Latest / Kenny Wallace Media / The Kenny Conversation - Episode #12 - 4x World of Outlaw Sprint Car Champion Brad Sweet!

Transcript

The Kenny Conversation - Episode #12 - 4x World of Outlaw Sprint Car Champion Brad Sweet! · Kenny Wallace Media

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Hello everyone and welcome back to Kenny conversation brought to
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you by Jegs the leader in high performance aftermarket car
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parts. Remember to go to jegs.com well
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we've covered NASCAR. We've covered the World of
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Outlaw dirt late models and we are going to the big boys.
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Now, the World of Outlaw dirt, Sprint, cars, four-time
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Champion, Brad, sweet. How you doing?
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Buddy. Good good.
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Thanks for having me on, appreciate it.
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So let's let's have a good time. We got we gotta talk about your
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nickname, the big cat. Where did I like it?
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First of all, it's so badass. Where did that big cat?
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Nickname start. I wish it was like a really cool
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story but I lived with NHRA drag racer Jr.
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Todd and Indianapolis and we were always watching that that
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show Fantasy Factory. Rob.
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Dyrdek was always calling his cousin the big cat.
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And so if they are, just started calling me like as a kind of a
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friend, a friend thing, as I kind of a joke.
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And then more friends started calling me it and just kind of
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picked up on it. And then once Johnny Gibson, the
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announcer with the World of Outlaws called me at it was game
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on. So it's been a great nickname
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though. You know, you never give
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yourself your own nickname. So that's how I got it and the
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kids love it, you know. So we get to, we get to do a lot
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of t-shirts and stuff off it and You know, all the kids pretty
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much call me the big cat. They don't even, I don't even
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think they really know my name. Yeah, I mean, Hey listen, you're
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right. You know, you've made it.
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You know, Dale Earnhardt. Senior was the Intimidator
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course, Rusty was rubber head. That was a funny nickname.
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I'm the Herminator. But yeah, well, the big cats,
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pretty awesome and I really like that.
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But okay, so 37 years old from Grass Valley, California.
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And right now, you are a four-time consecutive now.
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One thing about to get any walls conversation is that you can
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always correct. Me?
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Always interrupt me your for time in consecutive world of all
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all Champion, am I right? Yeah, you're right.
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Yeah, it's been it's been a long climb to the top, but finally
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was able to beat Donny Schatz, a few years back, and then haven't
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relinquished it. You know, since we've had a lot
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of close battles, you know, David gravel and Carson meseta
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or kind of hot on my heels this year.
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But yeah just it's been a lot of fun.
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It's hard to get to the top. It's kind of almost even harder
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saying there. So you know each year is a new
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challenge and this year is no different for sure.
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Yeah, I mean 2000, 19, 20 21, 22.
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That is that is really hard to do because you guys race a lot.
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What do you What do you think you have that the others don't
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because I mean to win for noronha I'll do the bragging on
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you. What do you think?
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You and your team have that the others don't, I think experience
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is probably the main thing and dirt track racing experience
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goes so so long or, you know, so far.
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I guess you just know what to do, you know, and tricky
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situations, and we have a great engine builder.
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Great mechanic great, team owner.
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You know, it's all the little pieces, you know, other other
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puzzles, not any one thing that you can sit and say you know
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stands out its it took a long time to build the team and then
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you know, now we're executing at a really high level because of
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all our experience that we all work towards.
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And, you know, I just, I think that the biggest thing that wins
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US the Championships year in and year out is consistency and our
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ability to overcome the adversity in a 90 Race season,
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you know, there's It's it's the it's the good nights are always,
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you know, those, those are the easy nights.
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Those are the good nights. It's the bad nights.
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When you flip and get out of the work here or the other night, I
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started 11th and got up to third.
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It's those nights. When you dig yourself out of a
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little bit of a whole. I feel like that we do really,
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really well compared to some of the other guys.
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You're bringing up so many great topics that I really want to
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touch on. I want to I want to talk about
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you at the dirt finals though at Charlotte.
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You know, I think it was your Go.
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Where you went into that race and you had to finish it off to
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win? The championship was that last
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year? The year before I've actually
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last year I had to do it. And in 2019, we can shots for
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only within four points going into the last night.
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So definitely have some some of those moments where we had to
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step up and go to another level, you know, last year was close
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with gravel, we were only 14 points going into the last
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event, which is only seven positions and We were racing
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three nights, so seven positions over three nights is, is really
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nothing and dirt racing. What do you think, you know,
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from one racer to another? I have my deals that I do to
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keep myself calm, whether it's a song in my head, as I'm getting,
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you know, I'm starting my motor as you're being pushed off, you
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know, Al Unser jr. He said before the Indy 500, he
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had Mustang Sally, you know, these little quirks, a little
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bit. So, as you went into those dirt
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finals, I mean you're a real champion because you had to, as
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you just said, you had a really finish these things off.
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Do you have any quarks that keep you level?
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I think think that I've figured out is I just I really go to the
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gym, a lot and work out and just mental prep, you know, just just
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being prepared, mentally and physically, it's like, I'm
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ready. You know, for the moment, you
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know, I think it's just To sum up for the challenge.
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And I'm really comfortable with whatever the outcome as long as
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I'm giving 110%, you know, I'm comfortable with what the
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outcome is. So I, you know, try to stay calm
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that way knowing that I did everything, you know, I prep my
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mind. The car is prepped, I'm 110%,
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I'm going to go out there and give it 110% and, you know, you
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got to be comfortable with the outcome because in racing, it
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can it can go a thousand different ways.
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Yeah. I think it's I think that's
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really important to say for kids that are coming up because I
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mean when I was younger if if I didn't win my heat race, I
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thought that was the end of my life that you know I was going
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to live underneath the bridge and the cardboard box and you
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know I was a failure but it seems like when we get older, we
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understand that. If we don't win our heat race,
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nobody's going to eat us. She's happy, right?
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I mean, it took you a while to get there to or not?
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Yeah. Oh, absolutely.
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Yeah. I mean it's and that's, and
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that's sort of why your why, you know, more successful was that,
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you know, the highs and lows. I'm a lot more level-headed
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leveled out, you know, I don't let things bother me, you know,
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a bad night, just a bad night, you know, a good night's, just a
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good night. It's kind of a its what racing
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is and the more you get like that the more, you know, for one
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happy you are happy in your life.
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You know, because you got a wife and a kid and you know there's
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more to life than racing although we make a living doing
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it and we love it, we're passionate about it.
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You do have to have some sort of you can't let it destroy
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everything that you have going on.
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And I racing can do that. It can, it can be a very mental,
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you know, especially on the outer.
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We go, you know, you'll have three good nights and feel like
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you can't do anything wrong, and then, you know, then you can't
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do anything right for three or four nights and it really knocks
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you down. So, I've just learned over the
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years that's just racing and I just show up 110 percent ready
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to go, you know, every time and that's all you can do, you know
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I really I really liked what you said there because I study the
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great ones you know I used to think that if you're going to be
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a race car driver you kind of had to look to look and you had
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just race and that's the only thing you do and then all of a
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sudden I saw Tony Stewart wearing shorts and flip-flops
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and I'm like, you know, he don't look like a racer but You know,
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and then you see just other drivers like Kasey, Kahne your
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car on her. We'll get to that later.
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But I like what you said that and I've even learned that to be
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a racer. You don't have to be so hard
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core. It is good to go.
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See a movie, maybe get a massage, maybe go on a vacation
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besides working out. Do you do anything?
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You know, during the grind to try to do you go see movies?
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Do you? What do you do?
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Well, the case then obviously, just because we're so on the go
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is nice with family going home, really?
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When you, when you just get to go home, or we gets probably
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hard for people to understand it just cook on my outdoor kitchen
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for outdoor. Barbecue, get to cook, you know,
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some steaks or some, you know, ribs and whatever.
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You know, when I'm home, it feels like vacation at times,
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just living in these hotel rooms and be on the road.
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So that going on vacations to somewhere warm Bahamas,
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something like that. It's always been fun that we've
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always enjoyed doing, but, you know, II have a lot going on in
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my life, you know, not only do my driving the race car, you
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know, Casey and I started the screen print shop Kane screen
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print. So, you know, I'm not there all
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the time, but you know, certainly involved in some of
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the discussions. And then, you know, Kyle and I
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started the high-limit series. So we're doing that plus the
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podcast and then government knows I'm gonna yeah, baby, we
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gonna get there. Yeah.
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So I guess for me, what I realize though is that my brain,
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I can if I'm doing other things, you know, instead of just
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sitting in the hotel room board. Yeah, working out, but I got
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this not do I show up to the races?
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I'm actually a little more excited to kind of be there and
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you know, then I'm just focused on that for the night instead of
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all the other mobile jumbo, I got going on one called an
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audible real quick, Kenny conversations means, hey, I just
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thought of something you can you do the same Brad so want to go
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back tonight. Asheville last week.
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Scary situation with Carson, macedo flipped caught on fire,
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abnormally. What is there?
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Any anything that you all? Learn you the World of Outlaws.
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What happened there? Can you give us an update?
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Yeah, I mean I think what happened is something broke, or
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not. Exactly sure what broke.
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But, you know, obviously violent impact into the wall, you know,
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these fuel cells is something that we're really looking at why
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they're, you know, they come come off the cars and Once it
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came off the car, you know, came unmounted and lose than it was
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able to poke a hole in it and then when he landed obviously
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then feels pouring out onto the hot brake rotor, or the exhaust
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or whatever than it ignites and Carson was completely
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unconscious. So the good thing is Knoxville
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had the right stuff to put the fire out and they did a good
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job. I think we can all learn from,
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you know, Maybe we could have got it out a little quicker, but
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they got it out and he didn't get any Burns.
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And, you know, I've learned a lot about this, this foam stuff
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that they spray on these fires. It's really amazing to be
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honest. If, if you spray it on your hand
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only drive. Yes.
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Exactly. You can you can down there light
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your hand on fire. So you know, it was comforting
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knowing that they had the right stuff and that Carson went to
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that experience. It didn't get you know anything
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but very minor burns he's actually racing with us you know
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this last weekend so But we learned, you know, I learned
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they already knew, you know, but I learned that with the right
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foam and the if you spray this fire in the right spot that they
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could have that fire out and 10 to 15 seconds.
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No problem. You know, and then and then it
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was scary. Just seeing Carson in that
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situation, obviously, trying to help him felt kind of helpless.
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But I think the right move was to get the fire out first and
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get him out, you know, since we did have the right, you know,
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firefighting foam and People that we needed to be doing that.
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So the outcome was good, it felt a little helpless, a little
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scary for sure but I'm happy it happened at Knoxville.
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I certainly think that the learning is that every track
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needs to have that same type of foam and same type of equipment.
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You know something we'll definitely going to work towards
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moving forward is is having those tools in case some of
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those fires happens to other other tracks.
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Yeah I want you to know That I feel bad for you, I wanted to
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bring it up because I thought it would be a learning situation.
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When I watched I felt helpless for you, I could only imagine
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you were thinking, your friend was going to burn to death.
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I love you. I'm sorry.
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You had to see that but, you know, we're going to be better.
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Yeah. Okay, gotta wait, we got away
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with it and he's and he's okay. I think that was the biggest
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thing is that to watch, someone go through that and then, and it
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be okay because of the The foam, the stuff that the tools that
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they had, they actually use them correctly, you know, they
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sprayed him down, that's why he wasn't burning, you know, is he
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had that phone stuff on him? So, yeah, I mean it was
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definitely learn it very helpless feeling but, but, you
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know, if the outcome has been different, I don't.
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Obviously think I would have felt feels good about it, but
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like you said, we learn from it. And, you know, I think we can
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bring those tools to more tracks and I think that would be a good
13:33
thing to have. I was trying to find Joey Jive,
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he's the one you're talking about.
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I raced with him and it just escapes my mind, but he stopped
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by the shop here. Like you have stopped by my Race
13:46
shop, and showed me his his sticks, you know, for motor
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homes. And yeah, do you remember the
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name of his company? Is it fireade yes?
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Far Aid? Yeah fire.
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And yes, he's very smart. Very good.
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Yeah, fire eight is some good stuff and there's a lot of good
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tools that they can put in the side-by-sides and the back of
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pickup trucks and I've been learning all about.
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So me too, I've been learning from some really some really
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good people, there's a lot of good people on this dirt.
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Track sport that you know they eat that are very passionate
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about safety and fire and it's it's obviously a breath of fresh
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air to hear all that and you know we just you know how it is.
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We go to a lot of tracks, it just don't have those resources
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and and you know like Knoxville's and eldora's and you
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know it's that's I think that's the thing.
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Is we need to make sure we're bringing those resources into
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those types of tracks when we go to race, you know.
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It's like you kind of have to look after yourself a little
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bit. It's kind of what I'm learning.
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I I just got done with Jonathan Davenport, Superman, you know,
14:48
dirt late model and when we got to the Indiana View and I'm
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going to do the same with you and he said that what you just
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said he feels like that. We need to upgrade the
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facilities were you know we got these hundred thousand dollar
15:04
machines, 70 thousand dollar Motors in the cars and we hardly
15:08
a porta potty. And we got guardrails and we're
15:11
cheating death somewhat. Yeah, we need, we need to get
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these right. As we always say Us dirt.
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Racers we don't dumb ourselves down.
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We don't go. Oh, we're running dirt.
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We don't need to shave today. We don't need to take, you know,
15:25
some of these tracks are nasty. Do you feel like That that is a
15:30
big topic right now for the Sprint cars.
15:32
We got to upgrade these racetracks before somebody gets
15:35
really hurt. I mean it certainly is for me,
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you know, it's part of colonize, you know, drive for starting a
15:43
series is you know, we feel like there's this common old boys
15:48
club, that runs the whole, you know organization and you know
15:52
we don't want to mess anything up with Sprint car racing but we
15:55
certainly want to put pressure on the situation to try to you
15:58
know Drive the person Is up dry, make the racetracks nicer, you
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know, go to safer places and you know really the only way to do
16:05
that is kind of just take the bull by the horns and and start
16:08
doing it ourselves. And you know we have a long-term
16:11
goal of making Sprint car racing dirt track racing, bigger better
16:15
safer you know everything you know.
16:17
So this is just kind of the beginning for us and you know as
16:20
we kind of step into that role of promoter / series, you know,
16:24
and kind of we kind of are looking at all those things and
16:28
trying to figure out Out, you know, Avenues to make racetrack
16:31
safer and you know, maybe racetracks to start, you know,
16:34
capable of having a high-level racing events until they are
16:39
able to fix their facility a little bit.
16:40
You know. That's just those are tough
16:42
conversations and you know, you always hear well they've been
16:45
racing here for forever and that's never happened.
16:47
But, you know, it's we're trying to not be so reactionary and
16:51
maybe try to get ahead of head of a few things and, you know,
16:54
their whole active proactive. Exactly active.
16:57
Yeah. And I think everything in there,
16:59
Track racing is reactionary. It's always you react to, you
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know, well that happens. So you know, maybe we need to do
17:06
this and then sometimes it doesn't even happen.
17:07
So I definitely think being more proactive movie for it is
17:10
something that, you know, Kyle and I want to do, and we
17:13
certainly want to keep pressure on, you know, every series to do
17:16
the same. So I'm not going to rough you
17:20
up, but we got to talk about a difficult situation.
17:22
We we see the Chili Bowl where Kyle didn't race, you know,
17:30
Priority Aviation they feel three or four really good cars.
17:34
They didn't race. We see you and Kyle starting
17:38
high limit Sprint Car Series in your opinion.
17:44
What what's going on right now? That's the best self I can throw
17:49
you whatever often, yup. Yeah it's fine.
17:54
I don't have a problem. That's, you know, goes back to
17:56
why we're doing it ourselves. You know, start in the series is
17:59
because there's greed, we feel like there's greed out there.
18:02
We feel like, you know, chili bowls, just one example, it's
18:06
not it's a big example and it gets a lot of headlines.
18:09
But basically, you know, it's grown so much over the years.
18:13
Ears and, you know, I get the, it Han doesn't feel like he has
18:17
to pay more. Put anything into the purse and
18:20
that's fine. That's it.
18:21
That's his business and that's fine.
18:23
But as a professional race car driver, that makes a living
18:26
racing if you want the best Racers to go support the event.
18:31
I'm certainly not going to leave my family for a week to go lose
18:35
money in Oklahoma, just because, you know, because I want to
18:38
bring a golden driller home. No, I mean, I got to make my
18:41
house payment. I gotta pay the bills.
18:44
You know. So if I can't fly out there and
18:46
stay in the hotel for five nights and I have zero chance of
18:49
making money then to me that's not a relevant event for or a
18:53
professional racing event. You know, we're racing this
18:56
weekend in Sioux Falls, South Dakota for 250,000 dollars to
18:59
win every high limit. Race is on a Tuesday night pays
19:02
at least 25,000 away a 23,000 the win and has 80,000 dollar
19:07
purse the Chili Bowl purse. It's just you know it's turning
19:11
into more of just a fun event for Ever wants to go, you know,
19:14
paid a race and that's just not, that's not our style, it's not
19:18
my style. I mean, I think the Chili Bowl
19:20
is an extremely fun. It's a great idea.
19:24
They do a great job, everything's everything's there.
19:27
But as a professional race car driver, I just don't see, you
19:31
know, the economics of it for me, you know, or other
19:34
professional drivers. I could go to Australia.
19:37
You know, you look at Kylie's going and racing in Arizona for
19:39
more money. It's just, you know, even though
19:41
Kyle has a lot of Honey, our people have money NASCAR money.
19:47
Now, ask our money and I'm gonna get to that.
19:49
You still want to go race, you know, for a, for a purse that
19:53
you feel is Justified. And you know, the Chili Bowl to
19:56
beat 380 people over the course of five days, the marathon you
20:01
don't want to be used up, don't don't use me, don't use me just
20:05
you know just shit you know. But there's economics to
20:08
everything it's a business and you can and you can certainly
20:11
look at how many people are there.
20:13
Look at the pit, pass Christ, look at the grandstand price do
20:16
quick math and and know that there's there's more money to go
20:19
around to the racers and especially you know, the racers
20:23
that you know, make it all the way to the a main and you know
20:27
really are there the the show you know the guys that our hands
20:31
and get $750. Exactly.
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It's just not, it's just not going to cut it, you know,
20:35
you're just not gonna so. I mean it's not it's not that
20:38
I'm mad at Emmett. It's just that if he wants to
20:41
Chili Bowl to stay relevant and All the best drivers.
20:45
The only way to do that is to is to put the money up like some of
20:48
these other promoters are doing you're seeing it in late model
20:50
racing. I mean, we're Racing for a
20:52
million dollars in a month that over at Eldora.
20:55
It's just the chili bowls, not really in that conversation
20:57
because they haven't kept up, you know the purse.
21:00
So I just you know I think there's he's going to create
21:03
opportunities for other events to pop up that pay more and you
21:07
know, Racers are going to go do those events so I just did a
21:12
Kenny Wallace show. And this is a conversation
21:15
between me and you I feel like sometimes people want to keep
21:22
I've been using this a lot lately.
21:25
I feel like sometimes people want to keep dirt racing dumb
21:28
down. In other words my show was you
21:32
cannot make a living racing dirt cars and I like what you're
21:37
saying because you're saying I'm trying to make a living running
21:41
dirt cars. So for example, Sample, you
21:45
know, I'd like to think you and I are friends. 23 years ago, you
21:48
come rolling up, my driveway. You and your a world without law
21:52
champion and you come rolling up.
21:54
My driveway in your pickup truck by yourself with your souvenir
21:58
trailer and I said, bro, or what the hell are you doing?
22:02
And you said, I got to sell souvenirs to make it.
22:05
So I want to gather all this up. I say you can't make a living
22:11
Running dirt unless you're a four-time World of Outlaw champ
22:15
unless you're selling souvenirs, unless you're busting ass.
22:19
So I'm going to say this and he knew respond.
22:23
What you're saying is? Let's make it a living running
22:27
dirt. Let's upgrade everything and
22:29
there's nothing wrong with that. Why keep ourselves dumb down.
22:33
Yeah, exactly. I mean, you're the part that
22:37
you're right, is that is the Gypsy life, or whatever, you
22:40
know, the life that that I called it a vagabond lifestyle
22:43
smell when I asked odor, homes, clean your stuff up.
22:47
So that's the part that you're certainly, right?
22:49
Is the lifestyle, and the sacrifice and the hotels and the
22:54
parking, lots and the The road life is there.
22:58
Do I make a good living? Yes.
23:00
You know, there's not a lot of other things that I could make
23:02
as good a living, you know, just with my skill set, obviously.
23:05
I mean, there's no line of time champ.
23:08
Yeah, so, so yeah. And there's a handful of us out
23:10
here that are making a good living, but it's very top heavy.
23:14
And it goes downhill really quick.
23:16
So when you say, yeah, you can't make a living in dirt racing,
23:20
right? This second, I would say after
23:22
10 or 12, guys. Yeah, you're probably, there's,
23:25
you're probably right. It's you know, it goes downhill,
23:28
quick, but they're making a living.
23:30
They're just they're doing it because they're so passionate
23:34
that or they love the dirt lifestyle or they don't want to
23:37
have a 9:00 to 5:00. You know, I get all that but me
23:41
David gravel Donny Schatz obviously like Jonathan
23:45
Davenport. You know, cars to see all the
23:48
guys that Kick-Ass make money. They we can make, we can make
23:52
money. I mean, if you go over here and
23:53
you win to use its we're getting, you know, I like you.
23:55
You're right with your percentages, we get fifty
23:58
percent of the winnings, you know, the good guys.
24:01
And we get you watch my show, I watch something.
24:04
Got all the Sprint car people you know, all the dirt track
24:06
people all fired up because you can't make a living but I think
24:12
they just they misunderstand exactly what you're saying, you
24:16
know? It's to me like yeah, you can,
24:18
but you got to be like you said, a four-time champion in the Napa
24:21
Auto Parts, car owned by Kasey Kahne battling it out for the,
24:25
you know, the top. Level and you know, and you got
24:27
a good sponsorship and all the stuff but yeah that is the goal
24:30
for Kyle and I is is to moving forward, is there?
24:35
You know, and these streaming services there's there's a lot
24:38
of people washing dirt track racing and it certainly grown
24:41
our audience and you know, the crowds are bigger, we sell more
24:44
merchandise than we ever have. There's more and more people
24:48
watching these things every year.
24:50
And and we want to make sure that there's not a lot of greed
24:53
happening. We want to make sure that you
24:55
know, We want to build these purses up, go to nicer, places
24:59
to wear kidneys conversation in the few years is man you can
25:02
make a good living dirt racing. You know more guys can anyway
25:07
and and you know you're seeing it for sure that the purses are
25:10
getting bigger. You know, everybody's putting
25:14
pressure, there's a lot of competition now you have, you
25:16
know these four or five major Sprint car races I mean you see
25:20
it on The Late Model side They have ten or twelve major
25:23
late-model purses. So yeah.
25:26
You can win those races and you can compete for championships.
25:28
You certainly can make a lot of money dirt racing so I don't
25:33
want to beat this with the dead horse.
25:35
Just a little bit more, how many, how many teams follow the
25:41
World of Outlaws full time this year?
25:45
Right now, I think we have 13 teams out on the outlet or how
25:50
many of those drivers without naming names.
25:54
Make a good living. I would say seven six six, six
25:59
or seven. I mean, the first three,
26:02
probably make a lot more. And then there's a second-tier
26:05
probably to that that you'd still say is a good living.
26:07
Then then pass that you're just. You're just doing it because you
26:10
love it and you're passionate about it.
26:13
Yeah, I'm going to wrap this up. I feel like the way you feel and
26:22
a lot of people feel, I feel like racing can can be bigger
26:25
and better dirt racing because I don't you know me I'm all about
26:29
dirt racing. I live it, eat it breathing I
26:31
just got done I'm washing my car right now Schrader shows up and
26:36
I said I gotta quit I got to go down in the interview Brad sweet
26:39
so I mean I'm washing my race card I love dirt racing but I
26:44
feel like You know, I was dirt racing, you know dirt in my face
26:49
I'm like hold on. It's awesome.
26:53
You know I want to bring a sponsor, I want to bring his
26:58
wife, I want to bring his kids. Do we have anywhere that I can
27:03
bring a sponsor, a CEO of a major company.
27:07
And I don't want the fans going all.
27:10
They don't belong here because they're clean.
27:13
Yeah. Did you understand what I'm
27:15
saying? Yeah, there's only A few events,
27:17
right? I mean, we do it with our NAPA
27:18
Auto Parts, Corporate, you know, people, we're not bringing them
27:21
to, you know, most of the tracks.
27:24
But you would bring them here to you or call, you would bring
27:27
them here to Sioux Falls South Dakota, and they'd set up in the
27:30
suite, you know, and you bring them to the Knoxville Nationals
27:33
and put them in a sweet and they'd be impressed and you
27:35
could go to El Dora but past that.
27:37
Yeah, I mean, it's just like, just like, kind of what we're
27:40
talking about with drivers, you know, past the three or four or
27:42
five, good tracks there. You know that are really dialed
27:45
in You know. Yeah you wouldn't you wouldn't
27:49
you know, bring bring people and that's that's part of the
27:51
problem of why we haven't been able to grow.
27:53
Like like we want to grow is because the bathrooms are
27:56
disgusting, you know, dirt and rocks are fine in your face.
28:00
I mean, I agree with all that and that's something that that's
28:03
a huge undertaking to fix that. But obviously, it's got to start
28:07
somewhere and we got to build more and more facilities that
28:10
that we want to bring CEOs. And, you know, people can bring
28:14
their wives. We want all 13 drivers to make a
28:17
living absolutely running dirt. We don't want seven and that's,
28:22
that's what you want. You want better for the sport.
28:25
I want better for this court. Absolutely.
28:27
I want, I want what you same thing you want.
28:29
I'm just, I'm probably you have diving into a little bit deeper
28:34
here with this series and things like that.
28:36
To try to figure out how we can make that happen.
28:39
So okay, that's an end. We said what we feel about dirt
28:45
racing. We I wanted to be better
28:48
cleaner, nicer safer, there's nothing wrong with that.
28:52
So let's talk about the series, I believe that you and Kyle
28:56
Larson, own started high limit. I know what it's all about, but
29:02
some people that watch Kenny conversation might not know.
29:05
Tell me about the series that you and Kyle Larson on high
29:08
limit. Yep.
29:10
So Kyle's my brother-in-law obviously and you know, so we
29:13
get to have some candid friendly conversations on the side.
29:16
Obviously, you know, just about things.
29:18
I'm always been an outlaw guy and he's always kind of been
29:21
like, why do you know, why do you want to sign up and why
29:24
can't you guys run other things? And, you know, so I are you
29:28
thinking one thing, Kyle has the unique ability is that no matter
29:35
what car he drives, a lot of people want to watch him and
29:39
luckily he loves Sprint car racing.
29:41
So he, you know, with his relationship with flow racing,
29:45
you know, They want to do something revolving around Kyle,
29:48
a little bit because they know every time that Kyle Races, they
29:51
get big dig viewership, you know, it's a show, he's a show,
29:55
right? Well, they were open for
29:57
whatever Kyle wanted to do whether that was, you know, show
30:01
up in a late model and, you know, somewhere.
30:04
And it's a payment late model in Berlin Michigan.
30:07
Or, you know, they just wanted to do something based around
30:09
Kyle. Well, Kyle wanted to do Sprint
30:11
cars to try to make Sprint car racing bigger because he saw in
30:15
the Eight models side that they had freedom and that was making
30:21
their purses like they're Racing for a lot more money.
30:23
He felt like, and that's why he was racing more late models is
30:26
because he felt like you could write race for way more money
30:28
over there. And so then the Sprint car thing
30:31
we start talking about how to do it.
30:33
Well, obviously, his Sunday job eliminates weekends and we felt
30:37
like, you know, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are pretty open, you
30:42
know, for most of the Season, especially You're not really
30:46
competing against anything, you know, there's some baseball on
30:51
but there's there's not a lot of racing on and the only thing
30:54
that we debated on us, if we could get crowds to show up on
30:58
Tuesdays and Wednesdays and, you know, so we started with 12
31:01
races, try to not to interfere with anything and then we went
31:05
big as big as we could on the purses.
31:07
But we're lean and mean, we don't have big trucks and
31:09
trailers going down the road and you know, a bunch of series
31:12
officials. You know, you so well before you
31:14
walk probably Arawak and try to understand it, you know, as much
31:18
as we possibly can, you know. So I live in that, you know, I'm
31:23
right there with the officials and running around you know
31:27
helping sell the tickets helping get the people in.
31:30
Then I go down and I helped push the cars off and I know.
31:33
So I'm really trying to learn that everything about what it
31:36
would take to run a series but so far were six races in five
31:40
races in now and it's been you know, really really good.
31:44
Obviously flows really happy The racers are happy because they're
31:48
they're able to now in between traveling between two different
31:51
races or stopping in and Racing for these eighty thousand dollar
31:55
purse is on one night. Eighty thousand dollars is our
31:57
purse. That's our minimum and then we
32:00
have to 50,000 wind purse purses that are that are a total of 140
32:04
thousand and then the twelve race Series has 120 thousand
32:08
dollar Point fun. And this is all because Kyle
32:11
came to me and said, let's use my likeness and my ability to
32:15
get viewership. Create a series and the Michael
32:17
Jordan. Yep.
32:18
And then flow back sit and then you get my, you know,
32:21
entrepreneur brain going and then, you know, we end up with a
32:26
good group and a high limit series and you know, Kyle's
32:30
manager, JP, and Robb, Maus, quit sir, they helped kind of
32:33
with all the legal stuff and you know, we are able to kind of
32:37
come up with something pretty cool and the racers are happy.
32:40
Now, you know, Eagle Raceway the other night and Lincoln Nebraska
32:45
we had Just drove the people. So we saw it.
32:49
Look good. That we prove that, you know,
32:51
people are going to come out on Tuesday nights.
32:53
The viewership is great for flow and then and the racers are
32:56
supporting it because the purses are good.
32:59
You know, so we had 27 guys, sign up full time for our series
33:02
to travel around all the different states we had guys
33:05
from Pennsylvania. New York, California, the
33:08
Midwest. So, you know, it's turned out
33:11
probably better than we thought. And now we just now we just need
33:13
to figure out what to do with it if we if we want to grow.
33:16
So or if you want to kind of stay with where we're at or or
33:19
whatever but we're certainly enjoying it.
33:21
Well I really feel like you know as I get older there's good
33:26
business models and then there's business models, you try and
33:29
they don't work. You know, we look years ago,
33:31
Thursday night Thunder open-wheel midgets at
33:35
Indianapolis raceway Park was the showcase for the great Jeff
33:40
Gordon. So I believe that sometimes
33:44
people get so excited for Friday or Today, it's like to get a
33:47
little sad on Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, hell, let's have a
33:51
race sometimes that that business model works.
33:56
Sometimes it doesn't. And I see these World Outlaw are
34:00
these flow nights for late models flow nights and the
34:05
numbers are record-breaking people.
34:08
Sitting on her couch. Hey honey, what are you doing
34:10
tonight? He'll I'm watching dirt on Flow.
34:13
Yeah, Chromecast matching up with my TV, it's on my big
34:16
screen. I mean exactly.
34:17
Yeah yeah we're seeing we're seeing, you know, extremely high
34:21
viewership. And it's you know that's that's
34:24
really big for Sprint car racing because you know, that's that
34:27
many more people understand, it know what it is.
34:30
So when we do come to their town you know they're going to
34:32
support that local track to see the stars come out, obviously
34:36
Kyle's Starpower, Rico, a brew and and a few other people that
34:40
are supporting our series. I mean, everything helps, you
34:43
know, draw those fans in. But I'm certainly a That the
34:47
streaming services are have connected us to a much bigger
34:51
fan base. And, and I think this is just
34:53
the beginning, you know, that's why I'm really bullish on Sprint
34:56
car racing and dirt track racing as a whole.
34:59
I think if we can clean it up, make it a little more
35:01
professional. I think we can grow the sport
35:05
immensely because you want to race for a living.
35:08
You can do it but you want those guys?
35:10
Seventh eighth, ninth tenth, I get.
35:12
Okay. So we're all man we just can
35:15
talk forever. We're already almost 40 minutes.
35:18
Let's we're on the end here and this is where he comes a lot
35:22
looser. The hard part's over.
35:23
That was hard on me because I'm a racer and I owned a racetrack
35:28
at making. Speedway making a lot.
35:30
I own a racetrack with Tony Stewart.
35:32
Kenny Schrader. Bob's Sergeant.
35:34
I get it. So let's have a little fun.
35:37
There were going to get a little little hardcore.
35:40
The Knoxville Nationals? Why when did it happen?
35:46
Why are the it is the Knoxville Nationals the granddaddy?
35:50
Is it is it bigger than Eldora? Give me your thought on that?
35:54
Yes, absolutely Knoxville Nationals is still the
35:56
granddaddy of them all. Still just something about that
36:01
place and I don't know why but I mean I think just just growing
36:07
up watching it. You know how big the event is.
36:10
It's certainly just a different, it's a different.
36:12
When you go to Knoxville as a especially as a racer that's
36:15
going to compete, it just gives you chills going into that
36:18
little town. It's just it's there's there's
36:20
really nothing much to the town. It's just nothing.
36:23
It's and then like that. It's like they turn it on right
36:26
and then it's just golf carts and the bars happening and and
36:31
Peep there's t-shirt vendors and you know just I don't know.
36:35
It's just a the place comes to life.
36:37
It's like its own little world and you know, it's all it's the
36:41
most die-hard. Sprint car fans all in one
36:44
place, we sell so much more merchandise at Knoxville than
36:47
anywhere else because people save their their vacation that
36:52
are hardcore, Sprint car fans and they show up for that one
36:54
week and the tracks. Really good.
36:58
It's really racy. You know, I felt like Knoxville
37:01
always led the way in, you know, Eldora was right there with them
37:05
but knocks you always raise the purse and what Knoxville does to
37:08
is one thing about their purse is it's not just a lot to win
37:12
its 15th. Ten thousand dollars just to
37:14
start the a main on Saturday at the Knoxville that I never knew
37:17
that. Yeah it's called me a lot.
37:19
That's unbelievably awesome. It's over a million dollar purse
37:23
for the for the so you know what they do is guys can travel from
37:28
California and Pennsylvania and and wherever they're coming
37:31
from. And even if they don't have the
37:32
best week, I think, if you run six or seven in the be main,
37:37
it's like seven or eight thousand dollars, you know?
37:40
And then you never know if you have a bad.
37:42
Prelim night. They have that the Friday
37:44
nights, like the night of Hard Knocks they call it, which then
37:47
they, you know, think gives you a second chance to kind of make
37:50
a little extra money, plus set yourself up.
37:52
So I just think they do everything right.
37:54
Everybody's, you know, Eldora obviously, since Tony Earl
37:58
obviously did a great job at Eldora.
38:00
Now, since Tony's taking it over and taking it one step further,
38:04
it's hard to not. It's hard to ignore that.
38:06
There's a million-dollar to Win race, but I don't think that
38:08
million-dollar to Win race will be around, you know, every year
38:11
the Knoxville Nationals. Is there then the King's Row to
38:15
me is the next biggest sprint. Car race that we have.
38:18
Yeah and Knoxville also is the home of a beautiful Sprint car
38:22
Hall of Fame. It's real.
38:23
It's nice. Yeah it's not some tin building
38:28
so I agree with you. Yeah yeah the facility the
38:31
Knoxville facility is second to none I mean Outdoors definitely
38:36
made a lot of gains but Knoxville that Knoxville's
38:39
facility their sweets just everything about that place is
38:42
Is, you know, the premier dirt racing facility in the United
38:46
States. All right.
38:49
We're going to wrap it up here a little bit.
38:50
Maybe five more minutes or so, I'm bad at saying that I always
38:54
want you to know that. I know you're a racer and I'm
38:56
always used to working with Hyper people, Kenny
38:59
conversations going. I gotta quit saying that, but
39:03
your opinion, your opinion on what we're already talked about
39:07
most of it. Usually I do that at the end.
39:09
So the next sprint car race your but you're really good because,
39:12
you know, A lot let Parts pieces Motors.
39:18
I hear that if you're going to go to the Knoxville Nationals
39:23
and you want a motor that's going to pull through that black
39:25
mud pool that Wing early in the night.
39:28
We're seventy thousand dollars. What are your thoughts on the
39:32
motors right now? Yeah, I mean, I definitely think
39:36
there's expensive, there's no doubt about that, the the cost
39:39
of goods has gone up for everything.
39:42
You know, you do, you're paying more for steel, you're paying
39:45
more for aluminum your paint, you're paying more for labor,
39:48
you're paying more for shipping, your it's just everything up and
39:51
it all adds, you know, there's so many of those parts that are,
39:54
you know, in a Sprint car engine that not necessarily Racing's
39:58
fault, what you're saying? Well, yeah, absolutely.
40:01
It's not, it's not necessarily Racing's fault.
40:03
The That but that's everything I mean fuel prices are up.
40:07
I mean, you name it, it's upright.
40:10
I mean that's so obviously an engine is going to be up and the
40:14
cost to go to the races is up. I'm not defending here is up, I
40:18
am not. Yeah, I'm not sure that there's
40:20
a whole lot that you can do. I will say the games that
40:25
they've made are like as in our engine program and I think I
40:29
speak for most of the others is we used to have to freshen our
40:32
engines, 8 to 10 It's and now we're going more like 16 to 18
40:37
know, that's big. So we certainly we realize that
40:42
for sustainability of our own business, we had to figure out
40:44
how to maybe take some compression out of these things.
40:47
And maybe put some beef here, Parts into where, you know, and
40:51
go a little bit longer. So we've, you know, lowered our
40:55
engine build that way. Obviously, the cost is hired to
40:57
build, but a guy like Bobby Allen, that, that has his they
41:02
built all their Ins and house and do it their way.
41:06
I think they're building engines for more like 40,000.
41:10
So there are there are ways to be crafty and do it, you know?
41:14
And they are at a very high level.
41:15
Their engines will run as good as anybody's engines, but, you
41:18
know, then there's other guys out there, spending, 60, or
41:20
70,000 and buying them and you know, six or eight pack, you
41:24
know, that it just they got cars that can do that.
41:27
And you know, my car owner has the money to do it, but the way
41:31
that we do things, we run KKR as Business.
41:34
So we certainly look at those expenses and you know how
41:37
sustainable you know that that is you know the engine engine
41:42
costs. And we like I said got our
41:44
engines to run a lot more nights and that's certainly saving us a
41:47
lot of money. I Gotta Throw inaudible here I
41:50
got so wrapped up in you rightly.
41:52
So how did you get hooked up with Kasey Kahne?
41:56
How did you become his driver? So in 2002, 2007, I was just
42:03
racing Keith Coons another guy, not only some Wing stuff.
42:10
I was kind of all just my name was out there.
42:12
I'd gone been gone for three or four years kind of just slowly
42:17
getting another ride you know, progress in learning but I
42:20
didn't come from any money, you know.
42:22
So I didn't get I didn't get I had to go do it the hard way,
42:25
you know, beg borrow and steal to get a ride or you know wash
42:29
the car work on it myself. The grind 2007.
42:33
I started to run really good though and I finally got some
42:35
good opportunities to kind of showcase my skill set.
42:38
And Casey I just got the Mopar deal and he had Kevin Swindell
42:42
and Brady bacon, driving it and the deal something with Kevin
42:46
Swindell wasn't working with their deal.
42:49
So there was a seat, the seat opened up at the end of 2007.
42:53
I was just right place at the right time and you know, I think
42:56
they saw me out there, grinding it out working hard and they it
43:00
Willie Cain Casey. Cousin, you gave me the call to
43:03
just hired me. I didn't really know him, but
43:06
since then, you know, me and Casey.
43:08
And, and even Willie are probably, you know, those are my
43:10
two of my best friends and basically family at this point
43:13
I've been together with them, you know, however, that's 15 or
43:16
so years. So, pretty, pretty extraordinary
43:19
and and dirt track racing to be with the same team for for that
43:23
amount of time. And in case you always have my
43:25
back he tried to help me get into NASCAR NASCAR didn't work
43:28
for me for whatever reason, you know I had Decent opportunities
43:32
and you know just didn't didn't adapt, you know quick enough and
43:37
well enough. And you know so really found my
43:39
home racing with the World of Outlaws.
43:41
Yeah. Most excellent.
43:43
I'm not going to say this to you.
43:45
I'm just going to say it to our wonderful viewers out there.
43:49
I get roughed up. I started I've had like a
43:52
hundred and eight wins right now with my old modified and people
43:56
would say oh that's because you got all that NASCAR money.
44:00
And I tell everybody I say listen, I say, you know, there's
44:03
a guy that has a tree-trimming company and that's tree-trimming
44:07
money. And there's guys got Electrical
44:09
Company and that's it. Electrical Company money and
44:12
there's people that drill oil, but I want to say this.
44:16
Thank God for NASCAR money. Because Donny Schatz, dries for
44:22
Tony Stewart, the big cat. You you drive for Casey Kenny
44:27
and you know, There's always Cale Yarborough once told me, he
44:33
said Herman. There's always somebody bigger
44:35
than you, so none of us are never.
44:38
The biggest, NASCAR is great, it's good for the sport, it
44:43
made, Tony Stewart, it made Kasey Kahne and they love you.
44:49
Casey loves you. Tony has Donny Schatz and there
44:54
would be less teams without those drivers.
45:00
And I think that Paid It Forward.
45:02
I think so. I think the fans are the ones
45:03
that get they don't want dirt track racing to be considered a
45:07
lesser you know right racing and I think the racers the two
45:11
Racers know you know the cloud Larson's and and even you know a
45:16
lot of the NASCAR drivers know that the the dirt track world is
45:20
a is a different world. It's they that they couldn't
45:23
just come over here and beat these drivers so it should be
45:26
exactly. It's so it doesn't really have
45:28
to in my opinion doesn't have A conversation.
45:31
Yeah, competition. It's, you know, we cheer on the
45:34
NASCAR guys on Sundays and and have fun watching the races at
45:37
times that and they and now they're, you know, Chase
45:40
Elliott, will text me as much as anybody, you know, he's watching
45:44
our races, are my world about races and you know all these
45:48
NASCAR guys are paying more attention.
45:50
So I think the Kyle Larson effect a little bit is he's
45:53
brought the NASCAR late model and Sprint car group altogether,
45:58
everybody's watching. Buddy.
46:00
You know, thank you, thank you for saying that yay.
46:03
There's nothing wrong with that, you know, there's no, it's not,
46:05
it's no competition. We're just we're all trying to
46:08
make a living racing. We're all passionate about it
46:11
and that's really all that matters.
46:12
Yeah. And Napa Auto Parts sponsors you
46:15
and Chase Elliott. That brings you guys closer
46:17
together. So are we good?
46:20
We got to close it out with a goodie an oldie but goodie,
46:23
let's do it. I did it with Davenport for so
46:27
the Jonathan Davenport. I said Moyer or bloom S.
46:30
So with you, you're just a kid Kinser or shots.
46:36
Or a tie, you can say anything, like it.
46:39
Are, you asking me who I think's better?
46:42
Well, just a thought. Yeah, man, Steve Kinser is the
46:49
greatest of all time, that's it. Strictly off of stats and then
46:55
Donny. Certainly dominated his, you
46:59
know, his decade or even to their, they're wanting to, you
47:04
know, it's Steve Kinser. There's just the king and maybe
47:07
it's because when I was a kid, you know, watching him dominate.
47:11
He seems so meet him unreal. But certainly my respect for
47:16
Donny Schatz is man Second To None.
47:19
I love the guy, he's a great friend.
47:22
Now he made me work so hard for for it all but the respect so
47:27
high and now I feel finally the respect back from him and it's
47:31
we actually have a really good friendship because of it and two
47:34
of the best though, for sure man.
47:36
Makes me so happy. I can't dream that up because
47:39
over there in the the the late-model world.
47:42
They're just always about Bloomquist or more.
47:44
So I I serve that up on a platter to Davenport and we had
47:50
a good time with it. So who did he think he didn't
47:54
even hesitate? He right away, said, Bloomer and
47:58
buddy, but he answered kind of like you did.
48:00
He says, you know, let me back up.
48:04
He has one car for Eldora and Davenport says Eldora made him
48:11
all his money although he wins everywhere.
48:14
So he said that Bloomer had one card you know Eldora and kind of
48:21
like Knoxville. So the late-model guys are just
48:23
like you guys. You guys are Knoxville their
48:25
Eldora. Yeah.
48:27
And he said definitely Bloomer because Bloomers got more big
48:32
wins, you know, like Elder. Dora.
48:34
Yeah. And um, but we both agreed that
48:38
Billy more your and and Bloomer are like it's just a, it's a
48:43
beer-drinking conversation. None of, that's right.
48:48
Yeah. So who was the best, who's the
48:52
best race car driver that you've ever raced against that see race
48:56
the great Dick Trickle out of Wisconsin?
48:58
Rapids, Wisconsin dick. Dick was my philosopher.
49:05
He's the one that taught me. Some of these things.
49:08
Like you know I didn't grow up running 26.
49:11
Black Dash like you guys trickled caught me.
49:14
You must first finish to finish first.
49:17
Yeah, just like we talked earlier in our conversation
49:22
about body and mind not getting depressed in that hotel room.
49:26
You're in right now, which I don't, I can't stand them
49:29
anymore because I lived in them. But Dick Trickle, L won more
49:34
races than anybody built. His race cars was a great race
49:39
car driver and he's the man for me.
49:43
But like you, I look up to all you guys, you know, Brad, I look
49:49
up to you. I admire you so much and I
49:52
admire you for a lot of reasons. Sometimes, we don't know, but I
49:57
got to tell you I could admire you for your driving skills, but
50:01
that doesn't mean you're a good person.
50:03
Hey, I admire you because your father, come up and parked his
50:06
motor home, and I saw your dad, and I talked to your dad and
50:09
then you rolled up my driveway, to park your souvenir trailer,
50:14
so you can fly back. Own to be what you're, you know,
50:16
at home and I know more about you and I love your sister,
50:20
she's fun. I just think you're a wonderful
50:24
person and thank you for being on Kenny conversation.
50:28
Yeah, thanks for having me. It was a, it was an enjoyable
50:30
conversation and you didn't, you didn't beat me up too bad.
50:33
So hopefully, the fans will enjoy it.
50:35
Well, I didn't want to, it could have got ugly.
50:39
It could have got ugly, and I know that.
50:42
And I didn't want it to be there.
50:44
I figured this way. Way.
50:47
I am a lover I do. I do poke the skin with a knife
50:51
but I don't never puncture and I figure if if the late models can
50:56
have World of Outlaw, eight miles and Lucas Oil and I know
50:59
you all can do the same thing and you got it going on in your
51:04
hearts in the right place. You and Kyle you just you just
51:07
want better. You want everybody, you want
51:10
more people to make a living clean the facilities up?
51:13
And I like that? Absolutely.
51:15
So thanks to a yep, thanks for Thanks for everything.
51:19
Thank you, buddy. All right, everybody.
51:20
Remember we are in podcast form. This is a long conversation but
51:25
as you know on your way to work, you can listen to Brad on your
51:29
way home from work. You can listen to Brad.
51:31
Oral Charlie model, will chop. This up.
51:34
Will give you 15 minutes at a time.
51:36
It'll live forever. So until then remember, Kenny
51:41
conversation. Just keeps on rolling, we've got
51:43
it all covered, NASCAR dirt until next time,