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The Motorsport Brief | Kai Allen’s stamp on Supercars · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:04
  Welcome to the Motorsport Brief, an episode dedicated to a new name in supercars who left us in no doubt of his talent in Darwin.
• 0:15
  G'day everyone, Rusty here.
• 0:16
  For this edition of the Shortcast, we are going to chat to Kai Allen and not just about what he did in the Northern Territory.
• 0:23
  That podium after 200km on the Sunday afternoon with Brock Feeney and Kai's teammate Matt Payne who joined us after the round in Tasmania, you may recall.
• 0:33
  That was pretty special.
• 0:34
  Youngest podium in the sports history.
• 0:36
  Kai is standing by at Grove Racing HQ and we will chat with him in a moment.
• 0:40
  Thank you very much,
• 0:42
  to all of you listening to for the feedback on Brooke Tattnall.
• 0:45
  That two-part feature ep has struck a bit of a chord and not just with the Speedway community.
• 0:50
  Lots of cool stories in there, memories of his dad, George, who once coached him from the infield in his early days to winning in the United States and really making that breakthrough for Aussies at the
• 1:05
  that Brooke has for the likes of James McFadden and more who have followed in that path or on that path I should say and we also talked to Brooke about his time in circuit racing how serious that became campaigning a front-wheel drive Super Tourer could he get anything more different to a sprint car and a hair-raising ride around the Thunderdome trying to learn the NASCAR lines there.
• 1:29
  Now, Speedway might be a nice link or segue to our guest today, who hails from Mount Gambier in South Australia.
• 1:35
  Just over 20 races into his Supercars Championship story, he is already on the podium.
• 1:43
  And it is his birthday today as we record this.
• 1:45
  Happy birthday, Kai Allen.
• 1:47
  Thank you, Greg.
• 1:47
  Thank you for having me on the show.
• 1:49
  It's great to have you on, mate.
• 1:50
  Tell everybody you're 20 today.
• 1:52
  Am I right?
• 1:52
  Yes, correct.
• 1:53
  My last proper day as a teenager.
• 1:56
  So I turned 20 at 10.30 tonight.
• 1:58
  So, yes, it's been pretty good.
• 2:00
  It's been a busy day, obviously.
• 2:02
  Debriefing from Darwin, which was a very, very successful round as a team.
• 2:06
  So we went in lots of detail.
• 2:08
  But, no, working on my birthday, which is cool.
• 2:09
  Got to spend it with all the guys at the team and, yeah, wouldn't want anything different.
• 2:12
  So absolutely loving it.
• 2:13
  And, yeah, last proper day as a teenager.
• 2:15
  So look out, I'm in my 20s now.
• 2:17
  I think my back's starting to get sore and everything else.
• 2:19
  No, I'm just getting old.
• 2:21
  I'm getting old, that's for sure.
• 2:23
  Wild, wild.
• 2:24
  Darwin was a really nice early present for you, that double podium there.
• 2:28
  I mean, the whole weekend, Kai, looked amazing.
• 2:31
  Have you let a bit of that sink in yet?
• 2:34
  Yeah, 100%.
• 2:34
  Obviously, yeah, like very surreal to get a podium this early and also to get to.
• 2:39
  Like I think the...
• 2:40
  The strategy on Sunday was unreal.
• 2:42
  I probably drove one of the best races I've ever driven and had a lot of car speed available.
• 2:47
  And, you know, we drove from fifth to second.
• 2:50
  So to accomplish that this early was pretty surreal.
• 2:53
  And to be also like, you know, without being cocky, beating some of the guys I used to look up to is a bit of a pinch myself moment and it doesn't quite feel real yet.
• 3:00
  But, yeah, to see the faces on the guys after the podium, you know, the team that are working so hard, to see my parents there, very emotional, it was...
• 3:08
  It was very cool and it took a while for me to get back after Darwin, really analyse what's just happened and really work out what I've achieved this early.
• 3:16
  Obviously, I haven't won a race yet, but to get a podium is pretty surreal and to stand up there, spray some champagne and also to be part of the youngest ever podium in supercars history was very, very cool with Brock and that beside me.
• 3:27
  So, yeah, look, what a weekend to go out there and get two podiums.
• 3:34
  And yeah, for the team to get a podium in every race is very cool.
• 3:37
  So yeah, we're marching forward very strong as a team at Penrith Racing.
• 3:40
  And yeah, it's only a matter of time until we're fighting for podium at every race.
• 3:44
  But yeah, we've still got a lot of work to do.
• 3:46
  It's exciting.
• 3:47
  And yeah, I'm just very, very pumped for the team and very pumped for all the people that supported me along this journey to slowly start to repay them with some really good results.
• 3:55
  I was there as the champagne sprayed on Sunday.
• 3:57
  And after you finished the interviews with Jess Yates and you, Brock and Matt Payne kind of
• 4:03
  walked over towards the podium, you broke away from the group.
• 4:07
  Was it family that you went and kind of hugged?
• 4:10
  What did they say?
• 4:12
  And as you sort of alluded to there a moment ago, a lot of sacrifice by them.
• 4:16
  Yeah, 100%.
• 4:17
  Obviously, you saw my mum and dad.
• 4:18
  They're very good mum and dad.
• 4:19
  They don't get involved too much.
• 4:21
  They let everyone do their thing.
• 4:22
  But yeah, they're over in the corner, not from the podium.
• 4:25
  And to see them, how emotional they were, and sort of see the sacrifice that my not just mum and dad, my whole family with my two sisters as well of...
• 4:33
  I've sacrificed, like as a family, we sold our family home to allow my sisters to move to Adelaide at a young age and play netball and also to allow me to go racing and put that money into where we needed to.
• 4:45
  So obviously we strayed away from the get-go.
• 4:48
  The family, we...
• 4:49
  who were very busy from the young ages of my two sisters and myself.
• 4:54
  We were always split as well.
• 4:56
  Mum and Dad spent a lot of time.
• 4:58
  They obviously ran their own businesses as well.
• 5:01
  At one stage, we were running two businesses and had three kids in different states.
• 5:05
  So a phenomenal journey.
• 5:08
  And to see all that sacrifice and all the pain that we went through, obviously, yeah, we wanted to do it.
• 5:14
  It wasn't like we forced ourselves, but to have...
• 5:17
  them a part of the journey and have my two sisters there on FaceTime as well was very cool.
• 5:23
  And to see the emotion that mum and dad were going through was very, very cool.
• 5:29
  And to give them a hug after the race and to sort of share that moment with them was very special and something that I'll never forget.
• 5:34
  Good stuff.
• 5:35
  I know, I'm glad, rather, that you brought up your sisters there.
• 5:38
  I mean, just tell people a little bit more about that, about the competitive element.
• 5:42
  I mean, I know one of them, I don't know both of them, but...
• 5:46
  you know, she's got a very, you know, prominent sporting role in netball.
• 5:52
  Has that competitive element for all of you always kind of been there?
• 5:56
  And where does that stem from?
• 5:57
  Mum, dad, both of them?
• 5:59
  Yeah, definitely.
• 5:59
  I think, obviously, mum and dad, they are right behind us and they push us in the right direction.
• 6:04
  Dad's very competitive as well.
• 6:05
  And I think he, obviously, you know, having...
• 6:10
  Seeing that his kids have something, whether it's talent or drive, he pushes quite hard.
• 6:15
  And I really like that.
• 6:17
  And it's not in a negative way.
• 6:18
  It's very positive.
• 6:19
  And you can see that, obviously, he's got a very good visual of what we can achieve.
• 6:23
  And ever since a young age, even in karting, he was always right by my side.
• 6:27
  He was my mechanic.
• 6:28
  He never did any motorsport or anything.
• 6:30
  But...
• 6:31
  Just sort of the path he went down, obviously he played football when he was younger, so he wasn't into motorsport.
• 6:37
  He started off a publishing business and had a local magazine.
• 6:40
  So he was obviously very into cars.
• 6:42
  He had, obviously he had an old Anand Extrana that he did up.
• 6:45
  So he was definitely into motorsport.
• 6:47
  But then once I sort of definitely wanted to go down that go-karting path, he...
• 6:51
  It's right by me and pushed me in the right direction.
• 6:53
  And, you know, for two years in a row, we spent 48 weekends away racing karts all over Australia.
• 6:58
  So, yeah, like he always reminded me, he goes, you give it 100%, mum and I will give you 110% back.
• 7:05
  But as soon as you give it 90%, we will give you nothing.
• 7:07
  So it was always good that he didn't put pressure on me, but he worded it in a way that we are 100% behind you as long as you want to do it.
• 7:14
  And, you know, he never forced me to do it.
• 7:16
  I was just always had that competitive nature and that stems from as well my two sisters.
• 7:20
  They are...
• 7:21
  Stupid competitive, especially the middle one.
• 7:22
  She's a bit feisty sometimes.
• 7:23
  But yeah, definitely she pushed me in the right direction.
• 7:26
  And there's a couple of funny stories there back in the day where we had a goal posted home and she's a shooter in netball.
• 7:33
  And, you know, she had to get 100 goals in a row and I had to count them all.
• 7:36
  And I think she got to 95, missed one and then ditched a ball at my face and I nearly fell over.
• 7:41
  But that's just how much we are together and pushing each other.
• 7:45
  And my older sister, Sienna, she's out of the netball game now, but she's absolutely smashing goals in her business life.
• 7:51
  with a coffee shop and Pilates studio in Mac Gambia.
• 7:53
  But yeah, to have that support, you know, we ring each other nearly every day.
• 7:57
  We always communicate with each other on what we're doing and how we're tracking and what we're doing, you know, whether it's sport or business or whatever.
• 8:05
  And yeah, just that family support that we give each other is really cool.
• 8:08
  And to have...
• 8:09
  each other there is super special.
• 8:12
  So, yeah, when we get these moments like I did at Darwin, it's cool to celebrate with each other because we know exactly what sacrifice we've been through and, yeah, and the hard yards we've done to get there.
• 8:22
  I love that perspective from your folks, mate.
• 8:24
  I didn't take that the wrong way at all.
• 8:26
  I think the fact that they have fostered that inner drive in all of you is...
• 8:31
  is to be admired, to be honest with you.
• 8:33
  The whole story around you and never sort of really, you know, having driven the Hidden Valley venue before, I mean, did that kind of work in your favour?
• 8:43
  Why do you reckon it clicked?
• 8:45
  And worth sharing with people, you put in, from what they tell me, a lot of effort between Perth and Darwin around this, didn't you?
• 8:52
  Yeah, 100%.
• 8:53
  Obviously, I was trying to get to Darwin.
• 8:55
  Most tracks I haven't been to this year, I've been able to get on, whether it's in a Toyota 86 or a Hyundai XL like Tassie and Taupo, but it was super difficult to get onto Darwin and that's something that I was a bit unsure about leading to the round.
• 9:06
  I've been to the venue before to watch the supercars in 2023, but I never actually got to see the track in the flesh and never actually got to drive around it.
• 9:15
  So
• 9:16
  It was definitely a challenge leading through and definitely a mental game that I had to get over.
• 9:20
  But, yeah, I had such good tools.
• 9:22
  At the workshop, I got the simulator down here that I've developed with the team.
• 9:26
  And, yeah, I think between Perth and Darwin, I had about a week and a bit to get through and I spent pretty much every day on the simulator, probably, yeah, three to four hours a day driving and understanding where I can improve and watching, you know, vision from the last year and comparing the simulator to the real life to try and get it as like for like as I could.
• 9:44
  because that's the only chance I could basically get at getting on the track and really understanding it.
• 9:48
  So, yeah, obviously it was difficult.
• 9:51
  I worked really hard and then I had my engineers away in Paris with the Le Mans.
• 9:57
  So I didn't quite get to do my normal prep there with speaking to Al and understanding it.
• 10:01
  But I put all the matters on the bone hands and really knuckled down.
• 10:04
  I didn't step off when everyone was out of the workshop.
• 10:07
  I didn't.
• 10:08
  Yeah, let myself in each day and come in on the weekend before we left for the Tuesday and, yeah, spent my weekend on the simulator and understanding.
• 10:15
  And, yeah, that goes to show that if I do that work consistently now, it's starting to pay off and it goes to show that the work I'm doing is the right stuff.
• 10:25
  So I'm just finding my feet a little bit, working on what works, what doesn't work, what's a waste of time and what's definitely putting my time in.
• 10:31
  um two which is really good and um yeah i'm just slowly finding finding my feet there and working on how i can prep feet around better and better um to try and get you know more results like these great stuff it clearly it clearly worked for you you have this natural but polished confident presentable way probably composed is i mean really the better word there does that come easily for you is that something you've worked on i mean where does that sort of stem from
• 10:55
  Yeah, I think, yeah, I'm quite a shy person, but I've had to put myself out there, obviously.
• 11:01
  In karting, I got a bit of confidence when it comes to driving.
• 11:04
  I've just always had that back my ability.
• 11:07
  And it also sort of comes from my dad pushing me in those...
• 11:10
  in those ways that in the go-kart, he always put me up against older kids.
• 11:13
  So I was always, you know, I think for a couple of years there, I was three years under the age group, if that makes sense.
• 11:18
  So, um, yeah, when I raced KA2, which is the top level of junior, starting in 2018, I raced another league, another class as well, which is KA4.
• 11:27
  And I was, um, 12 years old racing against 16 year olds.
• 11:30
  So,
• 11:31
  I didn't really have a choice but to grow up and really show confidence because I was always getting beaten up and the older kids are always racing me, which is something that I've taken into this year, but obviously is at a higher level.
• 11:40
  So I really had to grow up from a young age.
• 11:43
  I also moved away.
• 11:45
  from home when I was 16 to live with Paul Morris up in Queensland and that sort of made me grow up quite quickly because I had responsibilities, I had a job, I couldn't go home because of COVID to see mum and dad so I had to really dig deep and find an adult figure in myself and really try and get to the point where I'm making my own decisions and I'm working where I need to work and understanding you're having responsibilities and then I didn't really get this...
• 12:12
  outside of the car, this confidence is not into our race Super 2 where I had to go and find a budget to race.
• 12:17
  And my mum and dad, they obviously don't come from wealth.
• 12:21
  They work for everything they've had and they're not poor or anything, but they definitely aren't in the space to find a whole Super 2 season as we know how expensive it is.
• 12:29
  So yeah, they gave me a base to be able to go out there and work on, but I had to find more than half the budget to race.
• 12:36
  when I was racing, so going talking to people, putting myself in positions, which I hate going out there and asking for money, but I had to really word it and work on a way to go out and present something and give people back that spend money on me, give something back for them.
• 12:50
  So yeah, I found a way to work with people, get people part of my journey and to get me to where I need to be and where I wanted to be.
• 13:00
  in the supercar world wasn't easy.
• 13:02
  So yeah, I did obviously spend two years or three years with Edgleston's, raced two years in Super 2 and they were really helpful, Ben and Rachel Edgleston, on getting me through that period because yeah, it's super difficult.
• 13:13
  You've got to find the right people and you've got to find the right people
• 13:15
  in that space.
• 13:17
  There can be some people that screw you around a little bit with money and promising too much, but Ben and Rachel are probably the most genuine people in motorsport that show you as it is and help you in these ways to achieve your dreams.
• 13:29
  And that's something that I'm very grateful for.
• 13:32
  I'll never forget to always go back and help them, which is really cool.
• 13:36
  But yeah, they allow me to basically, like last year in Super 2, I got Coca-Cola as my sponsor.
• 13:42
  I had to change my car to red, which Rach didn't like, but she loved it.
• 13:46
  She let me change from the old traditional Eggleston blue to red.
• 13:49
  But there's ways that we work together and there's ways that I help them as well to...
• 13:54
  achieve this dream that I've always had as a kid.
• 13:56
  And yeah, to find the, you know, I was a 17, 18-year-old dealing with, you know, just under $500,000, you know, processing that, sending invoices out, dealing with sponsors, you know, making sure everyone's happy and to have that pressure as well as driving
• 14:11
  nearly a half a million dollar race car around these really tight and twisty tracks and trying to compete at a level really made me grow up mentally and also try and understand the business and how hard it is out there.
• 14:23
  Having mum and dad own businesses really helped as well.
• 14:25
  I think them being really open about
• 14:28
  budgeting and struggles of staff and all that stuff really got me understanding how the world works and how people work and dealing with personalities and all that stuff.
• 14:39
  So it was pretty cool.
• 14:41
  I think that from that 2024, the start of that, I had a massive period there where I was in a massive struggle trying to find sponsors and fund my Super 2 career and
• 14:51
  Then, yeah, to go – sorry, 2023, sorry – to go on and then win the championship that year and be the youngest ever really set me up in 2024, which was last year, to go and get a bit more of a base, make my life a little bit easier, which it wasn't, but to go and find sponsors and put myself out there a bit more and, yeah, to get Coca-Cola as a major sponsor last year was pretty surreal to have such a big brand backing me as a young 18-year-old.
• 15:15
  Racing in Super 2 was cool and then –
• 15:17
  Yeah, to have Stephen and Brenton Grove scout me out and put me into their team at Panadar Racing was pretty surreal.
• 15:24
  So yeah, definitely still a young 19-year-old kid who's still got a lot to learn in the business world and all this other stuff.
• 15:32
  But yeah, I was slowly chipping away, slowly getting there and I've got the best people around me to go in the right direction, that's for sure.
• 15:37
  Brilliant stuff, mate.
• 15:38
  I mean, to have those people in your corner at a pivotal time in your life and to get that framework so, so important for you for the business of motor racing.
• 15:46
  Would you mind hanging on there just a little bit longer, Kai?
• 15:49
  We're going to grab a quick break here.
• 15:50
  More in a moment on Rusty's Garage.
• 15:56
  This is the Motorsport Brief, our shorty with a supercars rookie focus.
• 16:01
  And it's nice to tell a bit more of Kai Allen's story.
• 16:04
  You said it at the top.
• 16:06
  You are talking to us from Penrite Racing.
• 16:08
  What was the Darwin debrief like?
• 16:10
  Yeah, it was good.
• 16:11
  It went on for a very long time.
• 16:12
  But, yeah, obviously the engineering group, they've done a very good job of analysing, you know, where our strengths were.
• 16:18
  Obviously, we had a breakout weekend.
• 16:20
  So it's almost...
• 16:21
  more important working on you know what was more beneficial and and how we you know don't look at all the the negatives it's more okay how can we analyze the positives and why we move forward in the direction why was the car fast in the last race and you know how do we work the strategy all that stuff so we can definitely implement that the next coming round so it's very good learn a lot obviously uh got a lot to learn you know in in the aspect of lots have gone out
• 16:46
  Give me a second here.
• 16:49
  They're leaving.
• 16:50
  They're leaving the office.
• 16:51
  There we go.
• 16:52
  We're back.
• 16:53
  Oh, God.
• 16:55
  That's all right.
• 16:57
  Anyway, yeah, so it was good.
• 16:58
  We went through a lot of our stuff from Darwin and really worked on what we can take forward into Townsville.
• 17:04
  Obviously, it's another cool track and a track that I really love and the track that the cars are fast there last year at Benrock Mustang.
• 17:13
  So, yeah, got a lot to learn.
• 17:14
  I'll be back on the simulator doing more and more laps, prepping for Townsville, and then, yeah, let's try and hit the ground running and have a few more good results.
• 17:21
  One thing we haven't talked about here in the, you know, enjoying the moment in Darwin and the prep you did in between Perth and the top end there.
• 17:30
  Is there an element to this story that kind of began in Wanneroo as well, where you went from, you know, 22nd to 8th or something, I think it was.
• 17:37
  Maybe I don't have those numbers right.
• 17:39
  But the learning in all of that and what you gained from all of that and then to build on it when you were in Hidden Valley.
• 17:45
  I think obviously the turnaround that we did as a team, it's actually almost a blessing that I qualified 22nd because we tried a very different strategy to everyone else and it kind of paid off and it showed that if I get the car on the right window and I can really...
• 18:01
  play the race as I want.
• 18:03
  And the tyre dig in that first stint at Perth was sort of unheard of before.
• 18:09
  Obviously with this new soft tyre, it's a lot easier to do, but there's something in my driving that I really unlocked in that race and there's something that I could really analyse and really work out what I need from the car, if that makes sense.
• 18:22
  So Alistair and I really worked hard on why did that work and why did that strategy really benefit me?
• 18:28
  And there's something that,
• 18:29
  We took into consideration the Darwin and it was definitely different circumstances.
• 18:34
  Like starting fifth, we could have a lot more, you know, had a lot more play on what we could do.
• 18:38
  We didn't have to really stick to a strategy.
• 18:39
  We could work a lot differently on that.
• 18:41
  But, yeah, I think that really suited me.
• 18:43
  And it was really good that on the other side of the garage, Maddy, they did the complete opposite strategy.
• 18:48
  It went really short in that first in and then went longer as the race went on.
• 18:52
  But, yeah, very exciting.
• 18:54
  I think that definitely it gave me confidence in what I need from the car and what I communicate to Alice, to my engineer, what I feel like I need and what I need to be able to make that strategy work.
• 19:04
  And we absolutely nailed it on Sunday.
• 19:06
  We didn't quite get it right because I was with him in the race, but we still, yeah, did the best that we could and we felt like we absolutely nailed everything.
• 19:13
  Even the pit stops were very strong.
• 19:14
  Yeah.
• 19:16
  we just needed to qualify a little bit better to make it an even better result.
• 19:19
  So something that we're definitely working on, something that we're finding a sweet spot now in a car.
• 19:24
  I'm getting more of an understanding of what the car feels like because, yeah, obviously I'm new to it also.
• 19:29
  Every time I drive the car, I'm learning.
• 19:30
  And, you know, to have a car that fast, now I'm slowly understanding what it needs to feel like in areas throughout the corners and, you know, different corners and stuff, the way they fall and the way you need to drive them.
• 19:41
  So there's a lot more...
• 19:43
  that I need to go through and really work out how I can implement that into the next coming rounds because we've got some different tracks coming up with Townsville and QR.
• 19:52
  Townsville is obviously a street circuit, QR is a permanent circuit, so there's some different learnings there, but there's obviously the same similar characteristics.
• 20:00
  So, yeah, it's time to knuckle down with Alistair and really understand how I can work on now between the break, between now and Townsville on how I can work on my driving and...
• 20:09
  change that, you know, because the last time I drove at Townsville was in a Super 2 car, so very different.
• 20:14
  But yeah, how can I work now on getting rid of those Super 2 habits and really nailing this Gen 3 car and this new soft tyre to make sure we try and execute as best we can.
• 20:25
  You're talking about Alistair McVane there, right?
• 20:27
  Really well credentialed, incredibly well respected.
• 20:29
  He's had success in that lane.
• 20:32
  How are you going getting the best out of each other?
• 20:34
  And clearly that is gelling, mate.
• 20:37
  Yeah, Alistair is an unreal engineer to have and also like a mentor.
• 20:40
  You know, he's been in the sport a very long time, I think longer than I've been born.
• 20:44
  So, yeah, good old Alistair, he's been around for a while.
• 20:48
  But, no, he's been unreal to steer me in directions and give me the feedback I need.
• 20:53
  Now, it's obviously...
• 20:54
  the biggest thing that we're working on is having that communication throughout the racing and making sure it's like he's my co-driver.
• 21:00
  He's next to me in like the rally seat.
• 21:01
  So we're getting better at that and he's, you know, learning more of what I like to hear.
• 21:06
  And I'm also trying to communicate more of what I want to hear in the race.
• 21:09
  And I think, yeah, even when we get out of the car, our communication is getting better and better.
• 21:13
  And it's more me communicating to him what I'm feeling.
• 21:16
  Obviously, he's sitting in the, you know, in the garage.
• 21:19
  He doesn't actually get to feel what the car feels like.
• 21:21
  So it's more for me now, you know,
• 21:23
  working out how I can put in his brain and get for him to understand what I'm feeling and what I need to go faster.
• 21:31
  And it's something that I've been working on really hard and trying to break down how I can communicate that onto him.
• 21:36
  So, yeah, we're working really well together.
• 21:39
  He's a great, great guy and, you know, to have him...
• 21:43
  how calm he is on the radio as well.
• 21:45
  We're working really well together because I'm quite calm too.
• 21:47
  So we make the right decisions when we need to and we're pushing each other to do better and better.
• 21:53
  But at this stage, I'm absolutely loving working with Alistair and I'm happy that we can keep continuing on and get some better and better results for him, which will be really cool.
• 22:02
  Good stuff.
• 22:03
  Clear that Penrite Racing, the Grove group there, that they have the right stuff.
• 22:07
  We've talked about on the pod in relatively recent years about the building blocks, getting those things in,
• 22:12
  in place.
• 22:13
  This is really good timing for you, I feel.
• 22:16
  But does that come, Kai, with kind of added expectation too?
• 22:19
  Because you've had a couple of podiums now.
• 22:22
  Now the target is either wins or when you look at the points, what are you?
• 22:28
  You're just over 40 points outside the top 10 and playoffs.
• 22:32
  We're starting to talk playoffs in the not too distant future and so on.
• 22:35
  Obviously, very, very competitive, so I always want to be better.
• 22:38
  Even though I finish second, I'd love to be first.
• 22:40
  But yeah, I can't get too ahead of myself.
• 22:42
  I've still got a lot of work to do.
• 22:44
  It's a super competitive game, and Brock's been on his absolute fine form at the moment.
• 22:48
  So I've got a super competitive teammate in Matty as well.
• 22:51
  So I don't expect to go out and be winning races the next round, because it might not happen.
• 22:55
  It's time to keep continuing on this journey of...
• 22:59
  nailing all these little one percenters and it's something I've been working really well with Garth on.
• 23:04
  He's been really great for me and steering me in the direction that I can't win straight away.
• 23:11
  It's a hard process and everyone's been there and done it for a lot of years.
• 23:14
  So it's time that, sorry, it takes time to get there and it can't happen overnight.
• 23:18
  And that's something that I've been really chipping away and trying to not be greedy and trying to grab out too much.
• 23:24
  It's just something that I've been...
• 23:27
  needing to remind myself to, okay, you know, nail this, nail your starts, nail your pit entries, you know, just be consistent.
• 23:33
  So then when the time comes and you're in the right position, you can actually execute and get results.
• 23:38
  So, you know, where I've been really working on is being, you know, not going for pole position, going for top five.
• 23:44
  So then I'm always consistently in that range.
• 23:46
  And then once I'm confident and I'm consistent in that, then I can go a little bit higher and try and get top threes in qualifying.
• 23:52
  So, yeah.
• 23:52
  There's a bit of a process going on at the moment, but in the background, which has been really good, and it's been paying off.
• 23:59
  I've been trying to nail my starts, which I had a few good ones at Darwin, didn't quite nail that, so I need to work on at the moment to try and really nail that and then just move forward from there on, work on qualifying and then work on race pace.
• 24:10
  So, yeah, we're getting there slowly, but, yeah, who knows, in the next couple of rounds, if I can get a race spin, perfect, but I don't expect it at this stage.
• 24:17
  It all comes down to how much work I put in and how much I...
• 24:21
  get the team around me and really move forward together because it's not just me in the car going out and getting results.
• 24:27
  It comes from having the team behind me, the mechanics doing the best job they can, Al and the rest of the team working on strategy and it's a team effort.
• 24:37
  It's not just the driver that gets the results.
• 24:40
  It's definitely we all work together and we strive forward together and we also win together.
• 24:46
  So when it comes down to Matty and my communication, helping Matty
• 24:50
  work out what he needs from the car, work out what I need from the car, working together on the best setup possible.
• 24:54
  So then we're going to have two Penroth Mustangs up the front, which we saw in Darwin.
• 24:57
  So yeah, it's working really well.
• 24:58
  We've just got to keep chipping away and get a 1% better every round.
• 25:02
  And then, yeah, who knows, we could be in the finals and in the playoffs for the rest of the year.
• 25:05
  That'll be towards the end of the year, which will be pretty cool.
• 25:08
  I wish I had that perspective at age 20, mate.
• 25:10
  I think a lot of people would say that Hidden Valley was a kind of a turning point for you, that the paddock, that the industry realised that you're away now.
• 25:19
  The team did a super job to manage the pair of you when you lined up side by side in that race on Sunday and to ensure that you didn't trip over each other.
• 25:27
  You are the third teenager in history to get an Australian Touring Car Championship or a Supercars podium, joining Brock Feeney, who you just mentioned, and Scott McLaughlin in that tournament.
• 25:37
  that very special club.
• 25:39
  If memory serves, I think your lovely mum may have messaged me once in recent years in a very nice way and said, can I put Kai forward as a potential guest on the pod?
• 25:48
  And I should have done that sooner.
• 25:50
  I am really glad that we could get you on to talk a bit more today.
• 25:53
  And I look forward to getting the chance to tell a bit more of your story on the pod in the months and years ahead.
• 25:59
  Thanks for chatting with us today.
• 26:00
  Awesome.
• 26:01
  Thank you, Greg.
• 26:01
  And thank you for having me.
• 26:03
  A little plug for the Australian Motorsport Hall of Fame before we go.
• 26:06
  Nominations are open for 2025 at the time that we recorded this interview.
• 26:11
  Go to AustralianMotorsportHallofFame, alloneword.com.au.
• 26:14
  Go to About, click Nominate and follow the prompts.
• 26:18
  And there's been some work around the online application form there.
• 26:21
  It's been tuned up.
• 26:22
  Many of the federations have shared that news too.
• 26:24
  If you feel...
• 26:26
  that you know someone worthy, a worthy candidate who is not already in the Hall of Fame, over to you.
• 26:31
  Who will the 100th inductee be?
• 26:33
  We will find out next March around the time of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix.
• 26:38
  That is it for today.
• 26:39
  We'll catch you next time.
• 26:40
  Bye for now.