all this money?
• 49:18
  Have they ever said that? Yes, pretty often, right.
• 49:22
  I mean, I, I think that it's certainly surreal to them that,
• 49:26
  that they were in this position, right.
• 49:28
  And I think that, you know, we're just grateful and, and I'm
• 49:32
  very grateful. I mean, yes, I, I have a lot of
• 49:35
  knife stuff, but man, I, I am still very grateful that I'm
• 49:40
  able to do this and able to provide, you know, generational
• 49:43
  wealth for my kids like that. That is big for me because, you
• 49:47
  know, I don't, I'm working so hard right now.
• 49:50
  I've listen, I've made my money in the sport.
• 49:52
  I, I would, but I'm doing this. I'm still working really, really
• 49:56
  hard for my kids and their kids and their kids.
• 50:00
  Like it's not about me, It's about them and making sure that
• 50:04
  they're set up for success in the future.
• 50:07
  Who's that country western singer?
• 50:09
  The great one. Garth.
• 50:11
  Garth yeah, he told, he told Barbara Walters on one of the
• 50:16
  great shows, he says. He says I have enough money for
• 50:19
  my kids, kids, kids, kids. And to me, that's one of the
• 50:24
  greatest. That much, but I they're they
• 50:26
  should be set. It's a great highlight though
• 50:28
  'cause you know, I watch men that Built America and the
• 50:31
  Dupont's. And, but anyway, I just think
• 50:33
  it's really interesting when you're, you know, my mom and
• 50:36
  dad, they've looked at me and looked at Rusty or Mike and
• 50:40
  they're always worried about us. I just wanted to shine a little
• 50:42
  spotlight on your mom and dad. I just think it's really cool.
• 50:45
  And I see the pictures out there.
• 50:47
  We've seen them all. OK, I want to get to the charter
• 50:53
  deal a little bit later and I know there's a little there's
• 50:56
  some people nervous about it and I'm not going to rough you up
• 50:58
  and in any manner like that. But just a couple more things.
• 51:04
  I see 2311, your team that you and Michael Jordan own and Bubba
• 51:11
  Wallace, Tyler Reddick, he Tyler Reddick almost wins the race
• 51:17
  this week in Chicago. But I see this Corey Heim.
• 51:22
  Is he the next big thing? Corey Heim, What's your take on
• 51:26
  Corey Heim? I think he is wise beyond his
• 51:30
  age. He is 21 years old and he drives
• 51:32
  like he's 35. I thought so too, that's why I
• 51:35
  asked the question. I just, I see a lot of real big
• 51:41
  potential with him. I mean, his racecraft, I mean, I
• 51:46
  was 21 years old. I was bending up fenders on my
• 51:49
  mini stock. I mean, I, I wasn't nearly where
• 51:52
  he is, you know, in, in, in my career at his age.
• 51:56
  But you know, Toyota has invested a lot of money in
• 51:59
  Corey's development. I think they're going to
• 52:01
  continue to do that to want to see him in the Cup series 2311
• 52:07
  certainly likes Corey. He's he we we got to run them at
• 52:10
  at Nashville just a few weeks ago.
• 52:13
  He legitimately drove up right to the top ten.
• 52:16
  And, you know, before he had some issues with, you know, kind
• 52:19
  of that weather flipping the flipping the cars upside down.
• 52:23
  And so yes, I I think he is someone that is going to win a
• 52:28
  ton of races and championships and NASCAR in the future.
• 52:32
  Do you see anybody looking at Corey Day, which is like a Kyle
• 52:36
  Larson protege? This Corey Day's, you know, he's
• 52:39
  at Kyle Larson said to me. I said, oh, I don't know Corey
• 52:43
  Day. And Kyle Larson said, oh, you'll
• 52:45
  hear about him and tell me about Corey Day.
• 52:49
  Do you, do you any of you have your eyes on him?
• 52:53
  Yeah, I think that I think teams are interested in him.
• 52:57
  Manufacturers are probably interested in him.
• 53:00
  And a lot of that is, you know, they trust people like Kyle
• 53:02
  Larson that says, hey, when they see someone that is very good,
• 53:07
  they trust those guys because, you know, Kyle Larson's got a
• 53:10
  ton of talent. If he says to a Rick Hendrick or
• 53:14
  Chevrolet, Chevrolet, hey, that's the next guy.
• 53:18
  They're crazy. Not to say, OK, we need to look
• 53:20
  at we need to look in that like that's what they're going to do.
• 53:24
  And so certainly I don't I haven't kept up with Corey Day
• 53:28
  as much as others. I have seen him race.
• 53:30
  It's been ultra impressive when when I have seen him.
• 53:35
  So I very similar to like a Corey Haim.
• 53:38
  I think this is a long term play that you know he'll have his
• 53:42
  development and get his shot soon enough.
• 53:44
  Yeah, I think drivers recognize talent just like I recognize, I
• 53:48
  recognize your talent at Phoenix in turns three and four.
• 53:53
  And, and and Jeff Gordon said, I recognize Jimmie Johnson's
• 53:59
  talent in turn one at Michigan when he said, Jeff Gordon said,
• 54:03
  I thought I went in to turn 1 deep until Jimmie Johnson beat
• 54:07
  me down in the corner that one moment.
• 54:11
  And so he tells Rick Hendrick hired Jimmie Johnson, rest is
• 54:16
  history. So.
• 54:18
  There's another story like that. Go ahead.
• 54:20
  I'm I'm we were leaving Mexico City in the Xfinity Series, and
• 54:26
  my crew chief at the time, Dave Rogers, we had just one Xfinity.
• 54:29
  He says, tell me the next you who's the next guy?
• 54:34
  I says Brad Kozlowski, he says. No.
• 54:40
  He said the guy that's six laps down every race, I says Brad
• 54:45
  Kozlowski, I says when we're going around to lap him, you can
• 54:50
  see he's getting every ounce of that car out that he that is in
• 54:55
  it. And then some like, you know,
• 54:57
  for me it was I think it was corners three and four at
• 55:00
  California where he was up against the wall making time.
• 55:04
  I mean, at this time we're probably putting them 2-3 laps
• 55:07
  down. But but it's just, I just said
• 55:11
  there's something I see that I think he's going to be very good
• 55:16
  and a few years later he got a shot.
• 55:19
  Yeah. So we're going to end this like
• 55:20
  this. Toyota's going to take Corey
• 55:23
  Heim. Chevrolet's going to take Corey
• 55:26
  Day. I'm saying that you're not
• 55:30
  saying that. Do you agree with that or not?
• 55:33
  I think it's where they're probably going to put their
• 55:35
  resources. And again, I can't speak to
• 55:36
  Chevrolet, but I just know what Toyota has done for Corey Heim
• 55:40
  thus far, right? They've given him the
• 55:41
  opportunity in the Truck Series and they've certainly helped us
• 55:45
  out and running him at Nashville.
• 55:47
  He's got to run a few legacy races as well this year when he
• 55:50
  was filling in. So you would think that he's
• 55:52
  part of that, that step stair ladder that that goes to the
• 55:56
  top. Yeah, I want to put a couple fun
• 55:58
  things in here before we talk about that charter.
• 56:03
  This rivalry between you and Kyle Larson, it's the greatest
• 56:07
  thing that's happened for NASCAR.
• 56:10
  You two are the greatest drivers of this era.
• 56:12
  You know, sometimes people go, boy, Kenny, everybody's great to
• 56:15
  you. I'm like, well, 'cause I
• 56:16
  interview all the greats, you know, stop and think about it.
• 56:20
  So you and Kyle, tell me. Tell me about you and Kyle
• 56:26
  Larson. Yeah.
• 56:27
  I mean, I think that we've been, you know, friends off the
• 56:30
  racetrack for a very long time. I think that our friendship was
• 56:37
  always better before we started competing for race wins against
• 56:41
  each other. You know, I think that certainly
• 56:45
  when he got in the the Hendrick #5 car, you know, he stepped
• 56:48
  into a a top tier organization. He's he's finally getting that
• 56:52
  top equipment that that the rest of us have got.
• 56:55
  And now he's showing what his ability is.
• 56:59
  What I've learned over time though, is that it's, it is very
• 57:03
  difficult to keep, you know, a friendship on the racetrack as
• 57:08
  well. And I think that you have to be
• 57:11
  able to separate those two things.
• 57:13
  And so I think that while kind of our relationship is not as
• 57:20
  close as it once was, I, I kind of wish it was, but I'm also OK
• 57:24
  if it isn't because I think that we need to, to continue to push
• 57:30
  as much as we can to win for ourselves and our own team.
• 57:33
  If if the the fans lose out, if we're not able to separate those
• 57:40
  two and go out there and battle for a race win at Pocono on the
• 57:44
  last lap, like if if we start, you know, cutting each other
• 57:48
  breaks, the fans don't get the reward of that exciting finish
• 57:52
  that they deserve. So they should want us to have
• 57:56
  that rivalry on the racetrack. And then what we do off the
• 57:58
  racetrack is frankly none of their business, right?
• 58:02
  And so I think that we we saw it.
• 58:05
  Dale Earnhardt, I feel like was that way with some of some of
• 58:08
  his toughest rivals, right. He had he would go fishing or
• 58:11
  whatever with with some of his toughest rivals, but he knew how
• 58:14
  to separate that on the racetrack.
• 58:17
  I want to add some to this. This is a accurate story.
• 58:20
  I wish brother Rusty Wallace was here right now.
• 58:23
  So Rusty is trying to win the Southern 500 and he's got Bill
• 58:27
  Elliott right in front of me and, and Bill Elliott is just
• 58:30
  holding Rusty up. He can't get by him.
• 58:33
  Rusty's trying to pass him nice. And Rusty's just, I mean, that
• 58:37
  Pontiac, that Kodiak, Rusty's just sawing, sawing the ass in a
• 58:42
  Bill Elliott's car right off. So Rusty runs second in the
• 58:47
  Darlington Southern 500. Well, Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt
• 58:51
  senior and Rusty get on an airplane.
• 58:52
  They fly up to the Minnesota State Fair.
• 58:55
  I'm running ASA and I, I got a car for Rusty and I'm racing
• 58:59
  Earnhardt's with him. Earnhardt looked at Rusty and
• 59:04
  says, you know, all you had to do is pop him and ass.
• 59:07
  Fans would have booed him, but they'd have got over it and
• 59:10
  you'd have won the Southern 500. Yes, I think that there's a lot
• 59:14
  to say about that, right? Is that a year down the road, it
• 59:19
  doesn't matter. The trophy is still sitting
• 59:22
  right there on the pedestal. They will get over it.
• 59:25
  And, and, and so I just think that social media has amplified
• 59:29
  people's opinion, right? And they feel, you know, a lot
• 59:32
  of times you can hide anonymously on social media, so
• 59:35
  you're not afraid to really lash out, you know, when your
• 59:38
  favorite driver doesn't win and he gets beat.
• 59:42
  But yeah, I, it's, I agree with Dale Earnhardt in the sense that
• 59:47
  that, you know, now I I agree with your brother a little bit
• 59:49
  in the sense that, listen, he tried the art of passing.
• 59:53
  Anybody can go up there. Just knock someone the hell out
• 59:55
  the way. You know, that doesn't take much
• 59:57
  skill. Yeah, it took skill to get in a
• 59:59
  position to do it, but. I appreciate the art of trying
• 1:00:02
  to pass someone now, eventually, things have changed in NASCAR.
• 1:00:06
  Now more than ever, it's people ain't waiting behind you
• 1:00:09
  anymore. They're just going to knock you
• 1:00:10
  out of the way and knock you up the racetrack and move on.
• 1:00:14
  That's the way Dale Earnhardt did it years and years and years
• 1:00:17
  ago. Stop right there, Danny.
• 1:00:19
  I got, you know, this is part of the conversation.
• 1:00:22
  Why did Dale Earnhardt senior get away with?
• 1:00:24
  I mean, there's videos out there 24/7.
• 1:00:26
  Why was he able to get away with knocking the shit out of people,
• 1:00:29
  wrecking them and be a hero? Because nobody was big enough
• 1:00:36
  and strong enough to challenge him outside the race car.
• 1:00:38
  I think, I think they were intimidated by him outside the
• 1:00:42
  race car. That's that's my opinion, is
• 1:00:45
  that he was intimidating on the race shack and off the race
• 1:00:52
  shack. So if you want, you know, if my
• 1:00:56
  scrawny ass were to go up to Dale Earnhardt and say, Hey,
• 1:00:59
  why'd you spend me? He'd say, you're in my way.
• 1:01:02
  What am I going to say? Yeah, what are we going to do
• 1:01:04
  about that? I I sorry, I mean, I'll, I'll
• 1:01:09
  wreck them back then the fans will hate me and they're going
• 1:01:11
  to love him. But but that's just that's just
• 1:01:13
  part of it. You know, he earned that spot in
• 1:01:15
  the sport to to to get that fandom.
• 1:01:18
  So sometimes you're just in a never win situation and and
• 1:01:21
  sometimes there's people in the sport that have that power to do
• 1:01:26
  whatever the hell they want. Yeah, so as you know, I raced a
• 1:01:30
  lot and and I've seen this movie and and you and I both know that
• 1:01:37
  somebody at Hendrick, there's a group of people, they're in Kyle
• 1:01:40
  Larson's ear now to wreck your ass.
• 1:01:43
  And I know you know that and I don't know what's being said.
• 1:01:46
  Can you shed some light on that? I mean, he's already, you know,
• 1:01:49
  back to Jack and you know, he fooled with you a little bit and
• 1:01:53
  turns one and two there. What do you, what do you think's
• 1:01:55
  going to happen here between you and Kyle?
• 1:01:58
  Well, I think we need to have an understanding.
• 1:02:00
  I think that the two drivers, the two crew chiefs have got to
• 1:02:04
  have a sit down and discuss what the rules of engagement are.
• 1:02:07
  I think that, I think that I have said that I'm fine with us
• 1:02:13
  racing each other hard for wins. I don't think I'm necessarily
• 1:02:17
  fine with deliberately trying to take each other out.
• 1:02:21
  I think that that raises the stakes a little bit, a little
• 1:02:25
  bit out of control. You know, I, I just, I guess I'm
• 1:02:31
  just confused a little bit on why the group is so upset when I
• 1:02:39
  move up the racetrack 3 or 4 feet.
• 1:02:42
  For the win. For the win.
• 1:02:44
  Win but yet this is the way in my opinion.
• 1:02:50
  Kyle has made passes for a decade and so I just don't
• 1:02:54
  understand why it's such a big deal now.
• 1:02:58
  And so yes, I do think that he has people in his ear pressuring
• 1:03:02
  him, but I don't think that that is necessarily going to be a, a
• 1:03:05
  positive outcome for anyone because, listen, we know my give
• 1:03:12
  a shit meter is absolutely pegged.
• 1:03:15
  And so I just, I, I don't if, if we get into this type of thing
• 1:03:20
  and it escalates, it's not going to be good for anyone.
• 1:03:22
  It won't be good for me. It's not going to be good for
• 1:03:24
  him. I think we just need to come
• 1:03:26
  together, come to an agreement on hey listen, we're good with
• 1:03:30
  racing hard for wins, but we were not deliberately try to
• 1:03:33
  take each other out. That's probably where we should
• 1:03:35
  land. Yeah, one more question on this.
• 1:03:37
  First of all, I like that. I I, I do think you guys should
• 1:03:42
  have a sit down, but I feel like after watching you, I'm a big
• 1:03:46
  fan of your guy, you guys. I, I love NASCAR.
• 1:03:49
  I feel like I'm watching. I feel like Kyle was handling on
• 1:03:52
  his own. I feel like Kyle knew what was
• 1:03:55
  up. You know, we're going to Pocono
• 1:03:57
  now, but you know, he's on your outside, you're squeezing in for
• 1:04:01
  the win and that, that's racing. But I, I feel like, yeah, I feel
• 1:04:08
  like they're in his ear and they want him to think with their
• 1:04:13
  retaliating. So I, I don't think he's in
• 1:04:16
  control. I think, I think he thinks he's
• 1:04:18
  in control, but I feel like they're in his ass.
• 1:04:20
  Yeah, but I think I think like again, I am fine with, you know,
• 1:04:29
  if I squeeze you, you squeeze me the next time it comes back
• 1:04:32
  around. But rate, you know, changing the
• 1:04:36
  game is saying that all right, I'm, I'm going in this corner to
• 1:04:39
  wipe you out. Yeah, that's not you didn't do
• 1:04:41
  that. That's that's a total different.
• 1:04:44
  We're on a that we're that's a different level and I think it
• 1:04:47
  just doesn't end well for either party.
• 1:04:50
  Yeah, because you'll go back and wreck him and then you neither
• 1:04:53
  one of these win the champ. Just one over stop.
• 1:04:55
  Yeah, I I think that's where we'll end that.
• 1:04:58
  It's not a good movie because you'll both will wreck each
• 1:05:01
  other, pay the fines and you both will not win the
• 1:05:05
  championship. So well, I'm looking forward to
• 1:05:10
  you probably won't make a press release about it.
• 1:05:12
  That's kind of a joke, but I'm hoping you guys do talk it out.
• 1:05:15
  And thanks for answering that. Had had to talk to you about
• 1:05:19
  that cause that that's a big deal.
• 1:05:21
  You know, it's, it's playing out on on national TV.
• 1:05:26
  OK, so we're going to, I'm going to just, you know, start this
• 1:05:32
  charter system and I want you to stay out of trouble and I'm
• 1:05:39
  going to, I'm going to read this to everybody.
• 1:05:42
  I'm not reading this to you, Denny, but I want I want to read
• 1:05:46
  this. The RTA was created in 2015 and
• 1:05:51
  collaborated with NASCAR, created the charter agreement
• 1:05:55
  system Race Team Alliance. The RTA is currently comprised
• 1:06:00
  of 15 race teams which own the 36 charters in the NASCAR Cup
• 1:06:06
  Series. So it's everybody, Henrik Gibbs,
• 1:06:09
  Penske, RCR track House 2311 etcetera.
• 1:06:15
  The RTA works with team members to advance the sport of stock
• 1:06:20
  car racing. RTA represent the common
• 1:06:24
  commercial interest of its member teams.
• 1:06:28
  The chairman of the RTA is Rob Kaufman.
• 1:06:31
  Jonathan Marshall is his executive director.
• 1:06:36
  And Jonathan let me see he runs the day-to-day business
• 1:06:41
  operations on behalf of the teams, the board of directors.
• 1:06:45
  Now this is this is big the board of Directors of RTRRTA,
• 1:06:50
  Jeff Gordon, Richard Petty, Jack Roush, Richard Childress, Walt
• 1:06:57
  Zarnicki Penske, Joe Custer, Stewart Haas and Heather Gibbs.
• 1:07:03
  The RTA works with the teams NASCAR, the tracks and various
• 1:07:08
  sponsors and partners on behalf of member teams.
• 1:07:13
  Of course, the renewal of the charter agreement is paramount
• 1:07:16
  issue for RTA. It's it's paramount.
• 1:07:19
  It's the biggest thing in the sport right now.
• 1:07:22
  In 2000 in in ending in 2022, the Drivers Council created the
• 1:07:27
  drivers Council, which is led by Jeff Burton.
• 1:07:31
  OK, I laid out the rules of regulations.
• 1:07:36
  I read it as beautifully as I could.
• 1:07:38
  I did my job here. Yep.
• 1:07:40
  OK. So we are in the fourth quarter
• 1:07:45
  right now of this next year. The charters are ending here in
• 1:07:50
  a minute. Where are we at right now?
• 1:07:57
  Well, I'll first say this. I think that this is the single
• 1:08:03
  biggest agreement that has gone through our sport and a very,
• 1:08:10
  very long time and it's important that it gets done.
• 1:08:13
  The reason that you know, you gave kind of the history of the
• 1:08:18
  RTA and, and I'll give you a little more to that is that
• 1:08:21
  originally it was started as these race teams need to get
• 1:08:24
  together and find a way to, you know, have more, you know,
• 1:08:29
  whether it's a common fuel card or whatever.
• 1:08:32
  Like they were trying to not go and negotiate deals, you know,
• 1:08:36
  commercial deals independently. We probably can get a better
• 1:08:40
  price if we go in independent and if we come together and
• 1:08:44
  negotiate fuel deals or tire deals or whatever it is for the
• 1:08:47
  haulers. Like that's where it kind of
• 1:08:49
  started, right? Is that how can we come together
• 1:08:54
  and start to streamline some of our cost help?
• 1:08:58
  Because the cost just keeps getting higher, higher, higher,
• 1:09:01
  higher. And, you know, sponsorship is
• 1:09:04
  starting to level off. And as it went over time,
• 1:09:10
  sponsorship started to decline a little bit.
• 1:09:13
  Ratings declined with it. And the teams are the ones that
• 1:09:16
  felt the most pressure by that, right?
• 1:09:19
  There's their salaries that got cut, you know, drivers,
• 1:09:25
  employees, everything, everything's just started
• 1:09:27
  getting cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, cut, all while there is
• 1:09:32
  record revenue going into our sport.
• 1:09:35
  So that, you know, has has brought it to the last few years
• 1:09:40
  where, you know, big team owners that have been part of the sport
• 1:09:44
  for decades have went to Jim France and says we need help.
• 1:09:51
  Like our teams are dropping like flies.
• 1:09:54
  Like we have championship teams boom out of business.
• 1:09:57
  Like how can we stop this? You guys are doing really,
• 1:10:01
  really well. We are struggling, struggling to
• 1:10:05
  to break even or not lose millions and millions of
• 1:10:09
  dollars. And so they went to gym asking
• 1:10:14
  for help and received back quite simply.
• 1:10:20
  Sorry, you cut your deal back in 2016 and you're going to live by
• 1:10:24
  what that deal is. This was 5 or so years ago.
• 1:10:27
  They came to gym saying at least give us a break on our card
• 1:10:31
  cards. No, ain't going to do nothing
• 1:10:33
  for you. Live by the deal that you cut.
• 1:10:36
  So that put an emphasis in my mind to us saying we better get
• 1:10:40
  this deal right then because he ain't going to come come back
• 1:10:42
  and retrade this deal four years from now, right?
• 1:10:46
  We better get it right now. And So what we've been up
• 1:10:50
  against is other leagues that have locked arms and decided
• 1:10:55
  that they are going to lock arms with the league and then grow
• 1:11:00
  the sport together. NASCAR does that poorly than any
• 1:11:06
  other sport by far. Like, ask any sponsor that tries
• 1:11:10
  to come in, they say it's the most complicated sport to ever
• 1:11:13
  participate in because the tracks own this real estate,
• 1:11:16
  NASCAR owns this, the teams own that.
• 1:11:18
  Like it's not homologated, I guess you could say.
• 1:11:24
  So we're trying to make it more simple when we're trying to go
• 1:11:28
  to NASCAR and say, let's lock arms, let's do this together.
• 1:11:31
  We'll give you these rights to go shop for us.
• 1:11:36
  That way when you go get an official sponsor, it, it, it
• 1:11:39
  goes to all of us, same as what the NBA, the NFLMLB does when
• 1:11:43
  they go get a league sponsor. Every team gets a little piece
• 1:11:47
  of that and then the league gets a portion as well.
• 1:11:50
  It's, it's not like that We compete for the same sponsors
• 1:11:53
  that NASCAR does. We, we, we have our own sponsors
• 1:11:57
  that NASCAR will send their own for sponsorship proposal to, to
• 1:12:01
  try to get them to spend money with them.
• 1:12:03
  And it's like, but we need them the most because of our business
• 1:12:06
  model, right? It cost us $18 million a year to
• 1:12:09
  put a car on the racetrack. We've asked NASCAR to just cover
• 1:12:13
  our cost, nothing more, just cover our cost to go put on this
• 1:12:16
  show for you. And the answer has been
• 1:12:19
  repeatedly no. You, you will get what we give
• 1:12:22
  you and, and you'll like it. And so, and if you don't, then
• 1:12:26
  just don't be part of this. Now, what do you do in that
• 1:12:29
  instance, right? And, and it is so we're banging
• 1:12:33
  our heads up against the wall because repeatedly as these
• 1:12:38
  negotiations have gone on, there's been no negotiation,
• 1:12:41
  Kenny. It's been every response, every
• 1:12:44
  proposal they send back to us is worse than the previous.
• 1:12:48
  That is factual. They it keeps getting worse.
• 1:12:50
  So where you when you ask me, where are we at today?
• 1:12:54
  We are worse off than we were two years ago.
• 1:12:57
  And we are six months, eight months away from the Daytona 500
• 1:13:01
  and there not being any charters.
• 1:13:03
  So, and why the race fans should care about that, is that the the
• 1:13:08
  reason Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports show up
• 1:13:13
  every week is because there's a charter deal.
• 1:13:15
  We get a payment to show up every single week.
• 1:13:20
  If there is no charter deal, we will pick and choose what the
• 1:13:22
  best paying races are and we'll go run those races.
• 1:13:25
  And then some weeks you won't see us at the racetrack because
• 1:13:28
  maybe that race doesn't pay quite as good or maybe we don't
• 1:13:30
  have a sponsor for that race. You know, The Wood Brothers used
• 1:13:33
  to do that with David Pearson. They they never ran all the
• 1:13:36
  races back in Pierce's glory days.
• 1:13:38
  But that's not good, right for the sport.
• 1:13:40
  You want to see your superstars on the racetrack every single
• 1:13:43
  week, which is why this charter agreement needs to get done.
• 1:13:46
  And while NASCAR needs to understand that the teams and
• 1:13:50
  these drivers, they are the stars and they are the cars.
• 1:13:54
  And that is what people come to see each and every week.
• 1:13:57
  If you if you don't believe that, then how many people go to
• 1:14:00
  watch an ARCA race on Friday? The cars look the same.
• 1:14:02
  The only thing that's different is, is the drivers, right?
• 1:14:07
  They're the ones that people come to see the stars, right?
• 1:14:09
  In the, in the Hendrick Motorsports and the Joe Gibbs
• 1:14:11
  racings of the world. So I wish I had better news for
• 1:14:16
  you, But and until we see NASCAR come our way a little bit, I, I
• 1:14:21
  just don't know where this goes, right?
• 1:14:23
  I mean, eventually there's going to have to be some pain for
• 1:14:27
  somebody in this thing for there to be any sort of resolution,
• 1:14:31
  right? No negotiation has ever come
• 1:14:34
  easy. No one says, OK, that's what you
• 1:14:37
  want, OK, no problem. We'll we'll go ahead and back
• 1:14:39
  the Brinks truck up and we'll just drop the money off to you.
• 1:14:41
  It doesn't work that way. Somebody has to feel pain for it
• 1:14:45
  to for somebody to budget or move.
• 1:14:48
  And I just think that at this point, NASCAR does not feel
• 1:14:53
  threatened by the teams whatsoever.
• 1:14:56
  I think that they feel like we are all replaceable.
• 1:15:00
  We, you can argue that offline, I have my opinions of that, but
• 1:15:06
  you know, these, these guys helped build the sport for years
• 1:15:09
  and years. And what you know, when we asked
• 1:15:10
  for permanent charters, what we're asking for is long term,
• 1:15:16
  long term asset, you know, something that we can sell if we
• 1:15:20
  ever do go out of business, right?
• 1:15:22
  We saw with Stewart Haas, at least they didn't leave the
• 1:15:24
  sport empty handed, right? They at least got paid for their
• 1:15:28
  charters. That's what we're hoping to get,
• 1:15:30
  right. If they're not going to give us
• 1:15:32
  enough money to survive year to year, at least give us an asset
• 1:15:36
  that is worth something in the long run.
• 1:15:38
  You can't say no to both. That is not a fair deal.
• 1:15:43
  You know, when I mentioned the three big stakeholders, the
• 1:15:45
  tracks, NASCAR and the teams, there's 2/3 of this deal that is
• 1:15:49
  doing very, very well and 1/3 that is not doing well.
• 1:15:53
  That is not fair. And if you want us to lock arms
• 1:15:56
  and push the sport together forward, we must all be healthy.
• 1:16:00
  So I'm going to ask some questions that that I've
• 1:16:03
  learned. So it could easily at the end of
• 1:16:08
  this year, charters could not exist.
• 1:16:10
  Doesn't NASCAR have a responsibility because we just
• 1:16:15
  watched some teams pay Gene Haas $25 million?
• 1:16:21
  What would happen if at the end of this year NASCAR said
• 1:16:26
  charters don't exist and and they just got done paying Gene
• 1:16:30
  Haas $25 million? Does NASCAR have a
• 1:16:33
  responsibility? I mean, how could that just all
• 1:16:36
  go into thin air? That's what we're trying to
• 1:16:40
  protect against you. You're bringing up a very valid
• 1:16:43
  point. That's what we're trying to
• 1:16:44
  protect against. It's.
• 1:16:46
  It's kindergarten style. I you know, I hear you, but the
• 1:16:51
  this sport is run differently and it unfortunately is run by
• 1:16:56
  someone who says this is what's worked for 75 years and I'm not
• 1:17:00
  changing. Who's that guy that bought that
• 1:17:03
  that that that team Michael McDowell team?
• 1:17:05
  What's that name again? I got brain fade.
• 1:17:08
  They just paid. They just bought the charter
• 1:17:10
  front row. OK, so so Gene Haas could look
• 1:17:15
  at front row right now and go suckers, I got your money.
• 1:17:18
  Now you don't even have a charter.
• 1:17:20
  Yeah. I mean, I'm sure that there's
• 1:17:21
  probably provisions in there like more than likely Bob
• 1:17:25
  Jenkins put provisions in there that says, OK, this deal will go
• 1:17:29
  through as long as there are charters.
• 1:17:32
  Got you what I mean so. Thank you.
• 1:17:34
  Thank you. You know, attorneys would never
• 1:17:38
  put that at risk, I would think. No, it's good information, you
• 1:17:41
  know. What I mean to say, OK, we will
• 1:17:44
  do this as long as there is a charter agreement and it's by a
• 1:17:47
  certain date or something. And if not, if you got to get an
• 1:17:50
  extension, you got to get an extension, but you can't sell
• 1:17:53
  something that doesn't exist. So I think Gene Haas would wants
• 1:17:58
  to see this charter deal done because you can't sell something
• 1:18:01
  that doesn't exist, right? So.
• 1:18:04
  OK, so we have history. I always reminded people, I'm
• 1:18:08
  60, you're 43, you're a baby. There are documentaries out
• 1:18:14
  there all day long on YouTube. This, this battle has been waged
• 1:18:22
  before. And big Bill France said, go
• 1:18:25
  ahead, boys quit and they bought, they brought the Xfinity
• 1:18:28
  series in and, and, and those guys ran at Talladega and all
• 1:18:33
  hell broke loose and it never worked.
• 1:18:37
  What do you what do you think we've learned?
• 1:18:38
  Because obviously that that business model, you know, first
• 1:18:42
  of all, I want to say this, here's my disclaimer.
• 1:18:43
  I love NASCAR. It made me a living me.
• 1:18:47
  Too. I'm a wealthy man because of it.
• 1:18:50
  So what did we learn from that back then to so that it won't
• 1:18:59
  happen this time? Maybe, like you said, maybe just
• 1:19:02
  don't run all the races. I mean, when was that like the
• 1:19:07
  60s or 70s, right? I think it was a Talladega or
• 1:19:10
  something. Yeah, I I mean, Kenny, I don't
• 1:19:13
  know if you've seen the Xfinity garage now, but it's it's a
• 1:19:16
  shell of what it used to be. Good luck getting those guys to
• 1:19:20
  go buy next Gen. cars that cost you a great fortune.
• 1:19:24
  Yeah, well, that's true. You know what I mean?
• 1:19:26
  Good luck trying to get 36 next Gen. cars on the racetrack if
• 1:19:29
  you don't have the current teams that are participating.
• 1:19:32
  So listen, there's too much at stake for both sides.
• 1:19:35
  They they just, it needs to be a fair deal.
• 1:19:38
  It's not close to fair currently.
• 1:19:41
  And we just need some movement to, to, to help make it a little
• 1:19:45
  bit better. You know, listen, the minute
• 1:19:48
  there's no char deal, you're going to have Michael Jordan
• 1:19:51
  being pissed because he just invested into this sport and you
• 1:19:56
  got someone that's willing to just sweep it and take it all
• 1:19:59
  away whenever they want to. That's just that is just
• 1:20:02
  ridiculous and it shouldn't happen.
• 1:20:04
  And, you know, a team like 2311 that has invested significant
• 1:20:08
  money in this sport and helped grow it over the last four years
• 1:20:13
  deserves to have some franchise value attached to that.
• 1:20:17
  Yeah, I know Jim France is going to hear about this.
• 1:20:20
  I've been. I had a great conversation with
• 1:20:22
  Ben Kennedy, my message to NASCAR.
• 1:20:25
  I know y'all are listening. You know I'm a little corny at
• 1:20:29
  time. I love you guys.
• 1:20:31
  You know you. You gave me a life.
• 1:20:33
  But I had to talk to Denny about this.
• 1:20:36
  I promised Denny I'd keep him out of trouble.
• 1:20:39
  It it's top news. Respectfully, we you cannot
• 1:20:43
  expect us not to talk about it. So thank you.
• 1:20:46
  And we all have the same goals and that's to grow this
• 1:20:49
  together. And, you know, we met with
• 1:20:51
  NASCAR about this, you know, a month ago.
• 1:20:54
  We're like, let's lock arms and do this.
• 1:20:56
  We this, this sport is a sleeping giant.
• 1:20:59
  If you're just willing to change, you know, just because
• 1:21:03
  it's, it's what you did for 50-60 years, it doesn't mean
• 1:21:07
  it's the right thing to do now. Every sport has evolved over
• 1:21:10
  time. We have got to evolve.
• 1:21:12
  And people like Ben Kennedy have done a great job of changing the
• 1:21:17
  schedule around, taking us to places like Chicago.
• 1:21:20
  It's been fantastic what they've done with schedule variation
• 1:21:23
  over the last few years. The Next Gen. car, right?
• 1:21:27
  I mean, while some may like it, some may not, it's still been a
• 1:21:31
  net positive for our sport. And you know, the the access to
• 1:21:35
  be competitive is easier now than what it has been before.
• 1:21:39
  So we're, we're doing a lot of good things.
• 1:21:42
  I just hate that we keep hanging up and this has been a subject
• 1:21:45
  for a better part of two years and that we just can't get a
• 1:21:49
  fair deal done because if we ever can, the sport will take
• 1:21:55
  off and they need the teams to be able to do that in the team
• 1:21:59
  seen NASCAR. So, you know, let's let's get
• 1:22:02
  this deal done. I want to end like this on that
• 1:22:06
  deal. I'm watching myself and my wife
• 1:22:11
  around 10:00 at night. We watch a couple episodes of
• 1:22:13
  The Crown on Netflix and I'm learning about the British
• 1:22:17
  monarchy. I'm just it.
• 1:22:19
  I'm just learning. And one of the media members was
• 1:22:24
  able to meet with Queen Elizabeth and he said you need
• 1:22:28
  to show some humility. And she says, well, what do you
• 1:22:30
  mean? And, and the media member said
• 1:22:34
  you need to like address your people during Christmas and, and
• 1:22:38
  show that you all are normal people.
• 1:22:40
  And so now Queen Elizabeth, you know, she's gone now, but she
• 1:22:45
  had she she had started doing a Christmas address because show
• 1:22:50
  some humility and she changed her way.
• 1:22:53
  And it's part of the history. I think sometimes we try to stay
• 1:22:58
  tough because we it, it's that old saying you give them an
• 1:23:02
  inch, they'll take a mile. And I'm I'm assuming that's what
• 1:23:05
  NASCAR's thinking. OK, thank you so much for that.
• 1:23:09
  Let's have fun. Let's end this on a fun note.
• 1:23:12
  Are you going to buy Langley? Are are you going to buy
• 1:23:18
  Langley? I'll tell you this.
• 1:23:20
  My, my, My Portfolio managers would say that I am heavily
• 1:23:26
  skewed in the NASCAR way too much as it is, so I get it.
• 1:23:30
  I get. It but I listen.
• 1:23:33
  I love short track racing. I'd love to keep South Side
• 1:23:36
  Speedway going. Langley Speedway is doing
• 1:23:39
  fantastic. They got that Hampton Heat
• 1:23:41
  thing. OK, was I wrong?
• 1:23:42
  Was. It South side, Yeah, that's my
• 1:23:45
  home track in kind of Chesterfield, VA that's just
• 1:23:47
  sitting there right now, right. I had South side, I had some
• 1:23:50
  really good conversations with some, you know, the governor
• 1:23:53
  there, some City Council members on like, you know, they're,
• 1:23:57
  they're wanting me to spend the money to upgrade it and then run
• 1:24:01
  it. I'm like, how about, how about
• 1:24:04
  y'all spend the money upgrading it, I'll run it.
• 1:24:06
  And because, you know, it's just that's a big ask and they're
• 1:24:09
  like, well, how much money do we need?
• 1:24:10
  I'm like, I don't know, I think that this place probably needs
• 1:24:14
  5,000,000 bucks. So I'm being realistic with you
• 1:24:16
  because you because you you you need to make it a multi purpose
• 1:24:19
  facility, just a local short track that races one night a
• 1:24:23
  week. It's just impossible.
• 1:24:26
  You got to have go karts, you got to have concerts there, you
• 1:24:28
  got to have putt putt courses. You need to make this a multi
• 1:24:32
  use sports facility, not just a racetrack.
• 1:24:35
  And so it would be an investment by the city or the state, but I
• 1:24:39
  would be happy to do it. I would be happy to be a part of
• 1:24:42
  it. I'd be happy to put part of my
• 1:24:45
  money in it, but just not the whole thing.
• 1:24:47
  Yeah, You know, on that note, you know, I, I race every other
• 1:24:51
  day. These concerts, even even on the
• 1:24:55
  dirt track level up here in Fairbury, you know, these races
• 1:24:59
  pay $100,000 to win. What is going on, Danny?
• 1:25:02
  Once again, you're showing that you're very smart, you're
• 1:25:05
  intelligent. Race tracks cannot make it as A1
• 1:25:11
  lane show. Now the cars going around in
• 1:25:14
  circle is not enough anymore. So tell me, what's this whole
• 1:25:19
  deal? Even at the dirt tracks, Eldora,
• 1:25:21
  you got to have music. What's going on there?
• 1:25:24
  The younger generation go to race tracks or they go to sports
• 1:25:28
  functions as a social gathering. Now people go to the Charlotte
• 1:25:33
  Knights game down in Charlotte here the, the, the AAA baseball
• 1:25:37
  team. Not one person I know could name
• 1:25:40
  one player, but they go there because they can go have a beer
• 1:25:43
  with their friends and talk and, and like, it's a social
• 1:25:47
  gathering. And that's where concerts are
• 1:25:49
  really playing a big role in NASCAR weekends and IndyCar
• 1:25:53
  weekends, things like that. You want to create a place for
• 1:25:57
  people to all gather and congregate and then on their way
• 1:26:02
  out, if they get to see a racing show, maybe, maybe they get
• 1:26:05
  hooked, right? That's that's the play in all of
• 1:26:08
  this. And so you need to create.
• 1:26:10
  And we've seen it really with the race tracks themselves as
• 1:26:13
  well. ISC and, and SMI have really
• 1:26:16
  spent a lot of money on making fan midways, right?
• 1:26:19
  Fans, yes, the fan zones around the racetrack itself because
• 1:26:25
  it's just it is more than the NASCAR race itself.
• 1:26:28
  I'm sorry, but sitting in an aluminum Bleacher for four hours
• 1:26:31
  watching cars go in circles, that's a lot to ask anyone.
• 1:26:35
  But if if you can make a a day of it or a weekend of it with
• 1:26:38
  your family and your kids, your kids get to jump and bounce
• 1:26:41
  houses. You you you get to do this 5050
• 1:26:44
  raffle. You get to you know, do a play a
• 1:26:47
  play practice pit stop. You get to go on I racing and
• 1:26:50
  race on a simulator that makes for a really fun day.
• 1:26:53
  And, and so I think you can legitimatize why you're spending
• 1:26:57
  money by going if you get to have all that access.
• 1:27:00
  All right, last thing, let me say this a little bit, going to
• 1:27:05
  take just a little bit when, when you and I were at Vegas, we
• 1:27:10
  were at the roulette table and I, I didn't mean nothing, but I
• 1:27:14
  said, damn, you got you got a belly on you.
• 1:27:17
  And later on I learned that I hurt your feelings and, and now
• 1:27:21
  you've showed me you're, you're chiseled out.
• 1:27:25
  Your health is the the best. And you know, you and I have,
• 1:27:31
  you know, I, I was a Toyota guy for seven years.
• 1:27:33
  And you, you taught me a lot about food, about drinking,
• 1:27:36
  what, what to drink. You've really, really kicked my
• 1:27:41
  ass with health. Was this started at Joe Gibbs?
• 1:27:45
  Where did you learn so much about good, goodness, health,
• 1:27:49
  Wellness? Well, I think it started when I
• 1:27:52
  got into the Cup Series in 2006. It, it really, those races would
• 1:27:57
  take its toll on me. You know, the, the, the Xfinity
• 1:28:01
  or Bush races, not as much. Like they're a little shorter.
• 1:28:04
  I could handle those. But like you get into a 405
• 1:28:07
  hundred mile race and they were all 500 miles way back in the
• 1:28:09
  day. Like it would be Wednesday
• 1:28:12
  before I could get my ass off the couch and like talking
• 1:28:17
  again. And so I was like, you know, I
• 1:28:18
  got to change this. And so I just, I worked with a
• 1:28:22
  trainer and he just tried to help me a little bit with, you
• 1:28:24
  know what to put in your body and, and you know what you can
• 1:28:28
  get out of it. So you know, I really in the
• 1:28:31
  2008 nine season, I think I lost 50 lbs in like 6 months.
• 1:28:36
  It was really, really quick and I just have kept it somewhat
• 1:28:40
  off. I'm starting to get a little bit
• 1:28:41
  of that dad belly back now, but I'm in the later years so fuck
• 1:28:45
  it. So see.
• 1:28:48
  Them beans so. So listen, I want to.
• 1:28:52
  Apologize, but I'm still making sure I'm in good racing shape.
• 1:28:54
  That's all that really matters for me.
• 1:28:56
  I want to apologize in front of 100,000 people that are going to
• 1:29:00
  watch this. I I thought it was funny.
• 1:29:03
  You didn't, so I apologize. But man, listen, you kicked my
• 1:29:08
  ass 70 different ways. You, you passed me up.
• 1:29:12
  You are NASCAR Hall of Famer, you've done it all.
• 1:29:15
  And listen, everybody, we are in podcast form.
• 1:29:19
  And this is one that you're going to watch, you know, back
• 1:29:23
  and forth to work for a week because it's a long one, but
• 1:29:26
  boy, it's the best. There's going to be a lot of
• 1:29:28
  highlights. We are in Spotify and we're in
• 1:29:31
  Itune. And Denny Hamlin, thank you so
• 1:29:34
  much. Thank you, Kenny.
• 1:29:36
  I appreciate the invite. And you know, I appreciate you.
• 1:29:39
  I mean, you're, you do a lot for this sport, even though, you
• 1:29:42
  know, your presence at the track isn't as much as it used to be.
• 1:29:46
  You know, I I love your social channels, love your honesty.
• 1:29:50
  I mean, you're you're kind of the inspiration in which I
• 1:29:52
  started vocalizing myself a little bit more.
• 1:29:55
  I was like, well, Kenny's not afraid to say how it is, so I
• 1:29:59
  appreciate that. Well, thank you so much and all
• 1:30:02
  right, well, that's it until the next Kenny conversation.
• 1:30:06
  We'll see you all later.