Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / What's It Like Being Danica Patrick's Dad?

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What's It Like Being Danica Patrick's Dad? · Kenny Wallace Media

0:00
Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny conversation brought to
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they have Jeep parts and truck parts in stock right now.
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OK, You're saying who is that man right there?
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I want to introduce TJ Patrick the way he should be introduced.
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That man right there helped create most likely the greatest
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lady race car driver in the world.
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Not just that. There you see that flag, TJ?
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That flag looks really good on you.
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We put it in the picture on Purpose Venus Indy Week.
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Indy Week above you and then the American flag.
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Boy, I know how much you love the United States of America.
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I see you. I see you on social media a lot.
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You enjoy it, don't you? Well.
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I I don't mind speaking my mind because somebody has to.
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Yeah, and you know it. It's like I wanted to, I wanted
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to have a conversation with you. And you said to me why?
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And I said, well, I'm Rusty Wallace's brother and you're
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Danica Patrick's dad. So we share something in common.
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Let's start right there. But we're going to talk all
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about you. But let's just get the the
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elephant in the room out of the way right away.
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You and your wife, Bev, who I know she's probably off to the
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side anytime she wants to come in and show her face, we sure
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would like to see her. But you and Bev, you and Bev
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have two daughters, Brooke and Danica, and I know you're
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equally proud of them. How did this whole Danica
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Patrick, the great Danica Patrick, when was the moment?
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Did you say Danica get in a go Kart or did she say dad, I want
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to, I want to get in a go Kart. Well, first of all, thank you
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for having me on, Kenny. I mean, this is an honor for me
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because so many people love you because.
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Well, I love you. So basically I, I, when I quit
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racing, I started a business and I focus on my business, you
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know, 1518 hours a day for 810 years and probably closer to 10.
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And I didn't really get, I didn't know my kids, I didn't
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see them, but Sunday mornings, that was it.
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So I said we're going to take one day off a week and we're
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going to do something. And one of the babysitters was
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racing go karts and she was girl, about 14.
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So we said let's try that. So we went out and watched and
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the next week I bought a couple go karts and then we started
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putting together and started going racing.
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I've had a conversation with your daughter Danica, and I
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said, who are you most like? And she says, oh, probably dad.
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And my mom would say dynamite comes with small packages.
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Would you say that that you're would you say you're a go getter
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and you don't mess around? Yeah, I'm small in stature, so
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you almost have to be a tough guy, you know, different people.
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That, that is, that is great. So I went and I watched a movie
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about a year ago, or maybe not a year ago, and boy, it was really
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good. It was the Serena Williams
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sisters, the the great tennis players, the the two, the two
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ladies that are most likely the greatest, you know, tennis
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players of all time. And they wanted to play tennis.
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So the dad made sure that they were as good as they could be.
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So it was like, OK, girls, you want to play tennis really.
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And he pushed them. Was there a time that you felt
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like you pushed Danica? You're like, OK, this is what
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we're going to do. Did you ever have to get harsh
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with her? Like, let's practice?
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Were you ever like that? That's a double edged sword
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because yeah, you have to be, but they got to want to do it.
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So I think she wanted to do it. So when she wanted to do it, OK,
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then this is how we're going to do it.
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So yeah, I was harder on her quite a bit.
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It was, you know, I think she was born up the same mentality.
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I mean, second place is the first loser, you know.
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And I noticed the first year of Kart racing the both girls did
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it and actually Brooke was faster.
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I'll be darned. Tell me more about Brooke now.
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My oldest daughter's name is Brooke.
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I know you love your daughters equally.
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Tell me a little bit about Brooke.
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Brooke is a little more quiet, so we started go Kart racing.
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Brooke was so tiny that if you know a go Kart, her feet were in
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front of the steering rods. I mean she was like 3540 lbs.
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So Brooke was actually faster by herself, but she didn't like the
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bumping and grinding and all that.
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So she bailed out. And then it was basically
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Danica. And then so we started going
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after practicing, you know, racing Sunday and I wear
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practices Saturday. Now we're practicing Wednesday.
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Now we're practicing Tuesday because she wanted to go out on
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the track. So we worked on it, you know,
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2-3 days a week. And it was, it was a way for me
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to spend time with him that I hadn't spent time before.
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I always call audibles on Kenny conversation.
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In other words, you know, my guests say things and it
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triggers my mind. I see that your two daughters
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love each other an awful lot. Danica is always on Instagram.
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I I follow Brooke. It it, it has to warm you and
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your wife Bev's heart that you see you, your two girls, Danica
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Patrick, Bev. I mean, they're just always
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loving each other. What's that make you feel like?
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I'm so, I'm so happy for it. I mean, we're a close family.
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Everybody has their tips here and there, but we're very close
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family. I mean, I think a lot of it
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started back when we started racing and traveling.
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I mean, we're, we're sitting in a van 8/10/12 hours to the race,
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8/10/12 hours back. So you spend a lot of time with
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each other. So we became very close.
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Yeah, OK, We've kind of laid it out.
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Now everybody knows who you are at the stop, the top of the
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show, Your wife, Bev, your daughter, Danica Patrick.
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Brooke, Patrick. And I want to talk about you a
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little bit, and then we'll come back to Danica.
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So whenever I go to find any information about you, the first
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thing that pops up is snowmobiles.
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And you really caught my eye couple years ago when you
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mentioned that, you know, my hero, the great Dick Trickle,
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You're like, yeah, tell, tell me about, you know, because Dick
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trickled was a great snowmobiler back in the day.
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Tell me about Tell me all about your history with snowmobiles
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and where you're at today. Well, I started, you know, my
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parents had snowmobiles back in the early 70s and, you know,
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they go to local bar and there's a lake out there and.
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In every every corner what's? Going around next, I'm this
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little 12 year old kid on the snowmobile.
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I'm I'm beating all these old men and stuff and pissing them
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off. So my dad thought, well, let's
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try racing. So in 74 we tried snowmobile
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racing and I kind of took to it pretty good and they had a
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pretty successful career at it. I finally ran out of money.
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I wanted to keep going. But you know that's how racing
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is, right? Yeah, but but when I look at
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your career, you know, you look at somebody like the great Ed
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Howe, who has built more asphalt race cars than anybody nowadays.
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We have Mark Richards with rocker chassis.
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These great these great minds. Sometimes you got to go.
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OK, I'm not going to race, but I'm really going to do something
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to sport. And I see Patrick Custom Carbon,
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you make carbon fiber, you service clutches.
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I mean, you're you're in the industry.
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Tell me about that right now. Well, after I retired, you know,
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in 2010, it was I needed something to do.
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I mean, I didn't get to be retired by doing nothing.
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So I don't need everybody. I got to be moving like you.
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You got to, if I'm not, I'm like a fish.
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I got to be moving. I went back to my roots where
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after I quit racing, I worked on people, snowmobiles on a lot of
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them. We won a bunch of World
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Championships and stuff. So I knew everybody in the
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industry and after being in Indy cars, I looked around and said
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nobody's got carbon fiber in snowmobiles.
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So I kind of dabbled in it. And the most important thing on
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the snowmobile is your clutches, which so that's your drive line.
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So I thought the best way to do it was maybe lighten it up.
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And so I decided I'll make a cover for it.
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Or saves 1 LB of spun weight. So that's a lot on on a small
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horsepower engine. And then I said, well, if I
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change that out, I got to rebalance it.
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So one thing led to another and next you know, we end up with a
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little niche business that keeps to be busy 6-8 months a year and
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gives me some fun coupons to go out and have fun.
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You're, you're a gamer. What I mean by that, I'm
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bragging on you. You don't mess around.
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I think the last year I saw you on social media, you know, it
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was a holiday, but you were you came in, you were doing a little
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bit getting things shipped out. You just recently I shared Mark
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Martin Mark Martin, the great NASCAR driver.
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He called me said I I want T JS phone number because you
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recently had some shoulder surgery I guess and and it just
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seems like besides staying busy, you just don't mess around and
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it I guess that's your nature. I'm not a talker, I'm a doer.
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You know what? I'm both.
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You know, yeah. So, you know, it's, it's one of
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those things where if I need to get something done, I just do
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it. I don't procrastinate.
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I don't. I look into it a little bit and
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I you have a feeling what's going to work and what's not.
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You know, yeah, I feel like we've glossed over the
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snowmobile stuff too fast. You you easily mentioned.
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Yeah, we won some World Championships.
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I mean, hold on now. You're a badass.
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Well, I mean, I was a good racer.
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I was probably a better mechanic.
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Yeah. I don't know, I, I, for some
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reason I look at things different than other people.
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I mean, people say, you know, I don't have a box.
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Everybody looks in a box. I look outside the box 1st and
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kind of play in that area where there's, I don't know, it's just
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some people have different ways of figuring things out and I
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just figure them out a little different than most people.
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And some people shake their heads and some people don't.
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And typically they work. So I've been very fortunate.
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I want to stay inside your, your Patrick custom carbon a little
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bit because this carbon fiber has been around for years.
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But now when I go into every, I mean, I don't go into a lot, but
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you know, my brother Rusty Wallace drove for Rodger Penske.
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I go down to Penske's. They got the IndyCar in there,
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the Daytona Prototype and that they all have their own carbon
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fiber system at most all these, you know, race shops now.
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And for me, that's new. This is this is definitely a
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phenomenon to where now these, you know, you don't send it.
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These cup teams don't send things out.
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They do it all. Now how?
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Tell me about this process of carbon fiber?
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Well, I mean, first of all, it's like four or five times stronger
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than aluminum only because it'll bend and come back.
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You know, it's going to take four or five times the force to
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bend the carbon fiber as it does the aluminum, but it comes back
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to shape. So can it be broken?
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Yes. But it's more or less a lighter
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weight, more efficient piece of material.
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And it doesn't conduct hot or cold, which is really beneficial
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in race cars. You know, aluminum gets hot,
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carbon fiber doesn't. Yeah.
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Well. When I look at those
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snowmobiles, they got big hoods on them.
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Are are are the hoods carbon fiber now?
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I've made a lot of hoods. I made a lot of parts.
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I made air boxes. I made anything that I thought
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would benefit. Well, then, you know, they threw
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me out all the series because of the rules.
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Oh yeah. So I joined the Rules Committee
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and trying to explain to him that no, you buy this part once,
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it lasts forever, versus you buy the fiberglass one or aluminum
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one. They bend and break.
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This doesn't. I've had snow hoods out there
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10-12 years where most people go through one a year.
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It's like like you're late model.
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If you put carbon fiber body on it would last for years.
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Yes versus your aluminum 1. So does cost more to begin with,
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but in the long run it saves you money.
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Yeah, and just a tidbit of information to everyone that's
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listening now. My dirt car and all the dirt,
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super late models, the great ones, Davenport, Pierce, we're
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all using. There's a company called Stacked
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and I don't think it's carbon fiber, but boy it look it it.
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I have it on my car now and my my team said when people get
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into my quarter panels they bend.
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They totally bend really bad and just come right back.
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It is so carbon saved. Saved my ass so many times.
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Yeah, and it's now you don't have to re sticker it every
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week. Right, right.
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Exactly. OK.
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So we're moving forward. We've kind of first of all, did
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you, did you have a job before you started this?
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Did you work for anybody? You said you're retired now.
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Have you always worked for yourself?
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My parents had a glass shop and they got bought out by a bigger
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company and like 7980. And so I went to work for the
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bigger company and I worked for them about two or three years.
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And every time we went somewhere, everything was messed
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up. We were late.
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Everybody's pissed off. I'm going, you know, I'm 26
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years old. I'm going, somebody can do
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better than this. And all honesty, I started it in
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my garage. Me and my wife and we would do
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jobs in Chicago. I would have material.
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I have 24 foot stock lengths of aluminum delivered to my
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driveway. I, I cut it during the day, put
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in my garage at night. I went and did, I worked all the
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time. I had glass delivered to my my
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house, you know, so we had enough money to rent a building.
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Then we rented a building, and then we were pretty successful.
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So then I built a building so we could grow.
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And, you know, it wasn't a big shop.
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We had four or five people. Did we make a lot of money?
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Yeah, we made two 300,000. You know, everybody thinks I'm
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this millionaire guy. No, I'm not that guy.
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I work for what I got. And it wasn't millions that I
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made, but it was enough to make us comfortable and able to do
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what we wanted to do. When did you meet your wife,
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Bev? It was a blind date and she was
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blind. Because she.
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Yeah, right. What did she see in you?
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Yeah, she was blind. We met at snowmobile race in
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1978. It was a time date.
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You know, what's great about that is like when I met my wife,
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she knew I was a racer. So she never crossed that line,
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You know? In other words, it was never
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you're, you're in the shop too much.
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I mean, she might complain every great once in a while, but she
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knew that's what we were going to do.
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Was Bev like that way with you? She knew you were a racer.
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Oh yeah, she was my mechanic the next year, even that year in the
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studs. I mean, if you're going to be
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with me, we got shit to do. There's nothing better in life
15:59
than a tomboy wife. It was Bev a little bit of a
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tomboy back then. I mean, everybody in the in the
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racing circle, they, they kind of called her Captain Traction
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because she took all this. The worst job you can have is
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replacing the studs on a snowmobile because they're
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sharp. Her knuckles are all bloody all
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the time. Oh my gosh.
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You know, Oh yeah, she was. She's been with By my Side
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working from day one. And to this day, we.
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Sit across each other the longest we've ever been apart of
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seven days ever, and that's only been once.
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So very close. Man, that that that, that gives
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me goosebumps. That's emotional because I
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believe that's the way all relationships should be.
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However, sometimes people say to me, Kenny Wallace, how do you
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get along with your wife? Why do you love her?
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I said, well, that's pretty simple.
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I do my deal, she does her deal, but but we're very close.
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What does she have? Any hobbies?
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Yeah, she's a a fitness person. She hikes, she runs like she'll
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go hike 6-8 miles a day and then our next day she'll go run 5 or
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10 or she stays in shape. I think the girls get that from
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her. You know, she's, she's in pretty
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good shape for 66 years old. Wow, that's awesome.
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That's young. She's a she's a 66 years young.
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And how old? How old are you?
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64 I'll be 65 this year. Oh, boy, she robbed the cradle,
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I guess. Sweet daddy.
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OK, TJ, I really wanted to do it in that order.
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I wanted to talk about you, your wife, your daughter, Brooke and
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I, I think the people that are tuning in to watch this kind of
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got this vision in my head of, you know, first of all, I admire
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you. I show you a lot of respect on
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social media. And when I, when I see you, but
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I mean, to me, it's kind of like, hey, Kenny, I, I love your
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brother. And, and I've learned to live
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with that and I'm very proud of my brother Rusty Wallace, my
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brother Mike. And that's kind of our makeup.
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So with you, it's kind of for me, it's, it's like the making
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of the great Danica Patrick. I mean, why is she the way she
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is? And I and I got to believe we're
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looking at it right now. There you are.
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You know, you, you made you and Bev made Danica.
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Just tell me. I'm going to ask you a direct
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question. Did you think Danica was going
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to make it the way she did? I'll tell you this and it's a
18:35
true story. About halfway through the first
18:38
season of go karting I looked at my wife and I said she's going
18:42
to change racing. I get cheered at thinking about
18:45
because I have been racing my whole life and we're racing go
18:48
karts against She was 10 everybody else 1213 and by mid
18:53
season she was winning every race.
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So I had her even tuning the carburetor her first year
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because I told her I said when you come in from the track you
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got to give me some feedback. Does it turn good here and here?
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So I made her think about everything she was doing on the
19:12
track. So then I went to two in the
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carburetor. I told her bring the carburetor
19:16
because he had a tackle the temperature on it.
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And I told her I said bring try and bring it like 420 degrees.
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So after about two weeks, she could bring it in within 3 or 4°
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because she figured out she goes dad, I figured out you have to
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start rich in it before it gets hot.
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You know, she'd wait till 420 rich and it was too late.
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So she was so that was halfway through the first season.
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So she already understood racing.
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And when I could see it, whenever she made a mistake,
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little bobble or something, she just kind of slowly # the wheel
19:44
like shit, you know. And she was very aggressive and
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she was, she hated to lose. Like we had this mid season race
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or as we won a bunch, we pretty much win every week and three
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races in a row. It's all three race in one day
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and they averaging together. And she had two wins and a
20:04
fourth and some kid had one win in two seconds and she got
20:07
second for the 2nd place trophy and she didn't want it.
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She was, I don't want that. I should boom.
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So I knew that she had instilled in her head the drive and if she
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didn't have that, I wouldn't do it.
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Like my daughter Brooke, she doesn't have that in her.
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She has other drives, you know, with the kids and all that, but
20:25
she had the drive to win and. The farther out we went racing,
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the more we won. And she was very totally
20:33
different. I mean, yeah, I can, I can make
20:35
a go Kart good. But every time she went out, we
20:39
would sit there and, and and watch her and the stopwatch
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wouldn't change for two or three laps.
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You're thinking, well, my stop, no, everybody's going.
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My stopwatch, No, she just runs the same exact lap time two or
20:50
three times. So you come in and make a
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change, you know, if it goes, if she goes faster or slower, if
20:55
the change was right. So she was so consistent and so
20:58
worried about hitting her marks that she was very focused at it.
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And when we started racing go karts, the fastest person
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started the back, which is the opposite anymore.
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They start them in the front. She can start that last out of
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20 and still win the heat race, you know, in six laps because
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you had to race. You know, nowadays, you know,
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they they start everybody up front.
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So I knew I had something very different there and I kept
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moving her up and racing. I mean, she turned 15 on a
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Monday. We race the men's class.
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The first Formula A race, which is a European class cart in
21:37
America, was out of Buffalo Bills in Las Las Vegas.
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And she just turned 15. She's racing against guys, been
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racing for 20 years, you know, 20-30 year old guys.
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And she was in the top three all day.
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So, you know, she, she had what she needed to to get there and,
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and I was just guiding, you know.
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Yeah, I just. Stopped because I didn't have
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the money to keep doing it. Yeah, so brother Rusty, I've
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been this rally cry that I've used for the last three years is
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you, you have to remind people because they remember what they
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want to. Does it ever aggravate you when
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people talk crap and you're like, my daughter's done so much
22:23
in the past. You know, it it it's like when
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people here, I'm going to give you an example and maybe you can
22:27
answer for me. People say, oh, Wallace got all
22:30
that NASCAR money. I'm like, Oh my God, I rub my
22:33
eyebrows. I'm like, I used to, I used to
22:36
get batteries and and and cash them in for money.
22:40
I used to siphon gas out of people's cars.
22:44
I mean, we were redneck and is broke as a joke, you know.
22:48
So what you're telling me is you really made Danica racer.
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She she really mechanically, you know, she was telling what you
22:55
need to know. Does it aggravate you?
22:57
Maybe. I feel like there hasn't been
22:59
enough. I don't think enough people know
23:02
that about Danica that she put the work.
23:04
In no they don't. I mean, they just see the other.
23:07
Those people don't bother me, Kenny.
23:09
I giggle when I read some of that stuff.
23:10
It's like they have no clue. Yeah, not making fun of them,
23:15
but they really have no clue. And as I always told Danica, the
23:20
right people know what's going on and the right and that's all
23:24
that matters. You can't prove.
23:25
Make everybody happy is the people that matter.
23:28
You need to make happy and prove to them.
23:31
Yeah, Rusty grew up around Rodger Penske.
23:36
And when I would talk about somebody pissing me off, Rusty
23:38
says, do they write your check? I said no.
23:41
He goes screw them. So when you when you see the
23:48
male chauvinist comments, the harshness, the brutality of men,
23:53
men most, most men are like, I don't know what they are.
23:57
They're a lot of them are pieces of crap.
24:01
How do you calm yourself down when you see these horrible men
24:05
make these horrible comments? I.
24:08
Mean it goes all the time in every way.
24:10
Look, I mean do I read them now and then I I just kind of
24:12
giggle, but I know and everybody the right people know that if
24:18
you put her in a race car, she's going to be almost if not
24:21
quicker than any guy in an Andy car, stock car.
24:24
I mean, in the right circumstances, she can do it
24:27
just like most drivers that make it to the top.
24:30
You don't make it to the top level by being average.
24:34
You don't. So she's she's very driven and
24:38
determined. And this is my famous quote and
24:42
most and none of the reporters ever said it.
24:45
They've said, what about Danica? I said, you know, she's never
24:47
had an easy pass in her life. Nobody's let her by everybody
24:53
that races with Danica, races are harder than they do any
24:56
other guy. Yeah.
24:58
And if you don't believe it, ask any of the other girls.
25:01
They race your horror. And so.
25:03
And she never complained about it.
25:05
She knew it. She told me.
25:06
Dad, she goes, I get it. I don't want to get beat by a
25:08
girl either. So I think she considered
25:10
herself more of a guy because she was good than a girl trying
25:14
to make it. Yeah, I want to Fast forward as
25:20
I see your daughter today. She's a very sound mind.
25:25
I believe she's a philosopher. She's studying life.
25:29
Did you see that coming? I mean, because she she's almost
25:33
a teacher now of life. Do you think it's because the
25:37
path she had in life? I mean, she had she had a good
25:40
life. She got roughed up a lot.
25:41
But what is this Danica Patrick we see today?
25:45
Now, mind you, I know I've already had a conversation with
25:48
her, but from a father's perspective, are you surprised
25:52
to see this Danica, you know, out in, you know, Burning Man
25:57
events out there in the middle? You know, what do you, what do
26:01
you see out of her right now? Well, I mean, when she she raced
26:05
for like 25 years and consumed her life.
26:08
Yeah. I mean, as you know, when you're
26:10
in Cup racing or IndyCar, you get an e-mail every Monday
26:12
morning or this is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
26:15
Friday said this is your schedule, so you have to work
26:18
off the schedule. Well, now she's retired, she has
26:20
to find something to do. I mean, she doesn't sit around.
26:23
So she did the podcast and different things just on stuff
26:27
she's interested in, and now she keeps getting deeper and deeper.
26:31
I mean, we have this conversation all the time
26:33
because she's into this alien, not aliens, but weird stuff.
26:37
I go shame. I said.
26:39
Why don't you look into something that has an answer so
26:42
you can put an end to it to go to the next one.
26:45
Good one. And she just looks at me and
26:47
shakes her head on one. I I said I got to.
26:49
I got to find an answer to something.
26:51
Yeah. She said it all got started back
26:53
when we were younger when I said, well, you see the
26:56
pyramids, those are built by aliens and it kind of her head.
26:59
So she looked into it and she goes.
27:02
I think you're right, Dad. Well, you know, I do want to
27:05
comment on that because I'm like that.
27:08
There are times that I, I mean, I don't think I'm the only one.
27:13
You know, we drive, we're on a long drive or maybe by
27:17
ourselves. And it's like, why are we born?
27:21
What is the purpose of life? And, and it gets a little scary
27:25
and, and then finally I said, you know what?
27:29
I'm just going to live my life because, because I feel like,
27:33
you know, our purpose is to do what we're doing, living life.
27:36
I think we were put here to live life.
27:38
And I think she, I, I think you, I think you're, you're a
27:43
brilliant man by what you just said.
27:45
I like what you just said. Let's talk about something that
27:48
there's an answer because like you said that that will drive
27:52
you crazy, right? Trying to ask something that
27:54
there's no answer. Well, you just keep searching
27:57
and digging. Next thing you know, you're down
27:58
these wormholes and now you're lost.
28:02
He, I can hear it now, what happened to him.
28:05
Well, he's a lost soul still. Searching over there.
28:09
Yeah, well, listen, TJ, you know what?
28:15
You have two daughters. And I, I didn't know really how
28:19
to ask you this, but I'm just going to go ahead and say it.
28:22
You know, people always say to me, what's your brother Mike do?
28:25
And I and I defend Mike all the time.
28:27
I say Mike, Mike is brilliant. If the world comes to an end,
28:31
you want to be with my brother Mike because he can live on land
28:34
itself. So tell me about Brooke.
28:37
Tell me something about Brooke that I don't know that makes you
28:40
so proud of her. Brooke has the hardest job in
28:43
the world and I tell everybody that never go.
28:45
What do you mean hardest job? She works at a Children's
28:48
Hospital. She's got her doctorate in
28:50
physical therapy. She did seven years of school.
28:53
I got her doctorate. She works at Children's Hospital
28:55
in Indy, called Riley's Children's Hospital, and the
28:59
floor she's on handles oncology and burn unit.
29:03
So she's nothing but kids. They're either burned or have
29:07
cancer. That's that's who she works with
29:10
every day. So I say she's got the hardest
29:13
job in the world. I couldn't do it.
29:15
I don't have an in me to do that.
29:16
And fortunately she does. And she's kind of a patch Adams,
29:21
you know, she's with them and jokes with them and she's happy.
29:25
She's a she's a comedian in the family.
29:27
She's funnier than hell, so. Let me say this Patch Adams, I
29:33
love that movie. I have a helmet.
29:36
I have a helmet. It's up there.
29:37
I wore it for a solid year. It's blue.
29:38
It's got a :) and Patch Adams is that great movie where he's a
29:44
great doctor, but they think he's too happy and, and and they
29:48
fired him. They said why?
29:50
Why are you being fired? Because because he was too
29:52
happy. When in reality, we're all
29:55
serious, we're all smart and that's what we need.
29:59
Lighten the load up a little bit.
30:00
Lighten the load. So you're saying Brooke is super
30:03
smart, deals with the worst and helps lighten the load?
30:07
Yeah, she's kind of our communicator now.
30:09
If we have an issue, we call Brooke.
30:12
I love it. She she she's become the boss of
30:15
the family. And I got to tell you, DJ, now
30:19
this is therapy for me. I have three daughters, Brooke,
30:23
Brandy, Brittany, the queen Bees and R Brooke.
30:27
R Brooke is, you know, now she's 37 years old and she's super
30:31
mature and I'm like they said Wallace, what are you still
30:35
doing racing? I said my daughter Brooke said,
30:38
Dad, don't get rid of your race car.
30:40
We just want you at all the family functions.
30:42
So want to let you know that my Brooke is the boss of our family
30:45
do. He's our boss, you know, with
30:47
the four grandkids too, so. Oh, oh, tell me about that.
30:51
So Brooke has four kids. Yeah, 41084 and 1:00 and they,
30:57
you know, I said, well, let's go racing.
30:59
We can go racing because because our whole family races.
31:03
Let me give you a quick scenario.
31:05
Or run down. Brooke's husband runs Dryer
31:07
Reinbold IndyCar team and that rallycross and stuff, the
31:12
electric cars. Their team's won the last three
31:15
championships. He's a team manager there.
31:17
His dad has been in Indycars since their early 90s working
31:21
with teams. So he's a tire guy and chase.
31:25
Brooke's husband's brother, Cody, is married to Jamie
31:28
Little. Holy moly.
31:31
So we have family function, it's all kinds of racing going on.
31:35
Well, there you go. There.
31:37
There you go. Hey, now.
31:40
Now I'm much smarter. So the Danica Patrick family,
31:46
she she's surrounded by racers. And I didn't even know it.
31:49
I thought it was just all you, Dad.
31:51
No, no, so so they are they there?
31:54
Are they? Like don't let TJ get a hold of
31:57
the kids. He'll turn them into racers.
32:00
Oh my wife. My wife says it's their decision
32:02
not here as I'm going if I give him a go Kart and they like it.
32:05
I got to get go karts if they like it.
32:08
Oh my God I love this. You're there.
32:12
Same subject, just a little bit of a change.
32:15
Follow me on this. I read this beautiful Article 10
32:19
years ago or more ESPN Magazine and it was about Tony Stewart
32:26
and he talked about how his dad was really hard on him but but
32:31
made him great. What do you think of like the
32:35
Serena Williams the dad? Do do you have a diagram?
32:41
In other words, do you do you have the do's and don'ts as a
32:44
father? I believe I read that article
32:46
that Tony's dad was extremely hard on him.
32:49
What what are some of the do's and don'ts of a parent?
32:52
You know, because every kids an 8 time champion.
32:56
He's the next Kyle Larson. Tell me some stuff about about
33:00
that. What are what are some of your
33:01
rules? I probably didn't have rule.
33:04
I was I was a very I was honored very hard.
33:09
You know, I mean, if we should won a race, I would pick it
33:12
apart saying, well, if you did this or this or maybe if you,
33:16
you know, I was always honored pushing her, not pushing her.
33:20
I mean, she wanted to go racing, but for racing we had to do it
33:23
this way. OK, you have to do this and
33:26
this. So I was very hard on her.
33:27
I mean, she claims it was too hard at times.
33:31
But then again, I'd like to ask, would you have made it if I
33:34
wasn't? I mean, you look at Tiger Woods
33:36
dad. He was the same way with them.
33:38
I mean, they yelled in his backswing, call them names.
33:41
It was like I didn't really push her.
33:44
I we kind of drug each other along.
33:46
So I wanted her to be the best she could be and I didn't want
33:50
her to slack off a bit. I mean, there's no time for
33:52
slacking and racing, you know, you just, it's, you have to be
33:56
at it 100% all the time. As a parent, I have, I'm ashamed
34:03
to say this, but you know, it's not easy being a parent.
34:05
And when I was in the middle of my NASCAR career, for me, it was
34:10
life and death. You know, it was like, Oh my
34:12
God, I'm married. I got these three kids.
34:16
If I don't get this done, I'm going to live under a bridge in
34:19
a cardboard box. So there were some things that I
34:21
I'm ashamed of, you know, screaming at them, whatever it
34:24
was, were, were there are there times to this day or within the
34:31
last 10 years you went to your daughter's and said, hey, man, I
34:35
did some stuff years ago. I'm sorry for.
34:37
Have you ever had to apologize for being bad?
34:42
About 3-4 years ago I did that. I had a coming come to Jesus
34:46
meeting with myself. I like this tell and set.
34:51
Yourself free because Danica, you know, after you got done
34:55
racing, you know a lot of these people see therapists and your
34:59
dad was too hard on your dad. Was this your dad?
35:01
Was that? Yeah.
35:02
Well, I mean, did she hold it against me at times, Yes.
35:07
But I had to come to Jesus. And it was like it just came to
35:10
me. I'm going.
35:11
Yeah, Maybe I was too hard. So I called her up as Hey, I
35:16
mean, you're trying to get me to boy.
35:17
Barbara Walters here trying to get me to cry.
35:19
I. I, I, I know I'm a dad.
35:22
I got three daughters. I, I, I'm going to make you
35:24
feel. I'm going to make you feel
35:26
better. I'm not interrupting.
35:27
I want to make you feel better. My daughters have pissed me off
35:31
so bad before that they were mouthing back at me.
35:36
I put my hand over their mouth and I said breathe through your
35:39
nose. I was so mad at him.
35:42
I want to kill him. Not not actually.
35:46
So. So there I I give you my truth,
35:49
and I've apologized to my daughter's 100 times.
35:52
I I, I call her and, and she goes, thank you.
35:55
You know, you probably need to do that.
35:57
I mean, but like you said, it was life or death.
35:59
I mean, we were, it is racing 141516 years old and they're
36:03
trying to figure out, I knew she, she wanted to race for a
36:06
living. I that's what she want to do.
36:07
She had set on it. So it's really hard.
36:10
So you're thinking yourself, what if she fails?
36:12
What are we going to do? Because failure is not an
36:14
option. So people don't realize that we
36:18
she quit school at 10th grade and we sent her to England to go
36:23
racing when she was 16. Famous story.
36:26
By herself did. You buy that plane ticket for
36:30
her. Who bought that plane ticket?
36:33
For her, we sent her off. Did you go to the airport with
36:36
her and send her off? Oh yeah, She had two bags, smile
36:40
and waving. We're all crying and you know, I
36:42
got then you get all these people going, How could you do
36:45
that? How could you do that?
36:46
I said. I looked at him and go, how
36:48
could I not? How could I not get my daughter
36:50
the best opportunity to make a career out of racing?
36:54
That's how I looked at it. She said her this is good now
36:58
that I I'm interviewing you after her, but your daughter,
37:01
dammit, the Patrick said that the first people she lived with
37:06
over there was like the worst ever.
37:09
I you know, so you put her through some experiences that
37:14
she would have you you grew her up real quick.
37:17
I think you did a good job, Dad. Well, any as he has double edged
37:21
sword. I wasn't there to keep an eye on
37:23
things, You know, I'd go over to some race in England and just to
37:27
to watch her, you know, and to see how she was treated.
37:30
It just infuriated me, you know, you know, every all the other
37:35
guys in the team would they sit in the car and do a set down
37:37
with a driver in and come to her.
37:39
They throw sandbags in there. So I go, what's the deal with
37:42
this? And they hate, they hate parents
37:45
involved over in England or in Europe.
37:48
I said that's not right. I said her legs are here, didn't
37:52
matter. So they had a rule that
37:55
whoever's fastest got the new tires.
37:57
Well, how in the hell are you ever going to be fastest if you
37:59
have the old tires? You know?
38:01
So she wasn't treated great over there, but I think she grew up
38:05
faster and she became a better racer for it because people
38:10
don't realize Europe is way more cutthroat here in than American
38:13
racing. Those people, they're either
38:14
they make it or they don't, and that's the only chance they got
38:17
to make a living. I mean these it's really hard in
38:21
Europe. That's why a lot of the racers
38:23
are coming from Europe because it's it's you know, she was in
38:25
the car 100 days a year in Europe racing first three years
38:30
you bring up. You bring up a really good point
38:33
that, you know, like even like the British monarchy or just all
38:38
those governments over there, they just stand up and they
38:41
scream at each other to where in America, our government, we
38:46
just, we have this process where we don't scream at each other.
38:50
But but it seems like you're right.
38:52
When I look over overseas, they're brutal.
38:56
They don't they they they get out of the car, they go straight
38:59
to their motorhome. And they, they each other's,
39:02
they hate the teammates because that's the first person you have
39:04
to be. Yeah.
39:07
And and do do you think now that I'm listening to you, do you
39:11
think that gave your daughter Danica a, a hardened shell?
39:16
Like I don't see her break ever. Do you think that was part of
39:19
that besides being like you? You know, it's funny you said
39:23
that because even using that word shell, when she came back,
39:27
she had a shell around her. You couldn't get into her
39:29
because she was so jaded and she was had that shell and I, you
39:33
know, it was she didn't trust anyone suppose and she'll tell
39:37
you the truth. It was she was just different
39:39
when she came back. She was very much in a shell and
39:42
and different because she had to be.
39:44
She had to survive. Yeah.
39:47
I want to go back to that for a minute.
39:49
A lot of people might not understand.
39:51
So when we weigh cars, you can eat like, but let's say I'm 170
39:57
lbs. What you're saying is they when
39:59
the other drivers in, you know, the, the legs were out in front
40:02
and that was the real weight. And with Dan, again, they didn't
40:05
do it. They did a shortcut with what I
40:08
pissed you off? Yeah, I wasn't very happy.
40:12
So, you know, at the end of the the the one year there, you
40:16
know, they knew I wasn't happy. So it was a Formula Ford
40:19
Festival, which is the largest Formula Ford race of the year in
40:24
Brands Hatch. And they gave her Anthony
40:27
Davidson's car because he got a new car.
40:28
So she got like the second best car and she got second in the
40:33
world championship, right behind Anthony Davidson.
40:36
So that made us want to go back the next year because, OK, now
40:40
you're going to be the number one driver so you can get the
40:43
good stuff. And we went back and didn't turn
40:45
out very good. Yeah, well, there there's a song
40:50
by Aerosmith and it says life's a journey, not a destination.
40:55
And my friend, we can go on forever.
40:58
But I wanted everybody to get a look at the man.
41:02
And I'm thinking about telling Charlie right now, how are we
41:06
going to headline this? You know, you know, there's a
41:10
lot of great coaches and, you know, the kids always go back
41:14
and they thank the coach. You were hard on me, but but you
41:18
made me better and I know that's where we're at.
41:21
And I think you and I, we share a lot in common.
41:24
DJ. I brought that up to dank.
41:26
I said, you know, Bobby Knight these when he gets mad at his
41:28
team, it's not that he hates him.
41:30
He wants him to be better. You know, everybody still loves
41:33
Bobby Knight to play for him. Why?
41:35
Because he was hard on him. I mean, I it was, I wouldn't say
41:40
I was a great teacher was I don't know if I was a mentor or
41:42
whatever, but I wasn't pushing. She dragged me along.
41:45
And if we're going to drag along, we're going to play the
41:47
game right. I love it.
41:49
I love it. Well, you're a good man.
41:51
I love you from father to father.
41:54
Well, Kenny, it's an honor. You're you're you're the
41:57
greatest person NASCAR has right now because you're bringing it
42:00
back. Just you yourself, I believe,
42:03
because, Well, look at your, look at your shows.
42:06
Thank you. Why?
42:08
Because Kenny Wallace is an honest, straight spoken person.
42:13
And that's why people love you. There's no there's no fakeness
42:16
to you. Yeah.
42:17
Well, you you neither. You're my you're my brother.
42:20
And I want to apologize a little bit because I could see in your
42:25
brain there when I was talking to you a little bit because as a
42:30
father, you know, I'm, I'm 60. You're you're right there, 64
42:34
and it's like, oh God, maybe I was a little rough on my kids
42:38
back, but hey, good therapy for us, buddy.
42:42
Go get an ice cream when this is over and we're all closer.
42:45
Than ever right now so that I mean, we're all fine.
42:47
We're we're fortunate, let's put it that way.
42:49
Yeah, and I and I love the Instagram stuff and I love
42:52
seeing you on X and go America, don't be ashamed of loving your
42:57
your, your country and and I like your shirt.
43:01
Absolutely. All right, everybody listen, we
43:06
are in podcast form and you can listen to the great TJ Patrick
43:11
on your way to work and on your way back home probably one time.
43:16
This is this is 45 minutes long. We are on Spotify and iTunes
43:23
until the next Kenny conversation.
43:26
TJ, thank you so much. Well.
43:28
Thank you, Kenny. All right, buddy.
43:30
All right, finish your coffee. Oh, yeah.
43:32
Hey I it's already still so I'm still drinking my.
43:35
Load in it. It makes it much better.
43:38
Yes, I got my hairs right and everything for you, so goodbye
43:41
everybody.